To be blessed by heaven (2)

Shortly after the entry of the same title, by coincidence, the Yi answered Sam Crane’s question on the presidential prospect of Hillary Clinton with moving first and top lines of Hexagram 14 Da You / Possession in Great Measure with a resultant Hexagram 32 Heng / Duration. The top line of Da You means someone blessed by heaven. Sam was so enthusiastic over what Yi has said about Hillary’s prospects that he did not wait to post the oracle in his ‘The Useless Tree’ blog on the usual Fridays. Instead, he posted it on a Tuesday and titled the entry, “Another President Clinton?”

Indeed it is a good prognostication, but as Sam correctly interpreted, Hillary Clinton has much to cultivate before she can expect blessings from heaven. If heaven bless her, the USA and the world would be a happier place for people to live in. If you wonder why one had said that, perhaps we can take a look at what she has to cultivate to be blessed by heaven.

The Judgment :
Possession in Great Measure. Supreme success.

The Image:
Fire in heaven above: Thus the superior man curbs evil and furthers good, and thereby obeys the benevolent will of heaven.

If Hillary can cultivate to become a Junzi or a Da Ren to curb existing evil and furthers good in the US and in the world, is it not for the common good?

Since she has just announced her candidacy for the US President, the bottom line change of Da You is certainly apt. It means :
No relationship with what is harmful; there is no blame in this. If one remains conscious of difficulty, one remains without blame.

The line signals caution in what she has set out to do. If there is no relationship with evil doers, then it is alright. Hillary has just entered the situation in Da You. She has to constantly be aware of the difficulties which lay ahead.

'From the bottom line of Trigram Qian, she has to overcome two lines (probably competitors from her own Democratic Party) before she can reach - Trigram Li - clarity. If she gets clear as indicated by the Yi, she will still need to beat her worthy opponent from the Republican Party represented by the fourth line (a minister) to become the next US President. If she is sincere and truly serve the people, she can win the US presidency. And represent the female in the fifth line which rules over five male lines of the hexagram.'

The top line of Da You means :
He is blessed by heaven. Good fortune. Nothing that does not further.

By giving a changing top line instead of the fifth, the Yi probably wants to indicate that Hillary can do more for the world and thereby receive blessings from heaven. In this second entry, one repeats what Confucius says of this top line :
To bless means to help. Heaven helps the man who is devoted; men help the man who is true. He who walks in truth and is devoted in his thinking, and furthermore reveres the worthy, is blessed by heaven. He has good fortune, and there is nothing that would not further. (Think King Wen.)

Sincerity in serving the people and truth are what the US people have demanded. The whole world wants peace but has no current leader to look up to. A great statesman or stateswoman is sorely lacking to resolve the current crises.

Can Hillary Clinton curbs evil and furthers good in the world?

With the prognostication, the Yi has indicated that she can certainly rise to the challenges ahead and receives blessings from heaven.

In case some world leaders still cannot see it, only true words and sincere actions - like those expected in a husband and wife relationship - can result in duration (Hexagram 32 Heng).

Golden Lights

Running water,
Starts the songs of the immortals.
Sitting still,
Empty trill.

The body shakes,
The head moves,
Qi dives,
Sun rise.

Bows low,
Qi will flow,
Essence follows,
The nowhere land glows.

The body shudders,
The head shakes.
Light blinks,
Clouds and mists.

Clouds filled sky,
By and By,
Reddish blight,
Fluorescence lights.

Behold a moon,
By heaven’s boon.
Qi and Light,
Brightens the night.

Non-being leads,
The lotus twirls,
Arms rock,
A trance like log.

Turns to the past,
Long will the five thieves last.
Go round the eight trigrams,
Stop to face your ancient master.

Golden lights,
What a delight!
Ancients know,
Nothing to show.

All within,
To return to the Origin,
Visit the Center,
Climb the steps of heaven to enter.

Of students and masters (4)

If we happen to browse through various Tao forums, we sometimes find Daoist students arguing over whose teachers and what techniques are better for neidan practice and enlightenment. The arguments often turned heated and can run into pages. Valid arguments are quite acceptable because it forms part of cultivation – the cultivation of life – and has something to teach students and masters.

In case readers are unaware, Daoist immortals on occasions send their senior disciples to meet elders of other temples – Daoist or Buddhists – for a lengthy closed door discussion on Tao.

However quite a number of Western Daoist students tend to mix up Chinese martial arts and various types of meditation with neidan practice. The muddle, if any, could be caused by unscrupulous ‘masters’, whether Chinese or Western, who had misled Western students over the past several decades by making false claims that their practice(s), sexual or otherwise, are the thing to learn to become a Daoist immortal.

It is also heartening to see that some of these students had become wiser and chose to denounce their former ‘masters’ and even ‘grandmasters’ to be fakes to pre-warn other would be students. These students and/or instructors had to go through ‘the school of hard knocks’ to learn that and have grouped together to try to heal other former students of these fakes. At least one knows for sure that what had been written on these ‘masters’ in previous entries had been vindicated.

According to the ancients, neidan practice involves dual cultivation – of essence and of life. There is no sex cultivation. Neidan cannot be taught by remote control, via the net, through videos or books – real Daoist texts and ancient Chinese/Buddhist/Hindu books or classics excepted.

Chinese martial arts like Qigong, Tai Qi (Tai Chi Chuan), Neigong and various other popular forms of Kung Fu which involve meditation and exercises to accumulate Qi do not constitute neidan practice. Notwithstanding what their experts or real masters may claim and even if their strong Qi can move objects or heal people. However it is good for health and knowledge if students can study with these martial arts experts and masters. It will also lay a good foundation for neidan practice.

Therefore it is important not to confuse Chinese martial arts with neidan practice. Only with clarity can we really discern what we had hoped to learn. Otherwise we will still be considered muddled.

Contemplation of my life

‘Reflections of my life’ was a popular song by pop group The Marmalade back in the sixties. I used to sing the song accompanied with the strumming of my guitar. It was a good way to attract the attention of girls then. But the song still rolled in my head whenever I find that the Yi told someone to contemplate their life. Here are some of the lyrics that may be relevant to the diviner.

“The changing of sunlight to moon light,
Reflections of my life,
Oh, how they fill my eyes.
The greetings of people in trouble,
Reflections of my life,
Oh, how they fill my mind.

All my sorrows,
sad tomorrows,
Take me home to my own home.
All my crying,
Feel I’m dying, dying,
Take me back to my own home.

I am changing, arranging,
I am changing everything,
Ah, everything around me…..”

If diviners and interpreters cannot understand why in the world the lyrics have to do with contemplation of lives, let us take a look at the third line of Hexagram 20 Guan / Contemplation (View).

The Judgment: Contemplation. The ablution had been made, but not yet the offering. Full of trust they look up to him.

The natural interchange of light (the Sun) and dark (the Moon) nurture the myriad things in Heaven and on Earth. Contemplation or reflections – deep inner concentration - can transform a person.

Six in the third place means: Contemplation of my life, decides the choice between advance and retreat.

When one contemplates his or her own life, the necessity usually arises from a setback in life or from the loss of a dear one. (Therefore: the greetings of people in trouble, the sorrows, the crying and the depression.) It is a time to reflect into the past and ponder how things could have been done better. A time to be alone until a decision has been reached. (The person who has lost the way wants to be taken home.)

Once the Junzi has come to a decision on how to straighten his or her life, changes and transformation for the better can take place. (Refer to the last few verses of the lyrics.)

If we do not look into the past and learn from our mistakes how could we improve in future? Except for the stubborn, when we made mistakes, the wise retreat to contemplate. If our decisions and actions were correct, we then advance quickly.

Since only the third line moves, Guan changes to Hexagram 53 Chien / Development. It follows that the changes made and transformation of the Junzi will be gradual, coupled with good fortune.

Interpretations of prognostications given to individuals can sometimes be as easy and simple as that. Overanalyzing simple answers from the Yi tends to get almost everyone muddled.

True masters

In the Concise Oxford dictionary, a master can mean a revered teacher in philosophy or one who has acquired complete knowledge of a subject. If someone tells us that they have mastered a skill like martial arts or a subject of history, they can always be called upon to demonstrate their skill or knowledge. It could be more difficult to determine a master of profound subjects like Tao and the Zhouyi.

In this day and age, anyone can claim that they have mastered the Tao or the Zhouyi. There are many so called masters around in the world, but amongst them who are the true or real masters?

True Yi masters by my tight definition are those whose knowledge of the Book of Changes is rarely disputed, and their expertise is admired by masters and students alike. (Think Chen Tuan, Shao Yong, and Zhu Xi.)

According to the Grand Historian Sima Qian, Confucius wanted more time to fully comprehend the Yi. One also appreciated the humility of eminent Professor Liu Da-jun who heads the Center for Zhouyi and Ancient Chinese Philosophy of Shandong University, since he cannot consider himself a student of this Book of Changes. This shows how true masters (or Zhen Ren) seldom reveal their expertise and remain hidden. Like the ancients, true masters are slow in their speech and earnest in their actions.

Over the years, quite a number of Taiwanese Professors of the Yi and ancient Chinese philosophy visit the Malaysian Tao Association based in Kuala Lumpur to teach students. According to an elderly friend who attended Zhouyi classes there, one of them was an eminent Taiwanese Professor in his eighties who also taught in the US and Taiwan. For three years, this professor had taught this friend, basics of the Zhouyi and meditation. I had wanted to meet this master to learn something from him and had eagerly waited for his next trip to KL. One has waited for several years and is still waiting. Apparently he had not been well and probably now too old to travel.

About ten years ago, a Taiwanese Yi Professor was specially invited to read the Fengshui of a huge private burial ground – as a marketing strategy – by my friends. Their company owns the burial grounds and they managed to have it listed in the KLSE. When one read the newspaper article and saw the professor’s photograph, an image of the Qian trigram rose up to my head, ran through my body and sank down to my feet. Perhaps he is a true Yi master since no one had emanated the same effect on me ever since. One had tried to arrange a meeting through a friend but he did not accede to my request since he feared that the professor could be annoyed by fielding too many questions from this ignorant Yi student. Perhaps you can see the difficulty of meeting and wanting to learn from true masters. Or perhaps this student was not ready.

After the above ramblings, we can now address the linked article which Luis Andrade, a fellow Yi aficionado, kindly brought up in the comment section of the ‘Gentle Persuasion’ entry. The heading of the particular article in Lifestyle, The Star newspaper on 19 January 2007, reads: ‘Guidance from an expert’. The article includes a photograph of the expert, I Ching Professor Li Heng-Lih along with the caption of ‘True master’. Let us listen to what he has to say and it is up to readers to discern if he is a true Yi master or not. Forget about his credentials and 40 years of divination experience for a moment. (Many Yi aficionados in the East and the West have that many years of experience too.)

With reference to 64 cards of the I Ching laid out on the table, each one a Chinese painting with an eloquent message, he said: ‘It’s I Ching presented in a modern form so that people can relate to it.’ While Li advocates classical texts, he demystified them and turned them into practical applications to use in daily life. ‘I Ching is logical and scientific. It is not a subject of superstition or religion.’ For this reason the cards are going global, with their eventual translation into English, Japanese and Korean.
“Consulting the I Ching has always been through using three coins,’ said Li, ‘now we use pictures in cards so that even the common folk can relate to them.’
If you are at the crossroads or need to make an important decision, you could shuffle the Heng-lih cards – as they are called – and read the message from the card drawn. “Look at the picture and you will get the interpretation."
‘But there is a special process of doing this,’ said Li. ‘You must be sincere, with no bad thoughts or wish to cause harm to people and the accuracy of the message will be there.’
[Excerpts from the interview]

Well, Professor Li Heng-lih is without doubt a Yi master and/or expert. But one never knew that the I Ching is logical. Even Confucius seemed to have found the Yi profound. Maybe the newly invented cards system uses logic and it proves a good marketing gimmick. The system looks more like a derivation of divination practice extant in Daoist temples, and not of the Zhouyi. Some Taiwanese Fengshui masters are versed with such gimmicks to make a quick buck by promoting various New Age innovations.

Professor Li seems to have forgotten his books and classics, when he mentioned coins for divination and nothing about Yarrow stalks. Or did his father and/or University teach him that – ‘Consulting the I Ching has always been through using three coins’? Granted, he got the number of coins right, though. (This helps explain why the ancients and true masters are slow in their speech.)

If his New Age cards system ever proves highly popular, like what he had claimed - we now use pictures in cards - probably the world will soon have Yi fortune tellers lining the high streets of every town since every one can relate to the I Ching. No more requisite earnest studies and YI divination practice for decades! While he laughs all the way to the bank, sooner or later fortune tellers around the corner will have to fold, what with everyone able to read his Heng-lih cards. No one would banter about fortune cookies anymore since kids - New Age ‘Wang Bis’ - can draw a card from his 64 cards deck and know what the Yi had wanted to say.

It is one thing to promote a wider readership and simpler understanding of the Zhouyi but to issue misleading statements while promoting New Age gimmicks to the general public, with respect, this Professor Li did not make the cut of a true Yi master in my books.

Gentle persuasion

Good management of funds or companies includes much planning with foresight and systems control (read discipline) to minimize risks and to avoid crisis. While others spent time to handle crisis, to restructure or consolidate, a well managed company keeps on growing from strength to strength even during a downturn of the trade cycle. Few people would notice, including colleagues or staff, the sublime actions of a highly skilled manager.

This entry serves as a reminder to kin and friends to take precautions since there will be more risks when a share market runs up too high within a short span of time. Just because there is ‘foreign’ capital from huge profits in 2006, does not mean that caution should be thrown to the wind when buying shares based on tips.

With reference to the entry on ‘A look back at the KLSE 2006’, you may note that there were a few huge falls following rapid rises during 2006. There are pitfalls even during Bull Runs and if investors are not prudent and selective enough, they can still lose loads of money, which is why fund managers always advised that while share prices can go up, they can also come down.

It was with good foresight that we steered clear of the falls before they happened. Following the Yi’s guidance, we had made good money in 2006. Since kin and friends are professional accountants or are involved in the finance and stock broking sectors, one is sure you can make good investment decisions and strike out on your own. It is high time to learn to stand on your own two feet. No more spoon feeding. There is no need to rely on me or the Zhouyi. One no longer wants to be held responsible for your investment decisions.

Over the years, this thankless task has become too tiring, and the fresh change would allow me to remain blameless.

Just be very careful of what shares you invest in, since the Yi has indicated recently that things may go awry for kinfolks. What with this prognostication. Hexagram 18 Gu / Work on what has been spoiled, with a moving second line that changed it to Hexagram 52 Gen / Keeping Still.

The Image in Gu says:
The wind blows low on the mountains: The image of decay. Thus the superior man stirs up the people and strengthens their spirit.

Nine in the second place means:
Setting right what has been spoiled by the mother, one must not be too persevering.

Commentary on the line:
This refers to mistakes that as a result of weakness have brought about decay. In setting things right in such a case, a gentle consideration is called for. In order not to wound, one should not attempt to proceed too drastically. [W/B]

Since kin and friends by following the Yi and I, have made much money last year, it is timely for them to strike out on their own to find their pot of gold while strengthening their own spirit. Hopefully with this gentle persuasion, one can at last be free with no cares and worries for you guys and to remain blameless.

Another indicated warning - about ‘dissolving blood’ for kin will be written in another entry.

A look back at the KLSE 2006

It had been a good year for retailers who had bought into shares qouted in the Kuala Lumpur Stock Exchange at depressed prices late 2005 and early 2006. While the expected Chinese New Year rally did not materialize in January/February, the share prices of low liners had slowly appreciated until May that year, before the expected ‘British fund managers sold shares in May and go away for holidays’ phenomenon hit home. Stock markets across the world were also sidelined and quiet while hundreds of millions watch the World Cup Soccer fest in the month of June.

During that month, following the Yi’s advice, one bought back GT shares sold in May. [Refer to the case study entries on ‘Do not chase after the horse’] There was a big rally for low liners early July and in line with my yearly chart, one sold all my shares by the middle of that month. The low liners drifted lower and by August their prices were low enough to reconsider buying into.

After doing some homework, one found a particular share that had a recovery theme, and upon asking, the Yi answered my question with Hexagram 51 Zhen / The Arousing (Shock, Thunder). As blogged last year, from experience, Zhen also indicated oncoming thunderstorms and major earthquakes. (Heavy thunderstorms did hit Malaysia in December flooding several states, and major earthquakes if you have not noticed still continue to shake various countries. An 8.2 Richter scale earthquake struck in the Pacific Ocean off Japan a few days ago. This proves time and time again that the Yi is indeed profound.)

In line with the Yi’s advice, one accumulated the particular share at depressed prices during the months of August, September, and October. Its share price had more than doubled when one sold them at the end of October. All other share investments were sold by early November because of my expectations of a forthcoming fall in low liners. [There was an earlier entry on that.]

The months of November and December had been good for the big boys – fund managers and institutions – because prices of blue chips and various plantation stocks soared what with strong buying from foreign funds. But the retailers did not make much since prices of low liners drifted. One had remarked to a few friends that while I was placing a large part of the sale proceeds into fixed or term deposits in November; many people were seen uplifting them probably to buy into stocks and shares as the stock market was hot.

One understands that many retailers were ‘burned’ – suffered huge losses – during the December 19 debacle when Thailand announced capital controls and her stock market fell 15%. The retailers had panic sold their share investments fearing a repeat of the 1997 Asian financial meltdown. Some of my friends and relatives who were holding cash like me at the time bought back some shares instead. Meanwhile I was preparing to fly to Bali with my family for a well earned holiday that morning and was oblivious to the event. One had bought some finance stocks recently but the Yi has mentioned that there was nothing to shout about; therefore no entries had been made.

Perhaps regular readers can discern a major difference between the awareness of Yi guided investors and those who do not study or follow the Book of Changes.

2007 could be a good year for the KLSE and for most Malaysian shares investors. There could be big ‘angpows’ (traditional CNY gifts of red packets filled with money) for everyone after Chinese New Year!

Good Luck!

A note for fellow Yi diviners

While it is good to see Yi diviners in the West providing divination services which promote the wider reading and usage of the Book of Changes, it may be better if they can be a bit more professional. One supposed that clients or customers could expect some professionalism in Yi consultations in exchange for a fee?

Do not worry; one is not writing this entry to pluto (demote or devalue) any one’s reputation. Because of human sensitiveness, there have always been some difficulties in trying to point out a mistake or two of fellow diviners (and others) on the web. My comments may help Yi diviners improve their handling of divinations for clients or customers. I am sure fellow diviners would welcome satisfied and recurring clientele.

One recalls a Yi divination done in the 1970s for an acquaintance in London. Prior to that, one has read the Book of Changes only for a few years and had consulted the Yi on several occasions. Trying to impress the acquaintance but not knowing how to handle a face to face divination, one requested her to cast the stalks with my guidance. She gave up after a few minutes. It proved too difficult for her to concentrate on both the question and the proper casting of stalks. One then proceeded to cast the stalks for the oracle and thereafter explain the prognostication to her.

With the benefit of hindsight, that episode had taught me a few things. Casting the yarrow is not easy. Casting coins would be easier. The acquaintance would have been right if she had told me there and then that a professional diviner in the East would not have allowed anyone to use his or her tools of trade.

The yarrow stalks or coins, and the Book of Changes are considered important tools of trade which may contain ‘Ling Qi’ (good spiritual energy) built up through frequent usage by a sincere Yi diviner. Anyone else using the tools could disturb the accumulated ‘Ling Qi’. Then there are the questions on sincerity, a non agitated (calm) mind, and whether the Yi will talk to any caster or diviner.

In my case, the same yarrow stalks that had been with me for the past three decades look too fragile for any one else to use. The stalks could at anytime disintegrate!

Therefore over the years whenever someone asks for an oracle whether they live overseas or is seated right beside me, one will cast the stalks and concentrate on the question. Knowing my limited knowledge, the Yi will then give a simple and yet accurate prognostication which will then be explained.

Whether you are an amateur or an expert Yi diviner in the East or in the West, perhaps for similar reasons, you may agree that it would be more professional if you perform the entire divination yourself - rather than follow the current practice of a number of Western diviners who ask their clients to do the casting. After all, a paying client may not have the affinity with the Book of Changes and therefore the Yi may not speak. But the Yi may speak to you. If Yi aficionados count among your fee paying clients, they came to you because of your divination skills. If they could cast accurate oracles in the first place, there was no necessity for them to call upon your services.

Therefore it would be more professional, if you perform the entire divination process which will include the casting of yarrow stalks or coins or whatever, for their questions. Remember that they have to pay a fee of your asking and they may provide referrals to your divination skills, if the Yi prognostications turn out to be accurate. If through word of mouth more people come to know about the profound accuracy of the Yi oracles, then you may have played a part in promoting the Book of Changes. It is all for the common good and for everyone’s benefit!

To be blessed by heaven

Blessings from heaven can come in many forms: rain in a drought area (think farmers and peasants); heavy downpours that extinguish fierce fire traps (think Sima Yi and sons); special gifts - children for barren parents, a son for those who desire one; miracles - the extensions of and saving of lives; special stock market ‘tips’; and many others.

From ancient times till now and whether religions had been established or not, while the way people think may change, heaven has not changed. Many people down the ages liked to be blessed by heaven. Who would not want miracles to happen or to become rich without doing much – like finding a gold mine, striking a ‘snowballed’ lottery or winning the football pools?

People around the world like to think that if they pray to this god or that deity they would get heaven’s blessings. Others tend to believe that if they follow this or that Daoist sect, heavenly immortals will make them rich. If it was that simple and easy, every devotee, religious follower, and/or disciple will become rich and no one needs to work. Therefore if their real intentions to practice a religion were to secure great wealth and miracles, most will end up disappointed since money does not fall from heaven and miracles do not just happen. Those who cannot think through may then lay blame on the various religions or even heaven.

However, all is not lost, since we could learn a thing or two from the Zhouyi and the ancients on how to obtain a blessing from heaven. The top line of Hexagram 14 Da Yu / Possession in Great Measure means:
He is blessed by heaven. Good fortune. Nothing that does not further.

Confucius says of this line:
To bless means to help. Heaven helps the man who is devoted; men help the man who is true. He who walks in truth and is devoted in his thinking, and furthermore reveres the worthy, is blessed by heaven. He has good fortune, and there is nothing that would not further.

That is one thing we can learn from the great sage’s explanations on how a person of truth and devotion can get blessings from heaven.

We can learn another thing from the Image of Da Yu:
Fire in heaven above: The image of Possession in Great Measure. Thus the superior man curbs evil and furthers good, and thereby obeys the benevolent will of heaven.[W/B]

If the Junzi curbs evil and furthers good thereby obeying the benevolent will of heaven, would heaven not stand on his side and give him blessings?

Another great sage, Laozi, had answered this question in Chapter 79 of the Tao Te Ching:“The Way of Heaven is impartial; it is on the side of the good man.”

For starters, Buddha, yet another great sage had this to say in the Dhammapada:
Not to commit any sin, to do good, and to purify one's mind, that is the teaching of (all) the Awakened. [Chapter 14 The Buddha (The Awakened)]

From the wisdom in the Zhouyi, and confirmations by three great sages - Confucius, Laozi and Buddha, surely we can think of how to be good, going forward, to be blessed by heaven. If devotees, religious followers and disciples alike do not earnestly and sincerely cultivate to be good and do good deeds to help their fellowmen, they will most likely end up disappointed for not being blessed by heaven. After all what did they ever do for heaven and Tao to deserve such blessings?

Words of a Junzi

Most Yi students, Confucians and Daoists would know or have heard about the Junzi or the superior man in their studies. There are many things that a person needs to do and/or cultivate before he or she can become a Junzi. It is not easy otherwise Confucius would not have elaborated so much about the ways of a Junzi as recorded in the Analects and said that he aspired to be one. If you have not discerned it, the Judgments, Images and the lines in the Yijing delved into the proper conduct of a Junzi and the ways to master his or her fate.

If one aspires to become a Junzi apart from watching one’s actions, we also need to be discreet with our words.

More so if the words are to be spoken to the general public at large in forums, blogs and websites, via books or to reporters. It is a heavy responsibility for any aspirant Junzi. Mr. Ban, the new UN chief from South Korea, probably found out the hard way on his first day of work when he spoke on the legitimate execution of Saddam Hussein in Iraq while the UN is against capital punishment.

Perhaps he has not read or has forgotten about what Confucius had taught. “The reason why the ancients did not readily give utterance to their words was that they feared lest their actions should not come up to them.” ‘The cautious seldom err.’ And ‘The superior man (Junzi) wishes to be slow in speech and earnest in conduct.’ [Analects 4. 22, 23 & 24 Legge]

Hopefully, Mr. Ban holding such a high public office will aspire to be a Junzi or even a Da Ren and be a bit more circumspect when he next speaks on the same or other global issues. We need good leaders to help generate world peace and not words to spark more conflicts.