1 00:00:06,000 --> 00:00:08,000 You might have seen this symbol before, 2 00:00:08,000 --> 00:00:10,000 whether it's as a temporary tattoo 3 00:00:10,000 --> 00:00:12,000 or at a Chinese temple. 4 00:00:12,000 --> 00:00:14,000 It's called the yin-yang symbol. 5 00:00:14,000 --> 00:00:15,000 It comes from Taoism, 6 00:00:15,000 --> 00:00:17,000 a religion born in China 7 00:00:17,000 --> 00:00:20,000 and it has far more meaning than you probably realize. 8 00:00:20,000 --> 00:00:21,000 The yin is the dark swirl, 9 00:00:21,000 --> 00:00:23,000 and the yang is the light one, 10 00:00:23,000 --> 00:00:26,000 and each side has a dot of the opposite color, 11 00:00:26,000 --> 00:00:29,000 which gives a clue to the meaning of yin and yang. 12 00:00:29,000 --> 00:00:32,000 Everything contains the seed of its opposite. 13 00:00:32,000 --> 00:00:34,000 Darth Vadar has the seed of goodness, 14 00:00:34,000 --> 00:00:36,000 and Luke has the potential to follow 15 00:00:36,000 --> 00:00:39,000 his father to the dark side. 16 00:00:39,000 --> 00:00:40,000 Like Luke and his father, 17 00:00:40,000 --> 00:00:43,000 yin and yang are not total opposites, 18 00:00:43,000 --> 00:00:45,000 they are relative to each other. 19 00:00:45,000 --> 00:00:47,000 Taoists believe that the universe is made up 20 00:00:47,000 --> 00:00:50,000 of energies, vibrations, and matter, 21 00:00:50,000 --> 00:00:51,000 which behave differently 22 00:00:51,000 --> 00:00:53,000 in different contexts. 23 00:00:53,000 --> 00:00:54,000 Something can be yin or yang 24 00:00:54,000 --> 00:00:55,000 depending on, 25 00:00:55,000 --> 00:00:58,000 well, depending on lots of things. 26 00:00:58,000 --> 00:01:01,000 So, while wheat that's growing is yang, 27 00:01:01,000 --> 00:01:04,000 when it's being reaped, it's yin. 28 00:01:05,000 --> 00:01:08,000 A wave's crest is yang, 29 00:01:08,000 --> 00:01:10,000 and the trough is yin. 30 00:01:11,000 --> 00:01:13,000 Villages on the sunny side of a valley in China 31 00:01:13,000 --> 00:01:16,000 have names like Liuyang or Shiyang, 32 00:01:16,000 --> 00:01:18,000 but on the shady side, for example, 33 00:01:18,000 --> 00:01:19,000 of the Yangtze River Valley, 34 00:01:19,000 --> 00:01:21,000 there's Jiangyin. 35 00:01:22,000 --> 00:01:25,000 The brake is yin to the gas pedal's yang. 36 00:01:26,000 --> 00:01:28,000 An eggshell is yang, 37 00:01:28,000 --> 00:01:31,000 the egg inside is yin. 38 00:01:31,000 --> 00:01:32,000 You think you're getting it? 39 00:01:32,000 --> 00:01:33,000 Yang is harder, 40 00:01:33,000 --> 00:01:34,000 stronger, 41 00:01:34,000 --> 00:01:35,000 brighter, 42 00:01:35,000 --> 00:01:36,000 and faster, 43 00:01:36,000 --> 00:01:38,000 but one can turn into the other 44 00:01:38,000 --> 00:01:41,000 or are two sides of the same coin. 45 00:01:42,000 --> 00:01:44,000 The sunbeams are yang 46 00:01:44,000 --> 00:01:47,000 in comparison to the shadows. 47 00:01:47,000 --> 00:01:49,000 The pitch is yang, 48 00:01:49,000 --> 00:01:50,000 the catch is yin. 49 00:01:50,000 --> 00:01:52,000 The yang starts an action, 50 00:01:52,000 --> 00:01:53,000 and the yin receives it, 51 00:01:53,000 --> 00:01:54,000 completes it. 52 00:01:55,000 --> 00:01:58,000 Yin is the inside space of a cup, 53 00:01:58,000 --> 00:02:00,000 it wouldn't be a cup without it. 54 00:02:00,000 --> 00:02:02,000 Yang is the cup. 55 00:02:02,000 --> 00:02:04,000 The coffee's heat, however, is yang, 56 00:02:04,000 --> 00:02:06,000 and its blackness is yin. 57 00:02:06,000 --> 00:02:09,000 Yang goes berserk sometimes, 58 00:02:09,000 --> 00:02:12,000 but there's some very powerful yins, too, 59 00:02:12,000 --> 00:02:15,000 if they don't quite go berserk. 60 00:02:15,000 --> 00:02:17,000 Yin is the darker swirl, the female, 61 00:02:17,000 --> 00:02:19,000 but there is a white dot in it. 62 00:02:19,000 --> 00:02:21,000 And yang is the lighter, the male, 63 00:02:21,000 --> 00:02:23,000 but it has a black dot. 64 00:02:25,000 --> 00:02:28,000 Water flowing calmly in a river is yin, 65 00:02:28,000 --> 00:02:29,000 but when it goes over the waterfall, 66 00:02:29,000 --> 00:02:31,000 it's very yang. 67 00:02:31,000 --> 00:02:33,000 Toothpicks are yin 68 00:02:33,000 --> 00:02:35,000 compared with a telephone pole. 69 00:02:35,000 --> 00:02:37,000 The back of a person is more yin 70 00:02:37,000 --> 00:02:38,000 than the front. 71 00:02:38,000 --> 00:02:42,000 The top of a person is the yang end. 72 00:02:42,000 --> 00:02:46,000 Taoism teaches that there is a power in the universe. 73 00:02:46,000 --> 00:02:49,000 It's higher, deeper, and truer than any other force. 74 00:02:49,000 --> 00:02:51,000 They call it the Tao. 75 00:02:51,000 --> 00:02:53,000 It means the way. 76 00:02:53,000 --> 00:02:55,000 Like the Force in Star Wars, 77 00:02:55,000 --> 00:02:57,000 the Tao has two sides. 78 00:02:57,000 --> 00:03:00,000 Unlike other religions where the higher power is all good, 79 00:03:00,000 --> 00:03:03,000 and perhaps has an all-evil rival, 80 00:03:03,000 --> 00:03:05,000 Taoism teaches that we need to learn 81 00:03:05,000 --> 00:03:07,000 from both yin and yang. 82 00:03:07,000 --> 00:03:09,000 And unlike religions with gods that are personal, 83 00:03:09,000 --> 00:03:13,000 the higher power in Taoism is not. 84 00:03:13,000 --> 00:03:17,000 Taoists believe that living in harmony with the way, 85 00:03:17,000 --> 00:03:19,000 a person will not have to fight 86 00:03:19,000 --> 00:03:22,000 against the universe's natural flow. 87 00:03:22,000 --> 00:03:25,000 So, for example, listen more, 88 00:03:25,000 --> 00:03:27,000 argue less. 89 00:03:27,000 --> 00:03:29,000 Be ready to back up or undo something, 90 00:03:29,000 --> 00:03:32,000 and you will make even faster progress. 91 00:03:32,000 --> 00:03:34,000 Don't worry about being the best, 92 00:03:34,000 --> 00:03:36,000 be who you are. 93 00:03:36,000 --> 00:03:38,000 Live simply. 94 00:03:38,000 --> 00:03:41,000 Complications take you away from the Tao. 95 00:03:42,000 --> 00:03:45,000 "The wise person is flexible," Taoists say. 96 00:03:45,000 --> 00:03:47,000 Learning to use the Tao 97 00:03:47,000 --> 00:03:50,000 is what Taoism is all about, 98 00:03:50,000 --> 00:03:51,000 and that's why you should know 99 00:03:51,000 --> 00:03:53,000 your yin from your yang.