Returning to destiny

When we want to learn a profound subject, we always want to study with the best.

Tao and the Yi are among the most profound subjects available in the world. To learn more about these two subjects, we have to read the Yi and the Tao Te Ching written by ancient holy sages and Laozi respectively for posterity.

The many truths that lay hidden within these two ancient classics are available for the right persons to find. And down the millennia of their availability, many brilliant minds cum cultivators found the hidden truths.

If we do not cultivate what the ancient sages have taught, even with brilliant minds, we may be unable to penetrate the mysteries of Tao and the Yi because the subjects are so deep and profound. Like what Laozi said and what undergraduates know to be true, obtaining a third class degree is always easier than a second class one, and the first class degree is only awarded to those with brilliant minds who are invariably diligent.

If we only know the theories and not the practices, we could be reading dead books. If we only know the practices and not the theories we will be deemed technicians.

A true professional (read right person / cultivator) understands both and knows how to apply them to the best of his or her abilities. In knowing how to apply the theories to practice, the cultivator can penetrate the many mysteries of Tao and the Yi.

Meanwhile this is my simple translation of Tao Te Ching chapter 16 for fellow students of the Tao and the Yi. (Note the subtle differences with the more popular translations.)

Understanding the principle well can facilitate our return to destiny. Those who diligently practise neidan the ancient way can spot the metaphors and the requisite actions for the return. Confucians who cultivate to reach the center can perhaps see something familiar. Serious and earnest Yi students should try to relate what Laozi said in this chapter to the Yi.

If you are able with clarity discern what Laozi taught, you are one step closer to penetrating the mysteries of Tao and the Yi.

Tao Te Ching chapter 16

Achieve utmost emptiness, guard assured stillness.

(Even if) myriad things no longer active, I continue to observe return.

Man and things flourish, each will return to its root.

To return to the root require stillness, stillness brings return to destiny.

Returning to destiny is the principle; knowledge of this principle means understanding.

Not knowing this principle, delusions and disasters arise.

Know and accept the principle, upon acceptance one can be impartial, impartiality accords with completeness. Completion accords with Heaven. Heaven accords with Dao.

Dao last forever, without body, no death.
[Allan Lian]

For a few dollars more

Greed is part of human nature. That is why Confucius warned the old not to be greedy.

If the old had not heeded it, their wealth could have been destroyed in 2008. It is sad to see many of the elderly who invested in the so called mini bonds which had paid a higher interest than their local banks and lost their entire fortune on the collapse of Lehman Brothers. If we happen to lose our wealth during old age, it could be difficult for us to make back the money.

I recall the 1985/ 86 recession in Malaysia where several credit & leasing and finance companies collapsed. Investors and depositors, attracted by the high interests that these companies were paying, paid the price of their greed. They just wanted a few dollars more for their money.

But investors have short memories. They are already investing in investments which promise to pay a higher interest than bank deposits. They are investing in the mini bonds again because of the prevailing low interest regime across the world led by the US. They are borrowing to chase equities and real property prices higher. Both China and Japan have recently warned against the created bubbles.

The astute have seen what the US is trying to do with the low interest regime – inflating assets value (think realty) and lowering the US dollar value (think exports). This policy did not work that well for Japan during the 1990s; I wonder if they will work for the United States of America.

Meanwhile risk takers are currently using the US dollars for their carry trades instead of the Yen. I call them risk takers because Japanese housewives made loads of money using the Yen for their carry trades but got burned now and then when exchange rates turned against them.

Retirees should not take on too much risk with their retirement funds. Neither should they be tempted by a few dollars more. There are still many safe and sound investments around even if they pay a low interest. Take heart that global interest rates will be raised eventually.

Tao and the Yi (2)

The philosophical Daoists claim that they understand Tao well enough and do not need to study the four Confucian books. They may have a point there or perhaps not.

While ardent followers of Zhuangzi do not need to know about Confucian virtues; Daoists who follow the philosophy of Laozi cultivate those cardinal virtues as depicted in the Tao Te Ching, with the hopes of returning to Tao.

To those familiar with Tao and the Zhouyi, the cultivation of virtues is in line with Heaven and Earth. To be in line with or follow Heaven and Earth is to understand Tao.

Previously one had mentioned that Laozi and Confucius both knew what would happen if there is Tao or no Tao on Earth. Today one would add in another ancient sage.

Mencius said,

‘When right government prevails in the kingdom, princes of little virtue are submissive to those of great, and those of little worth to those of great.

When bad government prevails in the kingdom, princes of small power are submissive to those of the great, and the weak to the strong.

Both of these cases are the rule of Heaven. They who accord with Heaven are preserved, and they who rebel against Heaven perish.’
[Works of Mencius 4 .7 Legge]

[Note: Legge has chosen to translate the Chinese words – having Tao under Heaven – as right government prevails in the kingdom. And – no Tao under Heaven – as bad government prevails in the kingdom.]

Like the two great ancient sages before him, Mencius also knew well his Yi and cardinal virtues. Therefore he also knew much about Heaven and Earth.

Since the advent of the absence of Tao all under Heaven on September 15, 2008 as indicated by the Yi, quite a number of people have perished. The funny thing since then is that even divinities have withheld healing people on Earth, let alone sing.

That is a little bit more on Tao and the Yi.

Full lotus position

The lotus position sometimes called the full lotus pose is much favored by practising masters of yoga. We often see these masters sitting in this pose in Yoga and/or meditation documentaries on TV. In these documentaries, the Yogis would also demonstrate various stretching exercises for health purposes.

According to what is posted in the Wikipedia,
“The lotus position is a cross-legged sitting posture originating in meditative practices of ancient India, in which the feet are placed on opposing thighs. It is an established posture of the Hindu Yoga tradition. The position is said to resemble a lotus, to encourage breathing proper to associated meditative practice, and to foster physical stability.”

Over the past year or so, a number of Tao Bum members have weighed in with their thoughts on whether the full lotus position is a must for advanced meditation (those related to breath control and/or inner alchemy). Some quote their masters or other masters that the pose is requisite, while some masters in their own right say the lotus position is unnecessary. A Daoist member from Hong Kong recently informed that some Daoist masters in China have made the full lotus pose mandatory for their students.

The issue is difficult to resolve since each individual practitioner or cultivator of Tao has their own practices or beliefs. Then there is the other ‘clouded’ issue of whether they are in fact practising inner alchemy like the ancient and the Neo Daoists or are taught some new age ‘qigong’ meditation or exercises by their Daoist or Buddhist ‘masters’.

If you are practising inner alchemy, it would be appropriate to research into the ancient Chinese classics and/or Buddhist sutras. Did the holy sages in the Book of Changes; and Laozi and/or Buddha ever mention in their writings/ teachings that the full lotus position is mandatory for meditation? Did the Zhen Ren (realized persons) and the renowned Neo Daoists who became celestial immortals write down for posterity that it was the pose for meditation? For the esoteric - whether you are a master or a student - did your ancestor master(s) (Daoist celestial immortals) or Buddhas ever told you that the pose was mandatory for the practice?

If they did, then the full lotus position would be appropriate for your inner alchemy practice. Not otherwise. Unless you believe that your master, his master or grandmasters know more than the ancients and the divinities about inner alchemy.

For example, Zhang Boduan wrote in his Wuzhen Pian (Awakening to the Real) that “laboring the body through massage and gymnastics are not the way; refining the qi and swallowing morning clouds are madness.”

Yet some New Age Daoist masters listed on the web are known to teach such things and have the audacity to claim that their various massages, exercises, ‘Daoist’ yoga, and meditation methods lead to immortality. Compared to them, the yogis are more straightforward. The full lotus position and their related stretching exercises, they explained, can lead to a healthier life.

So there you go, it is up to you what or who you want to believe or follow. Not much point in arguing with those attached to forms or bypaths until ‘the cows come home’.

Those who have had attained good aptitude in inner alchemy, according to Lu Dongbin, would know by now which pose(s) to use for their meditation.

Tao and the Yi

The ancients say that Tao can be vast and can be minute and so profound that only the right persons can penetrate all its mysteries. They proffered similar references to the Book of Changes (I Ching / Yijing) in the Great Treatise.

Just like the pursuit of Tao, brilliant minds and the literati down the millennia try to penetrate the mysteries of the Yi. How many were actually successful is difficult to tell since there are few written records left behind for posterity. As a comparison, the Daoists keep Rolls of those successful in attaining the Tao (after penetrating its mysteries) to become celestial immortals and whom invariably can be authenticated in the temples, if required.

Of the Yi, the ancients and the wise left behind references in the Book of History, the Zuo Zhuan (Tso Chuan) and the Ten Wings. So did Confucius and his students in the Confucian books. More than five centuries later, a whiz kid by the name of Wang Bi seemed to be able to penetrate its mysteries and recorded down his understanding that the Yi was a book of wisdom.

Several centuries had lapsed before the time of the so called Neo Daoists and Neo Confucians where brilliant minds again penetrated the mysteries of the Tao and the Yi. Chen Tuan produced many diagrams related to both studies including the Wujitu (Chart of the Infinite). Chou Dunyi produced the Taijitu (Chart of the Supreme Ultimate). From the writings of Chen Tuan, Shao Yong came up with his own diagrams and another method of divination, the Plum Blossoms Yi Number. Chu Hsi recorded down his understanding that the Yi was originally a book for divination.

It was also during this time that renowned Daoists like Chen Tuan, Lu Dongbin, and Wang Chungyang – the founder of Quanzhen - proffered their deep insights that neidan (inner alchemy) and not weidan (outer alchemy) is the method to penetrate the mysteries to attain Tao. They also advocated the integrated studies of the three doctrines – Daoist, Confucian and Buddhist for students to better understand Tao.

The profoundness and mysteries of both Tao and the Yi remain challenges down to this day. Brilliant minds and the literati still try to figure them out just like the ancients and all the wise down the ages.

Laozi and Confucius were no different; they had studied and knew the Yi well. (Remember the Book of Changes is an ancient classic.) Well enough to refer to the Yi in their thoughts and writings and yet keep their meanings hidden for the right persons to discover the truths.

Yet some modern scholars, even if they have brilliant minds, tend to think that the Yi is not profound and they have had penetrated its many mysteries. Some had claimed the same about Tao.

Despite their claims, it is difficult to find their penetrating clarity requisite for an in-depth understanding of the Tao and/or the Yi.

Did anyone note that a court historiographer (a professional diviner or expert) wrongly interpreted the prognostication in the Zuo Zhuan during the Chun Chiu era? If the Tao and the Yi is not other than profound would Laozi state so in the Tao Te Ching and would Confucius in his old age request for fifty years (as recorded in his Analects) to study the Book of Changes so that he would not come to great faults?

If a great sage himself needed so much time to study the Yi, would he tell his students to study this ancient classic to correct their faults? Was it not proper for Confucius to request them and his son to study the easier-to-understand Book of Odes or the Book of Music instead? (This is written in response to spurious claims that Confucius did not study or refer to the Yi in his dealings with his students.)

As a matter of interest, how many Yi scholars out there can really say that they understand Confucius’s interpretations of the lines or hexagrams in the Book of Changes as he did?

If they know little about Confucian doctrines, they may not quite understand where Confucius was coming from.

And if they know any less about ancient Chinese history, they could be clueless as to what Laozi and Confucius meant when they talked about the closure of Heaven and Earth - and therefore the absence of Tao – in their respective texts while making an inference to the Yi.

Meanwhile less brilliant students like us should put more effort into reading the correct books and do homework on Tao and the Yi. It is also proper to discuss our learning with likeminded fellows.

A good opportunity for Yi studies

Steve Marshall, the author of The Mandate of Heaven, is considering starting a regular Yi study group in London for likeminded aficionados depending on the response.

This is a good opportunity for all Yi aficionados who live in London or near enough. If I were still living in London or even Brighton, you can count me among those who would gladly join. Alas I now reside back in Malaysia for a few decades now (and not as reported by some in the World Wide Web).

Steve can be said to be knowledgeable in many tenets of Yi studies. His insights on certain lines or on hexagrams can sometimes astound Yi aficionados. His knowledge on the use of the Shao Yong’s circular diagram helped me pinpoint more accurately on the omen on another 9/11 – the bombing in the US, UK, and Europe; leaving out Japan.

From online discussions with him and by his blogging, one can see he knows something about Daoist, Confucian, and Zen thoughts.

It is a good opportunity not to be missed to discuss the Yi with someone as knowledgeable and reliable as him. Check his Yijing Dao website under Resources.

If you are Chinese or love Chinese tea like him, do not forget to bring along some Ti Guanyin or the milder Po Li for the group discussion sessions. To drink Chinese tea and eat some ground (monkey) nuts over a friendly discussion on Yi studies with someone knowledgeable, what more can one ask?

If interested, search with this address:
http://www.biroco.com/yijing/group.htm

Note to students and teachers of ancient Chinese philosophy

Right books and doing proper homework is the correct approach to the study and/or teaching of ancient Chinese philosophy. While I have been saying or hinting that in this blog from time to time, it does not seem to convey the message across.

More particular, I am concerned about the various aspersions cast by some modern scholars (Chinese and Western) that raise doubts in the minds of students and teachers alike on the existence of Chinese sages like Laozi and Confucius, and/or their studies.

Take for example that of Confucius’s study or knowledge of the Zhouyi.

While both in the Analects of Confucius (Lun Yu) and the Records of the Grand Historian (Shiji) it has been recorded that Confucius loved his study of the Yi, some modern scholars have the shameless audacity to claim that the great sage had never read the ancient classic. Where such unsubstantiated or specious claims arise, they can mislead students or teachers of ancient Chinese philosophy who did not do their homework well. But we know that the mean men or Xiao Ren whether they are so called masters or scholars have no shame. They just want a pecuniary gain of money, fame or even both, if they can get away with their various spurious claims.

However if we do our homework well, we could substantiate that indeed, Confucius knew his Yi. (Click on Confucius and the Zhouyi link, if interested.)

Then I read of modern scholars and teachers who doubt the very existence of Laozi and Confucius.

It is funny to say the least that they believe in the existence of Zhuangzi but not that of Laozi and Confucius. Yet they read in the writings of Zhuangzi of both Laozi and Confucius who had lived in an era about two centuries earlier than him. It is also said that Zhuangzi claimed to be a follower of Laozi. (No point in bringing up again, the argument that the Chinese emperors and their ministers including grand historians a few centuries removed from both Laozi and Confucius, and those down the ages, had far greater access to historical records than any scholars.)

It seems that some scholars and teachers of ancient Chinese philosophy like to believe in what they want to believe, creating conundrums or at worst, paradoxes for themselves and their students in the studies.

Luckily, the Daoist and Confucian scholars who were top ministers in the first Han Court of Liu Bang had no such quibbles like modern scholars and teachers of ancient Chinese philosophy. These renowned Han scholars had no difficulty in accepting the existence of both Laozi and Confucius. (Read the Records of the Grand Historian)

If we want to know if certain personages of ancient history truly existed, read the right books and do our homework. To read about Confucius and his thoughts, I have always recommended the translations of the four Confucian books by James Legge.

One of the reasons for the recommendation is because Legge provided many important notes and comments of noted Chinese scholars down the ages on the sage’s teachings, as well as on the sage’s family and his numerous named students. If that is not good enough to prove the existence of Confucius for some, try reading his lengthy travels across the various ancient states in China as recorded in the Shiji. Or read the thoughts of Mencius who was said to be a student of the grandson of Confucius. (Any wonder why one has considered some Western scholars and teachers of ancient Chinese philosophy as third class scholars in an earlier post about nearly the same matter.)

While I am aware the James Legge’s translations is out of print, one is sure the established libraries in the West still stock them. Is it too difficult for teachers or professors of ancient Chinese philosophy to get access to these translations and do their own homework instead of quibbling or reliving doubts about the existence of Confucius? It could make a difference to their knowledge or improve their class of scholarship.

(The previous entry on ‘The mother of Mencius’ was written for a similar purpose.)