Yun Qi means luck, fortune, and fate. We can look at Yun Qi in two ways.
Creating Luck
Luck can be created. A Chinese creation myth can give us some ideas of how to create luck.
Before creation, the cosmic egg was in a chaotic and cloudy state. Pangu, a giant, was born from this egg. He was inside the egg for about 18,000 years and didn’t like the uncleared and hazy condition. Pangu then wielded a huge axe and broke the egg in half. The murky heavy Yin Qi descended and became the Earth. The clear light Yang Qi ascended and became the sky.
Even though the Yin and Yang moved in different directions, they were also attracted to each other. To keep them separated, Pangu stood between the Earth and the sky and pushed up the sky. Every day, Pangu would grow taller, and the Earth would grow thicker and the sky would separate further and further away.
After 18,000 years of holding the sky, Pangu died. His eyes became the sun and moon. His body parts became mountains, rivers, minerals and plants of the Earth. The world was formed.
So, how to create luck? First, take the time and have a tool on hand, like Pangu had the axe. If we don’t have one, take the time to make the tool. Luck does not happen randomly. “Luck is where preparation meets opportunity.”
Second, take action and open the mind. Obviously, without actually taking action one cannot break through the door of luck. Also, we need to open our minds. A closed mind won’t have enough space to invite fortune to come in. We need to keep growing and expanding our views.
Last, be persistent. Don’t forget the Chinese word luck is Yun Qi and the literal meaning of Yun is to transport. Because of the slippery nature of energy, it’s not easy to transport Qi, to create luck. It needs continuous effort, like Pangu holding the sky for his whole life.
Have fun creating luck and good luck with transporting Qi.
The Laws of Nature
Literally, Yun also means revolve, motion.
Because the Earth revolves around the sun and the moon revolves around the Earth, we see the bright moon become the invisible new moon and then gradually back to full moon again. Lunar phases can be observed and predicted but cannot change.
Similarly, from the point of view of life, we can also see the main phases of life: birth, old age, sickness and death. Yun Qi is the unavoidable fate. A Chinese idiom says, “gathering of Qi is birth, dissipating of Qi is death”. Birth and death are merely the result of the motion of Qi. As time moves on, when it’s time for Qi to dissipate, nothing can stop this. It’s the law of nature.
On the other hand, the law of conservation of energy tells us that energy can neither create nor destroy, that it can transfer from one form to another. In the ultimate dimension, from the point of view of energy, there is no beginning, no end, no birth and no death.
Nothing dies, everything transforms.
– Thich Nhat Hanh
May we be at peace with the ultimate Qi – Yun Qi. May we be at peace with whatever comes.
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