Saturday, March 14, 2009

Confucius knew his Yi well

For the discerning, there are several instances or passages where Confucius made specific references to the Book of Changes in the Analects. Yet we get to hear from modern Yi scholars that the great sage did not know about this profound Chinese classic. It is rather specious.

Perhaps these particular modern scholars have no shame for not being earnest and sincere in their Yi studies. Or perhaps they had pretended to have read the four Confucian books trying to impress and to mislead their audience.

To know the Yi well, we have to learn like the ancients and the wise down the ages. There are no short cuts to learning deep and profound subjects like the Yi and/or the Tao; we students have to go through the works. Otherwise would Confucius himself at the level of a sage requested for a further fifty years to study the Yi to ensure there will be no great faults?

For discerning readers, earnest and sincere Yi students alike, take a look at what the great sage said in this passage [Analects 9 . 8]:

‘The Fang bird does not come; the river sends forth no map; - it is all over for me!’

Together with a few other instances quoted from the Analects and the Zhouyi in this blog, does it not show that Confucius knew his Yi rather well?

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