First of all, Ohsawa’s and Michio’s descriptions of the dynamic interplay between between Yin and Yang as listed in their various versions of the “Twelve Theorems” are not really an issue that needs to be discussed. They primarily describe the behavior of polar opposites and the oscillations and movements of various phenomena that we can easily understand and readily observe around us such as, for example, the attraction and repulsion of magnets, of sub-atomic particles, of energy waves and so on.

Problems arise, however, when these teachers offer lists of phenomena or attributes and assign them as either yin or yang. Particularly concerning is Ohsawa’s list of foods in YinYang order as written in his book, “Zen Macrobiotics”. (See image above). The first problem is the rationale used to determine whether a thing is yin or yang, which is never fully explained and is based more on subjective opinion and personal experience than on objective reality and empirical data.

(He does suggest that we “think, think, and think again” which is a nice encouragement for us to be independent but still does not explain his process.) The second problem is the loss of dynamic movement when seemingly static objects are assigned a yinyang attribute. It makes such objects appear as unchanging in their yinyang designations.

Both of these problems create a third problem which is that Ohsawa and Michio (and anyone else who makes yinyang lists) becomes the default authority on what is yin and what is yang, effectively taking away he ability for others to determine what is yin and what is yang in any objective way.

So, for example, In his list of foods in yinyang found in his book, “Zen Macrobiotics”, under animal foods, Ohsawa puts pheasant meat as more yang (triple yang symbol) than eggs. Why is that? Surely eggs are the most yang animal food based on the rationale he outlines in his book. Then why would he place pheasant meat as being more yang than an egg? Would a pheasant egg be even more yang than pheasant meat or is pheasant meat strangely and particularly more yang than its own egg? Although he gives some ideas of the rationale of his yinyang logic these do not fully explain such inconsistencies. Below are image scans from the section of his chapter on yinyang theory in his book, “Zen Macrobiotics” where he outlines his logic and rationale for assigning yin and yang to phenomena and food.

(Note: after this Ohsawa talks about recipes)

We will never know what he was thinking when he placed pheasant meat as being more yang than eggs as we can not ask Ohsawa what his rationale was in assigning these specific yang attributes. Are we to then consider these lists to be subjective interpretations or are they objective facts based on empirical evidence and observations? Without any consistent, logical and objectively repeatable observation and experimentation then we must consider his list to be subjective in nature. This problem isn’t limited to Ohsawa’s list but occurs anytime any list is created which assigns a yin or yang attributes to phenomena.

By making these lists Ohsawa and Michio (and others later) become the default authority of their time on what is yin and what is yang. If I or anyone had a question whether something was yin or yang then Ohsawa (and later Michio) would be the final authority on the matter. How they decided what was yin and what was yang remains mostly inexplicable despite their efforts to explain and teach the logic of their thinking.

Many of Michio‘s earlier lectures were designed to teach his students how to apply yin and yang to all kinds of phenomena from food, to diagnosis, to history and world peace. But try as he did, he could not fully impart his yinyang wisdom onto others. As a result, many of his students do not teach yin and yang and instead explain Macrobiotics in terms of nutritional science or they defer to the yinyang applications found in the textbooks of Traditional Chinese Medicine. Overtime, whatever wisdom that existed in macrobiotic yinyang has faded away and will eventually disappear unless we can remedy these problems, not just for ourselves, but also for future generations to come.

We will look at this in my next article.

1. We assume that the universe is infinite

2. We assume that there is an order to the universe

3. We assume that everything is moving, changing and transforming always.

4. We assume that all phenomena is formed as spirals

We can now proceed to deconstruct the rest of Ohsawa’s and Michio’s Seven Principles And Twelve Theorems.

But before we do, we should ask whether we need the words, “We assume”, in each of the four points and whether we can assume that “we assume” is a given. I know for a fact that Michio (and Ohsawa) would be content with just, for example, “The universe is infinite” instead of “We assume that the universe is infinite” because to them it is obvious. I should note that any time Michio made a definitive statement or claim of absolute certainty about any subject that he could not possibly be definitive I would ask him, “How do you know this?” And his reply would invariably be, “Because I was there. You were there also, only you just forgot.” In this way, for example, he would state the existence of an ancient one world community over ten thousand years ago with absolute certainty because “he was there”. Therefore, I am certain that Michio would just simplify the above four assumptions to read like this:

1. The universe is infinite

2. There is an order to the universe

3. Everything is moving, changing and transforming always.

4. All phenomena is formed as spirals

In other words, for Michio and Ohsawa it is most likely that they viewed these points not as assumptions but as indisputable facts about our universe and any uncertainty or confusion about this is merely reflection upon our own individual poor judgment, poor health and lack of intuitive understanding.

However, for me, the expression that “we assume” is not about having poor judgment, poor health and lack of intuitive understanding but is simply as a reminder that we are assuming these things from our own very small manifested egos and therefore, should express ourselves with uncertainty as a matter of courtesy, humility and gratitude to all. In the end, I leave it up to you, the reader, to decide whether you prefer using the words, “we assume”, or not.

Next, let us move on to the remaining Principles and Theorems. In reviewing both Ohsawa’s and Michio’s versions (see above) we see that the remaining principles deal with the nature of phenomena. Ohsawa’s version also adds two points that introduce Yin and Yang whereas Michio has moved these two point to the Twelve Theorems. Both Ohsawa’s and Michio’s Twelve Theorems describe the nature and movement of yin and yang.

Let’s first look at those principles that refer to phenomena without mentioning yin and yang and they are:

1. All antagonisms are complementary

2. What has a front has a back (front and back) (space)

3. What has a beginning has and end (beginning and end) (time)

4. Nothing is Identical (phenomena relative to each other) (uniqueness)

5. The bigger the front the bigger the back (relative proportional attributes)

What we can do is take our initial four assumptions about the universe and add these to them while creating categories that better identify what we are talking about, like so:

Assumptions About The Universe As A Whole

1. The Universe Is Infinite

2. There is an order to the universe

Assumptions About The Nature Of All Phenomena In The Universe

1. Everything is moving, changing, and transforming, always

2. All phenomena is formed as spirals and waves

Assumptions About The Ephemeral Nature of Each Phenomena

1. All phenomena have a beginning and an end

2. All phenomena have a front and a back and the bigger the front, the bigger the back

Assumptions About The Relative Nature of Multiple Phenomena

1. Nothing is identical, each phenomena is unique

2. What may appear as antagonisms or contradictions between and about all phenomena are actually complementary such that if an attribute exists then its relative opposite must also exist at the same time.

We can actually eliminate the assumption that “there is an order to universe” because these assumptions or principles of the universe and its phenomena is the order itself. Therefore, what we have is the following:

Seven Assumptions (Principles) Of The Order Of The Universe And It’s Phenomena

1. The Universe is infinite

2. Everything (the universe and all phenomena within) is changing, moving and transforming

3. All phenomena is formed as spiral waves

4. All phenomena have a beginning and an end

5. All phenomena have a front and back, and the bigger the front, the bigger the back

6. Nothing is identical, each phenomena is unique

7. What may appear as antagonisms or contradictions between and about all phenomena are actually complementary such that if an attribute exists then its relative opposite must also exist at the same time (front-back, beginning-end, outside-inside, up-down, right-left, etc.).

Next, we come to those theorems that mention Yin and Yang which we will explore in the next article.

Is The Universe Actually Infinite? (W…

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For those interested in studying macrobiotics then it is essential to understand what is Yin and Yang (or “YinYang”). YinYang provides the key to correlating all phenomena together in a dynamic universal dance of movement, causality, transformation, emergence and disappearance. This will be the first of many articles that serves to define, illustrate a…

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I created different substack sites with different intentions and scopes. While some content might appear to overlap, it is only because they are all an extensions of my own life and experiences. This article is to help clarify how they differ from each other.

1. Tears Of Gratitude

Sample posting:

忝涙 Tears Of Gratitude

Did Michio Kushi Levitate?

It was 1969 or 1970 (or 1971) as Michio sat on a floor cushion Japanese style (legs folded underneath him) with his back straight in front of a group of about sixty or so students in a second floor small room on Boylston Street in downtown Boston. Everyone in the audience also sat on…

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a year ago · 6 likes · 12 comments · Phiya

“Tears Of Gratitude” is my personal substa…

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I was introduced to the “Spiral Of Materialization”, a diagram originally created by George Ohsawa, father of the modern macrobiotic movement, and presented repeatedly by his successor and my father, Michio Kushi, in countless lectures, books and educational materials at an early age. It is a cornerstone of macrobiotic philosophy that essentially serves…

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Greeting friends and fellow students of life!

I hope you enjoyed my last post where I responded to a question about the “black and white thinking” of leaders today and outlined my own interpretation of Ohsawa’s “Seven Levels Of Judgment” and how it might relate to current world events. Let me know your thoughts and feed back about it by commenting below.

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Your question is a very deep and profound one and I do not profess to know the final answer but I will share with you what I do know and my thoughts on the matter.

The essence of your question is asking: “Why do we humans do the things that we do?” The scope of this question not only includes what you are asking but why we do anything and everything that…

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Greetings friends and fellow students of life!

Welcome to my study group where we explore life and the universe and who we are, where we came from and where we’re going. I pledge to you to share all that I have discovered, learned and experienced so far in life.

My parents, Michio and Aveline Kushi, were educators of l…

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