First, by way of full disclosure, the title of this essay has been shamelessly (and even joyfully) lifted from the unbelievably fascinating autobiography of Sandra (at the ancient pond / a hippo leaps into / the sound of water) Boynton. To make amends, straightaway, with her nonexistent retinue of attorneys, here’s the passage in full:
EVEN MORE INFORMATION OF AN INFORMATIVE NATURE
I work happily amidst glorious vintage clutter in a converted barn, which sports perhaps the only hippo weathervane in New England.
I choose the projects I do and products I design somewhat at whim, and only if there’s a company that looks interesting to work with. I only “license” what I can develop and design myself, rather than letting companies adapt my characters according to their own sense and sensibility. I have no agent, no business manager, no contracts attorney. This is a rather haphazard way to do things, but it’s more fun than an actual plan. Since I’m not sufficiently committed to Optimizing Market Potential, I seem to be a bewilderment and, one hopes, a minor annoyance to many.
Dare I conjecture that what we have here -- in the irreverently boisterous form of Ms. Boynton -- is an emanation of Zhuangzi himself? But on to more serious matters ….
What follows is a reworking of one of the very first articles that I created for this website, on the “basic concepts” of Taoism. Consider these terms as being something like the various pieces (king, queen, knight, bishop, rook and pawn) on a chess board. They’re what facilitates communication among those of us choosing to play the game of Taoist practice – by providing a common (and collectively agreed-upon) frame of reference. As such, they’re good to know.
Further Explorations:
* Laozi & Ludwig, Playing Chess: Taoist Practice & Wittgenstein's Philosophy
What Are Yin & Yang?
Yin and Yang are the primordial feminine and masculine energies, symbolic of all conceptual polarities – all dualistic categories of mind, e.g. subject/object -- which produce our experience of self and world. The categories of Yin and Yang are inter-related and mutually-arising: you can’t have one without the other!
The classic example of Yang is the sunny side of a mountain; and Yin, the shady side. Within every human body – men and women alike – there exists both Yin and Yang energy.
You could think of the dance of yin and yang as being something like a Bach Two-Part Invention: the two instruments are separate, yet at the same time -- in the context of the composition -- depend intimately upon one another.
Further Explorations:
* The Yin-Yang Symbol
* Gender & The Tao
What Is Tao?
Tao (also spelled "Dao") is Taoism’s ultimate principle – the Source of all existence. It is, for Taoism, what Buddha-Nature is for Buddhism; what Allah is for Islam; what God is for Christianity; what Brahman is for Hinduism; what Pure Awareness is for Advaita Vedanta. To knowlingly abide in and as the Tao is to become what in Taoism is known as an Immortal: one who has reached the summit of Taoist practice.
Further Explorations:
* Introduction to Taoist Cosmology
* Tao: The Pathless Way
* Immortality in Taoist Practice
What Are Daojia & Daojiao?
The terms Daojia and Daojiao refer, respectively, to the more philosophical and more religious aspects of Taoism. Daojia includes the mystical insights and philosophical reflections of the Taoist sages as recorded in Taoist scriptures. Daojiao includes the institutionalized religious activities of Taoist Temples, including rituals and ceremonies performed by ordained Taoist Priests. The ways that Daojia and Daojiao are inter-related have produced the many faces of Taoist practice.
Further Explorations:
* Introduction to Taoism
* The Many Faces of Taoist Practice
What Is Qi?
Qi (also spelled “Chi”) is the name given, in Taoist practice, to the subtle energetic force that animates all of existence. It is also what flows through the meridians used in Chinese Medicine and qigong practice. Taoist practitioners have identified many different kinds of qi, each with a specific function within the human bodymind, or within the cosmos. What Taoists refer to as qi is, in Hindu traditions, called prana or shakti. In Christianity it is called the Holy Spirit; and in Africa it is known as ashe.
Further Explorations:
* Qi: The Vibratory Nature Of Reality
* The Meridian System: Channels of Awareness
* How Does Qigong Work?
What Are The Five Elements?
The Taoist Five Elements – also known as the five phases, five transformations, or five agents of change - are metal, water, wood, fire and earth. The five elements represent five elemental energies, or patterns of movement, which both support and control one another. Each element has correspondences with a specific season, direction, color, taste, internal organ, spirit, sense organ, sound … and many more!
Further Explorations:
* The Five-Element Chart
* Introduction to the Five Element System
What Are The Ten-Thousand Things?
The phrase “the ten-thousand things” is Taoism’s way of saying “everything that exists” or “all manifest phenomena.” The ten thousand things are expressions of the various ways that the five elements can combine to produce humans and beetles and mountains and supernovas and dolphins and orchids and oak trees and hummingbirds and lichen and hot-springs and crystals and … you get the idea!
Further Explorations:
* Multiplicity & Modulation: Transformations of the Ten-Thousand Things
* Tao, the Ten-Thousand Things & Dongshan's Five Ranks
* Berkeley & Laozi: A Conversation Around Tao and the Ten-Thousand Things
What Is Baibai?
Baibai is the practice – in ceremonial Taoism – of offering incense to an altar. The offering of incense represents the separation of pure from impure; and the internal alchemical “burning” which results in the refinement and purification of internal energies. As the practitioner offers the incense, s/he is aware that the ashes that fall represent impure air that sinks; and the smoke, pure air that rises. The practice of baibai also symbolizes the human body as being the meeting-place of Heaven and Earth: as the smoke rises, and the ashes fall, the practitioner makes a connection to both earth and sky.
Further Explorations:
* The Taoist Altar
* Baibai: Offering Incense to the Altar
What Is Inner Alchemy?
Inner Alchemy (neidan) – a term often used synonymously with Qigong - is the Taoist art and science of gathering, storing and circulating the energies of the human body. In Inner Alchemy, the human body becomes a laboratory in which the Three Treaures of Jing, Qi, and Shen are cultivated, for the purpose of improving physical, emotional and mental health; and, ultimately, merging with the Tao, i.e. becoming an Immortal. Internal Alchemy understands the human body to be a precious and necessary resource for our spiritual journey, rather than as something to be ignored or “transcended.”
Further Explorations:
* Physical, Mental & Emotional Benefits of Qigong
* Taoist Inner Alchemy: An Overview
* Two Kinds of Alchemy in Taoist Practice: Internal & External
What Are The Three Treasures?
The Three Treasures are the three principle energies cultivated in the practice of Inner Alchemy. They include: (1) Jing, or reproductive energy, whose home is in the lower dantian; (2) Qi, or life-force energy, whose home is in the middle dantian; and (3) Shen, or spiritual energy, whose home is in the upper dantian. Taoist practitioners learn to transmute Jing into Qi into Shen, and the reverse – traversing effortlessly along the full vibratory spectrum.
Further Explorations:
* The Three Treasures of Taoist Practice
* Taoism & Sexual Energy
What Are The Three Dantians?
The Three Dantians are three major energetic centers used in Inner Alchemy and Qigong practice. The lower dantian – residence of Jing – is located in the lower abdomen; the middle dantian – residence of qi – is located in the thoracic cavity, at the level of the heart; and the upper dantian – residence of shen - is located in the head. The dantians can be thought of as similar to the “chakras” of Hindu yogic systems – locations within the subtle body for the storing and transmutation of qi/prana.
Further Explorations:
* Chakras & Dantians
* The Microcosmic Orbit
* Snow Mountain: Our Energetic Root
What Are The Three Purities?
The Three Purities represent the three primordial energies of the cosmos, and are central Deities of ceremonial Taoism – important especially within the Complete Perfection school. The Three Purities are: (1) Celestial Worthy of the Tao & Inner Power; (2) Celestial Worthy of Original Beginning; and (3) Celestial Worthy of Numinous Treasure. The Three Purities have correspondences to the Three Treasures and the Three Dantians.
Further Explorations:
* The Three Purities
* The Quanzhen or Complete Perfection Lineage of Taoist Practice
What Are Grotto-Heavens & Wholesome Earths?
The phrase “Grotto-Heavens and Wholesome Earths” or "Grotto-Heavens and Blissful Realms" – refers to specific locations in China’s sacred mountains, which are governed by Immortals. More generally, it can refer to any landform whose spiritual energy is potent – making it a sacred space for Taoist practice. The Grotto-Heavens and Wholesome Earths have much to do with both the terrestrial branch of Fengshui, and the practice of “aimless wandering” through places of great natural beauty.
Further Explorations:
* Image Gallery: Sacred Mountains & Poetry of China
* Meet the Eight Immortals of Taoism: Saints & Sages & Rascals
* How to Cultivate Wuwei by Practicing Aimless Wandering
What Is The Bagua?
The Bagua are the eight trigrams - various combinations of Yin and Yang, represented visually by solid or broken lines. The eight trigrams, in their various permutations, make up the 64 hexagrams of the Yijing (I Ching) – one of Taoism’s principle divination systems. Bagua maps are also a central feature of Fengshui – another of Taoism’s divination systems.
Further Explorations:
* The Bagua: Eight Trigrams
* The Yijing (I Ching)
And finally, you may also like to check out this most-excllent Glossary of Common Taoist Terms – with pinyin and Wade-Giles transliterations.