Yijing aficionados who have been studying the Book of Changes for decades would know that the phrase, ‘Friends come without blame’ and ‘Peng lai wu jiu’ in pinyin forms part of the Judgment in Hexagram 24 Fu / Return. And that the Judgment also contains the unique term, Tao (the Way). An age old and yet globally recognizable term used by Laozi in his Tao Te Ching to explain the phenomena of the ancient Way.
While the more experienced Yijing aficionados may not quite understand the relationship between Tao and the friends who come without blame in the Judgment, those who also practise neidan (inner alchemy) and are fortunate enough to be taught by Daoist celestial immortals would come to realize its profound meaning, one day. But I will leave it to the Zhen Ren (realized persons) to reveal this age old secret, if at all. For friends come without blame in the Yijing is a significant signpost of the Way.
This signifies the importance for neidan students to also study the Book of Changes since many more Tao signposts are also embedded in this ancient classic. By studying the Book of Changes every Yi student can also become learned and wise just like the ancients and those renowned for their Yijing studies down the ages.
And one of these worthies happened to be the renowned Zhuge Liang also known as Kongming of Shu Han (c 250). Some readers may think that I was presumptuous in assuming that the fourteen Yijing-related prophecies contained in the Ma Qian Ke were actually written down for posterity by Zhuge Liang since there is a dearth of documentary proof to uphold the presumption.
If Yijing aficionados, including those who have studied the Yijing for a few decades, lack the requisite knowledge to interpret omens and prophecies obtainable from the Yijing, they would not be able to understand why I am so sure that the fourteen Yijing related prophecies were predicted by Zhuge Liang. They may also not be aware of the fact that, at times, the Yijing gives omens in sequences (one immediately after another); as in the Ma Qian Ke. (The Yijing had forewarned me with three consecutive Hexagrams 29 Kan / The Abysmal of the then impending Asian Financial Crisis in 1997.)
However it is a fallacy to believe that the Book of Changes speaks to every diviner. And if the Yijing do not speak, there would be no actual prognostications let alone omens and/or prophecies. Beware of those who claim otherwise.
Therefore I have had subjected a few Yijing-related prophecies in the Ma Qian Ke to the usual test and found that the Yijing indeed spoke to the diviner, whoever he was. By coincidence, the particular diviner has had interpreted his prophecies the same way that I do or did for Yijing-related omens. Even the fortune indications (good, average, and bad) for each hexagram were similar and apt (except for two out of the fourteen which appeared corrupted). Furthermore in the first prophecy, by way of Hexagram 27 Yi / Providing nourishment, the Yijing told Zhuge Liang (the accredited diviner) about his destiny and fate, as well as what would happened in his era – that is to provide nourishment for future Chinese generations; his illnesses leading to his impending death and the difficulty in returning to Heaven; and the Wei Dynasty. (Refer to my commentary of July 2, 2012 on the first prophecy of the Ma Qian Ke if interested to read more about it.)
Since each of the subsequent thirteen prophecies foretold of successive eras in China, it therefore can be soundly concluded that all the prophecies were obtained from the Yijing by none other than Zhuge Liang or Kongming himself. If readers still have doubts, test your own Yijing interpretive skills to decipher his twelfth prophecy which could be extremely difficult, since it goes beyond the usual traditional methods of Yijing interpretation.
If omens are very difficult to obtain, what would be the requisite higher skill level for a Yijing diviner to obtain consecutive prophecies that cover a period of about two thousand years like those in the Ma Qian Ke? Surely, this is the work of a sage. Therefore Confucius is correct to say that the Junzi stand in awe of sages, and Zhuge Liang is sage-like because of his fourteen prophecies. While the immortality status of Zhuge Liang is confirmed by the several Daoist temples in China dedicated to him.
And unless you happened to be a Zhou Yu or his diehard fan, Zhuge Liang also known as Kongming would definitely be a special friend whose company we would like to keep whether or not we follow the teachings of Confucius in the Analects.
Coming back to the phrase, ‘Friends come without blame’. It so happened that in the tenth prophecy of the Ma Qian Ke derived from the accompanying Hexagram 39 Jian / Obstruction, the same phrase in Chinese was used as the fourth verse for the prediction. (Refer to my commentary on this prophecy on July 28, 2012) Probably many readers, including the much more experienced Yi aficionados, are still foggy to say the least as to why Zhuge Liang used the phrase in this prophecy that rightfully belongs in the Judgment of Hexagram 24 Fu / Return.
However if we read the Yijing and get fixated with convention we may not quite learn the deeper layers in this ancient classic. (But this again has nothing to do with New Age methods bandied around in the Web.)
In this tenth prophecy, Zhuge Liang ‘taught’ how to overcome that fixation, if students are ready, and are willing to learn. And I have had provided a subtle hint when commenting on that particular verse. Yet I find no improvement in readers’ understanding. Surely there is an obstruction to their higher learning capabilities! (Pun intended)
And in the midst of obstructions, I come as a friend to help readers to contemplate and think through enabling them to raise their skill levels, a notch or two. The statement relates to Hexagram 39 Jian / Obstruction, in case readers cannot follow the train of thoughts.
For that, we have to re-examine the phrase, ‘Friends come without blame’. The Chinese in pinyin for the phrase is ‘Peng lai wu jiu’. ‘Peng lai’ means ‘Friends come’ while ‘wu jiu’ means ‘without blame’ or even ‘no blame’; since ‘wu’ can also be translated as ‘no’ to get to the correct meaning of what was actually said. (See the subtlety in translating Chinese words in ancient classics or texts into English?)
‘Friends come’ (Peng lai) appears in the fifth line judgment of Jian. But where does the second half of the phrase ‘without blame’ comes from? My subtle hint then was that no blame can be accorded to the friends and the Chinese (if you care to reread my commentary on the tenth prophecy).
The hint pointed to the second line of Jian since the Chinese are the King’s servants, not his friends, and where the line image accorded ‘no blame’ to the servant who tried his very best to overcome the obstructions upon obstructions faced.
Therefore did Zhuge Liang make a mistake in his usage of the phrase, ‘Peng lai wu jiu’ that rightfully belongs to Hexagram 24 Fu / Return? No. The phrase is certainly apt to foretell what will come to pass and which later had occurred.
Since in this instance, the fourth verse in Chinese should be translated into English or to be read as, ‘Friends come, no blame’. For additional clarity, Zhuge Liang has had already indicated in the third verse of the prophecy that ‘Five two reversed’ pointing to the reversal of positions in the fifth and second lines of Hexagram Jian. What more can be said?
The great image of Hexagram 39 Jian / Obstruction is certainly apt for the Wu (Yijing diviners) and the Shi (Daoist priests or neidan practitioners) who have to contemplate within to raise their skill levels, a notch or two. So that ‘Peng lai wu jiu’ in the midst of great obstructions, and/or for the Return! And perhaps we have learned a thing or two from Kongming and from this discussion.
Cheerio!
Showing posts with label The Image. Show all posts
Showing posts with label The Image. Show all posts
Wednesday, September 26, 2012
Saturday, October 13, 2007
Stand not in the middle of the mountain
This entry could be of interest to a variety of students be they Daoist, Buddhist or Confucian. Yi aficionados may learn something of use and investors in the KLSE should seriously consider the various hints given.
We have to start somewhere to learn something of value; otherwise elementary Yi students may think that the Book of Changes is only good for divinations and could continue to do so unabated in the East as well as in the West – which often lead to dropouts denouncing the Yi as ‘hocus pocus’ like the recent example of a Korean Yi student in public. Without proper guidance and deep thinking, many students probably cannot comprehend the great wisdoms or truths hidden in the Zhouyi.
One will spend more time on the aspect of wisdom than that of Yi divination today.
Fourteen years ago, in reading my fortune and in teaching how to improve upon my study of the Book of Changes, a Quanzhen heavenly immortal advised me ‘not to stand in the middle of the mountain (or hill)’. He gave other cryptic messages as well but what has this particular message got to do with wisdom, my fortune, and help to improve my Yi studies? Read on.
It took me six months to figure out the cryptic message – ‘not to stand in the middle of the mountain’. In case, regular readers cannot recall the relevant October 2005 post of a similar title, it refers to Hexagram 23 Po / Splitting Apart where the mountain rests on the earth. The hexagram comprise of five lower broken lines with a sole unbroken line resting at the top.
This is one of the rare occasions where I do not quite agree with the commentary to the great image of Po in the Wilhelm translation which says: “When it (the mountain) is steep and narrow, lacking a broad base, it must topple over.”
To this student, the mountain implodes instead of toppling over. Since there is only one unbroken light line resting at the top of the entire hexagram which is undermined by inferior people (Xiao Ren) – the other five broken dark lines - until it splits apart.
If the mountain splits apart, a person who stands in the middle of the sole unbroken line plunges straight down the chasm into the very depths of earth. You can either visualize the gaps between the five broken lines below the top straight line. Or think of a sudden appearance of a great sink hole, or the solid earth below opening up during a violent earthquake.
If the mountain topples over as suggested in the commentary, one could still be saved by shrubbery or trees along the slopes but if the top unbroken line of Po splits apart or opens up, the person standing in the middle of it plunges straight down to certain death.
Therefore the Judgment warns:
Splitting Apart. It does not further one to go anywhere.
When inferior people has influence and is pushing upwards to undermine the remaining strong line, it is not favorable for a Junzi to undertake anything. But if diviners or people insist on standing in the middle of the mountain after obtaining Po as the prognostication, what can the Yi do?
The way to escape an expected or unforeseen disaster, if any, as depicted by Po has been given much earlier this year in another entry. Let me reiterate the advice by using the Great Image of Po:
The mountain rests on the earth: The image of Splitting Apart.
Thus those above can ensure their position only by giving generously to those below.
It took me six months to figure out what the Daoist heavenly immortal indicated, and several more years to understand the meaning of this great image. If readers count backs the years, this cryptic message amongst others was given in 1993 – the year of a major bull run in the KLSE. Therefore for the past fourteen years, in line with the divinity's advice, one avoids the ninth month for shares trading which ties in with my fortune. As the saying goes, ‘it is better to be safe than be sorry’.
In my opinion, Yi aficionados who tend to stick to their beliefs that there are no auspicious or inauspicious hexagrams in Zhouyi divination may have their work cut out to truly understand divining, let alone the wisdoms inherent in the Book of Changes. If there are no proper distinctions between good and bad hexagrams, and the 384 lines, how could the Yi ever give forewarnings or inform diviners of forthcoming auspicious events?
In Po, the warning is given in the Judgment, and the way out of danger – the wisdom - is depicted in the great image. Down the ages, perhaps many Chinese have stumbled upon or have been taught this truth or wisdom by their elders, teachers, or even by divinities of ‘giving generously to those below’. Yet many may not actually know, if they have not study it, that the wisdom originated from this hexagram in the Zhouyi.
I doubt elementary Yi students are aware of such hidden wisdoms in the Yi. Therefore it is time for them to reread the Zhouyi in earnest and in all sincerity, to allow the wisdoms to slowly sink in. Only then can we learn a thing or two about the Yi.
However do not attempt to convince a stingy boss to apply this wisdom for a pay rise. The end result could be a literal ‘splitting apart’ of your job with the company, for trying to be funny! The concept is rather different, if you truly understand the wisdom contained in the great image of Po.
If you put on your thinking cap, you may find the wisdom workable or understand a truth that existed for more than three thousand years.
To make it easier for some readers and to give credit where due: the kind and the sincere every where on earth still practises it today, so do a majority of Americans, especially the great persons (Da Ren) in the US.
Cheerio!
We have to start somewhere to learn something of value; otherwise elementary Yi students may think that the Book of Changes is only good for divinations and could continue to do so unabated in the East as well as in the West – which often lead to dropouts denouncing the Yi as ‘hocus pocus’ like the recent example of a Korean Yi student in public. Without proper guidance and deep thinking, many students probably cannot comprehend the great wisdoms or truths hidden in the Zhouyi.
One will spend more time on the aspect of wisdom than that of Yi divination today.
Fourteen years ago, in reading my fortune and in teaching how to improve upon my study of the Book of Changes, a Quanzhen heavenly immortal advised me ‘not to stand in the middle of the mountain (or hill)’. He gave other cryptic messages as well but what has this particular message got to do with wisdom, my fortune, and help to improve my Yi studies? Read on.
It took me six months to figure out the cryptic message – ‘not to stand in the middle of the mountain’. In case, regular readers cannot recall the relevant October 2005 post of a similar title, it refers to Hexagram 23 Po / Splitting Apart where the mountain rests on the earth. The hexagram comprise of five lower broken lines with a sole unbroken line resting at the top.
This is one of the rare occasions where I do not quite agree with the commentary to the great image of Po in the Wilhelm translation which says: “When it (the mountain) is steep and narrow, lacking a broad base, it must topple over.”
To this student, the mountain implodes instead of toppling over. Since there is only one unbroken light line resting at the top of the entire hexagram which is undermined by inferior people (Xiao Ren) – the other five broken dark lines - until it splits apart.
If the mountain splits apart, a person who stands in the middle of the sole unbroken line plunges straight down the chasm into the very depths of earth. You can either visualize the gaps between the five broken lines below the top straight line. Or think of a sudden appearance of a great sink hole, or the solid earth below opening up during a violent earthquake.
If the mountain topples over as suggested in the commentary, one could still be saved by shrubbery or trees along the slopes but if the top unbroken line of Po splits apart or opens up, the person standing in the middle of it plunges straight down to certain death.
Therefore the Judgment warns:
Splitting Apart. It does not further one to go anywhere.
When inferior people has influence and is pushing upwards to undermine the remaining strong line, it is not favorable for a Junzi to undertake anything. But if diviners or people insist on standing in the middle of the mountain after obtaining Po as the prognostication, what can the Yi do?
The way to escape an expected or unforeseen disaster, if any, as depicted by Po has been given much earlier this year in another entry. Let me reiterate the advice by using the Great Image of Po:
The mountain rests on the earth: The image of Splitting Apart.
Thus those above can ensure their position only by giving generously to those below.
It took me six months to figure out what the Daoist heavenly immortal indicated, and several more years to understand the meaning of this great image. If readers count backs the years, this cryptic message amongst others was given in 1993 – the year of a major bull run in the KLSE. Therefore for the past fourteen years, in line with the divinity's advice, one avoids the ninth month for shares trading which ties in with my fortune. As the saying goes, ‘it is better to be safe than be sorry’.
In my opinion, Yi aficionados who tend to stick to their beliefs that there are no auspicious or inauspicious hexagrams in Zhouyi divination may have their work cut out to truly understand divining, let alone the wisdoms inherent in the Book of Changes. If there are no proper distinctions between good and bad hexagrams, and the 384 lines, how could the Yi ever give forewarnings or inform diviners of forthcoming auspicious events?
In Po, the warning is given in the Judgment, and the way out of danger – the wisdom - is depicted in the great image. Down the ages, perhaps many Chinese have stumbled upon or have been taught this truth or wisdom by their elders, teachers, or even by divinities of ‘giving generously to those below’. Yet many may not actually know, if they have not study it, that the wisdom originated from this hexagram in the Zhouyi.
I doubt elementary Yi students are aware of such hidden wisdoms in the Yi. Therefore it is time for them to reread the Zhouyi in earnest and in all sincerity, to allow the wisdoms to slowly sink in. Only then can we learn a thing or two about the Yi.
However do not attempt to convince a stingy boss to apply this wisdom for a pay rise. The end result could be a literal ‘splitting apart’ of your job with the company, for trying to be funny! The concept is rather different, if you truly understand the wisdom contained in the great image of Po.
If you put on your thinking cap, you may find the wisdom workable or understand a truth that existed for more than three thousand years.
To make it easier for some readers and to give credit where due: the kind and the sincere every where on earth still practises it today, so do a majority of Americans, especially the great persons (Da Ren) in the US.
Cheerio!
Thursday, July 05, 2007
Knowing the Yi (2)
Of the millions throughout the world who study or read the Book of Changes most would have done so without teachers. If you count as one of the many, perhaps this entry could help you know the Yi a bit better.
After having read the Book for months which will quickly turn into years, we probably know little about the sixty four hexagrams, let alone understand any of the 384 individual lines. If we do not know the meaning of the hexagrams do not expect to understand the lines in detail.
Without the proper guidance of a real master, and in search for excellence, probably the best method available to any Yi student to know the Book a little better is through divination – if divination is not against your religion. When we consult the Yi, we will have to concentrate our mind on the question and then the answer. Yi’s answer or the prognostication comes in the form of a hexagram if there are no moving lines or two hexagrams, when there are one or more lines that change.
By reading and pondering on the answer, our mind becomes alert to the various possibilities indicated in the hexagram (s) and/or the lines that change. If we keep a journal or a log on the divinations, we leave a trail for later references where necessary. There can be occasions where prolific divinations are done on various subject matters or a hobby. But do not overdo the divinations.
Be serious. A day or a week is not sufficient time for most oracles to unfold. Prognostications need time to unfold. If you follow some Yi aficionados to divine daily or weekly on how to live out their lives, it becomes meaningless after a while. Not only can such incorrect practice(s) make you become dependent on the Yi, you could easily confuse the unfolding of answers because of various overlaps and by assigning them (the unfolding) to wrong hexagrams. Therefore, it is best if you could find an interesting subject (no, not your love life) for prolific divinations.
For me, a professional accountant, asking the Yi on various types of investment proves fruitful over the decades. At times the divinations especially where there is a bull run can be prolific. There is no cause for overlaps because of the numerous categories of stocks and shares to invest in. I usually wait for the unfolding of an oracle, the prognostication, on an investment before asking again.
Not only can one do the necessary homework on the investments, be it real property, foreign currencies, stocks or shares, the answers given by the Yi usually convey clear directions on what actions to take. After acting on each prognostication, the investor has to wait for the oracle to unfold. Since the questions can be on various investments across the world and on their timing, Yi’s answers allow one to learn how to master time and space.
For example, the Yi indicated with Hexagram 54 Gui Mei / The Marrying Maiden with the second and third lines changing to answer my investment question in August 2006. In the judgment it is said:
Undertakings bring misfortune. Nothing that would further.
The third line has this to say:
The marrying maiden as a slave. She marries as a concubine.
Investors in the KLSE at the time may not know that this counter in question, Time Dotcom, would be married off as a concubine, that the prognostication, and therefore the investment, is not good. And while the other share investment which one had consulted the Yi on at about the same time had more than doubled – more than tripled if we count its lowest price before the rebound - Time Dotcom’s price has only gone up by a third over these past eleven months. (Refer to the relevant entries dated August 27 and September 3 2006.)
This explains why in my 64 hexagrams table, there are definitive good and bad hexagrams for investments. And there are good and bad lines too. Only by referring to past divination records, can we learn to discern and interpret the meanings of each prognostication since we can check into details, specifics, and the timing?
Conjectures and 'umbrella covers' given on prognostications do not work with investments. To be dead right, one really has to put the money where the mouth is!
Consulting the Yi on serious matters, scientific experiments, and investments allow for good divination experiences. And if we can foreknow of major events that will affect lives or investments in any parts of the world, then we can be said to have mastered time and space.
What you want to do with your affinity with the Book of Changes is entirely up to you. There are no prerequisites to your class, status, religion, wealth, and/or intelligence to study the Yi. All you need is a good translation of the Book of Changes in a language that you can understand, together with the ability to read and the interest to study this ancient classic and Chinese civilization.
However, as Richard Wilhelm has indicated in his translation, the Book is meant for the Junzi - superior persons - and not suitable for everyone. If we care to look at the Great Images, Da Xiang, we cannot help but agree. But, if you follow others to ignore the Great Images on the false premise that they are written only for kings and/or the Confucians, because it is a Confucian classic, you do not know what you have missed out in your Yi studies and the requisite cultivation of a Junzi.
By trying out the various suggestions in this entry, you could come to know your Yi better. Perhaps one day, in your endless search for excellence, you would achieve a higher degree of clarity and a deeper understanding of this profound Book of Changes. Who knows, certainly not me!
After having read the Book for months which will quickly turn into years, we probably know little about the sixty four hexagrams, let alone understand any of the 384 individual lines. If we do not know the meaning of the hexagrams do not expect to understand the lines in detail.
Without the proper guidance of a real master, and in search for excellence, probably the best method available to any Yi student to know the Book a little better is through divination – if divination is not against your religion. When we consult the Yi, we will have to concentrate our mind on the question and then the answer. Yi’s answer or the prognostication comes in the form of a hexagram if there are no moving lines or two hexagrams, when there are one or more lines that change.
By reading and pondering on the answer, our mind becomes alert to the various possibilities indicated in the hexagram (s) and/or the lines that change. If we keep a journal or a log on the divinations, we leave a trail for later references where necessary. There can be occasions where prolific divinations are done on various subject matters or a hobby. But do not overdo the divinations.
Be serious. A day or a week is not sufficient time for most oracles to unfold. Prognostications need time to unfold. If you follow some Yi aficionados to divine daily or weekly on how to live out their lives, it becomes meaningless after a while. Not only can such incorrect practice(s) make you become dependent on the Yi, you could easily confuse the unfolding of answers because of various overlaps and by assigning them (the unfolding) to wrong hexagrams. Therefore, it is best if you could find an interesting subject (no, not your love life) for prolific divinations.
For me, a professional accountant, asking the Yi on various types of investment proves fruitful over the decades. At times the divinations especially where there is a bull run can be prolific. There is no cause for overlaps because of the numerous categories of stocks and shares to invest in. I usually wait for the unfolding of an oracle, the prognostication, on an investment before asking again.
Not only can one do the necessary homework on the investments, be it real property, foreign currencies, stocks or shares, the answers given by the Yi usually convey clear directions on what actions to take. After acting on each prognostication, the investor has to wait for the oracle to unfold. Since the questions can be on various investments across the world and on their timing, Yi’s answers allow one to learn how to master time and space.
For example, the Yi indicated with Hexagram 54 Gui Mei / The Marrying Maiden with the second and third lines changing to answer my investment question in August 2006. In the judgment it is said:
Undertakings bring misfortune. Nothing that would further.
The third line has this to say:
The marrying maiden as a slave. She marries as a concubine.
Investors in the KLSE at the time may not know that this counter in question, Time Dotcom, would be married off as a concubine, that the prognostication, and therefore the investment, is not good. And while the other share investment which one had consulted the Yi on at about the same time had more than doubled – more than tripled if we count its lowest price before the rebound - Time Dotcom’s price has only gone up by a third over these past eleven months. (Refer to the relevant entries dated August 27 and September 3 2006.)
This explains why in my 64 hexagrams table, there are definitive good and bad hexagrams for investments. And there are good and bad lines too. Only by referring to past divination records, can we learn to discern and interpret the meanings of each prognostication since we can check into details, specifics, and the timing?
Conjectures and 'umbrella covers' given on prognostications do not work with investments. To be dead right, one really has to put the money where the mouth is!
Consulting the Yi on serious matters, scientific experiments, and investments allow for good divination experiences. And if we can foreknow of major events that will affect lives or investments in any parts of the world, then we can be said to have mastered time and space.
What you want to do with your affinity with the Book of Changes is entirely up to you. There are no prerequisites to your class, status, religion, wealth, and/or intelligence to study the Yi. All you need is a good translation of the Book of Changes in a language that you can understand, together with the ability to read and the interest to study this ancient classic and Chinese civilization.
However, as Richard Wilhelm has indicated in his translation, the Book is meant for the Junzi - superior persons - and not suitable for everyone. If we care to look at the Great Images, Da Xiang, we cannot help but agree. But, if you follow others to ignore the Great Images on the false premise that they are written only for kings and/or the Confucians, because it is a Confucian classic, you do not know what you have missed out in your Yi studies and the requisite cultivation of a Junzi.
By trying out the various suggestions in this entry, you could come to know your Yi better. Perhaps one day, in your endless search for excellence, you would achieve a higher degree of clarity and a deeper understanding of this profound Book of Changes. Who knows, certainly not me!
Friday, June 22, 2007
Measure of time and space
Over the past few millennia, millions of people have tried to learn how to predict future events and their fate. Of the numerous prediction and divination systems made available today for enthusiasts, students, and masters, perhaps the most accurate and comprehensive divination system ever devised is the Book of Changes.
While other prediction and divination systems can be limited by time or space, by the use of this Oracle, no events on earth and in heaven can remain hidden for long. Not only can the Yi be used to predict fate – a number of fortune telling and astrology systems can also do that accurately – the Book of Changes, unlike those systems, also teaches Yi aficionados and/or their clients how to master their fate by overcoming time and space.
Therefore in the Great Treatise, it is said:
In it are included the forms and the scope of everything in the heavens and on earth, so that nothing escapes it. In it all things everywhere are completed, so that none is missing. Therefore by means of it we can penetrate the tao of day and night, and so understand it. Therefore the spirit is bound to no one place, nor the Book of Changes to any one form.
“We are shown here how the individual can attain mastery over fate by means of the Book of Changes. The Book can enable us to penetrate and understand the movements of the light and the dark, of life and death, of gods and demons. This knowledge makes possible mastery over fate, because fate can be shaped if its laws are known. The reason why we can oppose fate is that reality is always conditioned, and these conditions of time and space limit and determine it. The spirit, however, is not bound by these determinants and can bring them about as its own purposes require.”
[Commentary - W/B]
While many may tend to dismiss that the Zhouyi (the Zhou Book of Changes) can enable us to penetrate and understand the movements of the light and the dark, of life and death, of gods and demons, regular readers of my various entries on related Yi divinations may believe it can be or has been done.
The Chinese believe that when the spirit manifests many wonderful things can happen, one of which is Wu Wei. Chen Tuan in his manual on physiognomy (Xiang), the Mirror of Auras, mentioned that those whose spirit has manifested cannot be read.
In the Doctrine of the Mean (Chung Yung), it is said:
It is characteristic of the most entire sincerity to be able to foreknow. When a nation or family is about to flourish, there are sure to be happy omens; and when it is about to perish, there are sure to be unlucky omens. Such events are seen in the milfoil and tortoise… . When calamity or happiness is about to come, the good shall certainly be foreknown by him, and the evil also. Therefore the individual possessed of the most complete sincerity is like a spirit.
[Legge]
Yi aficionados are fortunate to have an affinity with the Zhouyi and yet often do not fully appreciate the great wisdoms and the most accurate and profound divination system contained therein. The Great Image contains much wisdom, yet it is often ignored by students. There is no need to learn derivative systems to augment oracle interpretations and their timing. The hexagrams and/or the eight trigrams can be used to determine the time and space. Why look elsewhere?
If Yi aficionados really want to learn how to overcome time and space and to master their own fate, perhaps a good start would be to drop all prejudices which may hinder their learning or studies. To become sincere and a Junzi, we have a need to study the ancients and to cultivate.
Only with the cultivation of a Junzi, do we have a chance to manifest the spirit. With the manifestation of the spirit and when the Yi speaks, we will be able to foreknow all things on earth and/or in heaven; and thereby the means to overcome time and space.
Surely, Yi aficionados would love to be able to do just that. Who wouldn’t?
Cheerio!
While other prediction and divination systems can be limited by time or space, by the use of this Oracle, no events on earth and in heaven can remain hidden for long. Not only can the Yi be used to predict fate – a number of fortune telling and astrology systems can also do that accurately – the Book of Changes, unlike those systems, also teaches Yi aficionados and/or their clients how to master their fate by overcoming time and space.
Therefore in the Great Treatise, it is said:
In it are included the forms and the scope of everything in the heavens and on earth, so that nothing escapes it. In it all things everywhere are completed, so that none is missing. Therefore by means of it we can penetrate the tao of day and night, and so understand it. Therefore the spirit is bound to no one place, nor the Book of Changes to any one form.
“We are shown here how the individual can attain mastery over fate by means of the Book of Changes. The Book can enable us to penetrate and understand the movements of the light and the dark, of life and death, of gods and demons. This knowledge makes possible mastery over fate, because fate can be shaped if its laws are known. The reason why we can oppose fate is that reality is always conditioned, and these conditions of time and space limit and determine it. The spirit, however, is not bound by these determinants and can bring them about as its own purposes require.”
[Commentary - W/B]
While many may tend to dismiss that the Zhouyi (the Zhou Book of Changes) can enable us to penetrate and understand the movements of the light and the dark, of life and death, of gods and demons, regular readers of my various entries on related Yi divinations may believe it can be or has been done.
The Chinese believe that when the spirit manifests many wonderful things can happen, one of which is Wu Wei. Chen Tuan in his manual on physiognomy (Xiang), the Mirror of Auras, mentioned that those whose spirit has manifested cannot be read.
In the Doctrine of the Mean (Chung Yung), it is said:
It is characteristic of the most entire sincerity to be able to foreknow. When a nation or family is about to flourish, there are sure to be happy omens; and when it is about to perish, there are sure to be unlucky omens. Such events are seen in the milfoil and tortoise… . When calamity or happiness is about to come, the good shall certainly be foreknown by him, and the evil also. Therefore the individual possessed of the most complete sincerity is like a spirit.
[Legge]
Yi aficionados are fortunate to have an affinity with the Zhouyi and yet often do not fully appreciate the great wisdoms and the most accurate and profound divination system contained therein. The Great Image contains much wisdom, yet it is often ignored by students. There is no need to learn derivative systems to augment oracle interpretations and their timing. The hexagrams and/or the eight trigrams can be used to determine the time and space. Why look elsewhere?
If Yi aficionados really want to learn how to overcome time and space and to master their own fate, perhaps a good start would be to drop all prejudices which may hinder their learning or studies. To become sincere and a Junzi, we have a need to study the ancients and to cultivate.
Only with the cultivation of a Junzi, do we have a chance to manifest the spirit. With the manifestation of the spirit and when the Yi speaks, we will be able to foreknow all things on earth and/or in heaven; and thereby the means to overcome time and space.
Surely, Yi aficionados would love to be able to do just that. Who wouldn’t?
Cheerio!
Sunday, June 03, 2007
Ways of a Da Ren (Great Man)
NEW YORK (Reuters) - "Former US Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan promised on Friday to deliver surprises and insights about the future in an eagerly awaited book, but he gave little away for now beyond saying interest rates were low.
The book, to be published by Penguin on September 17, will examine his 18-1/2 years at the helm of the U.S. central bank.
Greenspan, who can still move markets with the slightest word, said he would bring to bear the lessons learned steering the world's biggest economy to discuss his views on the future in the book to be published in September.
He spoke warmly of Sarkozy, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Britain's finance minister, Gordon Brown, who is due to take over from Prime Minister Tony Blair on June 27.
"I think we're going to find the three of them hold a very great deal in common, which is going to mold a new Europe that is going to move in a more vibrant way," Greenspan said. "It's the first good sign I've seen about the long-term future of Europe."
Commenting on his past as Fed chief, Greenspan gave unusual insights into the often opaque style of communication that became his trademark in testimony before Congress.
"I got people asking questions that I couldn't and shouldn't answer because there are certain answers no matter how you phrase them and what you do have a market effect," he said.
"I found that where I got a question and got myself into a position where I didn't, couldn't and was not going to answer, I fell back into lapsed syntax and all sorts of ways in which the senator or congressman would think I was saying something terribly profound and think I answered his question."
He also said he proposed to his wife, Mitchell, five times before she realized what he was asking her."
Excerpts from: news.Yahoo.com/s/nm/
20070602/bs_n/usa_economy_greenspan_dc
Those familiar with Confucian and Daoist studies may agree that Mr. Greenspan is one of those Da Ren that had helped shaped and influenced the economies of the world as chief of the US Central Bank.
In the interview, his modesty shines through when he praised the three new leaders of Europe. His caution in the choice of words when testifying before Congress was not dissimilar with the advice of the ancients – Laozi, Confucius, and Buddha.
Through his words and actions, it shows that he is benevolent and cares about the US and the world.
Just as indicated by Confucius, many a Junzi would stand in awe of such a Da Ren?
In line with the wisdoms depicted in the Great Image, and the thoughts of the ancients, perhaps these images can aptly describe Mr. Greenspan’s proper conduct and great achievements:
Within the earth, a mountain: The image of Modesty. Thus the superior man reduces that which is too much, and augments that which is too little. He weighs things and makes them equal.
Thunder and wind: the image of Duration. Thus the superior man stands firm and does not change his direction.
That which is bright rises twice: The image of Fire. Thus the great man, by perpetuating this brightness, illumines the four quarters of the world.
The book, to be published by Penguin on September 17, will examine his 18-1/2 years at the helm of the U.S. central bank.
Greenspan, who can still move markets with the slightest word, said he would bring to bear the lessons learned steering the world's biggest economy to discuss his views on the future in the book to be published in September.
He spoke warmly of Sarkozy, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Britain's finance minister, Gordon Brown, who is due to take over from Prime Minister Tony Blair on June 27.
"I think we're going to find the three of them hold a very great deal in common, which is going to mold a new Europe that is going to move in a more vibrant way," Greenspan said. "It's the first good sign I've seen about the long-term future of Europe."
Commenting on his past as Fed chief, Greenspan gave unusual insights into the often opaque style of communication that became his trademark in testimony before Congress.
"I got people asking questions that I couldn't and shouldn't answer because there are certain answers no matter how you phrase them and what you do have a market effect," he said.
"I found that where I got a question and got myself into a position where I didn't, couldn't and was not going to answer, I fell back into lapsed syntax and all sorts of ways in which the senator or congressman would think I was saying something terribly profound and think I answered his question."
He also said he proposed to his wife, Mitchell, five times before she realized what he was asking her."
Excerpts from: news.Yahoo.com/s/nm/
20070602/bs_n/usa_economy_greenspan_dc
Those familiar with Confucian and Daoist studies may agree that Mr. Greenspan is one of those Da Ren that had helped shaped and influenced the economies of the world as chief of the US Central Bank.
In the interview, his modesty shines through when he praised the three new leaders of Europe. His caution in the choice of words when testifying before Congress was not dissimilar with the advice of the ancients – Laozi, Confucius, and Buddha.
Through his words and actions, it shows that he is benevolent and cares about the US and the world.
Just as indicated by Confucius, many a Junzi would stand in awe of such a Da Ren?
In line with the wisdoms depicted in the Great Image, and the thoughts of the ancients, perhaps these images can aptly describe Mr. Greenspan’s proper conduct and great achievements:
Within the earth, a mountain: The image of Modesty. Thus the superior man reduces that which is too much, and augments that which is too little. He weighs things and makes them equal.
Thunder and wind: the image of Duration. Thus the superior man stands firm and does not change his direction.
That which is bright rises twice: The image of Fire. Thus the great man, by perpetuating this brightness, illumines the four quarters of the world.
Friday, June 01, 2007
A brief introduction to the Great Image
The received text of the Zhouyi comprise of 64 hexagrams together with relevant commentaries taken from the Ten Wings. Each hexagram within the Zhouyi is laid out with a Judgment, an Image, the six lines, and the commentaries.
This Image also known as the Great Image (Da Xiang), to differentiate it from the Small Images which relate to the individual lines, depicts the imagery represented by two trigrams (comprising of three lines each) that made up each hexagram (six lines). Commentaries on both the Great and Small Images form the Third and Fourth Wings and added to the text to help explain the meaning of a hexagram.
From the study of the Da Xiang, Yi aficionados can learn how to cultivate proper conduct or virtues of a Junzi (superior man), to be more creative, to have a better understanding of the eight trigrams and their attributes, and to understand heaven and earth.
In the Great Treatise (Da Zhuan) it is said:
The holy sages were able to survey all the confused diversities under heaven. They observed forms and phenomena, and made representations of things and their attributes. These were called the Images. (Da Zhuan 8.1)
Thus the Book of Changes consists of images. The images are reproductions (of conditions in the heavens and on earth). (Da Zhuan II 3.1)
The decisions refer to the images. The judgments on the lines refer to the changes. (Da Zhuan 3.1)
The Master said: Is not the Book of Changes supreme? By means of it the holy sages exalted their natures and extended their field of action. Wisdom exalts. The mores make humble. The exalted imitate heaven. The humble follow the example of earth. (Da Zhuan 7.1)
Diviners and/or scholars often chose to ignore the Image probably thinking it is Confucian (and therefore it has nothing to do with Dao, right?) or that it is a repetition of the Judgment in the hexagram. Some who can derive no meaning from the Image has gone to the extent to nonchalantly dismiss its importance deeming it designated for kings and/or the Zhuhou of the Zhou Dynasty and perhaps irrelevant to current Yi studies!
Time waits for no one. If the jug breaks or the short rope cannot reach the water in the well after decades of studies, nothing comes to fruition. Only a detailed and comprehensive study of the Book of Changes and of ancient thoughts allows a deeper understanding of the Yi and/or its messages.
Without a proper understanding of the Image, students, diviners, experts, and scholars may not really understand the oracles, their prognostications, and the wisdoms contain in the Zhouyi. We would not become wise or a Junzi, if we forego: part of the required learning, the necessary cultivation and practice, and the thorough investigation of things. (Think The Great Learning)
The following selected Images from the Zhouyi will perhaps suffice to underpin this brief introduction on the Great Image (Da Xiang):
The movement of heaven is full of power. Thus the superior man makes himself strong and untiring. (Qian)
The earth’s condition is receptive devotion. Thus the superior man who has breadth of character carries the outer world. (Kun)
A spring wells up at foot of the mountain: The image of youth. Thus the superior man fosters his character by thoroughness in all that he does. (Meng)
Heaven within the mountain: The image of the Taming Power of the Great. Thus the superior man acquaints himself with many sayings of antiquity and many deeds of the past, in order to strengthen his character thereby. (Da Zhu)
This Image also known as the Great Image (Da Xiang), to differentiate it from the Small Images which relate to the individual lines, depicts the imagery represented by two trigrams (comprising of three lines each) that made up each hexagram (six lines). Commentaries on both the Great and Small Images form the Third and Fourth Wings and added to the text to help explain the meaning of a hexagram.
From the study of the Da Xiang, Yi aficionados can learn how to cultivate proper conduct or virtues of a Junzi (superior man), to be more creative, to have a better understanding of the eight trigrams and their attributes, and to understand heaven and earth.
In the Great Treatise (Da Zhuan) it is said:
The holy sages were able to survey all the confused diversities under heaven. They observed forms and phenomena, and made representations of things and their attributes. These were called the Images. (Da Zhuan 8.1)
Thus the Book of Changes consists of images. The images are reproductions (of conditions in the heavens and on earth). (Da Zhuan II 3.1)
The decisions refer to the images. The judgments on the lines refer to the changes. (Da Zhuan 3.1)
The Master said: Is not the Book of Changes supreme? By means of it the holy sages exalted their natures and extended their field of action. Wisdom exalts. The mores make humble. The exalted imitate heaven. The humble follow the example of earth. (Da Zhuan 7.1)
Diviners and/or scholars often chose to ignore the Image probably thinking it is Confucian (and therefore it has nothing to do with Dao, right?) or that it is a repetition of the Judgment in the hexagram. Some who can derive no meaning from the Image has gone to the extent to nonchalantly dismiss its importance deeming it designated for kings and/or the Zhuhou of the Zhou Dynasty and perhaps irrelevant to current Yi studies!
Time waits for no one. If the jug breaks or the short rope cannot reach the water in the well after decades of studies, nothing comes to fruition. Only a detailed and comprehensive study of the Book of Changes and of ancient thoughts allows a deeper understanding of the Yi and/or its messages.
Without a proper understanding of the Image, students, diviners, experts, and scholars may not really understand the oracles, their prognostications, and the wisdoms contain in the Zhouyi. We would not become wise or a Junzi, if we forego: part of the required learning, the necessary cultivation and practice, and the thorough investigation of things. (Think The Great Learning)
The following selected Images from the Zhouyi will perhaps suffice to underpin this brief introduction on the Great Image (Da Xiang):
The movement of heaven is full of power. Thus the superior man makes himself strong and untiring. (Qian)
The earth’s condition is receptive devotion. Thus the superior man who has breadth of character carries the outer world. (Kun)
A spring wells up at foot of the mountain: The image of youth. Thus the superior man fosters his character by thoroughness in all that he does. (Meng)
Heaven within the mountain: The image of the Taming Power of the Great. Thus the superior man acquaints himself with many sayings of antiquity and many deeds of the past, in order to strengthen his character thereby. (Da Zhu)
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