The universe is a unity of opposites

In his book, “The Power of Myth,” Joseph Campbell has said, “Whenever one moves out of the transcendent, one comes into the field of opposites.”

This can be seen vividly in the Tao, written by Lao-tse and Chung-tse, in about 500 B.C., Lao-tse speaks about how the universe can be pictured as operating like a bellows and that there exists in the universe a leveling of all opposites into the One.

This can also be seen in Chinese philosophy, with the concepts of yin and yang. Yin is seen as the feminine, passive principle in nature. It represents darkness, cold, and wetness. Yang is the masculine, active principle in nature. It represents light, heat, and dryness.

Yang combines with yin to produce all that comes to be. It is impossible to discuss one without reference to its opposite. Yin contains within itself the potential for yang, and yang for yin. They are in dynamic equilibrium and if one disappears, the other disappears as well, leaving emptiness.

The principle of the Unity of Opposites has a broad application in the natural world. It implies that this is also that and that is also this. There is nothing which is not this; there is nothing which is not that.

This emanates from that and that also derives from this. There is an interdependence of this and that. This is that. That is this. That the that and the this cease to be opposites, and are seen in the one, unified whole, is at the very essence of the Tao.

In the Tao, Lao-tse would write, “Be bent, and you will remain straight. Be vacant, and you will remain full. Be worn, and you will remain new.”

One of the unusual occurrences in the development of the principle of the Unity of Opposites was that its development occurred in philosophical thought in different parts of the world at the same time. For example, while Lao-tse was writing about it in the Tao, Heraclitus, a philosopher in the Greek world, was writing about it.

Furthermore, the principle appears in the writing of the Upanishads, in the Hindu world of India. It was also developing in Buddhist thought, and these were all occurring simultaneously, with no seeming knowledge of one by the other.

In the Unity of Opposites, the principle states that everything in the material world has its opposite: man and woman, I and you, hot and cold, wet and dry, dark and light, life and death, etc. Neither opposite is better than the other, neither stronger than the other, and they are held in dynamic balance in a unifying whole, fully equal.

One can also see the development of this principle in Judeo-Christian theology, as well. In both world religions, God is One and you cannot say one thing about God without saying the opposite. For example, God is big, but God is small, too; God is here, but God is everywhere, too; God is God of the living, but God is God of the dead, too, etc. God unifies all opposites in Godself.

This would include good and evil. It is difficult, of course, to try to comprehend why a loving God allows the existence of evil in the world. But, in Hinduism, the Upanishads states, “Reality is One, though sages call it by different names.” Good and evil are first, different names.

Michael Hickey is a local writer and poet who lives in Pelican Bay and Swampscott, Mass. His book, “Get Wisdom,” is published by Xlibris Div. Random House Publishing and is available at 1-888-795-4274, ext. 822, at www.Xlibris.com, or your local bookstore. E-mail Mike Hickey at Mikehic@nii.net.