Eight Cosmic Dialectical Laws · Internal Reference¶
This version preserves the complete source texts for deep study within the Lifecosmos system.
I. Foundation and Overview¶
Taiji thinking reveals that everything in the cosmos embodies the symmetrical, dialectical unity of yin and yang. The two opposing aspects coexist within a single unity; each is the condition for the other's existence. When one side vanishes, the other also vanishes. Within any given range, as one grows the other diminishes; they interpenetrate at the extremes, and all things reverse when they reach their limit.
"Know the masculine, keep to the feminine." "By yielding, you come first; by setting yourself aside, you endure." "The living are the root of the dead; the dead are the root of the living." "Yin and yang are mutually rooted." "At exhaustion comes reversal; at the end comes a new beginning." "By bending, remain whole; by yielding, become straight; by emptying, become full; by wearing out, become new."
The cosmos contains Eight Dialectical Laws: emptiness is form, form is emptiness; exhaustion brings reversal, ending brings a new beginning; the minute becomes vast, the fine becomes great; life and death are mutually rooted, yin ascends as yang recedes; nothingness becomes existence, existence becomes nothingness; when mind ceases, nature shines; when mind arises, nature hides; movement and stillness complement each other, brightness and shadow depend on each other; positive and negative mirror each other, proportion governs all.
(Chanyuan Corpus · Chuandao Chapter · Eight Cosmic Dialectical Laws)
II. The Eight Laws¶
Emptiness Is Form; Form Is Emptiness¶
The three elements composing the cosmos — consciousness, structure, and energy — all exist as antimatter. Any single element in isolation is "emptiness": invisible, inaudible, without front or back. But when all three unite, they become "form" — dazzling, endlessly changing, manifesting in myriad appearances. Thus form arises from emptiness, and emptiness is form; when emptiness takes on quality, form appears, and form is emptiness.
Seek to dwell in emptiness and you land in form; seek form and you find emptiness. Seek form and form vanishes; seek emptiness and emptiness vanishes. Seek form and you get emptiness; seek emptiness and you get form.
Exhaustion Brings Reversal; Ending Brings a New Beginning¶
"The two poles interpenetrate; all things reverse at their extreme." Once the peak is reached, the valley calls. Joy at its peak turns to sorrow; sorrow at its depth gives birth to joy. Yang at its extreme becomes yin; yin at its extreme opens into yang. Hardness pushed to the limit becomes softness; softness to the limit becomes hardness. The flourishing must decline; the declined must flourish again. Things grow strong and then age; age at its extreme generates the new. The infinitely large ends in the infinitely small; the infinitely small ends in the infinitely large.
Haste defeats itself. "The bright path seems dark; the path of advance seems to retreat." Seek happiness by avoiding extremes; desire new life by pressing to the ultimate.
The Minute Becomes Vast; The Fine Becomes Great¶
Matter is made of molecules; molecules of atoms. "The tallest tree grows from a seed." "The highest tower rises from a single brick." See the vast in the minute; see the great in the fine. "The greatest affairs in the world must begin from the small; the most difficult from the easy." Concentrate greatness in minuteness; concentrate vastness in fineness. Sand gathers into pagodas; drops collect into rivers; day by day progress comes; tree by tree a forest grows.
"A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step." The future is built in the present.
Life and Death Are Mutually Rooted; Yin Rises as Yang Recedes¶
The living are the root of the dead; the dead are the root of the living. Without life there is no death; without death there is no life. Transformation cycles ceaselessly; life and death accompany each other. Yang rises as yin recedes; yin rises as yang recedes. Each day we die and are reborn. The human mind dies; the celestial mind is born. The old must go before the new arrives; selfish desires must dissolve before supreme bliss can arise.
To learn to live, learn to die. Skilled at dying, skilled at living. Seek life and you meet death; seek death and you encounter life.
Nothingness Becomes Existence; Existence Becomes Nothingness¶
Something arises from nothing; nothing arises from something. The more nothing, the more something; the more something, the more nothing. With nothing at all you can possess everything; possessing everything you are left with nothing. The more you own, the emptier you feel; the more void you are, the more real you become. Enter the realm of luminous emptiness — and myriad colors flourish. Enter the realm of wealth, power, and desire — and you are enslaved by suffering. Nothingness and existence co-arise and co-complete each other.
"The solid makes useful; the empty makes functional." To have, work on nothingness.
When Mind Ceases, Nature Shines; When Mind Arises, Nature Hides¶
The nature here is the tathagata-nature — the Buddha-nature. Sentient beings find it difficult to attain buddhahood because they have "mind." Were there no mind, there would be Buddha. Mind ceasing, nature shines; mind arising, nature hides — this is dialectical: as one advances, the other retreats. The ten thousand phenomena generate the mind, and when mind arises, afflictions arise. Therefore: "Give rise to a mind that abides nowhere." "Do not give rise to mind attached to form, sound, smell, taste, touch, or phenomena. Give rise to a mind that abides nowhere."
"A single leaf can block the view of Mount Tai." One attached mind blocks the nature. Illuminate the mind, see the nature — dissolve the mind, reveal the nature.
Movement and Stillness Complement Each Other; Brightness and Shadow Depend on Each Other¶
Stillness is the source of movement; without stillness, movement cannot arise. Movement is the root of stillness; without movement, true stillness cannot be achieved. True stillness emerges from movement; great movement springs from great stillness; great stillness comes from great movement. Brightness is born from shadow; shadow comes from brightness. Heaven and hell — one bright, one shadowed. Favorable and adverse circumstances — brightness and shadow creating each other. "Disaster follows fortune; fortune hides within disaster." Know the brightness, keep to the shadow — shadow at its extreme generates brightness.
All things arise from stillness and complete themselves in movement. Non-doing, yet nothing is left undone. Do not resent the shadow; when the negative reaches its limit, brightness comes.
Positive and Negative Mirror Each Other; Proportion Governs All¶
"The tree that stands out in the forest will be felled by the wind." "As fame rises, envy follows; as favor reaches its peak, slander begins." The 36-dimensional space is arranged in symmetry. Action and reaction are equal and opposite. All things generate and restrain each other; one thing masters another. Where there is positive there is negative; where there is Heaven there is Hell. All things develop in proportion; when proportion breaks down, chaos and early death follow.
Flow with nature; harbor no excessive desires. Accept that there are both positives and negatives; do not demand perfection. Rivers reach the sea — take only a single ladle.
(Chanyuan Corpus · Chuandao Chapter · Eight Cosmic Dialectical Laws, 2010-4-13)
III. Summary Principle¶
The Eight Cosmic Dialectical Laws: I. Emptiness is form, form is emptiness; II. Exhaustion brings reversal, ending brings a new beginning; III. The minute becomes vast, the fine becomes great; IV. Life and death are mutually rooted, yin rises as yang recedes; V. Nothingness becomes existence, existence becomes nothingness; VI. When mind ceases, nature shines; when mind arises, nature hides; VII. Movement and stillness complement each other, brightness and shadow depend on each other; VIII. Positive and negative mirror each other, proportion governs all.
(New Era Human 800 Concepts, Fourth Edition · Concept 439)