The yin-yang principle is not, therefore, what we would ordinarily call a dualism, but rather an explicit duality expressing an implicit unity. - Alan Watts
Yin Yang is the principle of natural and complementary forces, patterns and things that depend on one another and do not make sense on their own.
These may be masculine and feminine, but they could be darkness and light (which is closer to the original meaning of the dark and light sides of a hill), wet and dry or action and inaction.
These are opposites that fit together seamlessly and work in perfect harmony. You can see this by looking at the yin yang symbol.
The yin yang concept is not the same as Western dualism, because the two opposites are not at war, but in harmony.
This can be seen very clearly in the symbol: the dark area contains a spot of light, and vice versa, and the two opposites are intertwined and bound together within the unifying circle.
Yin and yang are not static, the balance ebbs and flows between them - this is implied in the flowing curve where they meet.
- Taken BBC website Concepts Within Taoism
More quotes on Yin and Yang – the dual polarities in life.
The motion of Yin and Yang generates all things in nature. - Meh Jiuzhang & Guo Lei
The sexual union of male and female is thus regarded as the essential earthly manifestation of the great cosmic dance of Yin and Yang. - Daniel Reid
The world is, was, will always be filled with good and evil, because good and evil is the yin and yang of the human condition. - Philip Zimbardo
The yin and the yang are opposite forces. Yet, they exist together in the harmony of a perfect orb. - R. A. Wise
There's eternal opposition between yin and yang. No third party at all, but treason occurs sometimes. - Toba Beta
Yin and Yang are one vital force – the primordial aura. - YangMing Wang
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Yin and Yang are two convenient polar opposites that are used to explain how things function in relation to one another and to the universe. No entity can be seen in isolation; everything is connected. - W. John Diamond
Just as the copulation of the sky (yang) and earth (yin) energies gave birth to humanity and the myriad things of the world, the union of the yin and yang, female and male, is the basis of creating and renewing the energy of life in the body. - Eva Wong
Every whole "thing" – from a tree to a person to a business, an atom, planet, or universe – can be seen as a metaphorical Tai-Chi, with corresponding Yin and Yang aspects. Once Yin and Yang are distinguished, each one can also be seen as a whole and broken down further into its own integral Yin and Yang parts. We can see this creative process unfold all around us. The universal process of Being arising from Non-Being through the fusion of opposites, followed by the differentiation and increase of complexity from oneness to myriad forms, can be observed in the studies of modern cosmology, the evolution of species, the conception and development of individuals, and the arising of ideas. - Simmone Kuo
More quotes on Yin and Yang. I hope you have grasp the idea behind this Yin and Yang polarities in life.
Yin and Yang in themselves are of course opposites, so we use Yin and Yang to generalise opposing elements such as up and down, left and right, day and night, water and fire, male and female, inside and outside. But Yin and Yang do not exist in separated and independent forms. Yin and Yang are two faces of a whole, or, it may be said, Yin and Yang join together and combine into a whole. - JinGhan He
Yang is known to be more will-oriented, and dynamic in nature. It is eternal motion and cosmic action. Yin on the other hand is receptive, supportive and magnetic. It is eternally stabilizing and of cosmic potentiality. Both Yin and Yang possess the needed qualities for creation and evolution. In terms of natural law, no sex is above the other. Whenever one is generally overemphasized, the natural harmony is thrown out of balance. Both of these forces and their associated qualities must stay in perpetual balance. - S. K. Paul
Yin is stronger and more abundant than Yang, but Yang is more obvious and active. There is more water on earth than fire, for example, but fire phenomena such as lightning are more exciting and attract more attention. Still, ever since the term Yin/Yang first appeared in China, the word "Yin" has always preceded the word "Yang", and in Chinese this indicates a position of Yin superiority that long antedates the advent of patriarchy in Chinese society. - Daniel Reid
More explanation of Yin and Yang
Reality, the ancient Chinese concluded, is full of polarities such as day and night, bitter and sweet, winter and summer, male and female. They called this natural harmony of opposites yin and yang. That is why everything, including meals (we notice this in Chinese cooking) should be in conformity with this bipolarity, balancing sour and sweet, peppery and bland. This reality of which we are born, with its yin and yang, is a reality in which everything and everybody are made of the same material. They call this material ch'i. Ch'i is the basic reality of all that is, including the rocks, the lilies, and us! - Daniel C. Maguire
The concept of Yin-Yang is essentially simple, yet its influence on Chinese culture has been extensive. There is no aspect of Chinese civilization – including philosophy, medicine, sexology, politics, government, literature, and art – that has not been touched by this simple, powerful idea. According to Yin-Yang philosophy, all objects and events are the products of two elements, forces, or principles: Yin, which is negative, passive, weak, and destructive, and Yang, which is positive, active, strong, and constructive. It is quite possible that the two sexes, whether conceived in terms of female and male essences, the different social roles of women and men, or the structural differences between female and male sex organs, are not only the most obvious results of the workings of Yin and Yang forces, but major sources from which the ancient Chinese derived these concepts as well. - Fang Fu Ruan
Yin and Yang represent the dual polarities in life. Yin is the feminine polarity and Yang the masculine polarity. The (Yin-Yang) symbol represents the ancient Chinese understanding of how things work..
The circle that represents the whole is divided into Yin (black) and Yang (white) halves – two polar complements in harmonious balance. The two smaller circles in the centres (the eyes), shaded in the opposite colour, illustrate that within Yin there is Yang, and vice versa. Yin and Yang contain within themselves, at their very centres, the seeds of change. The curve dividing them indicates that this change is dynamic and continuous. Each half invades the other half and establishes itself in the centre of its opposite. - Simmone Kuo
The black and white dots/circles represent that nothing is absolute – that within the Yin, there is a bit of Yang, and within the Yang, there is a bit of Yin.