The Day Creation Began
Every ancient culture has their own creation myth about how the universe began. Some stories say we came from the sea, others say we came from the stars. Even science attributes the creation of the universe to a big bang in the middle of nowhere. Everyone has a spin on how this all started.
For Daoists, we relate the creation of the cosmos to a type of process or sequence. At first, one came from nothing, then two came from one, three came from two, and finally three became ten thousand. Religious sects of Daoism will go even further and attribute those processes to various gods and saints, each with their own personality and presence. 
One such god is named Yuanshi Tianzun. This diety isn't quite an absolute god-head, but he's up there. From the process we mentioned above, he's the "one that came from nothing" and "turned into two." He's the dude that split heaven from earth, separated light from dark, top from bottom, in from out, and so forth. He basically created duality, or as we call it, yin and yang.
We're bringing him up because every lunar year on the seventh day of the eleventh moon (this Saturday, December 7) we honor his birthday. It's funny because this diety is supposed to have no beginning and no end, yet, here we are celebrating his birthday? The logic doesn't add up.
Anyway, what's the wisdom here? Nothing. That's right. Nothing. Similar to an old zen koan or some fractal paradox in math. Sometimes, the answer is no answer at all - and that's ok. We don't need to understand everything about a roller coaster to enjoy the ride, just be grateful for skillful engineers.
⧠Endless Thoughts on Nothing â§
Have you ever heard the sound of one hand clapping?
What did you look like before your father's father was born?
If no one hears a tree fall in the woods does it make a sound?
How many licks does it take to get to the center of a tootsie pop?
The World May Never Know
Contents
ã»Shifu Says: A brief word from our head teacher, Shifu David Wei.
ã»Zodiac Palm pt 3: Now it's time to see where the animals fit.
ã»Tea of the Month : A new month means we get a new flavor!
ã»The Daoist Calendar: Special holidays and how to observe them.
ã»Madame Xu's Lunar News: Horoscopes from our Hong Kong oracle.
