Dao gives birth to one
Dao gives birth to one
One gives birth to two,
Two gives birth to three,
Three gives birth to the ten thousand things.
In ancient Chinese classic texts there are verses, or sayings, that seem at first mysterious. They serve to help us remember certain concepts that can be useful in understanding our therapeutic goals, and our place in the world. The text above is one of these classic verses that seems at first reading rather vague and empty. Yet, this text encompasses many concepts that clarify ancient Chinese thought and Medicine.
This text comes from the classic text Dao De Jing. It is a verse concerned with how being emerges from non-being. It describes our journey from birth to death in the basic numerical sequence of the creation of the material universe.
Numerical, meaning a qualitative use of numbers, and not the quantitative number like one, two, three.
We progress from wuwei non-being to wei being as we are born from the universe onto this planet. Ulitmately we also return to wuwei non-being as we die and dissolve.
Wei being
為
Wuwei non-being
無為
Dao gives birth to one
One gives birth to two,
Two gives birth to three,
Three gives birth to the ten thousand things.
The above text numerates four stages of coming into being. It begins with the unity of non-being to being the ten thousand things.
Ten thousand things is a symbolic way of saying that there are an infinite number of things in our world.
The first three stages of evolution describe the paradise condition and corresponds to our connection to the eternal Dao. At this stage the Dao is comparable to a cosmic womb, and being has not yet emerged. The Dao is the way that the universe manifests and grows. Its nature is essentially unknowable.
Early and Later Heaven
The first three stages of evolution are referred to as Early Heaven xiantian.
Dao gives birth to one
One gives birth to two,
Two gives birth to three,
The last stage of evolution is referred to as Later Heaven houtian.
Three gives birth to the ten thousand things.
Early and Later Heaven have different names in English in the long history of ancient Chinese philosophy. It is often called Pre-Heaven and Post-Heaven, or Pre-natal and Post-natal. You get the idea.
Early Heaven
Early Heaven corresponds with our primordial endowment of Jing Essence, Qi, and Shen Spirit. Jing, Qi and Shen are granted to us at conception. They are the physical foundation of humans and their individual purpose. It is comparable to a seed from Heaven that guides us through life.
Later Heaven
Later Heaven corresponds with the birth of material things from the womb of the Dao. The influence of Later Heaven corresponds with the acquired Qi energy from food, air, and positive interpretation of experiences.
The verse describes the stages of human development, with early Heaven corresponding with the period of time from conception to the first breath, and Later Heaven corresponding with the first breath to death. Both Early and Later Heaven are the path of human life.
Dao gives birth to one
The line, “Dao gives birth to one” is describing the nature of the Dao as one. Not one as a number, but as the starting point. It is referring to the nature of Dao, which is unity and non-thingness. The way the universe manifests is called Dao, and its nature is unknowable. The Dao is comparable to a pearl in the midst of a boundless universe. It is pure potential, neither positive nor negative.
Various traditions, such as Zen, have sought to point towards the nature of the Dao. The path of Zen is described as a journey of awakening, guiding individuals toward an experiential understanding of the Dao. By pointing to its nature, Zen encourages spontaneous realisation, where one intuitively feels the presence of the Dao and, in that moment, attains understanding.
It is important to recognise that "Dao" is not a proper name for the ultimate principle of the universe. Rather, Dao refers to the way in which the universe grows and changes. The intelligence underlying the Dao eludes human comprehension, and any attempt to define or name it imposes limitations on its infinite nature. The act of naming something gives it a fixed definition and destiny, which restricts the boundlessness inherent in the Dao. Thus, by trying to grasp or define the Dao, we inevitably miss its essence. Words and rational thinking are insufficient; only through feeling can we acknowledge the presence of the Dao.
Experiencing the Dao brings a sense of connection and wholeness - a realisation that we are the universe experiencing itself in a playful dance of hide and seek. The Dao encompasses and unites all opposites, representing the complete totality in which all things exist in a formless state of potential, known in Chinese as "ling." Despite its chaotic nature, the Dao is also complete and whole, integrating all possibilities within itself.
One gives birth to two
The Dao gives birth to the two, Heaven and Earth. Heaven representing the active pole, and Earth the dormant pole.
This describes the birth of Yang and Yin qualities in the universe. Heaven being Yang and Earth being Yin.
The Huan Nan Zi writes of the One.
The Dao begins at One. The One itself does not create. The One divides and then becomes Yin and Yang. Yin and Yang unite harmoniously, subsequently everything is created.
Huai Nan Zi says this about the Dao; Dao originated from emptiness and emptiness produced the Dao, that which was clear and light drifted up to become Heaven, and that which was heavy and turbid solidified to form Earth.
Dao originated from emptiness in the Great void and contains a Yang and Yin aspect. The lighter forms of Qi drift upwards to become Heaven, and the heavier forms of Qi gather to from Earth.
Zhang Zai says this about the Great void; The great void consists of qi. Qi condenses to become the myriad things. Things of necessity disintegrate and return to the great void. If Qi condenses, its visibility becomes effective and physical form appears.
Two gives birth to three
Heaven and Earth in the Early Heaven are blended by the Chong qi. Heaven and Earth are the two, and Chong qi is the three. Chong qi is described by Wang An Shi as “The Dao is chong/chaos and the chong qi is the original dynamism of the universe”.
The qualities of Heaven and Earth are combined and held together by a force called Chong qi that is present in the Early Heaven.
Chong qi is considered the quality that lies at the center of all things, which like a whirlpool harmonizes extremes into unity.
Three gives birth to the ten thousand things.
This is the level where all things manifest in the universe. I compare it to the big bang explosion. First Heaven and Earth interact and produce the directions, the eight trigrams, the sixty four hexagrams, the five elements, and the six climatic influences.
These are the variations of how the Dao manifests.
Directions
Heaven is the utmost Yang and is therefore placed in the South, and Earth placed in the North. This is based on the fact that the sun rises in the East, The East is the place where out of Yin the Yang grows. The West is where the Yang declines.
This also why Yang is associated with the Left. The sage when facing the South has the rising Yang on his left. And the sage, the wise man, faces the South because the Yang energy is what transforms us, and activates us.
Eight Trigrams
Heaven and Earth give birth to six children, and together they are called the eight trigrams. They represent all natural phenomena in the world. They are Heaven, Earth, Fire, Water, Lake, Mountain, Wind, and Thunder.
Sixty four Hexagrams
Heaven and Earth produce the sixty four hexagrams. They represent the complete range of transformations and situations possible in the universe. They map the cyclical and dynamic nature of reality, and how things rise, reach fullness, decline, and return.
The Five Agents of Transformations
The movement of the Dao is the cosmological basis of the Five Agents of Transformation. This is also known as the Five Elements. I like the Five Agents better because this relays the impression of movement. Water represents the source of potential, Fire the transformation and moving away from Water, Wood represents the blending of Water and Fire, and Metal the return to the source, while Earth is the axis around which they revolve. Earth is comparable to the chong qi that blends the Heavenly Yang and Earth Yin together in the Early Heaven.
Six Climatic Influences
Heaven and Earth produce the Six Climatic Influences of Cold, Dryness, Fire, Dampness, Heat, and Wind. These six correspond with the three Yang and three Yin, also called conformations or divisions.
Tai yang corresponds with cold
Yang ming corresponds with dryness
Shao yang corresponds with Fire
Tai yin corresponds with dampness
Shao yin corresponds with heat
Jue yin corresponds with wind
Conclusion
Dao gives birth to one
Dao is one as unity.
One gives birth to two
The two are the Yang and Yin Qi that we know as the dynamic forces in the universe.
Two gives birth to three
The third is the axis around which the Yang and Yin forces are blended.
Three gives birth to the ten thousand things
Out of the blended forces of the universe things and beings emerges spontaneously and with different mixtures of Yang and Yin forces. We call these Qi. Qi gathers together and gives rise to form.
Everything in the universe has a Yang and Yin aspect, yet the proportions of Yang and Yin differ greatly.
