Sunday, August 08, 2010

Just for the records (2)

In the previous entry of the same title, a fellow member of the dormant I Ching_Yijing forum kindly reminded me that the 2nd line and the 5th lines of Hexagram 57 Xun changed. Thanks.

Upon checking the divination journal, indeed the two lines had changed.

If I have not read the accompanying notes made after the divination and days of pondering, I would probably not have remembered how the timing of the two events – the Iraq war and the end of it - was calculated.

On the following page of the journal, I noticed that the Yi again insisted on this student asking a question. Similar to the above prognostication, it was another heaven’s secret or omen.

It came in the form of Hexagram 2 Kun and the accompanying notes containing the prediction and the subsequent unfolding filled up an entire foolscap page. (I no longer do this since I can log the unfolding in this blog.) This heaven’s secret was published in the I Ching Community in the summer of 2003.

It foretold of groups of Muslim terrorists acting as holiday makers or tourists bombing trains and national libraries in the US and Europe that summer.

During those few months there were substantial US intelligence reports online that terrorists were planning to bomb bridges and trains. Then it suddenly went all quiet.

In the summer of 2004, groups of Muslim terrorists bombed trains in Madrid, Spain.

In the summer of 2005, groups of Muslim terrorists bombed trains in London, England.

Almost three years after the publication of this heaven’s secret, the then US President George Bush inexplicably revealed that a group of Muslim terrorists were arrested days before they could fly to the US to bomb the Library Tower that summer of 2003.

Can events and truths be hidden from the Yi? No.

Cheerio!

7 comments:

Anonymous said...

Dear Allan,

Thanks for adding this comment. One thing I wondered is whether you had any time frame in mind when you asked the question that prompted you to divine that events would occur within 15 days.
Timing of event often is a sensitive issue in divination and yi offers a variety of options for doing so that are rarely if at all ever commented.

Yours sincerely.

Anonymous said...

Dear Allan,

Thanks for adding this comment. One thing I wondered is whether you had any time frame in mind when you asked the question that prompted you to divine that events would occur within 15 days.
Timing of event often is a sensitive issue in divination and yi offers a variety of options for doing so that are rarely if at all ever commented.

Yours sincerely.

Allan said...

I have no time frame in mind when consulting the Yi. The more important issue is if it speaks and how we interpret its answer.

No difference since the time of the ancients by just working on the basics…until probably Wu Wei is reached!

By the way, can you sign off with a name?

Anonymous said...

Hi Allan,
Thank you for your reply. I'm not sure I fully understand your comment so the rest of this message may be useless.
Among yi students the issue of intuition is often raised and it brings forth at times the question of the usefulness of divination in the sense that what we derive from it may (only) confirm a former intuition, a feel of what we should do, or of where the path takes us.
Personally, over the years, I've come to ponder over divinations offering practical information involving timing, places, ...I understand that through the practice of certain types of meditation (be it only concentration and nothing forcefully turned towards seeing or developping intuition) we somehow gain in « understanding ». My assumption here is that some techniques (mei hua yi shu, liu yao yi gua, …) provide a referential brackground for analysis. Like a given hexagram is likely to ripen in a certain time frame, a moving yao may indicate an hour, a day, a month, or else depending on the the issue considered. Likewise, a seasoned mei hua yi shu practitioner for example (ie I don’t mean to say such a practitioner only) would be able to provide detailed information on the building where one will be moving or whatever.
I don’t wish to oversimplify but my line of thinking is: when one is able to provide precise timing say, he might have done so by profound intuition or use of technical knowledge. I can see that one may support the other. Hence my former comment.
Regards,
Nathalie

Allan said...

Nathalie,

From years of browsing or participating in I Ching Forums, we may start to notice these patterns:

1. The Yi did not speak or have not answered the question. Yet, many including those with decades of Yi studies will try to interpret the answer or prognostication, and some by giving the timing of events.

2. The Yi did speak or have answered the question of the diviner. Yet, many including those with decades of divinatory experiences and the diviner could not interpret correctly what the Yi wanted to say. Neither do they have a clue about the timing.

Whether they were taught by teachers or self taught, the flaws, if any, could be that they have already forgotten the basics. If I may say so, some appeared not to understand the basics. My ‘Thoughts on Zhouyi’ attempt to address these concerns.

The selected divinations related in the Zuozhuan were all done by expert diviners – the Zhou Court historiographers. And each time the Yi spoke. If your basics of divination and that of interpretation are up to standard, you would be able to follow what was discussed therein. Yet they seldom talk about timing.

Those who have a background in fortune telling and Fengshui will certainly use the derivative methods to address the timing issues in Yi divinations. Whether they can progress faster or deeper than those who rely solely on ancient Yi studies and methods is debatable.

When you know the basics well enough, the Yi may test you by giving a timing lesson. And you have to learn from there.

Perhaps, you now understand why I have suggested earlier and still do, to work on the basics like the ancients?

By the way, spiritual clarity differs from intuition. Intuition is inborn, while spiritual clarity can only be obtained through years or decades of dedicated cultivation.

Regards

Nathalie said...

Hi Allan,

Zuozhuan: I was fortunate to discover these texts early enough to get back to them more than once. One thing still that puzzles me is that the validity of the historical records has been debated. Other is that however much I want to believe these readings were given on the spot as described we cannot ignore that the records were written when parts when not all of the history had already gone. I mean that deciphering a hexagram and making full sense of it after the events have unfolded is made a lot easier.

It so happens that I have seen a number of divinations done that were brilliant (detailed, precise, correcct) only to discover when trying to understand the mechanics that key factors were given wrong to make the demonstration more brilliant. It doesn't make me doubt the yi, but calls for a critical (though respectful eye when deserved) when reading texts.

I must assume from your message that my basics of divination and that of interpretation are not up to standard.

As for the timing lesson, I can only fully agree with your statement. 5/3: it rained at lunch time.

Thank you for directing me to the Thoughts on Zhouyi. Over the years I have read some of the posts, it may be time to start over again.

Intuition: would insight be more appropriate? When the mind gains in clarity, veils lose in thickness, light shines brighter.

Nathalie

Allan said...

Nathalie,

If I remember correctly, Zuo selected the ancient Yi divinations for compilation, for posterity. If we placed too much emphasis on what modern scholars say, and because of their doubts and preferences, we may miss the woods for the trees.

I did not assume your basics of divination and that of interpretation is not up to standard.

Insights gained through experiences help interpretations.