Interesting bits of news from the Sunday Star, 4 March 2007:
“The worst is over for the stock market, according to a prominent Yijing scholar from Penang.
Dr. Chuah Chong Cheng, who has studied Yijing for the past 30 years, said the recent plunge of the Asian and European markets was the worst that could happen to the stock market this year. Dr. Chuah had predicted last week’s market plunge.
‘Malaysians should be prepared for very hot weather and haze. Towards the end of the year there will be another flood.’ ‘I am expecting a tsunami to hit our shores either at the end of the year or the beginning of 2008,’ he said, adding that the tsunami would hit before the general elections.”
One wonders how this Yijing scholar knew all these. The Yi never tells me this much – the worst is over for the stock market this year, predicting the weather, another flooding, and a tsunami which will happen before the expected general elections. The Yi only told me about thunder storms and earthquakes, last year. How many more thunder storms and earthquakes will strike, how would I know?
For a bit of fame and fortune, Yi aficionados, who include scholars and masters, have occasionally made false claims and wild predictions of future events. Probably these fortune-telling Yi scholars hope to strike the mother lode if one of their major predictions ever comes true. (Think of Pat Robertson’s conversations with God ‘who’ purportedly made the predictions about the good fortune of the Republican Party and President Bush in 2006. Everyone else was supposed to face bad luck and hard times last year. His wild predictions – contrary to what the Yi told Sam Crane about Bush’s bad luck in 2006 - had all turned out to be wrong.)
Well, just as I was saying in the previous entry about the improper use of hybrid fortune telling methods to determine time in Yi prognostications. Dr. Chuah seems to be using those methods to provide his bold predictions. Only time will tell if his various predictions will come true or not.
No, Yi, one is not envious – you have already spoken on my fortune for 2007 – since you know that I am innocent, please do not hit me on the head, again! One is just sharing thoughts here with Yi fellows and travelers of the Way.
Cheerio!
Sunday, March 04, 2007
Friday, March 02, 2007
Building castles in the air
Human nature has never changed since time immemorial. In the mad rush to make more money, traders overtrade. First it will be greed, then fears and panics if markets turned against them. Those who throw caution to the wind in a fast rising market will certainly have cause to regret for their reckless actions. Denials will come much later. If traders have taken to heart that overtrading forms the main cause for worldwide bankruptcies, perhaps they will be more cautious.
Many investors and traders have been building ever bigger ‘castles in the air’ before the worldwide stock markets plunged on Tuesday 27 February 2007, when the Shanghai Composite Index fell 8.8% triggering heavy falls across Asia followed later in the day (because of the time difference) by Europe and the US. If investors have forgotten or unwilling to take profits for fear of losing out on further gains then they could rue this emotion called greed. Greed quickly turns into fear and panic when markets turned against investors. The herd mentality (part of human nature too) takes over and the mad rush to exit markets turns into a stampede as witnessed last Tuesday.
When market prices run up too high for months on end or in a short few days like in the KLSE, it is not wrong to lock in profits. Investors can then hold cash and bargain hunt when shares prices plunge. Just like the waxing and waning of the moon, markets rise and fall, it is all part of change. And predicting change is the specialty of none other than the Yijing. (The Book of Changes)
Unless you are guided by the Zhouyi and/or the ShenXian, you may not know the timing of share market(s) plunges or rises. Therefore one had warned Malaysian investors on Saturday 24 February 2007 to be careful and to invest in shares with fundamentals even giving an example of the volatility of speculative counters. With the past week’s turmoil, shares with fundamentals did not fall as much as the speculative stocks. No one seemed to have taken those hints. One has been taking profits since the 21st of February and has cleared the bulk of my shareholdings on rebounds on the 28th and the following day.
According to the yearly Yi charts and frankly speaking, I had expected the big plunge to happen next week even though it sometimes occurs during this time of the year. (Akin to the ‘Selling in May and go away’ phenomenon discussed last year.) Yes, one is also aware that few Yi aficionados really have an ear to this. A number of them prefer to learn or put their faith in popular hybrid systems used by fortune tellers and Fengshui masters, to determine the timing of Yi changes. Or they prefer to follow chartists and shares analysts (these professionals rely on historical information to determine future patterns) rather than the Yi. Can these fortune telling systems and charts accurately predict the rise and falls of share markets? Over the past three decades, one has not seen any. Even Mr. Marc Faber known as ‘Mr. Gloom and Doom’ who manages a hedge fund in Hong Kong had given better predictions of falling Asian markets.
On Tuesday, one had explained to my son, Kong Chian (his given Chinese name means ‘Bright Future’) and showed him the Yi yearly charts why the KLSE had plunged. I had also told him about the story that I rued the day back in 1994 when one did not listen to the Yi but listened instead to a message from a Daoist heavenly immortal (Xian) passed on by a colleague. The Yi had told me to sell all the shares by the 18th of February that year. However the message from the immortal said the share market was still good till mid March. The KLSE plunged by end February 1994 and all the paper profits worth millions disappeared in the ensuing correction. Months later one found out that the temple medium based in Muar, Johor had been corrupted. It was already too late. That is why one chose to follow the Yi instead of ShenXian (Daoist deities and immortals) from then on.
On the same day, one joked with my daughter, Choy Cin (her given Chinese name means ‘Colourful Angel or Immortal’) that half the wall of a new house that I planned to buy with the profits has fallen down. After an explanation, she still thought that her father did not have enough money. She suggested in the quiet that I can use her savings in the bank to buy a house! If readers do not understand the crux of the joke, perhaps some may understand this:
The wall falls back to the moat. Use no army now. Make your commands known within your own town. Perseverance brings humiliation.
Castles in the air can quickly turn into shattered dreams if we do not realize profits or if our beloved theories fail to hold water.
The determination of time factors are incorporated in hexagrams and explained in the ten wings, yet theorists hold fort and try to convince Yi students that hybrid or derivative methods work better. Well, if it looks fine in theory or in their minds to build ever bigger castles in the air, bully for them. Fallacies always lead to that.
As professional Yi diviners, we should put money where the mouth is. Only when something works well after extended divination practice, can we propagate the proven method. Students using such methods cannot go far wrong since they have been extensively tested over time.
What good is a belief if faith is all that we have? People can keep to their beliefs; I will follow the Yi, the ancients and the wise. The scope of the Yi is infinite. If aficionados want to limit their own knowledge and study hybrid/derivative systems to beef up their Yi studies, it is fine. However it would not be proper conduct to mislead Yi fellows with such theories. If you truly believe that these theories work with Yi divinations, prove it.
Some readers could have by mistake assumed that my writing about the Yi and the cultivation of the cardinal virtues has something to do with religious studies. The cultivation of virtues is related to the proper conduct of a Junzi and the Yi transcends religion. If they fail to understand this, time and time again, perhaps they should stop their tinkering with the Yi. While these aficionados hinder their own Yi studies, earnest Yi students and I will continue on this path:
Bearing with the uncultured in gentleness, fording the river with resolution, not neglecting what is distant, not regarding one’s companions: Thus one may manage to walk in the middle.
Commentary:
'In times of prosperity it is important above all to possess enough greatness of soul to bear with imperfect people. For in the hands of a great master no material is unproductive; he can find use for everything. But this generosity is by no means laxity or weakness. It is during times of prosperity especially that we must always be ready to risk even dangerous undertakings, such as the crossing of a river, if they are necessary. So too we must not neglect what is distant but must attend scrupulously to everything. Factionalism and the dominance of cliques are especially to be avoided. Instead each man should do his duty.' [W/B]
Another good line for your studies and discernment is this:
No plain not followed by a slope. No going not followed by a return. He who remains persevering in danger is without blame. Do not complain about this truth; enjoy the good fortune you still possess.
The final line about the timing of recent events in the share markets and on the web before ‘the wall falls back into the moat’ is this:
The sovereign I gives his daughter in marriage. This brings blessings and supreme good fortune.
What further blessings and good fortune can shares investors ask for? In their mad rush to chase their ever growing dreams, many deferred realizing profits. Much blood has been shed in the world markets the past week and further losses can be expected. The giving and receiving of ‘hoongpow’ period will end this Sunday, the 4th of March, the fifteenth and last day of Chinese New Year. There will be no more red packets for anyone, therefore expect further falls in the KLSE next week what with the heavy delivery of scrip.
If investors in the KLSE are still highly leveraged, reduce it by selling shares. It has become one big battlefield out there. Any overtraded investor can be ‘killed’. Stay alive to fight another day. You could quickly run out of money if you decide to top up (never ending) margin calls in a falling market. This is the best one can suggest, since no one spotted the recent indications given by the Yi, my various hints and several warnings. Some of the Yi indications include these two lines:
The first line in Fu means: Return from a short distance. No need for remorse. Great good fortune.
The second line in Fu means: Quiet return. Good fortune.
If we achieved great good fortune by investing in shares, followed by blessings and supreme good fortune which later dwindled to good fortune and we still do not want to return by realizing profits, then there will be occasion for regrets if not humiliation when the wall or ‘your castle in the air’ falls back into the moat.
Yours truly has made a quiet return and received good fortune. One has left the battle field to others and now lives in peace. And cheerfully waits for the right timing to go into battle, once again. By doing this, perhaps one lives in the essence of the Yi and the Way to master one’s fate.
Therefore with the help of the Yi if one can foresee the future, where are the restrictions of time and space? Is this not the profundity of the Yi?
Many investors and traders have been building ever bigger ‘castles in the air’ before the worldwide stock markets plunged on Tuesday 27 February 2007, when the Shanghai Composite Index fell 8.8% triggering heavy falls across Asia followed later in the day (because of the time difference) by Europe and the US. If investors have forgotten or unwilling to take profits for fear of losing out on further gains then they could rue this emotion called greed. Greed quickly turns into fear and panic when markets turned against investors. The herd mentality (part of human nature too) takes over and the mad rush to exit markets turns into a stampede as witnessed last Tuesday.
When market prices run up too high for months on end or in a short few days like in the KLSE, it is not wrong to lock in profits. Investors can then hold cash and bargain hunt when shares prices plunge. Just like the waxing and waning of the moon, markets rise and fall, it is all part of change. And predicting change is the specialty of none other than the Yijing. (The Book of Changes)
Unless you are guided by the Zhouyi and/or the ShenXian, you may not know the timing of share market(s) plunges or rises. Therefore one had warned Malaysian investors on Saturday 24 February 2007 to be careful and to invest in shares with fundamentals even giving an example of the volatility of speculative counters. With the past week’s turmoil, shares with fundamentals did not fall as much as the speculative stocks. No one seemed to have taken those hints. One has been taking profits since the 21st of February and has cleared the bulk of my shareholdings on rebounds on the 28th and the following day.
According to the yearly Yi charts and frankly speaking, I had expected the big plunge to happen next week even though it sometimes occurs during this time of the year. (Akin to the ‘Selling in May and go away’ phenomenon discussed last year.) Yes, one is also aware that few Yi aficionados really have an ear to this. A number of them prefer to learn or put their faith in popular hybrid systems used by fortune tellers and Fengshui masters, to determine the timing of Yi changes. Or they prefer to follow chartists and shares analysts (these professionals rely on historical information to determine future patterns) rather than the Yi. Can these fortune telling systems and charts accurately predict the rise and falls of share markets? Over the past three decades, one has not seen any. Even Mr. Marc Faber known as ‘Mr. Gloom and Doom’ who manages a hedge fund in Hong Kong had given better predictions of falling Asian markets.
On Tuesday, one had explained to my son, Kong Chian (his given Chinese name means ‘Bright Future’) and showed him the Yi yearly charts why the KLSE had plunged. I had also told him about the story that I rued the day back in 1994 when one did not listen to the Yi but listened instead to a message from a Daoist heavenly immortal (Xian) passed on by a colleague. The Yi had told me to sell all the shares by the 18th of February that year. However the message from the immortal said the share market was still good till mid March. The KLSE plunged by end February 1994 and all the paper profits worth millions disappeared in the ensuing correction. Months later one found out that the temple medium based in Muar, Johor had been corrupted. It was already too late. That is why one chose to follow the Yi instead of ShenXian (Daoist deities and immortals) from then on.
On the same day, one joked with my daughter, Choy Cin (her given Chinese name means ‘Colourful Angel or Immortal’) that half the wall of a new house that I planned to buy with the profits has fallen down. After an explanation, she still thought that her father did not have enough money. She suggested in the quiet that I can use her savings in the bank to buy a house! If readers do not understand the crux of the joke, perhaps some may understand this:
The wall falls back to the moat. Use no army now. Make your commands known within your own town. Perseverance brings humiliation.
Castles in the air can quickly turn into shattered dreams if we do not realize profits or if our beloved theories fail to hold water.
The determination of time factors are incorporated in hexagrams and explained in the ten wings, yet theorists hold fort and try to convince Yi students that hybrid or derivative methods work better. Well, if it looks fine in theory or in their minds to build ever bigger castles in the air, bully for them. Fallacies always lead to that.
As professional Yi diviners, we should put money where the mouth is. Only when something works well after extended divination practice, can we propagate the proven method. Students using such methods cannot go far wrong since they have been extensively tested over time.
What good is a belief if faith is all that we have? People can keep to their beliefs; I will follow the Yi, the ancients and the wise. The scope of the Yi is infinite. If aficionados want to limit their own knowledge and study hybrid/derivative systems to beef up their Yi studies, it is fine. However it would not be proper conduct to mislead Yi fellows with such theories. If you truly believe that these theories work with Yi divinations, prove it.
Some readers could have by mistake assumed that my writing about the Yi and the cultivation of the cardinal virtues has something to do with religious studies. The cultivation of virtues is related to the proper conduct of a Junzi and the Yi transcends religion. If they fail to understand this, time and time again, perhaps they should stop their tinkering with the Yi. While these aficionados hinder their own Yi studies, earnest Yi students and I will continue on this path:
Bearing with the uncultured in gentleness, fording the river with resolution, not neglecting what is distant, not regarding one’s companions: Thus one may manage to walk in the middle.
Commentary:
'In times of prosperity it is important above all to possess enough greatness of soul to bear with imperfect people. For in the hands of a great master no material is unproductive; he can find use for everything. But this generosity is by no means laxity or weakness. It is during times of prosperity especially that we must always be ready to risk even dangerous undertakings, such as the crossing of a river, if they are necessary. So too we must not neglect what is distant but must attend scrupulously to everything. Factionalism and the dominance of cliques are especially to be avoided. Instead each man should do his duty.' [W/B]
Another good line for your studies and discernment is this:
No plain not followed by a slope. No going not followed by a return. He who remains persevering in danger is without blame. Do not complain about this truth; enjoy the good fortune you still possess.
The final line about the timing of recent events in the share markets and on the web before ‘the wall falls back into the moat’ is this:
The sovereign I gives his daughter in marriage. This brings blessings and supreme good fortune.
What further blessings and good fortune can shares investors ask for? In their mad rush to chase their ever growing dreams, many deferred realizing profits. Much blood has been shed in the world markets the past week and further losses can be expected. The giving and receiving of ‘hoongpow’ period will end this Sunday, the 4th of March, the fifteenth and last day of Chinese New Year. There will be no more red packets for anyone, therefore expect further falls in the KLSE next week what with the heavy delivery of scrip.
If investors in the KLSE are still highly leveraged, reduce it by selling shares. It has become one big battlefield out there. Any overtraded investor can be ‘killed’. Stay alive to fight another day. You could quickly run out of money if you decide to top up (never ending) margin calls in a falling market. This is the best one can suggest, since no one spotted the recent indications given by the Yi, my various hints and several warnings. Some of the Yi indications include these two lines:
The first line in Fu means: Return from a short distance. No need for remorse. Great good fortune.
The second line in Fu means: Quiet return. Good fortune.
If we achieved great good fortune by investing in shares, followed by blessings and supreme good fortune which later dwindled to good fortune and we still do not want to return by realizing profits, then there will be occasion for regrets if not humiliation when the wall or ‘your castle in the air’ falls back into the moat.
Yours truly has made a quiet return and received good fortune. One has left the battle field to others and now lives in peace. And cheerfully waits for the right timing to go into battle, once again. By doing this, perhaps one lives in the essence of the Yi and the Way to master one’s fate.
Therefore with the help of the Yi if one can foresee the future, where are the restrictions of time and space? Is this not the profundity of the Yi?
Wednesday, February 28, 2007
Another signpost of the Way?
Elementary, my dear Watson. Science will always catch up with nature and heaven. In a couple of centuries from now, scientists could invent a thing that flies through space, take photos in heaven and send back the pictures to earth. They could name it, ‘The Hubble Space Telescope’ or something like that!
Obviously that would be very exciting for people on earth then. While this new invention will be great and good for humanity, little would the inventor(s) know that the ancient Chinese have already seen such stars and galaxies during their travels in heaven? To be able to travel such distance – light years away – these ancients meditate and cultivate. Yes, Dr Watson, the ancients can really see those so called Galaxy Building Blocks -11 billion light-years away - which at times look like starbursts or clouds formations.
How I would know, you say, my good man. Well, I would not be Sherlock Holmes if I just rely on theories and beliefs. It is said that Laozi, Lieh Tzu and Zhuangzi had written about this meditation practice but not many readers down the two or three millennia understood what these ancients wrote. To rely on theoreticians and pedant translators will not allow students to see heaven.
It has been rather fortunate that I had in hand a translated treatise of the ‘Secret of the Golden Flower’ written by a Daoist heavenly immortal known by the name of Lu Dongbin. And I have put his teachings into practice. From a mere three years of earnest dual cultivation, I have been able to see these ‘Galaxy Building Blocks’. This I understand is one of the signposts of the Way or Tao. Since the signpost can be sighted within such a short span of practice, I called this minor achievement, elementary!
Well, I could go on and on….. Dr Watson! Zzzzzz Dr Watson! Zzzzz, snore……
Footnote:
The above photos by Hubble Space Telescope were included in a newspaper article titled ‘Looking back 11 billion light-years’ appeared in the New Sunday Times on September 8, 1996.
Saturday, February 24, 2007
Super bull has started
Investors in the KLSE will probably feel elated after the big rally across the Board spilled over the shortened three days trading after the Chinese New Year public holidays. On Wednesday – the first day of trade – many low liners rallied. As expected, retailers jumped on the band wagon chasing these shares higher. The value traded exceeded RM 4 billion for the day. The shares of stockbrokers were in great demand on Thursday because of their re-rating, what with the triple or fourfold increase in daily values of trade over that of 2006 (think commissions). Each stockbroker has announced very good profits for 2006 and many gave staff six months’ bonuses. Little wonder, many of their share prices tripled or went up fourfold from their lows in 2006.
If investors had bought or held on to these shares last year and sold them on Thursday – after the Chinese New Year holidays – they would have received a windfall in their red packets within the fifteen days of CNY. This would clarify why one had in two earlier entries indicated – expect a big ‘angpow’ after CNY and not before – and surely the Chinese understands that red packets are usually given during the fifteen days of the Spring Festival. Those who had sold shares or did not buy any before CNY will certainly rue their decisions.
Therefore it is nonsense to say that one was not clear enough when writing the previous two entries. Just because there are some who had chosen to follow some chartists and Fengshui masters who expected a correction before CNY has nothing to do with my Yi charts and oracles. I am neither a fortune teller nor a Fengshui master. One cannot see beyond what the Yi tells me. Therefore stop passing the buck for your own indecisions or missteps.
1993 was a bull run in Asia including Malaysia. My Yi hexagram table and charts were drawn up then and fine-tuned in 1996 – a smaller bull run. It appears that this week’s performance of some shares had flown much higher than expected from indications of the divined hexagrams. Slight overruns are expected but not huge increases. (See entries on ‘Do not chase after the horse’.) One had already re-rated the 64 hexagrams investment chart in my mind. Coupled with a comment from a heavenly immortal, a fortnight ago, it looks like 2007 would be a super bull for the KLSE.
Technical analysis or charting can be thrown out of the window if the super bull happens. Buy into stocks that have good fundamentals and investors would be safe from the expected huge volatility in share prices. (The reason investors have to do their homework.) Share prices that jumped up too fast will also come down much when profit taking sets in, as witnessed on Thursday and Friday. Some shares prices have already fallen 20% within a day or two from their year highs reached on Thursday morning.
Therefore be careful, one had seen enough people losing money in bull runs especially those who tend to chase speculative stocks and lose their cool. Never gamble under a hot temper. In the heat of the moment, many a punter had lost a fortune.
When a divined hexagram indicates the price of a share to increase only by a third, but it more than doubled, the investment chart is not wrong – the chart has to be re-rated upwards (changing with the times). Since a Quanzhen heavenly immortal has also indirectly chipped in, investors can look forward to a Super Bull run in the KLSE this year.
How much you win and how much you lose is based entirely on your own decision and temperament. There is no spoon feeding in this blog and if you cannot win money in a super bull run, put it down to bad luck or fate. Never try to pin the blame on me again. I reiterate that I am not responsible for anyone's fate or fortune.
Unhappy investors and/or readers can always look elsewhere or ask for KLSE tips from the ShenXian (Daoist deities and immortals). One is just as happy writing for many other readers who find something worth their while reading this blog.
If investors had bought or held on to these shares last year and sold them on Thursday – after the Chinese New Year holidays – they would have received a windfall in their red packets within the fifteen days of CNY. This would clarify why one had in two earlier entries indicated – expect a big ‘angpow’ after CNY and not before – and surely the Chinese understands that red packets are usually given during the fifteen days of the Spring Festival. Those who had sold shares or did not buy any before CNY will certainly rue their decisions.
Therefore it is nonsense to say that one was not clear enough when writing the previous two entries. Just because there are some who had chosen to follow some chartists and Fengshui masters who expected a correction before CNY has nothing to do with my Yi charts and oracles. I am neither a fortune teller nor a Fengshui master. One cannot see beyond what the Yi tells me. Therefore stop passing the buck for your own indecisions or missteps.
1993 was a bull run in Asia including Malaysia. My Yi hexagram table and charts were drawn up then and fine-tuned in 1996 – a smaller bull run. It appears that this week’s performance of some shares had flown much higher than expected from indications of the divined hexagrams. Slight overruns are expected but not huge increases. (See entries on ‘Do not chase after the horse’.) One had already re-rated the 64 hexagrams investment chart in my mind. Coupled with a comment from a heavenly immortal, a fortnight ago, it looks like 2007 would be a super bull for the KLSE.
Technical analysis or charting can be thrown out of the window if the super bull happens. Buy into stocks that have good fundamentals and investors would be safe from the expected huge volatility in share prices. (The reason investors have to do their homework.) Share prices that jumped up too fast will also come down much when profit taking sets in, as witnessed on Thursday and Friday. Some shares prices have already fallen 20% within a day or two from their year highs reached on Thursday morning.
Therefore be careful, one had seen enough people losing money in bull runs especially those who tend to chase speculative stocks and lose their cool. Never gamble under a hot temper. In the heat of the moment, many a punter had lost a fortune.
When a divined hexagram indicates the price of a share to increase only by a third, but it more than doubled, the investment chart is not wrong – the chart has to be re-rated upwards (changing with the times). Since a Quanzhen heavenly immortal has also indirectly chipped in, investors can look forward to a Super Bull run in the KLSE this year.
How much you win and how much you lose is based entirely on your own decision and temperament. There is no spoon feeding in this blog and if you cannot win money in a super bull run, put it down to bad luck or fate. Never try to pin the blame on me again. I reiterate that I am not responsible for anyone's fate or fortune.
Unhappy investors and/or readers can always look elsewhere or ask for KLSE tips from the ShenXian (Daoist deities and immortals). One is just as happy writing for many other readers who find something worth their while reading this blog.
Wednesday, February 21, 2007
Confucian and/or Daoist magic
With Spring in the air, it is time for some Confucian and/or Daoist magic, the magic of transformation. How can we do this? Simple and easy, just follow through with what the ancients suggested. Cultivate the cardinal virtues and students of the Yi and Tao can manifest goodness and kindness before returning to the original virtue. People may tell you differently but the heavenly Daoist immortals and Buddhas will agree to what is posted, so will the Yi (refer to the Qian / The Creative hexagram).
Many down the ages often ignored these virtues, while Laozi, Confucius and Buddha discerned and taught them to their students. These great sages also wrote these virtues into their treatises to be passed down to posterity. Just because the multitude are ignorant does not mean we have to be the same. Perhaps fellow travelers and Yi students can make the cultivation of these four cardinal virtues as their Chinese New Year resolution. One year from now, those who earnestly cultivate may find that their close friends and relatives may wonder how their transformation was managed. A suggested answer can be, ‘Now that is Confucian and/or Daoist magic!’
The one posted on the left is Confucian while the one on the right is Daoist. But both comprised the same meanings, it is just a matter of semantics. Buddha in the Dhammapada teaches the eight fold path - right thoughts, right actions…… They all lead to the same transformation of your character. If you can change your character (for the better) you have begun to learn how to master your fate.
Ladies may find that they do better at changing fate than men because of their maternal instincts and their higher tolerance of the faults of humans. If only they want to cultivate – after all the cardinal virtues are for the common good and part of human nature - since cultivation is not meant just for men, in this time and age. If the ladies do not want to learn the Confucian ethics, they can always learn the Daoists’?
Footnote:
For those who cannot read Mandarin – the pinyin for the Confucian ethics is Ren, Yi, Tao and Te. The pinyin for the Daoist ethics is Ren, Yi, Li and Zhi.
Sunday, February 18, 2007
Billions of years in space
Heaven existed for billions of years. Is Tao considerable older? Have a look at this picture taken by the Hubble Space Telescope in 1996 titled True Colours of the Galaxies. If fellow travellers are unable to see any, do not worry, you may still see them someday. Like Tao and Heaven, these stars have been in space for billions of years, what is another year? 2007.
With these bright colours of galaxies, I wish all readers a Happy and Prosperous Chinese New Year. Gong Xi Fa Cai!
Thursday, February 15, 2007
Did the Yi speak? (3)
In the comments section of the ‘Did the Yi speak? (2)’ entry, Regresso made some relevant comments on whether the Yi will speak at different levels to commoners and nobles. And whether there can be an easier way to study the Yi and the necessity to cultivate virtues. My draft reply was half complete, when one felt the urge to consult the Yi on two shares investment which could not wait since there is an ongoing broad based rally in the KLSE, started late Tuesday after the expected dips.
Since there were two separate questions, one had to decide which to ask first. (I usually consult on two investments in a day.) While one was separating the bunch of yarrow stalks and during the counting off of four stalks, at times my mind drifted off to how best to reply Regresso’s comment.
If you ever wanted to know whether the Yi had picked up on those wanderings, or did the Yi want to have a final say on the matter, please read on.
In the first oracle, the answer came in the form of Hexagram 24 Fu / Return with the first two lines moving changing it to Hexagram 7 Shi / The Army.
The judgment in Fu says:
Return. Success. Going in and coming in without error. Friends come without blame. To and fro goes the way. On the seventh day comes return. It furthers one to have somewhere to go.
The first line means:
Return from a short distance. No need for remorse. Great good fortune.
Commentary:
Slight digressions from the good cannot be avoided, but one must turn back in time, before going too far. This is especially important in the development of character; every faintly evil thought must be put aside immediately, before it takes root in the mind. Then there is no cause for remorse, and all goes well.
The second line means:
Quiet return. Good fortune.
Commentary:
Return always calls for a decision and is an act of self-mastery. It is made easier if a man is in good company. If he can bring himself to put aside pride and follow the example of good men, good fortune results.
The judgment in Shi says:
The Army. The army needs perseverance and a strong man. Good fortune without blame.
If you take a moment to reflect on what the Yi wanted to say on the matter raised by Regresso – ignore my two investment questions, one knows what the Yi wanted to tell me – perhaps you can understand why it is an important message to Yi aficionados. The commentary offered in the Wilhelm translation is a summary of what has been said and thought in connection with the hexagrams and the lines in the course of many centuries by China’s most distinguished philosophers [W/B 255]. And therefore should be read for a better understanding of what the Yi wanted to say.
For the easy reference of some readers, one will paraphrase what the Yi said.
To and fro goes the Way (Tao). Slight digressions from the good are human. But one must turn back in time, before going too far. This is important in the development of character. The Junzi is someone who shows greatness of character (thus of noble character). However not all nobles – illustrious by rank, title or birth – or sons of nobles is considered a Junzi. It depends on a person’s intent and actions. (See Analects and the entry on ‘Three types of man’) The way to possess great character for anyone is to cultivate virtues and self. It is made easier if a man is in good company (friends). If we can put aside pride and follow the example of ancient sages and the wise, good fortune results. Of course we will need discipline (like in the army) to make a return to the light and the Way.
While casting the second oracle, one felt an awareness that something will happen. It became more acute just before one divided the bunch of yarrow into two for the last or top line. Obtaining a dark or light line really depends on the division. The division of the forty nine stalks should be as natural as possible. It does not matter which divided half contains more stalks.
The second oracle came in the form of Hexagram 27 Yi / The Corners of the Mouth with the first and fourth lines moving changing it to Hexagram 35 Jin / Progress.
The judgment in Yi says:
The Corners of the Mouth. Perseverance brings good fortune. Pay heed to the providing of nourishment and to what a man seeks to fill his own mouth with.
Mencius says about this:
If we wish to know whether anyone is superior or not, we need only observe what part of his being he regards as especially important. The body has superior and inferior, important and unimportant parts. We must not injure important parts for the sake of the unimportant, nor must we injure the superior parts for the sake of the inferior. He who cultivates the inferior parts of his nature is an inferior man. He who cultivates the superior parts of his nature is a superior man.
The first line means:
You let your magic tortoise go, and look at me with the corners of your mouth drooping. Misfortune.
Commentary:
The magic tortoise is a creature possessed of such supernatural powers that it lives on air and needs no earthly nourishment. The image means that a man fitted by nature and position to live freely and independently renounces this self-reliance and instead looks with envy and discontent at others who are outwardly in better circumstances. But such base envy only arouses derision and contempt in those others. This has bad results. (Perhaps the Yi whacked me on the head? If true, probably the Yi may have misunderstood British humor or my sense of humor.)
The fourth line means:
Turning to the summit for provision of nourishment brings good fortune. Spying about with sharp eyes like a tiger with insatiable craving. No blame.
Commentary:
In contrast to the six in the second place, which refers to a man bent exclusively on his own advantage, this line refers to one occupying a high position and striving to let his light shine forth. To do this he needs helpers, because he cannot attain his lofty aim alone. With the greed of a hungry tiger he is on the lookout for the right people. Since he is not working for himself but for the good of all, there is no wrong in such zeal.
The judgment in Jin says:
Progress. The powerful prince is honored with horses in large numbers. In a single day he is granted audience three times.
Hexagram Yi teaches man how to cultivate. Mencius weighed in with his comments: ‘If one cultivates inferior parts of one’s nature, one becomes an inferior man (Xiao Ren). If one cultivates superior parts of one’s nature, one becomes a superior man (Junzi)’. The Yi then advises us not to envy others. Just cultivate until your light shine forth. (This is also applicable to neidan practitioners.) And you will be in the fourth line to let your light shine forth for the common good. To do this you will need helpers of the right kind. The sharp eyes of a hungry tiger will help to discern who the right people are. The correct way of command (as in the army) and a much easier way is to influence experts and teachers and through them the students and people. Thereby there is progress and the powerful prince is honored with horses in large numbers. In a single day he is granted audience three times. (By coincidence, after Regresso’s initial comment, in a single day, Luis and Regresso together granted me, an audience three times!)
Readers will have to draw their own conclusions on whether the Yi has spoken or not. And if the Yi’s comments were relevant to what was discussed by Luis and Regresso, and to all Yi aficionados on the cultivation of virtues to return to Tao.
Footnote:
In case, just like the Yi you had missed my sense of humor, comments made in jest are usually accompanied by exclamation marks. The Yi’s sense of humor is in full display since one was given private tuition on two lines changes consecutively within a day! (Remember my joke on Professor Sam Crane getting his? Probably the Yi whacked my head for that remark!)
Since there were two separate questions, one had to decide which to ask first. (I usually consult on two investments in a day.) While one was separating the bunch of yarrow stalks and during the counting off of four stalks, at times my mind drifted off to how best to reply Regresso’s comment.
If you ever wanted to know whether the Yi had picked up on those wanderings, or did the Yi want to have a final say on the matter, please read on.
In the first oracle, the answer came in the form of Hexagram 24 Fu / Return with the first two lines moving changing it to Hexagram 7 Shi / The Army.
The judgment in Fu says:
Return. Success. Going in and coming in without error. Friends come without blame. To and fro goes the way. On the seventh day comes return. It furthers one to have somewhere to go.
The first line means:
Return from a short distance. No need for remorse. Great good fortune.
Commentary:
Slight digressions from the good cannot be avoided, but one must turn back in time, before going too far. This is especially important in the development of character; every faintly evil thought must be put aside immediately, before it takes root in the mind. Then there is no cause for remorse, and all goes well.
The second line means:
Quiet return. Good fortune.
Commentary:
Return always calls for a decision and is an act of self-mastery. It is made easier if a man is in good company. If he can bring himself to put aside pride and follow the example of good men, good fortune results.
The judgment in Shi says:
The Army. The army needs perseverance and a strong man. Good fortune without blame.
If you take a moment to reflect on what the Yi wanted to say on the matter raised by Regresso – ignore my two investment questions, one knows what the Yi wanted to tell me – perhaps you can understand why it is an important message to Yi aficionados. The commentary offered in the Wilhelm translation is a summary of what has been said and thought in connection with the hexagrams and the lines in the course of many centuries by China’s most distinguished philosophers [W/B 255]. And therefore should be read for a better understanding of what the Yi wanted to say.
For the easy reference of some readers, one will paraphrase what the Yi said.
To and fro goes the Way (Tao). Slight digressions from the good are human. But one must turn back in time, before going too far. This is important in the development of character. The Junzi is someone who shows greatness of character (thus of noble character). However not all nobles – illustrious by rank, title or birth – or sons of nobles is considered a Junzi. It depends on a person’s intent and actions. (See Analects and the entry on ‘Three types of man’) The way to possess great character for anyone is to cultivate virtues and self. It is made easier if a man is in good company (friends). If we can put aside pride and follow the example of ancient sages and the wise, good fortune results. Of course we will need discipline (like in the army) to make a return to the light and the Way.
While casting the second oracle, one felt an awareness that something will happen. It became more acute just before one divided the bunch of yarrow into two for the last or top line. Obtaining a dark or light line really depends on the division. The division of the forty nine stalks should be as natural as possible. It does not matter which divided half contains more stalks.
The second oracle came in the form of Hexagram 27 Yi / The Corners of the Mouth with the first and fourth lines moving changing it to Hexagram 35 Jin / Progress.
The judgment in Yi says:
The Corners of the Mouth. Perseverance brings good fortune. Pay heed to the providing of nourishment and to what a man seeks to fill his own mouth with.
Mencius says about this:
If we wish to know whether anyone is superior or not, we need only observe what part of his being he regards as especially important. The body has superior and inferior, important and unimportant parts. We must not injure important parts for the sake of the unimportant, nor must we injure the superior parts for the sake of the inferior. He who cultivates the inferior parts of his nature is an inferior man. He who cultivates the superior parts of his nature is a superior man.
The first line means:
You let your magic tortoise go, and look at me with the corners of your mouth drooping. Misfortune.
Commentary:
The magic tortoise is a creature possessed of such supernatural powers that it lives on air and needs no earthly nourishment. The image means that a man fitted by nature and position to live freely and independently renounces this self-reliance and instead looks with envy and discontent at others who are outwardly in better circumstances. But such base envy only arouses derision and contempt in those others. This has bad results. (Perhaps the Yi whacked me on the head? If true, probably the Yi may have misunderstood British humor or my sense of humor.)
The fourth line means:
Turning to the summit for provision of nourishment brings good fortune. Spying about with sharp eyes like a tiger with insatiable craving. No blame.
Commentary:
In contrast to the six in the second place, which refers to a man bent exclusively on his own advantage, this line refers to one occupying a high position and striving to let his light shine forth. To do this he needs helpers, because he cannot attain his lofty aim alone. With the greed of a hungry tiger he is on the lookout for the right people. Since he is not working for himself but for the good of all, there is no wrong in such zeal.
The judgment in Jin says:
Progress. The powerful prince is honored with horses in large numbers. In a single day he is granted audience three times.
Hexagram Yi teaches man how to cultivate. Mencius weighed in with his comments: ‘If one cultivates inferior parts of one’s nature, one becomes an inferior man (Xiao Ren). If one cultivates superior parts of one’s nature, one becomes a superior man (Junzi)’. The Yi then advises us not to envy others. Just cultivate until your light shine forth. (This is also applicable to neidan practitioners.) And you will be in the fourth line to let your light shine forth for the common good. To do this you will need helpers of the right kind. The sharp eyes of a hungry tiger will help to discern who the right people are. The correct way of command (as in the army) and a much easier way is to influence experts and teachers and through them the students and people. Thereby there is progress and the powerful prince is honored with horses in large numbers. In a single day he is granted audience three times. (By coincidence, after Regresso’s initial comment, in a single day, Luis and Regresso together granted me, an audience three times!)
Readers will have to draw their own conclusions on whether the Yi has spoken or not. And if the Yi’s comments were relevant to what was discussed by Luis and Regresso, and to all Yi aficionados on the cultivation of virtues to return to Tao.
Footnote:
In case, just like the Yi you had missed my sense of humor, comments made in jest are usually accompanied by exclamation marks. The Yi’s sense of humor is in full display since one was given private tuition on two lines changes consecutively within a day! (Remember my joke on Professor Sam Crane getting his? Probably the Yi whacked my head for that remark!)
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