1
00:00:06,851 --> 00:00:08,852
You might have seen this symbol before,

2
00:00:08,852 --> 00:00:10,807
whether it's as a temporary tattoo

3
00:00:10,807 --> 00:00:12,523
or at a Chinese temple.

4
00:00:12,523 --> 00:00:14,427
It's called the yin-yang symbol.

5
00:00:14,427 --> 00:00:15,895
It comes from Taoism,

6
00:00:15,895 --> 00:00:17,232
a religion born in China

7
00:00:17,232 --> 00:00:20,439
and it has far more meaning than you probably realize.

8
00:00:20,439 --> 00:00:21,818
The yin is the dark swirl,

9
00:00:21,818 --> 00:00:23,737
and the yang is the light one,

10
00:00:23,737 --> 00:00:26,825
and each side has a dot of the opposite color,

11
00:00:26,825 --> 00:00:29,441
which gives a clue to the meaning of yin and yang.

12
00:00:29,441 --> 00:00:32,427
Everything contains the seed of its opposite.

13
00:00:32,427 --> 00:00:34,689
Darth Vadar has the seed of goodness,

14
00:00:34,689 --> 00:00:36,874
and Luke has the potential to follow

15
00:00:36,874 --> 00:00:39,487
his father to the dark side.

16
00:00:39,487 --> 00:00:40,924
Like Luke and his father,

17
00:00:40,924 --> 00:00:43,805
yin and yang are not total opposites,

18
00:00:43,805 --> 00:00:45,782
they are relative to each other.

19
00:00:45,782 --> 00:00:47,827
Taoists believe that the universe is made up

20
00:00:47,827 --> 00:00:50,151
of energies, vibrations, and matter,

21
00:00:50,151 --> 00:00:51,397
which behave differently

22
00:00:51,397 --> 00:00:53,057
in different contexts.

23
00:00:53,057 --> 00:00:54,935
Something can be yin or yang

24
00:00:54,935 --> 00:00:55,813
depending on,

25
00:00:55,813 --> 00:00:58,311
well, depending on lots of things.

26
00:00:58,311 --> 00:01:01,728
So, while wheat that's growing is yang,

27
00:01:01,728 --> 00:01:04,342
when it's being reaped, it's yin.

28
00:01:05,234 --> 00:01:08,012
A wave's crest is yang,

29
00:01:08,012 --> 00:01:10,070
and the trough is yin.

30
00:01:11,069 --> 00:01:13,451
Villages on the sunny side of a valley in China

31
00:01:13,451 --> 00:01:16,322
have names like Liuyang or Shiyang,

32
00:01:16,322 --> 00:01:18,117
but on the shady side, for example,

33
00:01:18,117 --> 00:01:19,713
of the Yangtze River Valley,

34
00:01:19,713 --> 00:01:21,846
there's Jiangyin.

35
00:01:22,692 --> 00:01:25,467
The brake is yin to the gas pedal's yang.

36
00:01:26,743 --> 00:01:28,623
An eggshell is yang,

37
00:01:28,623 --> 00:01:31,282
the egg inside is yin.

38
00:01:31,282 --> 00:01:32,697
You think you're getting it?

39
00:01:32,697 --> 00:01:33,993
Yang is harder,

40
00:01:33,993 --> 00:01:34,868
stronger,

41
00:01:34,868 --> 00:01:35,449
brighter,

42
00:01:35,449 --> 00:01:36,837
and faster,

43
00:01:36,837 --> 00:01:38,991
but one can turn into the other

44
00:01:38,991 --> 00:01:41,498
or are two sides of the same coin.

45
00:01:42,436 --> 00:01:44,951
The sunbeams are yang

46
00:01:44,951 --> 00:01:47,479
in comparison to the shadows.

47
00:01:47,479 --> 00:01:49,219
The pitch is yang,

48
00:01:49,219 --> 00:01:50,922
the catch is yin.

49
00:01:50,922 --> 00:01:52,217
The yang starts an action,

50
00:01:52,217 --> 00:01:53,912
and the yin receives it,

51
00:01:53,912 --> 00:01:54,973
completes it.

52
00:01:55,803 --> 00:01:58,474
Yin is the inside space of a cup;

53
00:01:58,474 --> 00:02:00,190
it wouldn't be a cup without it.

54
00:02:00,190 --> 00:02:02,395
Yang is the cup.

55
00:02:02,395 --> 00:02:04,087
The coffee's heat, however, is yang,

56
00:02:04,087 --> 00:02:06,785
and its blackness is yin.

57
00:02:06,785 --> 00:02:09,805
Yang goes berserk sometimes,

58
00:02:09,805 --> 00:02:12,695
but there's some very powerful yins, too,

59
00:02:12,695 --> 00:02:15,553
if they don't quite go berserk.

60
00:02:15,553 --> 00:02:17,625
Yin is the darker swirl, the female,

61
00:02:17,625 --> 00:02:19,447
but there is a white dot in it.

62
00:02:19,447 --> 00:02:21,829
And yang is the lighter, the male,

63
00:02:21,829 --> 00:02:23,967
but it has a black dot.

64
00:02:25,413 --> 00:02:28,253
Water flowing calmly in a river is yin,

65
00:02:28,253 --> 00:02:29,639
but when it goes over the waterfall,

66
00:02:29,639 --> 00:02:31,674
it's very yang.

67
00:02:31,674 --> 00:02:33,210
Toothpicks are yin

68
00:02:33,210 --> 00:02:35,587
compared with a telephone pole.

69
00:02:35,587 --> 00:02:37,474
The back of a person is more yang

70
00:02:37,474 --> 00:02:38,987
than the front.

71
00:02:38,987 --> 00:02:42,644
The top of a person is the yang end.

72
00:02:42,644 --> 00:02:46,184
Taoism teaches that there is a power in the universe.

73
00:02:46,184 --> 00:02:49,715
It's higher, deeper, and truer than any other force.

74
00:02:49,715 --> 00:02:51,796
They call it the Tao.

75
00:02:51,796 --> 00:02:53,246
It means the way.

76
00:02:53,999 --> 00:02:55,708
Like the Force in Star Wars,

77
00:02:55,708 --> 00:02:57,307
the Tao has two sides.

78
00:02:57,307 --> 00:03:00,199
Unlike other religions where the higher power is all good,

79
00:03:00,199 --> 00:03:03,204
and perhaps has an all-evil rival,

80
00:03:03,204 --> 00:03:05,438
Taoism teaches that we need to learn

81
00:03:05,438 --> 00:03:07,495
from both yin and yang.

82
00:03:07,495 --> 00:03:09,843
And unlike religions with gods that are personal,

83
00:03:09,843 --> 00:03:13,009
the higher power in Taoism is not.

84
00:03:13,993 --> 00:03:17,616
Taoists believe that living in harmony with the way,

85
00:03:17,616 --> 00:03:19,190
a person will not have to fight

86
00:03:19,190 --> 00:03:22,606
against the universe's natural flow.

87
00:03:22,606 --> 00:03:25,354
So, for example, listen more,

88
00:03:25,354 --> 00:03:27,329
argue less.

89
00:03:27,329 --> 00:03:29,731
Be ready to back up or undo something,

90
00:03:29,731 --> 00:03:32,711
and you will make even faster progress.

91
00:03:32,711 --> 00:03:34,845
Don't worry about being the best,

92
00:03:34,845 --> 00:03:36,892
be who you are.

93
00:03:36,892 --> 00:03:38,313
Live simply.

94
00:03:38,313 --> 00:03:41,253
Complications take you away from the Tao.

95
00:03:42,191 --> 00:03:45,866
"The wise person is flexible," Taoists say.

96
00:03:45,866 --> 00:03:47,543
Learning to use the Tao

97
00:03:47,543 --> 00:03:50,132
is what Taoism is all about,

98
00:03:50,132 --> 00:03:51,253
and that's why you should know

99
00:03:51,253 --> 00:03:53,630
your yin from your yang.