Number of words: 590

The principal characteristic of the Tao is the cyclic nature of its ceaseless motion and change. ‘Returning is the motion of the Tao,’ says Lao Tzu, and ‘Going far means returning. The idea is that all developments in nature, those in the physical world as well as those of human situations, show cyclic patterns of coming and going, of expansion and contraction. 

This idea was no doubt deduced from the movements of the sun and moon and from the change of the seasons, but it was then also taken as a rule of life. The Chinese believe that whenever a situation develops to its extreme, it is bound to turn around and become its opposite. This basic belief has given them courage and perseverance in times of distress and has made them cautious and modest in times of success. It has led to the doctrine of the golden mean in which both Taoists and Confucianists believe. ‘The sage’, says Lao Tzu, ‘avoids excess, extravagance and indulgence.” 

In the Chinese view, it is better to have too little than to have too much, and better to leave things undone than to overdo them, because although one may not get very far this way one is certain to go in the right direction. Just as the man who wants to go further and further East will end up in the West, those who accumulate more and more money in order to increase their wealth will end up being poor. Modern industrial society which is continuously trying to increase the ‘standard of living’ and thereby decreases the quality of life for all its members is an eloquent illustration of this ancient Chinese wisdom. 

The idea of cyclic patterns in the motion of the Tao was given a definite structure by the introduction of the polar opposites yin and yang. They are the two poles which set the limits for the cycles of change:

The yang having reached its climax retreats in favour of the yin; the yin having reached its climax retreats in favour of the yang.

In the Chinese view, all manifestations of the Tao are generated by the dynamic interplay of these two polar forces. This idea is very old and many generations worked on the symbolism of the archetypal pair yin and yang until it became the fundamental concept of Chinese thought. The original meaning of the words yin and yang was that of the shady and sunny sides of a mountain, a meaning which gives a good idea of the relativity of the two concepts: That which lets now the dark, now the light appear is Tao.

From the very early times, the two archetypal poles of nature were represented not only by bright and dark, but also by male and female, firm and yielding, above and below. Yang, the strong, male, creative power, was associated with Heaven, whereas yin, the dark, receptive, female and maternal element, was represented by the Earth. Heaven is above and full of movement, the Earth-in the old geocentric view-is below and resting, and thus yang came to symbolize movement and yin rest. In the realm of thought, yin is the complex, female, intuitive mind, yang the clear and rational male intellect. Yin is the quiet, contemplative stillness of the sage, yang the strong, creative action of the king.

The dynamic character of yin and yang is illustrated by the ancient Chinese symbol called T’ai-chi T’u, or ‘Diagram of the Supreme Ultimate’

Excerpted from Pages 105-107 of ‘The Tao of Physics’ by Fritjof Capra