The Great Tai Chi (a single point and a line...)

The great tai chi is representative of the one that begat all myriad things in the Universe, or so says the Chinese Oracle. We can look at this as a single point that has no dimension, it is void, and does not reside in space. There is no inner nor outer to this point and yet it is the source of all the myriad things that make up our Universe.

This is why the Tao is represented by the circle which is also manifest as a small circular dot. When the myriad things came into being a line emerged from the small dot which brought into being two principles, active (yang) and passive (yin) which are also referred to as strong and yielding. Thus came the great Tai Chi.

The single point chose somewhere outside of itself, a direction to travel. Much like it is believed that the Universe exploded outward from that one single point with no dimension and no space. The line has no thickness and no end.

The line brings into being simplicity or "three" ways to become apparent.

The line has a stationary point and a moving point. This is referred to as a stationary point and a fee point (passive/active). The free point can be rotated to form a circle which in Chinese belief forms the Universe. We can say that when the Universe came into being the myriad things filled the expanding circle formed by the single point and the free point (which continues to travel away from the single point while forming a circle, etc.).

The active/free point can also move to a third (three) equidistant point from the other two points equally forming a equilateral triangle.

The active line can also produce another form by its movement away until distances are equal to form a square. representing the Earth as described in Chinese belief and referred to in the ken-po goku-i and I Ching.

We now have at the most basic or fundamental form "three forms," i.e. circle, triangle and square. All rich in meaning and found in almost all things living and created. We now have Heaven, Earth and Man.

If we go a bit further by rotating the circle a sphere is formed. If we move the triangle, a vertex, we form a pyramid or tetrahedron. And finally if we transition the square we form a cube. The possibilities are endless. We open our eyes and "see" the myriad things which in turn open our minds to many more possibilities in life and in practice.

The sphere is a symbol of the cosmos and the totality of manifest creation. Very large/small things in nature lean toward a spherical shape. Einstein hypothesized that all the stars and planets, etc. are inside a "event-horizon sphere."

With circles you can produce perfect triangles and hexagons. Thus you can see why the circle and sphere are representative of the Universe for all the myriad things are produced by the single point and line creating a circle and thus by it emergence create squares and triangles representative of Earth and Humans.

If you take circles to form many other forms such as triangles, dodecagons and more by using the circles and the line to connect points, etc. When done many myriad things are created and are represented by the drawings created using a ruler, compass, and pencil. The pencil creates the single point while the compass forms the circle(s) and the ruler helps to connect the points created by intersecting circles, etc. with lines. A combination of the many myriad lines form many things. This occurs in all the kingdoms of Animal, Man and Nature.

Take a look at the graphic in this post and you will notice that this ancient drawing has all the symbolic drawings representative of Heaven, Earth and Man the read the first precept of the ken-po goku-i which leads to the I Ching and then review the references to the number three in the Isshinryu system which is referenced in other posts here and on my karate blog site.

Bibliography:
Lundy, Miranda. Sacred Geometry. New York. Walker Publishing Company. 2007