1. In what sense are the two notions of Yin and Yang fundamental to the understanding of Chinese religions?
According to Mark Cartwright, the Yin and Yan are fundamental to the understanding of Chinese religions because it explains the Chinese principle that all things exist as inseparable and contradictory opposites, for example, day and night, male and female or hot and cold. The two opposites attract and complement each other and, as their symbol illustrates, each side has at its core an element of the other. Neither pole is superior to the other and, as an increase in one brings a corresponding decrease in the other, a correct balance between the two poles. Yang literally means the south-facing, sunny side of a mountain and Yin means the north-facing, shady side of a mountain (Invitation to World Religions, Pg.249). In Chinese mythology, Yin and Yan were born from chaos when the universe was first created and …show more content…
Secondly, both acknowledge Buddha and neither religion believes in prophets rather than recognizes philosophers Thirdly, Confucianism and Daoism share the same cosmological myth, the natural world is not in a fallen state. There is no almighty creator, nor there is a demonic counterpart, there is no beginning of the world and there is no predicted end as other religions believed. Instead, the world unfolds cyclically and operates like a pendulum, circulating between two extremes and alternating between two polar but complementing opposites (Invitation to World Religions, pg. 290). Fourthly, both attempt to find harmony, unity, peace with others and emphasize on finding a perfect balance. Moreover, both religions believed that humans are like everything else in the cosmos, the product of the interaction between Yin and Yang (Invitation to World Religions, pg.291). Finally, both religions are lived and practiced traditions in the
According to Mark Cartwright, the Yin and Yan are fundamental to the understanding of Chinese religions because it explains the Chinese principle that all things exist as inseparable and contradictory opposites, for example, day and night, male and female or hot and cold. The two opposites attract and complement each other and, as their symbol illustrates, each side has at its core an element of the other. Neither pole is superior to the other and, as an increase in one brings a corresponding decrease in the other, a correct balance between the two poles. Yang literally means the south-facing, sunny side of a mountain and Yin means the north-facing, shady side of a mountain (Invitation to World Religions, Pg.249). In Chinese mythology, Yin and Yan were born from chaos when the universe was first created and …show more content…
Secondly, both acknowledge Buddha and neither religion believes in prophets rather than recognizes philosophers Thirdly, Confucianism and Daoism share the same cosmological myth, the natural world is not in a fallen state. There is no almighty creator, nor there is a demonic counterpart, there is no beginning of the world and there is no predicted end as other religions believed. Instead, the world unfolds cyclically and operates like a pendulum, circulating between two extremes and alternating between two polar but complementing opposites (Invitation to World Religions, pg. 290). Fourthly, both attempt to find harmony, unity, peace with others and emphasize on finding a perfect balance. Moreover, both religions believed that humans are like everything else in the cosmos, the product of the interaction between Yin and Yang (Invitation to World Religions, pg.291). Finally, both religions are lived and practiced traditions in the