Balance is underestimated in our "Now" culture, which celebrates excess and the Wow factor. Ageless Wisdom teachers point to Balance as the real, enduring source of Power. This is especially true of the Buddha and Laozi (author of the Daodejing), widely recognized as “axial sages” or world-changing teachers who emerged about 2500 years ago.
The Buddha taught the Middle Way between extremes, having subjected himself to extremes during his six-year search for Truth throughout India. He taught that we suffer because we are attached - to things, people, ideas, beliefs and more – when in reality All of Life is impermanent and insubstantial and therefore cannot be grasped or permanently held. This includes your “I” which is attempting to grasp, control and hold on. The Buddha’s solution to ending suffering is Non-attachment – letting go; not holding on; recognizing that change is the norm, not an aberration. If we can be non-attached, we can flow with life moment to moment… in dynamic Balance. This becomes ever more necessary as societal change accelerates.
Laozi elaborated on China’s ancient concept of Yin and Yang – the seeming opposites, which are actually interconnected and which seek to be in natural balance despite changing circumstances. Much of nature is programmed to do this, including our own bodies. Yin-Yang theory suggests ebb and flow, rise and fall, which we can currently witness in politics, the stock market and economy, the popularity of “celebrities” and “in”/ “trending” issues. Nothing in nature moves in a permanent straight line, whether up or down.
Andy James discovered and has practised the fundamental wisdom of India’s Buddhism and China’s Daoism over 40 years ago and has taught it for 32 years (as of 2016). He is an internationally recognized teacher, author, healer and speaker whose work has been widely covered by both local and national media.
His unique but tradition-based, mind-body teaching is available through the Tai Chi and Meditation Centre, which offers daily classes in the Toronto area. It is also available through his and Nicola’s in-house Harmony Dawn retreats. Harmony Dawn was created using Yin-Yang principles of balance in its location, construction and its operation, including its cuisine. It is a physical manifestation of the Power of Balance which he has taught for over 3 decades.
