Balancing yin and yang (Taoism)

Basic to the taoist approach to human development is the process of balancing yin and yang or earth and heaven. Here heaven may be interpreted as a world-transcending higher consciousness, beyond the levels of ordinary thought and emotion, whereas earth may be understood as the everyday mundane experience of an individual in the world. The challenge for human development, to achieve the complete or "real" human being, is to balance appropriately the combination of these two levels of experience. In practice this means maintaining contact with the higher form of consciousness whilst living effectively in the earthly domain. Celestial consciousness thus guides earthly consciousness. Given the predominant influence of mundane awareness, much of the practice of Taoism is concerned with "repelling yin" and "fostering yang". This often involves practices of standing aloof from mundane awareness in order to increase awareness of the celestial or primordial mind. Emptiness and stillness are cultivated by quieting the mental activity (of the "wandering mind" or "human mind") which sustains acquired world views and habitual involvement therein. The object of such practice is not stillness itself but rather, through stillness, to become conscious of the underlying awareness ("the shining mind" or "mind of Tao") which is normally obscured by habitual entanglements. The purpose is not to suppress mundane conditioning but rather to enlighten it from the complementary celestial perspective. By so doing the individual acquires autonomy from particular conditions which can then be responded to according to the needs of the moment. The individual then transcends yin and yang, reaching an undefinable state of awareness in which he "does nothing, yet does anything", participating in mundane activities or withdrawing from them as necessary means to an ultimate balance and completeness. The correct balance of yin and yang may also be considered as a balance of flexibility and firmness (or movement and stillness) in action, whether in the social or the spiritual life. The challenge in practice is then one of discerning the exact quality of experience to determine the degree to which it is governed by the human mind or by the primordial mind of Tao transcending dualistic distinctions.

The many stages and conditions of balancing yin and yang are symbolized by the 64 hexagrams of the I Ching.