Long before Confucius or Lao Tsu, there was the I Ching. The I Ching starts with Heaven, Earth, and one. Heaven above, Earth below, with human beings in the middle and all are one in the same universe. Both Confucius and Lao Tsu, or Taoism, taught and used the I Ching.
We must be one with Heaven and Earth (Universe) and get along with our fellow human beings. We must learn about their religion and culture so we can get along with them.
Heart and mind are the same. Heaven and Earth are the universe. A person must be one with the universe. A person must have feng shui with their fellow human beings. A person must learn about the culture of others. A person must understand how others think so they can have a better chance of getting along with them.
Heaven is vast and limitless while in comparison the Earth is small. Man is a microorganism and is in-between Heaven and Earth yet Heaven and Earth are in harmony.
Heaven and earth in Chinese thought is the universe. Heart is mind or mind-heart-mind. Heart-mind is human nature being one with the universe or the world or fellow human beings. Heaven can also mean spirit and earth body. The heart (mind) is the center in human beings thus being as one with Heaven, Earth, and others.
Heaven and Earth, Yin and Yang, The Tao, that which permeates all things in the universe. One must strive for perfection, to attain balance in life. This means one should seek balance through practice. To achieve balance is to practice haragei (balance of gedan | chudan | jodan). Once great hara is attained within oneself a practitioner must continue to attain balance through hara/haragei with their fellow man, society, the world (earth) and in the Tao (heaven or the universe). To achieve balance, yin and yang (in-yo in Japanese), to achieve Tao or one; all things begin with one.
The heavens and the earth are intertwined. The heavens, i.e. sun, moon, and stars, all have an effect on both the earth and its inhabitants. One master alluded to this when they said to practice "sanchin" in the early morning facing the sun as it rises is to attain maximum benefits from its practice.
What is Heaven and Earth?
The expression, "heaven-and-earth" frequently designated the whole natural world, and as word referring to the natural world, it was often contrasted with the human world. The relation between man and the world of heaven-and-earth had many sides. For one, there was the idea of the parallelism of macrocosm-microcosm, i.e. the notion that man as the small world is an epitome of the great world, heaven-and-earth. A more pronounced aspect of the rela tionship between man and heaven-and-earth for the traditional Chinese was the idea of the triad of "heaven - earth - man", i.e. the notion of the world in which man lives harmoniously between heaven and earth. The basic component of the triad was the idea that man and heaven and earth complement each other. Heaven-and-earth does not do everything alone; there are some things that heaven-and-earth cannot do, which man does for heaven-and-earth.
In ancient Chinese theory, Heaven, Earth and Human beings (Man) are all a Macrocosm-microcosm.
A single human being is a microcosm of the whole of humanity; Their village was a microcosm of our world. Society is the macrocosm of each of its individual members.
Macrocosmic Trinity
Heaven - universal or general balance
Earth - social or relative balance
Man - individual or particular balance
Microcosmic Trinity
Body - physical or physiological harmony
Mind - mental or psychological harmony
Soul - spiritual or aesthetic harmony
3 or the triad of heaven, earth, and man for unity and balance. Also take note of the number three in that is one way to interpret the I-Ching is through the use of three (3) coins.
My personal "Interpretive" Lens!
"One thing has always been true: That book ... or ... that person who can give me an idea or a new slant on an old idea is my friend." - Louis L'Amour
"Read not to contradict and confute; nor to believe and take for granted; nor to find talk and discourse; but to weigh and consider..." - Francis Bacon
"What is true today may be reevaluated as false not long after. Judgements are frequently based upon a set of "temporary" circumstances surrounding them. Conflicting ideologies can exist simultaneously. Antagonistic dualities are complementary aspects of a unified whole: are seen as mutually dependent mirror images of each other." - Nahum Stiskin
Warning, Caveat and Note: The postings on this blog are my interpretation of readings, studies and experiences therefore errors and omissions are mine and mine alone. The content surrounding the extracts of books, see bibliography on this blog site, are also mine and mine alone therefore errors and omissions are also mine and mine alone and therefore why I highly recommended one read, study, research and fact find the material for clarity. My effort here is self-clarity toward a fuller understanding of the subject matter. See the bibliography for information on the books.
Note: I will endevor to provide a bibliography and italicize any direct quotes from the materials I use for this blog. If there are mistakes, errors, and/or omissions, I take full responsibility for them as they are mine and mine alone. If you find any mistakes, errors, and/or omissions please comment and let me know along with the correct information and/or sources.
Kenpo Gokui
A person's heart is the same as Heaven and Earth while the blood circulating is similar to the Sun and Moon yet the manner of drinking and spitting is either soft or hard while a person's unbalance is the same as a weight and the body should be able to change direction at any time as the time to strike is when the opportunity presents itself and both the eyes must see all sides as the ears must listen in all directions while the mind must grasp all the tactile, olfactory and gustation data not seen on all sides and not heard in any direction
All Bottles are Truly Good
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