Breathing Towards the Solstice
“The blue mountain is the father of the white cloud. The white cloud is the son of the blue mountain. All day long they depend on each other, without being dependent on each other. The white cloud is always the white cloud. The blue mountain is always the blue mountain.”
Zen Master Tozan, as quoted by Shunryu Suzuki, Zen Mind, Beginner’s Mind
Dichotomy, defined as ‘a division or contrast between two things that are or are represented as being opposed or entirely different’ is a core concept of Buddhist belief. The idea that all things exist in balance, defined by their opposite. This is the major separation (along with the idea of a deity) from Western and Middle Eastern religions with their clear distinction between what is good and bad.
Call it yin and yang if you will. But when you look at the interlocking symbol of yin and yang it is completely balanced. Neither the black shape or the white shape is better or worse than the other. There is no Jesus, Allah, or Satan.
This time of the year can be seen as the dark time. There are places on earth where the sun does not rise for months at a time. People live in a dim glow, and as people do, they adapt, knowing that inevitably the days will lengthen until that same sun does not set for months.