This kind of struggle is a sure sign that you have fallen from The Way. It is precisely this feeling that Daoism takes on. It can feel almost as if obstacles constantly pop up to block you. It is as if everything is a slog, where you have to put in an inordinate amount of effort just to keep moving.
#Yin and yang symbol name tv
It might be a relationship, a career, or even a new book or TV show. In a relationship, we can party and laugh (Yang), but we must also cry and share secrets (Yin). In the martial arts, for instance, it is important that we be hard, strong, and fit (Yang), but these are nothing without being calm, focused, and adaptable (Yin). The symbol expresses the idea that balance and harmony are necessary for all things. It is the feeling that we have found our right path.Īnd to do this, both Yin and Yang are essential. Right living comes not from being either one thing or another but in finding that balance - the Dao not only to our life but to all existence. They are both utterly amoral, in that neither is “right” or “wrong.” While the Yin is associated with the negative, this does not come attached with a value judgement but is better thought of as the negative terminal of a battery, perhaps. Life is like a batteryīut neither Yin nor Yang are superior in any way. This is not to say that there are not other paths (such as the “human way”), but why struggle through thorns and thickets when life could be happy and easy? Daodejing is a dense wonder of proverbs, advice, wisdom, and fables to guide the Daoist in finding this path. If your life is a forest, the Dao is the wide, paved, and easy path. It is to adapt, compromise, and take life as it comes, not as you want to force it. This is to let the self mold to the world, like the way water fills a cup. To row against the current is hard, and Daoism is the simple call to “go with the flow” of the universe.ĭaoism is to find the harmony in life. To be happy is to let the Dao carry us on. Like a river, the Dao moves and directs all things, and we are like boats floating along its path.
The Dao translates as “The Way” and is often compared to the flow of a river.
But what matters is Lao Tzu’s influence, not least for the 20 million Daoists worldwide. His name means “Old Master,” and it is unclear if he was a single historical person or a title given to a collection of sages and their works. Lao Tzu is the semi-mythical founder of Daoism (or Taoism - the sound is halfway between a T and a D to the non-Chinese ear).