Lesson Notes Week of March 3 2002

Let us continue the lessons.  The way we have been talking about yin/yang in this last lesson is similar to the way the Taoists discussed yin/yang theory only in a less analytical way.  One, in fact, might call their thinking more “poetic” and from the time of the Taoists to the present we do encounter numerous examples of the yin/yang dialectic in the literary, visual (including crafts) and performing arts, as well as other fields of study. Much of this thinking is simplistic and obvious; like light against (notan in Japanese), form against space, line against mass, motion against stillness, hard against soft, etc.

In fact Confucius’ views on yin/yang were very elemental as we can see from the following excerpt of his writing:  “Heaven [he calls yang] suggests the idea of nature; of a circle; of a ruler, of a father; of jade; of metal; of cold; of ice; of deep red; of a good horse; of an old horse; of a thin horse; of a piebald horse; and of fruit trees.”

For yin he says “Earth suggests the idea of earth; of a mother; of cloth; of a cauldron; of parsimony; of a turning lathe; of a young heifer; of a large wagon; of what is variegated; of a handle and support.  Among soils it denotes what is black.”

As you can see from this statement there are a number of contradictions if you base yin/yang thinking on how we understand it today and how it was understood by Fu Xi and Lao Tzu who preceded Confucius.

Quite often there occurs a split in opinion over yin/yang thinking in this ancient world – especially during the Eastern Zhou period where there were a large number of dissenting factions and schools of thought.  This period of history is known as The Hundred Philosophy Schools in China.  With all the arguing over the various principles and theorems in China during this time it was difficult to come to a common ground of understanding and citizens could not be united.  It was during the middle of the 3^rd c. BCE when one Chinese philosopher came forward and attempted to unify all the schools of thought under one roof.  In this way it made it easier for everyone to live and the Chinese to evolve into one country with one governing body.

The name of this philosopher was Zou Yan (305BCE- 240 BCE). Thus the various schools of thought in China were combined into one unified cosmology where yin/yang was central but numerous other elements were correlated, like astrology, magic, the almanac, numerology, 5 elements, occultism, etc.  From this time onward we have a very clear picture of how yin/yang was understood and applied.  Although not all people agreed with everything… just like us!

In Greece a similar pattern of divided thinking over the theory of opposites (or “contraries”) also occurred and like the Chinese Taoists these opposite forces were set forth to explain the workings of nature and medicine.  The terms hot and cold, moist and dry, however were used instead of yin/yang and the Tao was called Aperion by the Greek Milesian School.  The elements of earth, fire, air and water were also combined into this paradigm and used in a similar way as the 5 Agents (elements) called Wu Xing by the Chinese. 

Two of the foremost thinkers from this era were Heraclitus and Pythagoras, both who lived at a time when Greece was ruled by the Persians.  Pythagoras was said to be a vegetarian and studied with the Magi.  Heraclitus also lived for some time on herbs and wild foods.  As I said earlier the Persians had been in contact with the Chinese courts and were the key emissaries in transferring higher knowledge into different cultures on the Eurasian continent and subcontinents. 

All students should take some time out to search the web for more information on these Greek philosophers.  Empedocles and Paramendes should also be read as they used the system of opposing contraries in their philosophical theories.  Compare their thinking and life style to the Philosophical Taoists and modern Macrobiotics.

Much of what Heraclitus and Pytahgoras taught had direct ties to Taoist thought and all of this later filtered into the Greek philosophical tradition. Quite clearly the early  transmission of yin/yang knowledge goes like this: 1. China (Fu Xi originator)  2. Iran (Persian Magi emissaries) 3. Greece (recipients).

In the field of medicine, yin/yang during the time of the first Taoists was very rudimentary as well.  Nothing like we know it today by macrobiotic terms or even by Traditional Chinese Medicine terms.  None of the correlations and correspondences were in place back then.  The imperfect knowledge of medicine extended across the globe.  From the time of the Egyptian King Djoser (Egypt) in the 3^rd millennium BCE to the time frame of Hippocrates (Greek) serious and disabling illnesses were thought to have super natural origins.  As such, the main course of treatment  would be to have a shaman exorcise the offending demon (of the illness) and to lure the “soul” back by use of counter spells, incantations, liquor-based  herbal potions, suction, burning and quite often the drilling of small holes in the skulls of the victims.

Lists of local vegetable, animal and mineral drugs have been recorded from ancient times in Mesopotamia, France, Britain, Egypt, Arabia, Greece, China and the Americas. But while these lists are extensive and frequently used in a similar manner in the various places, their efficacy appears assured only when used in conjunction with prayers, chanting, gesturing with charms. Hence the power of “BELIEF” was all pervasive during the ancient times.  Still yin/yang thinking was quite rudimentary but consciousness was becoming broader and connections and correlations like during Fu Xi’s time were starting to be applied in other realms of thought. 

Various types of yoga and breathing and gymnastic exercises were also becoming popular during this time.  Vegetarian-based diets were popular in China, Greece, Iran, and India.  Cross-cultural contacts were making all this to become realized. The famous Greek physician Hippocrates drew deeply on the knowledge of opposing contraries  and used it for both diagnosis and treatment – with diet being the first thing to look at and adjust when illness came.  A more rational approach to the cause of disease came with Hipporcates.  He was one of the first Westerners to say that disease does not come from the gods.

Back in China Zou Yan’s  unified system started to become very popular, so much that even the emperor Shih huang ti followed these ideas.  For the first time in Chinese history the people rallied together to build upon this shared model of a unified cosmology.

As this newly adopted cosmological system gained in prominence, a shift in emphasis from philosophical THEORY to the practical APPLICATION of  these theories was noticed.  In its earliest phase the application of yin/yang and the Wu Xing (five elements) improve vitality (CHI) and correct imbalances within the human body.  Thus the Taoists began the practice of controlled breathing, meditation, and massage, along with the technique of acupuncture and moxabustion.

In the great Chinese medical classic from the later part of that period called the Yellow Emperor’s Classic of Internal Medicine these various healing methods are explained in depth.  The book is divided into two parts; the first is called Essential Questions which deals with theory and the second is called Spiritual Pivot which deals with applications.

Throughout the Yellow Emperor’s Classic the yin/yang concept is applied to the internal organs which are differentiated according to the hollow and solid organs.  How macrobiotics apply yin/yang is slightly different from the Yellow Emperor book. 

The solid organs are called YIN and include the liver, lungs, spleen/pancreas, kidneys, heart, and pericardium (heart constrictor) – a total of 6.  From the macrobiotic view and the more physical thinking of Fu Xi, these SOLID organs are called YANG.  Then they classed the hollow organs YANG which include large intestine, small intestine, triple heater (or 3 warmed areas), stomach, bladder, and gall bladder – a total of 6. Again you can see clearly from a macrobiotic view these hollow, less active organs should be called YIN. 

How does one account for these changes?  The fang shi (recipe gentlemen) are the ones to make these changes.  These fang shi were NOT philosophical Taoists but rather from a new, RELIGIOUS/OCCULT branch of Taoism called the Prescriptionist School which was a more mystical school who did not live in harmonious accord with nature but thought to conquer it by winning the blessing associated with the yang and to supress the dark forces of the yin,  From the perspective of the fang shi the more solid and active organs were thought to be under the dominion of the yin force.  Very confusing and a deviation from accepted doctrine.  In addition followers of this mystical cult also took only those trigrams of the I Ching that were highly praised for their symbolism, leaving the rest behind.

Anyway correlative thinking became increasingly specific and the organs were paired into opposing yin/yang groupings and correlated to the Wu Xing (5 Elements): wood. fire, water, earth, metal, water.  In order to do this effectively two organ systems (triple heater and heart constrictor) had to be fit in with other systems and an additional “season” was thought up. These were correlated with the dominant animals, visible planets, traditional colors, plants and more than 50 other associations.  The following chart gives a sample of these correspondences:

(Chart)

Of course many of the correspondences were known only to the Chinese and some common ideas, like the 7 days of the week (gleaned from the 28 day cycle of the moon) weren’t used and.  The 8 Trigrams of the I Ching were later whittled down to the 5 most important and also forced into this system.  Correlative thinking soon started to become increasing irrational and reached a point to where it was being used for ritualized occult practices and alchemical quests for elixiers that were thought to help gain immortality.

There is actually a reference in the Shih Chi (chapter 28) that discusses this time and how the people were using the correalative schema:

“From the time of King Weixuan of Qi Master Zou and his followers

debated the numerous theories of the ‘Beginning and End of Things’

and the Five Powers [Elements].  When it came to the time of the

Emperor of Qin [Shih huang ti] the people of Qi transmitted them to

the emperor.  Thus the emperor of Qin adopted the theories and it followed

that Song Wu-Ji, Zeng Bo-qiao, Chung Shang and Xianmen Zikao [citizens

of Yan] relied on devotions to supernatural beings to strive for immortality

and metamorphosis.  Zou Yen and his Unified Theory of Yin/Yang was

prominent among the nobility at this time, but the occultists from Yan and

Qi passed down his theories without fully understanding them.  This resulted

in countless disciples who were half show men and half con men who flourished

at this time.”

While the devotees of the esoteric Taoists grew in number, a small group of eclectic naturalists banded together to refute many of the occultists and began to compile writings that sought to explain the nature of reality and other concepts from a rational point of view.  This group was led by Liu An (179-122 BCE) a Prince from Hui Nan whose ideas ran parallel to the Philosophical Taoists and to Fu Xi. In his Book titled Huai Nan tzu we read this parallel thinking of Prince Liu An and see how his interpretation of yin/yang and heaven are NOT like the occultists.  In fact his words are more like those of George Ohsawa:

“That which was clear and ligt rose up to form Heaven [sky] while that which was dense coalesced to form Earth.  Things that are clear and light merge and transform easily, while those things which are dense coalesce only with difficulty.  Thus Heaven was formed first, and Earth became settled only later. This separation and polarization of Heaven and Earth created Yin and Yang.  The transformation and polarization of Yin and Yang gave rise to the FOUR seasons; and the separation and polarization of Yin and Yang gave rise to all material things.  The hot ethers of the accumulated Yang after a time gave rise to fire.  The essence of the ether of fire gave rise to the Sun.  The cold ethers of the accumulated Yin became water.  The essence of the ether of water gave rise to the Moon.”

Hence with Prince Liu An’s work there is, like the philosophical Taoists to restore the idea of yin/yang and heaven back to its original PHYSICAL understanding.  Liu An’s clear thinking would set off a centuries long debate over yin/yang, the I Ching, and the term Heaven.  And with this rational school of thought more and more scholars would begin to reject the full extent of the Wu Xing (5 Elements). 

In modern macrobiotic literature from the time of Ohsawa until nearly 10 years after his death, the Wu Xing was NOT used in the teaching of macrobiotic philosophy.  However in the writings of Michio Kushi we start to see references to it, as well as to the term Heaven, which he (Kushi) begins to use in much the same way as the Religious Taoists (occultists) which he calls Yang and which he opposes to Earth which he calls yin.  This I find curious (and so did macrobiotic leader Herman Aihara – and Ohsawa) as it contradicts the idea of yin being correlated with the passive, yielding, darkness of SPACE out of which the yang, material, compact Earth (and other planets, stars, etc) are created (yin creates yang).  Do you think the reason is because Kushi is including the hot, yang burning fire called the Sun in the Heaven equation?  The sun is, of course Yang, no?

But in the big picture our suns and all other stars like the sun are burning their fires in the black, cold expanse of the infinite expansion, which is according to Ohsawa, Aihara, Prince Liu An, and Fu Xi (and others) the EXTREME YIN.  What are your thoughts on all of this?

More to come….