{"id":528,"date":"2012-04-10T21:41:13","date_gmt":"2012-04-11T02:41:13","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/toppun.com\/blog\/?p=528"},"modified":"2012-04-10T21:41:13","modified_gmt":"2012-04-11T02:41:13","slug":"yin-yang","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/toppun.com\/blog\/2012\/04\/10\/yin-yang\/","title":{"rendered":"Yin Yang"},"content":{"rendered":"

PEACE SYMBOL: Yin Yang Symbol 2–BUTTON<\/span><\/strong><\/h1>\n

\"PEACE<\/a><\/h2>\n

PEACE SYMBOL: Yin Yang Symbol 2–BUTTON<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

This cool design is linked to a button, but other great Top Pun products like T-shirts, bumper stickers, mugs, caps, key chains, magnets, posters, and sticker sheets can be accessed by scrolling down the product page.<\/span><\/p>\n

View more Peace Symbol Buttons<\/a>.<\/strong><\/p>\n

You just have to love the yin yang symbol!\u00a0 The concept of yin and yang is one of the central concepts in Eastern philosophy, a symbol of the Tao.\u00a0 The idea of complementariness and interdependence of opposites is essential to understanding life and achieving balance.\u00a0 Western civilization tends to look toward absolutes and focuses on one or the other side of opposites, that which is considered good.\u00a0 This is perhaps the foundation of Western imperialism, which presumes an absolute good and then enforces it on the rest of the world.\u00a0 Imperialism also feeds off demonizing the opposite.\u00a0 What I find fascinating about complementariness and the interdependence of opposites that seems to naturally give rise to a transcendence of apparent opposites.\u00a0 Western philosophy includes the idea of some kind of synthesis arising from dialectical conditions, though I think that Westerners tend to reduce this simply to some third absolute rather than what I think is more appropriate mystical other. I am eternally fascinated with the proposition of loving one’s enemies, and I find is perhaps the most challenging practical manifestation of the Tao.\u00a0 My favorite simple story to illustrate this is about a farmer and his skepticism about being able to determine whether something is good or bad.\u00a0 The farmer has a valuable horse which runs away, to which his neighbor comments, “that is bad.”\u00a0 The farmer declares that he is not sure whether it’s good or bad.\u00a0 The horse returned to the farm with a herd of wild horses.\u00a0 The farmer’s neighbor comments, “this is good.”\u00a0 The farmer declares that he is not sure whether it’s good or bad.\u00a0 The farmer’s son, while trying to train one of the wild horses, is thrown from the horse and breaks his leg.\u00a0 The farmer’s neighbor comments, “this is bad.”\u00a0 The farmer declares that is not sure whether it’s good or bad.\u00a0 The farmer’s nation declares war against the neighboring nation and as the gathering army passes through his province, they conscript many young men along the way; the farmer’s son is not conscripted since his leg is broken.\u00a0 The farmer’s neighbor comments, “this is good.”\u00a0\u00a0 The farmer declares that he is not sure whether it’s good or bad.\u00a0 Of course, this sequence of events can transpire forever.\u00a0 I don’t think that such a story an argument against whether good or bad exist, rather it reinforces a deeper wisdom that require some skepticism about affixing unmovable labels of good or bad on any given situation.\u00a0 What strikes me as the deeper truth is that bad situations can be redeemed and bring about good, and that there is a shadow to good situations that can degrade into bad.\u00a0 Appreciating and aligning oneself with this flow seems to be the purpose of the Tao.\u00a0 Of course the first line of the Tao Te Ching, is that the way that can be described is not the way<\/em>.\u00a0 Then, ironically, the Tao Te Ching does it’s best to try to describe the way.\u00a0 Such is the paradox inherent in reality.\u00a0 This is probably a good reason why a more abstract symbol is appropriate for reflecting the Tao than words.\u00a0 Sometimes silence is the best.\u00a0 Or, like I like to say, sometimes buttoning up says it best!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

PEACE SYMBOL: Yin Yang Symbol 2–BUTTON PEACE SYMBOL: Yin Yang Symbol 2–BUTTON This cool design is linked to a button, but other great Top Pun products like T-shirts, bumper stickers, mugs, caps, key chains, magnets, posters, and sticker sheets can … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[57,15,55],"tags":[546,326,400,91,322,104,20,92,324,359,273,13,323,477,601,131,321,320,723,325,421,203,85,389,651,319],"class_list":["post-528","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-peace","category-political-and-philosophical-musings","category-top-pun-design-commentaries","tag-argument","tag-army","tag-balance","tag-cool-design","tag-eastern-philosophy","tag-enemies","tag-events","tag-imperialism","tag-interdependence","tag-life","tag-love","tag-mystical","tag-opposites","tag-philosophy","tag-reality","tag-silence","tag-skepticism","tag-tao","tag-top-pun","tag-transcendence","tag-truth","tag-war","tag-western-civilization","tag-wisdom","tag-yin-and-yang","tag-yin-yang"],"yoast_head":"\nYin Yang | Peace, Political and Philosophical Musings, Top Pun Design Commentaries | Top Pun's Poetry, Funny Puns, Free Posters, Public Health Radio Show! %<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Yin Yang, Peace, Political and Philosophical Musings, Top Pun Design Commentaries, Argument, Army, Balance, cool design, Eastern Philosophy, Enemies, Events, Imperialism, Interdependence, Life, Love, Mystical, Opposites, Philosophy, Reality, Silence, Skepticism, Tao, Top Pun, Transcendence, Truth, War, Western Civilization, Wisdom, Yin and Yang, Yin Yang Top Pun's Poetry, Funny Puns, Free Posters, Public Health Radio Show! %\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/toppun.com\/blog\/2012\/04\/10\/yin-yang\/\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/toppun.com\\\/blog\\\/2012\\\/04\\\/10\\\/yin-yang\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/toppun.com\\\/blog\\\/2012\\\/04\\\/10\\\/yin-yang\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"\",\"@id\":\"\"},\"headline\":\"Yin Yang\",\"datePublished\":\"2012-04-11T02:41:13+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/toppun.com\\\/blog\\\/2012\\\/04\\\/10\\\/yin-yang\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":607,\"commentCount\":0,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/toppun.com\\\/blog\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/23524eae4bc27be85d1cdc01bc6d380e\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/toppun.com\\\/blog\\\/2012\\\/04\\\/10\\\/yin-yang\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"http:\\\/\\\/TopPun.com\\\/Peace-Signs\\\/Peace-Symbols\\\/Yin-Yang-Symbol-2.gif\",\"keywords\":[\"Argument\",\"Army\",\"Balance\",\"cool design\",\"Eastern Philosophy\",\"Enemies\",\"Events\",\"Imperialism\",\"Interdependence\",\"Life\",\"Love\",\"Mystical\",\"Opposites\",\"Philosophy\",\"Reality\",\"Silence\",\"Skepticism\",\"Tao\",\"Top Pun\",\"Transcendence\",\"Truth\",\"War\",\"Western Civilization\",\"Wisdom\",\"Yin and Yang\",\"Yin Yang\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Peace\",\"Political and Philosophical Musings\",\"Top Pun Design Commentaries\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/toppun.com\\\/blog\\\/2012\\\/04\\\/10\\\/yin-yang\\\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/toppun.com\\\/blog\\\/2012\\\/04\\\/10\\\/yin-yang\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/toppun.com\\\/blog\\\/2012\\\/04\\\/10\\\/yin-yang\\\/\",\"name\":\"Yin Yang | Peace, Political and Philosophical Musings, Top Pun Design Commentaries | Top Pun's Poetry, Funny Puns, Free Posters, Public Health Radio Show! %\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/toppun.com\\\/blog\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/toppun.com\\\/blog\\\/2012\\\/04\\\/10\\\/yin-yang\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/toppun.com\\\/blog\\\/2012\\\/04\\\/10\\\/yin-yang\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"http:\\\/\\\/TopPun.com\\\/Peace-Signs\\\/Peace-Symbols\\\/Yin-Yang-Symbol-2.gif\",\"datePublished\":\"2012-04-11T02:41:13+00:00\",\"description\":\"Yin Yang, Peace, Political and Philosophical Musings, Top Pun Design Commentaries, Argument, Army, Balance, cool design, Eastern Philosophy, Enemies, Events, Imperialism, Interdependence, Life, Love, Mystical, Opposites, Philosophy, Reality, Silence, Skepticism, Tao, Top Pun, Transcendence, Truth, War, Western Civilization, Wisdom, Yin and Yang, Yin Yang Top Pun's Poetry, Funny Puns, Free Posters, Public Health Radio Show! %\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/toppun.com\\\/blog\\\/2012\\\/04\\\/10\\\/yin-yang\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/toppun.com\\\/blog\\\/2012\\\/04\\\/10\\\/yin-yang\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/toppun.com\\\/blog\\\/2012\\\/04\\\/10\\\/yin-yang\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"http:\\\/\\\/TopPun.com\\\/Peace-Signs\\\/Peace-Symbols\\\/Yin-Yang-Symbol-2.gif\",\"contentUrl\":\"http:\\\/\\\/TopPun.com\\\/Peace-Signs\\\/Peace-Symbols\\\/Yin-Yang-Symbol-2.gif\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/toppun.com\\\/blog\\\/2012\\\/04\\\/10\\\/yin-yang\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Blog HOME\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/toppun.com\\\/blog\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Peace\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/toppun.com\\\/blog\\\/category\\\/peace\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":3,\"name\":\"Yin Yang\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/toppun.com\\\/blog\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/toppun.com\\\/blog\\\/\",\"name\":\"Top Pun's Poetry, Funny Political Puns, Free Posters, Public Health Radio Show!\",\"description\":\"Top Pun's Pun-filled Stuff, Satire, and Public Health Science\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/toppun.com\\\/blog\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/23524eae4bc27be85d1cdc01bc6d380e\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/toppun.com\\\/blog\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":[\"Person\",\"Organization\"],\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/toppun.com\\\/blog\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/23524eae4bc27be85d1cdc01bc6d380e\",\"name\":\"Top Pun\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/f78057fc29c98405f1474e223d51149b962df4af36cea20bf4ccbb189f621bb7?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/f78057fc29c98405f1474e223d51149b962df4af36cea20bf4ccbb189f621bb7?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/f78057fc29c98405f1474e223d51149b962df4af36cea20bf4ccbb189f621bb7?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Top Pun\"},\"logo\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/f78057fc29c98405f1474e223d51149b962df4af36cea20bf4ccbb189f621bb7?s=96&d=mm&r=g\"},\"sameAs\":[\"http:\\\/\\\/TopPun.com\\\/\"]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Yin Yang | Peace, Political and Philosophical Musings, Top Pun Design Commentaries | Top Pun's Poetry, Funny Puns, Free Posters, Public Health Radio Show! %","description":"Yin Yang, Peace, Political and Philosophical Musings, Top Pun Design Commentaries, Argument, Army, Balance, cool design, Eastern Philosophy, Enemies, Events, Imperialism, Interdependence, Life, Love, Mystical, Opposites, Philosophy, Reality, Silence, Skepticism, Tao, Top Pun, Transcendence, Truth, War, Western Civilization, Wisdom, Yin and Yang, Yin Yang Top Pun's Poetry, Funny Puns, Free Posters, Public Health Radio Show! %","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/toppun.com\/blog\/2012\/04\/10\/yin-yang\/","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/toppun.com\/blog\/2012\/04\/10\/yin-yang\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/toppun.com\/blog\/2012\/04\/10\/yin-yang\/"},"author":{"name":"","@id":""},"headline":"Yin Yang","datePublished":"2012-04-11T02:41:13+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/toppun.com\/blog\/2012\/04\/10\/yin-yang\/"},"wordCount":607,"commentCount":0,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/toppun.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/23524eae4bc27be85d1cdc01bc6d380e"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/toppun.com\/blog\/2012\/04\/10\/yin-yang\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"http:\/\/TopPun.com\/Peace-Signs\/Peace-Symbols\/Yin-Yang-Symbol-2.gif","keywords":["Argument","Army","Balance","cool design","Eastern Philosophy","Enemies","Events","Imperialism","Interdependence","Life","Love","Mystical","Opposites","Philosophy","Reality","Silence","Skepticism","Tao","Top Pun","Transcendence","Truth","War","Western Civilization","Wisdom","Yin and Yang","Yin Yang"],"articleSection":["Peace","Political and Philosophical Musings","Top Pun Design Commentaries"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/toppun.com\/blog\/2012\/04\/10\/yin-yang\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/toppun.com\/blog\/2012\/04\/10\/yin-yang\/","url":"https:\/\/toppun.com\/blog\/2012\/04\/10\/yin-yang\/","name":"Yin Yang | Peace, Political and Philosophical Musings, Top Pun Design Commentaries | Top Pun's Poetry, Funny Puns, Free Posters, Public Health Radio Show! %","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/toppun.com\/blog\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/toppun.com\/blog\/2012\/04\/10\/yin-yang\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/toppun.com\/blog\/2012\/04\/10\/yin-yang\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"http:\/\/TopPun.com\/Peace-Signs\/Peace-Symbols\/Yin-Yang-Symbol-2.gif","datePublished":"2012-04-11T02:41:13+00:00","description":"Yin Yang, Peace, Political and Philosophical Musings, Top Pun Design Commentaries, Argument, Army, Balance, cool design, Eastern Philosophy, Enemies, Events, Imperialism, Interdependence, Life, Love, Mystical, Opposites, Philosophy, Reality, Silence, Skepticism, Tao, Top Pun, Transcendence, Truth, War, Western Civilization, Wisdom, Yin and Yang, Yin Yang Top Pun's Poetry, Funny Puns, Free Posters, Public Health Radio Show! %","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/toppun.com\/blog\/2012\/04\/10\/yin-yang\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/toppun.com\/blog\/2012\/04\/10\/yin-yang\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/toppun.com\/blog\/2012\/04\/10\/yin-yang\/#primaryimage","url":"http:\/\/TopPun.com\/Peace-Signs\/Peace-Symbols\/Yin-Yang-Symbol-2.gif","contentUrl":"http:\/\/TopPun.com\/Peace-Signs\/Peace-Symbols\/Yin-Yang-Symbol-2.gif"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/toppun.com\/blog\/2012\/04\/10\/yin-yang\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Blog HOME","item":"https:\/\/toppun.com\/blog\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Peace","item":"https:\/\/toppun.com\/blog\/category\/peace\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"Yin Yang"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/toppun.com\/blog\/#website","url":"https:\/\/toppun.com\/blog\/","name":"Top Pun's Poetry, Funny Political Puns, Free Posters, Public Health Radio Show!","description":"Top Pun's Pun-filled Stuff, Satire, and Public Health Science","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/toppun.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/23524eae4bc27be85d1cdc01bc6d380e"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/toppun.com\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":["Person","Organization"],"@id":"https:\/\/toppun.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/23524eae4bc27be85d1cdc01bc6d380e","name":"Top Pun","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/f78057fc29c98405f1474e223d51149b962df4af36cea20bf4ccbb189f621bb7?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/f78057fc29c98405f1474e223d51149b962df4af36cea20bf4ccbb189f621bb7?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/f78057fc29c98405f1474e223d51149b962df4af36cea20bf4ccbb189f621bb7?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Top Pun"},"logo":{"@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/f78057fc29c98405f1474e223d51149b962df4af36cea20bf4ccbb189f621bb7?s=96&d=mm&r=g"},"sameAs":["http:\/\/TopPun.com\/"]},{"@type":"Person","@id":""}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/toppun.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/528","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/toppun.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/toppun.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/toppun.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/toppun.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=528"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/toppun.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/528\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/toppun.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=528"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/toppun.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=528"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/toppun.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=528"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}