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September 16, 2006 at 4:43 pm #18116Alexander AlexisParticipant
Aloha,
I have decided to post the second half of Lonny Jarrett’s chapter “The Ontogeny Of Life” from his book “Nourishing Destiny.” His explanations of the development of the psyche according to daoism and Chinese medicine parallel psychology’s take on early trauma that shapes the character and destiny of the individual. -AA
Stage IV The Young Adult: Yin and Yang Divide
“Those who discriminate, fail to see.”
-ZhuangziThe fetus, infant, and child-the first three stages in the seven-stage ontogeny of the human-all retain, to some degree, the spontaneous self-expression of the dao as unity. The child, however, by gaining a name and an intellect, has set the stage for the loss of original nature. At the following stage, the young adult begins to attribute meaning to life in a way that inhibits the inborn spontaneity inherent in the infant or child. Liu [Yiming] states,
“Man gradually grows from childhood…..yin and yang divide each dwelling on one side, in the center of truth there is artificiality; here knowledge and experience gradually develop, and good and bad are discriminated.”
Knowledge and experience in the world develop as the adult spends life pursuing worldly accomplishments. Having lost primal unity with dao, the adult becomes another one of the ten thousand things.
It is knowledge of the self as being separate from the unity of the dao that the Dao De Jing considers to be the source of illness:
From knowing to not knowing,
This is superior.
From not knowing to knowing,
This is sickness.-Dao De Jing
So the dynamic process of separation from one’s true nature, as one grows from young adulthood into adulthood, begins with the separation of yin and yang that occurs with the gain of self-consciousness. This is the initial crack in the functional balance of our constitutional endowment which serves as the foundation for all healthy growth and development in life. Losing touch with the true nature imparted by heaven, we react to life by creating a false self built out of belief and colored by our interpretations of life. The spontaneity imparted by a properly functioning mingmen slowly dwindles as its fires are extinguished by the accretions of experience in later heaven. With the fire of mingmen dampened, our primal endowment of yin and yang continues to separate. Early and later heaven cease to interact spontaneously as inner nature is forgotten.
Eventually, we reject the opportunities and circumstances sent by heaven in its attempt to cultivate the seed it has sown deep within. Simultaneously, the jing and shen separate, the will (zhi) depletes the jing as our mind struggles to reject heaven’s will, both internally and externally, and to assert its own will on the world through force. As the mind depletes the jing, the kidneys function grows correspondingly weaker. The very source of life is now expended in our striving for worldly accomplishment. Here, the “gate of birth” closes and the “door of death” opens, with a corresponding separation between metal and water on the sheng cycle. The failure to make this most vital translation corresponds to failure in all spheres of human function. This condition know as the “husband/wife” imbalance is presented in Chapter 7 in relationship to the separation of yin and yang as discerned through Chinese pulse diagnosis.
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Stage V: The Separation Of The Five Elements
As yin and yang separate, the functional dynamics of one’s constitution become apparent. Liu [Yiming] explains,
“When yin and yang divide, the five elements become disordered (luan). The five elements, metal, wood, water, fire, and earth, represent the five qi. The five elements of early heaven create each other following the sheng cycle. These five elements fuse to form a unified qi. From them issue forth the five virtues (de) of benevolence, righteousness, propriety, wisdom and integrity. [The five elements] of later heaven overcome [ke] one another following the [ke] cycle. This manifests as the five rebels of joy, anger, grief, happiness and desire.
When the five elements are united, the five virtues are present and yin and yang form a chaotic unity. Once the five elements divide, the distinguishing spirit (shishen) gradually arises. and the encrustation of the senses gradually takes place; truth flees and the false becomes established. Now, even the state of the child is lost.”Liu goes on to say that the five organs (zang) serve as inns for the conditioned elements of later heaven, but are not gardeners of virtue in which the five elements of early heaven reside. This can be interpreted to mean that the negative effects of acquired experience accrue in the different internal organs, conditioning the five elements and eventually harming their function. In contrast, the primordial five elements empower all aspects of the “being” to flourish.
Eventually a major event occurs in each young life that knocks the child’s elemental balance off in such a way that harmonious functioning is not easily returned to. At that instant, the primordial yin and yang divide and the five elements, formerly infused one with the other, become aberrant. The child or young adult becomes “stuck” in one of the five movements of the dao as a predominant form of self-expression, the integrity of the sheng cycle is lost and the elements “overcontrol” one another in a dysfunctional relationship, following the ke cycle.
As this major event occurs, the qualitative experience of the element associated with constitutional type surges through the child and becomes strongly apparent in every aspect of being. This is the moment that one’s constitutional type becomes explicit. The quantitative feeling of this element’s expression in all domains of being, including its correlated emotion, is instantly paired in the child’s mind with the interpretation of the event that is simultaneously occurring. No longer able to react spontaneously to all situations “sent by heaven,” this event is interpreted as suggesting a fundamental truth about the child’s own nature and the nature of life itself. The child learns that it is painful and not safe to express, or be in the presence of, a given quality of feeling and its related emotional state.
For example, qualities of feeling associated with the wood element could include tight shoulders, burning in the epigastrum, resentment, anger, and thwarted creativity. These physical, emotional and spiritual states all merge and become paired with the pain felt at the moment of trauma. In the future, the child will react habitually whenever the expression of wood element in experienced in self, other, or nature. Now the child begins closing doors to full self-expression as natural spontaneity dwindles.
Liu specifies a distinct relationship between the presence of the five Confucian virtues (benevolence, righteousness, propriety, wisdom, and integrity) when the five elements are balanced, and the inappropriate presence of emotion after the five elements have divided. To restore original nature in each constitutional type, a life transformation must occur that moves the individual from the inappropriate expression of a given emotion to the embodiment of its associated virtue.
I’ll post Stages Vi and Vii, and his summary soon… AA
September 16, 2006 at 9:49 pm #18117DogParticipant“From knowing to not knowing,
This is superior.
From not knowing to knowing,
This is sickness.Could it be said this way.
From thinking you know to knowing,
this is healthy.
From knowing to think you know,
this is sickness.September 18, 2006 at 4:23 am #18119Alexander AlexisParticipant“From knowing to not knowing,
This is superior.
From not knowing to knowing,
This is sickness.”Could it be said this way.
From thinking you know to knowing,
this is healthy.
From knowing to think you know,
this is sickness.-Hi Dog,
What is implied here is that not knowing who we are, meaning not identified with externals but with the original self and the source, is healthy. And that we create an illness of being when we move into knowing/thinking rather than being unseparated in our minds from the dao. The implication is that thinking and “knowing who we are” is what happens when we forget our basic connection by entering this later heaven and creating a personna. “Not knowing” is here considered to be the same as having no separation. -A
September 19, 2006 at 12:14 am #18121DogParticipantDo you mean get out of dualistic thought, and just experience. Because Knowing is often in line with connection with the tao. Thinking you know is often in line with fear and separation. Just because you know does not mean you know how you know. Is he making the statement that you do not know your self, you just exsperience your self, and that you can only think you know our self. For me sickness is the result of years of letting nature take its course. Not making an effort to communicate with, balance, and harmonize your being. Healing in my own life has been a result of listening, being open, and accepting. Truth, acceptance, and forgivness.
September 19, 2006 at 2:28 am #18123Alexander AlexisParticipantHe is using the term “knowing” to mean the opposite of how we normally use it. We may say that to know the self brings health and harmony and that would be true. But his use of the term is tricky. He is saying that “to know” is to define, to make definition and thus separation between “you” and “source.” The dao that can be told is not the real dao. He is thus saying that being one with the dao means no knowing of a separate self therefore health.
This is very difficult to explain. Maybe you can use it as a koan. -ASeptember 19, 2006 at 11:43 am #18125DogParticipant“Is he making the statement that you do not know your self, you just exsperience your self, and that you can only think you know our self?”
From my last post.
I think you did a good job explaining. I am familiar with this concept.
Life is like bath water you do not seperate the cold from the hot or the soap from the water, you just sit back and enjoy.“He is thus saying that being one with the dao means no knowing of a separate self therefore health.”
I just hope he honnors the process it took to get there. I have meeet alot of people that think that revolation is the only step. You do not realy know the path until you have walked it.
September 19, 2006 at 5:00 pm #18127Alexander AlexisParticipant“From knowing to not knowing,
This is superior.
From not knowing to knowing,
This is sickness.”“Is he making the statement that you do not know your self, you just exsperience your self, and that you can only think you know our self?”
In not knowing you, you are truly one with.
“I think you did a good job explaining. I am familiar with this concept.
Life is like bath water you do not seperate the cold from the hot or the soap from the water, you just sit back and enjoy.”You’re understanding of yourself is that it is not separte from the bath water therefore you do not knnow yourself (as separate).
“I just hope he honnors the process it took to get there. I have meeet alot of people that think that revolation is the only step. You do not realy know the path until you have walked it.”
The one we are talking about is Laozi from who the quote above came. If he is who we think he is, he’s walked it.
-AA
September 19, 2006 at 9:42 pm #18129matblackParticipantLoaZi walked it, but I think what dog meant is that the there may be a trap for some people in thinking that they have already arrived without walking a single step.
This is why to me, it’s important to be honest with ourseleves about where we are right now.
So that having experienced ourselves and life and all it involves, we can go from ‘thinking we know (ignorance, egoic delusion) to not knowing (not fooling ourseleves with ignorance)’#########Life is like bath water you do not seperate the cold from the hot or the soap from the water, you just sit back and enjoy.”
You’re understanding of yourself is that it is not separte from the bath water therefore you do not knnow yourself (as separate). #######
the cold water is just as important as the hot, as are the bubbles.
Likewise, all the components of ourselves are to be embraced, harmonised and integrated. Then, we’ll become a great bath for ourselves and for everyone.
that’s my take on it.
thanks for an interesting discussion fellas.
September 19, 2006 at 11:30 pm #18131DogParticipantJust saying it can be proceived as an quick on of switch instead of a process that takes patience. Especially since it can be taken as a mental exercise. I agree with what he said just not so much the translation. Thats why I had you explain it.
Here is a link to some one that is a testament to the healing process.September 20, 2006 at 12:31 am #18133Alexander AlexisParticipantMat- “This is why to me, it’s important to be honest with ourseleves about where we are right now. So that having experienced ourselves and life and all it involves, we can go from ‘thinking we know (ignorance, egoic delusion) to not knowing (not fooling ourseleves with ignorance)'”
“To know that you do not know is the best. To pretend to know when you do not know is a disease.” -Laozi
Dog-“I agree with what he said just not so much the translation.”
If you read Lonny’s book it fits in with the overall flow very well. Taken out of this context, it looks different. -A
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