Just for the records

An I Ching prediction on the Iraqi war in 2003 posted by me on the IChing_Yijing @yahoogroups.com probably on 23rd April 2003(?) found while cleaning up my hotmail box, for those interested:

In IChing_YiJing@yahoogroups.com, "chuko_kungming"
wrote:>

Hi to everyone. This is my first post. Just joined the group (23rd
April)>

> Now on the Iraqi war and Iching predictions:
>
> From the hexagram # 57 obtained by me in Feb 2003, the Iching
> indicated that the Iraqi war would start within 5 days of 15th
> March. And the war will be over by end April or first week of May
2003.

Just for the record:

US President George Bush declared deadline for Iraq to disarm by 17th
March 2003, and ordered attack on Iraq on 19th March (US time)/20th
March (Asian time).

He declared end of attack and victory over Iraq on 2nd May 2003.

Regards

Chuko

Time flies. This is just for my published records on heaven’s secrets and omens, since I can no longer access my account in that forum which has been rather dormant for years.

No one could have stopped that war, though many world leaders tried before it happened.


Cheerio!

Swimming in liquidity

A US fund manager was asked by CNBC on TV what position he would take amid the recent sovereign debt crisis in Europe. With no hesitation, he replied, ‘Raising cash levels.’ When probed further, he said his fund will raise its cash position to 5% from the normal 3%. Great stuff, that! Read on.

A Japanese fund manager was quoted in Bloomberg recently about the liquidity position taken by the Japanese. He said that major corporations in Japan and Japanese households have raised their cash levels to about 60% by not investing, and by selling stocks and bonds fearing for the worst amid the ongoing European debt crisis. He said they are ‘swimming’ [in liquidity]. In the same article, Bloomberg mentioned that the US banks and corporate titans are collectively holding a few trillion in cash.

Those familiar with financial management or are regular readers of the Financial Times would know that profitability does not equate to liquidity. What is the point of generating paper profits but no cash flow?

As the Book of Changes told me last year about ‘Pigs cry, fish laughs’, it meant something. While the message of ‘Pigs cry’ has been previously discussed in detail, ‘Fish laughs’ was mentioned in passing as those investors who had sold their stocks and holding cash escaping the recent plunges in the global stock markets.

In case Yi students do not know, the Chinese sometimes refer to cash and money as Shui (pinyin for water). We all know for a fact that fishes live and swim in water. The Japanese fund manager brought up a good reference point when he said that those Japanese who hold a high cash level of 60% are swimming, since Shui or water is liquid.

The current situation in the world is this. The pigs mired in debt or highly geared because of greed or reckless spending will cry while the fish swimming in water or cash (Shui) may laugh after cashing out just before their (stocks / property / debt) markets crash, counting themselves among the fortunate and the able.

Whether world renowned economic advisers currently urging further spending by borrowing more or those advising austerity would be proven right depends on what happens to the global economy in the foreseeable future. Each group has a right to voice their opinions or concerns, not unlike the Daoists, Buddhists, and Confucians in forums.

In line with the Yi prognostications, this fry is swimming in more water than those Japanese.


Cheerio!

Put you on notice

In ancient times, when armies march to war, they do so accompanied by the beating of drums. The drumbeats boost the morale of their own soldiers and if beaten loud enough tend to frighten the opposing army.

In modern times, before armies march to war, drums are no longer used but there is plenty of rhetoric published ‘drumming up’ the support. Some truths, some lies, with vital information hidden from the public view. Experts may call this type of rhetoric, ‘sabre rattling’. Opposing sides will call each other liars. Whatever the other side said would be termed, propaganda.

The war of words and accusations has started and getting louder.

A North Korean deputy ambassador told the UN-sponsored Conference on Disarmament in no uncertain terms:

‘The present situation of the Korean peninsular is so grave that a war may break out any moment.’

A press release by the United Nations yesterday published on Yahoo News online was surprisingly pulled after about half an hour. This press release included the responses by both the South Korean and the US ambassadors to the UN to what the North Korean envoy said in Geneva. Instead of writing out what their Excellencies’ responses were (since they were also not published in other online news media), I will leave it to readers to venture a guess. Hint – look at the second paragraph. Their respective responses could aggravate the already tense situation.

Though few leaders in the world like wars, in this decade we have seen some. And the world has always been told the truth, after the war, if not found out before then!

Meanwhile are you also hearing the ‘drumbeats in the distance’ as events unfold?





P.S. Don’t worry, be happy and enjoy the oncoming FIFA World Cup soccer.

China seems to know

Whether readers agree or not, there are seers who can often foresee the future through various means. Arguably the most ancient tool currently still in popular usage to foresee the future is via the consultation of the Book of Changes – I Ching / Yijing / Zhouyi.

Since there is one and a quarter billion of Chinese and that the Book of Changes is an ancient Chinese classic, revered and studied, there will be real masters in China like the Wu (magicians) of old who can obtain well informed and accurate answers from the Yijing on major future world events. When Chinese emperors and kings down the few millennia can rely on prognostications from the Zhouyi to foreknow future events, who is to say that the current leaders in Beijing do not use these masters at all?

While Japan and South Korea may also have produced real Yijing masters, there are many historical, cultural, and even Yi text differences to that of China, and I doubt their governments would rely on Yi prognostications to foreknow the future.

If we continue to observe what these three countries (and others including the US) are doing about the sinking of a South Korean warship, it seems that China knows about the happening of a major future event – a Heaven’s secret -, and therefore trying very hard to defer it yet again.

According to an online report today, China is also trying to persuade Iran to follow United Nations’ nuclear guidelines for the latter.

Perhaps readers do not see what I see, neither would the US, Japan, and South Korea. Therefore you are not alone!

When cornered, a tiger in desperation would turn back and maul the hunters. This type of hunt goes against the grain of ancient Tao and the Zhouyi, and the Way of man.

Fortunately it only happens whenever there is no Tao all under Heaven. There will be peace and quiet on Earth once again for the people when Tao returns. How would I know?

Can the mountain withstand the shocks?

Over the past fifteen months, I have only divined thrice. Two were on annual hexagrams and the one in between was an oracle cast because the Yijing had wanted to tell this student something.

The annual hexagram for 2009 in the form of Hexagram Xun / The Gentle, Wind, foretold of wind borne diseases and air disasters, along with the reasons for those events which unfolded accordingly – of the various wind borne diseases recorded in 2009, H1N1 or swine flu turned out to be the biggest killer of people all across the world. The major air disasters that occurred despite safety records vouched by the relevant authorities were mainly caused by faulty equipment. A fellow Malaysian who was afraid to fly home for holidays after reading the Yi predictions asked when the air disasters would end. After summer, I had told her. By coincidence, no major air disasters were reported in the autumn and winter of 2009.

The special or request cast by the Yi brought about Hexagram Zhong Fu / Inner Truth which foretold of Raining rockets; Pigs cry, fish laughs and drum beats in the distance.

Upon reading the Bloomberg opinions column months later, one found that western financial circles use PIGS as an acronym to stand for Portugal, Ireland, Greece, and Spain. These four countries within the Euro region are heavily indebted relative to their countries’ GDP. A day or two after I blogged that the PIGS were indeed crying, Greece denied it was crying for help.

Witness what happened, and happening now. The sovereign debt or credit crisis is not about to go away by itself.

Whether things have been left too late for a rescue of the PIGS is now up to the ‘farmers’ (the euro region and the IMF)! Since the sovereignty ratings of Portugal and Spain were also downgraded together with that of Greece, a week or two ago.

The drumbeats in the distance heard late last year will certainly be heard again. The deferred raining of rockets may occur in 2010. Those in the south east region could be affected. Who knows, a heaven’s secret is never a small event.

It is time to further discuss the third divination.

Regular readers would note that I have already discussed Hexagram Yi / Providing Nourishment a few times already. This is the annual hexagram for the Chinese year.

In the first entry on the hexagram on February 28, 2010, a day after a big earthquake hit Chile, I mentioned in passing that Zhen, the arousing, thunder, in my books and in this blog, represent loud thunder and earthquakes, and therefore not to discount more big earthquakes this year. A few have already occurred since that entry. There would be more big shocks.

Since the image of hexagram Yi is at the foot of the mountain: thunder. I will discuss the significance of the mountain (Gen) and the thunder (Zhen).

The ancients and the ancient I Ching diviners knew that a mountain contain many treasures within and without. Think of minerals, ores, trees, birds and beasts. In line with this, there is a Chinese adage which says something like ‘if we can leave a mountain intact, fear not of no logs to burn.’

In modern times, metaphorically speaking, the mountain is often used to mean a mountain of debt.

Therefore a mountain containing treasures can turn into a mountain of debt if a person is careless and does not take care of his or her own well being or investments. Remember the above Chinese adage?

Try as we may, many did not escape or were able to hide when Tao first disappeared all under heaven on September 15, 2008 – the fall of Lehman, and the arrests of innocents in Malaysia who were later released. (Refer to entries in September 2008) Omens or heaven secrets from the Yi can relate to local and/or global events.

Together with the great destruction of wealth, tens of millions lost their jobs. Under this bleak scenario, a mountain of treasures can quickly turn into a mountain of debt. Not many including the old Da Ren (billionaire philanthropists) have faced this before.

It is good to read that the able Americans and Europeans have been striving to save as much money as possible and pare down debt over the past two years. Minimal debt and savings for a rainy day (or a storm) is the way forward in these difficult times.

However there has been a recent change in the savings habit of the Asians. For the past year or two, they have been busy investing (or speculating) in stocks, bonds and property not only with their own savings but also with margins or debt. If their luck holds everything will be fine, if not, they could be in for a rude shock.

For shock is another attribute of Zhen, thunder. Whenever there is a loud thunder or an earthquake, those nearby could cower from fear.

So what do we have here? At the foot of the mountain: thunder.

How many shocks or earthquakes can a mountain withstand before it finally crumbles? Not too many, going by the record upheaval over the past two years.

When billionaires can lose everything and/or end their lives, can we, the small fry, able to withstand one too many shocks?

A way out is to start saving again and pare down debt like the Americans and the Europeans have been doing recently. Unless you are very sure your government is going to bail you out, and that they still have the money to do so after the rescue of casino banks and the so called quantitative easing! Some countries already need a bail out themselves, as predicted a year or two ago, if readers have not noticed.

In case, readers missed some of the expected major shocks of 2010, as the three Yijing prognostications continue to unfold, the summarized list is as follows:

H1N1 is making a come back.
Raining rockets, watch the south east region.
Pigs cry, fish laughs. (Credit shocks)
Drum beats in the distance.
Big earthquakes, and property crashes.
Nuclear or silent weapons would be used.

For the expected property crashes, refer to the entry on ‘Bumping into walls’. Sometimes external major shocks (like the use of nuclear or silent weapons for example) can crash both local and global property and stock markets.

Yi and Daoist students should take note that the three prognostications seemed to be related and unfolding in overlapping sequences. From my past two decades of experience with omens and Heaven secrets, they have not happened this way. They usually occurred as isolated events, if not averted or deferred.

But we are now still in very troubled times since the absence of Tao all under heaven as from September 2008.

All these are from the Book of Changes and have nothing to do with fortune telling or fengshui.

So take good care of your life, and your mountain of treasures in 2010 like always.

Cheerio!

Hint for a regular reader

Over the past few weeks, I was faced with a dilemma whether to tell a regular reader who lives in an island state of what to do or just leave it to fate. But the person believes in Daoist deities providing protection.

I would have followed my friends’ advice not to say anything, if the reader had not visited my blog this week, I had promised myself. But the person did. The way Tao works is sometimes beyond our understanding.

Maybe I could give a hint to this reader instead of revealing too much of a heaven’s secret. The person concerned would be aware of the indicated timing.

Take note:

“Avoid waiting for the birds, which flew off, to return again in the particular month of 2010, and the month after that.

It could be advisable to stay or visit friends and kin in the mainland for those two months of the year.”


Cheerio!

Explaining the Ancient (Gu Ren)

Those familiar with qin (divination slips) obtainable after offering prayers at temples of Daoist deities and celestial immortals know that the Ancient (Gu Ren), incorporated onto the slip, helps explain the divination.

The ancient named, more often than not, would be someone popular or exemplary in Chinese history and/or folklore. However at times to get an ominous message across, the ancient can be someone quite obscure and only known to those who are well read or knowledgeable of things Chinese.

In line with tradition, one had included an ancient to help explain the Yi prognostication for the last two seasons of 2009 if readers could not decipher the messages of Autumn rain rockets and Winter drum beats in the distance. The ancient coined and proffered was: ‘Guan Lo advises Cao Cao not to move.’

Most Yi aficionados would have heard of Guan Lo, one of the best Yi diviners, par excellence, during the Three Kingdoms era. There was a poem praising Guan Lo which read like this:

Guan Lo was a seer of old,
Stars to him their secrets told.
Mysteries, occult and dim,
Were as daylight unto him.
His so subtle intellect
Could the shade of death detect,
But the secrets of his skill
Died with him, - are secrets still.

Readers of the Romance of the Three Kingdoms would certainly know about the exploits of Cao Cao the wily and skilled general whose sons forced the abdication of the last late Han emperor and founded the Wei Dynasty. In the chapter dedicated to Guan Lo and the Book of Changes, is where he advised Cao Cao not to move.

In addition he said, “In the coming spring there will be a conflagration in Hsutu.”

'Having been witness of the verification of Guan Lo’s words, Cao Cao was in no mood to neglect the warning. He stayed on in his palace, but he sent Cao Hung with five legions to assist in the defence of East Chuan, while Hsiahou Tun, with three legions, went to Hsutu to keep careful watch and be ready against any surprises. ……..

In spring, five co conspirators started fires in Hsutu and tried to kill Cao Cao with their small band of men and restore the Han emperor to his rightful place. With the forewarning from Guan Lo, Cao Cao had prepared for it and therefore the ‘surprised’ uprising failed.'

The forewarning by the seer and further actions by the ‘client’ averted the omen.

Do the more experienced Yi diviners see the similarity with the amenable actions of the US, Russia and China during Autumn 2009 which have deferred or may have averted the raining of rockets in the south east region?

One would say the particular omen looks more like deferred instead of averted since some leaders and/or states prefer to stir up trouble again. Read the past week’s political news. People and global investors may suffer as a result.

They shoot horses, don’t they? But troublemakers do not give a damn, since they either have power or powerful backings.

It looks like Heaven is still not below Earth, this Spring.

Pigs cry, fish laughs and cranes fly home

In a blog entry on July 17, 2009 titled ‘Completing the four seasons of 2009’ which in brief discussed two prognostications given by the Book of Changes (the Yi / I Ching), the first omen just after Chinese New Year and the second omen in the middle of that year, one mentioned in the form of a qin (divination slip) that after the predicted wind borne diseases in Spring, as well as the air disasters in Summer, it would rain rockets in Autumn, and there will be drum beats in the distance in Winter where ‘Pigs cry, fish laughs and cranes fly home’.

Critics and the less experienced Yi diviners will probably disagree to what one is going to blog while the experienced fellow diviners can take notes for their further research into Yi divination.

It is not easy to interpret omens or heaven’s secrets from the Yi and get the interpretations right. But at times, the Yi helps make the interpretations easier and simpler when the material the diviner needs is written in the text. If not, one has to ponder deeply before we can come up with the correct interpretation thereby making the omen or heaven’s secret clear as day.

Then the aspect of charismatic leaders’ or a capable Yi diviner’s ability to defer or avert the omen has to be taken into account. (This particular aspect has been discussed on a few occasions.)

If we follow the world news closely, Yi diviners will find that the leaders of the US, China, and Russia have had regular communications or held meetings with the countries who could have ‘rain rockets in Autumn within the south east region’. Arbitrary deadlines imposed have come and gone without drastic actions taken by the more powerful nuclear states, which can be a good thing or not; depending on your stand.

Coupled with the fact that this omen of ‘Autumn rain rockets’ was the first or lower moving line of two, it can be or has been deferred, or even averted altogether.

However, the first part of the second omen, ‘Winter drum beats in the distance’ representing the second moving line of the prognostication given via Hexagram 61 Zhong Fu could be heard recently.

Recent reported sea clashes between the Koreas were evidences of that occurrence.

The final part of this second omen reads, ‘Pigs cry, fish laughs and cranes fly home’ has also occurred but it was so subtle that no one seems to notice. Luckily, I caught this on Bloomberg online yesterday:

‘The euro area and the European Central Bank are now dealing with what markets are called the “PIGS” crisis: Portugal, Ireland, Greece and Spain. Sometimes Italy is added on the list but its finances seem to be in slightly better shape.

The bond markets have picked on Greece, punishing the country for mining up a budget deficit equal to 12.7 percent of gross domestic product. Now the focus is on other indebted countries in the euro area. Equity and currency markets are jittery as central bankers seek a lasting solution.”
Matthew Lynn, Bloomberg, Feb 10, 2010.

If you are a regular reader, you would discern that prior to the entry in July 2009; one has advised investors to heed the words of the two Da Ren – Warren Buffet and Li Ka-Shing. Both have been advising investors to buy shares with their own money - that is not with credit or on margins.

With the recent falls in the global share markets – some more than 15% from their 2009 highs, those who relied on borrowings to invest would take a bigger hit. No difference with the PIGS which are in a way ‘crying for help or a rescue’.

That explains the Pigs cry.

The fish laughs after taking profits before the global share markets fell in winter and having had swam away before the falls hit.

The cranes have flown home to heaven to report and roost just before the arrival of the New Chinese Year! (Check out this legend about cranes online)



Wish all readers a Happy and Prosperous Chinese New Year!

Another one of those Septembers

Probably many across the world still remember or mourn the September 11, 2001 massacre of a few thousand innocent victims in the United States of America by terrorists deliberately crashing hijacked airplanes into buildings and open space.

Few (including Divinities) would know or remember the September 15, 2008 where Heaven and Earth closed with the able gone into hiding since there is no tao all under heaven. Investors all over the world may instead remember the sensational collapse of Lehman Brothers and the official announcement of its bankruptcy on that very day.

Both major events wreaked havoc to the global financial markets. And both were foretold by the Yi to this student to help protect him from financial ruin.

Is this fateful month of 2009 going to be another one of those Septembers? Well, I can’t say for sure. (There is no prize given even if I say, it is for sure!)

The events foretold by the Yi for this autumn and coming winter have already been blogged in advance. (You are still reading future news today, since the omens or heaven’s secrets have yet to unfold.)

If readers cum investors do not take heed of the advice(s) of the two Da Ren (Great Men) – Warren Buffet and Li Ka Shing - as suggested in the entry last July, nothing can be done. Fate is at work.

All I know is that investors may not have much time left to ‘unwind’ (pun intended).

Therefore as usual, take care.

Cheerio!

Completing the four seasons of 2009

Spring has come and gone. Summer is about to end. Autumn will soon begin. Winter follows. Seasonal cycles have existed longer than the Book of Changes and the ancients. So what have we learned?

The future can be foretold. Omens can be received. Heaven hold many secrets. All these can be known by consulting the Zhouyi. Over the years, one has blogged enough to prove beyond any reasonable doubt that it can be and has been done. Pigs and fishes may still remain unconvinced.

But revealing omens and/or heaven’s secrets too often, has its drawbacks. Even divinities (Daoist deities and celestial immortals) have their limits, the Yi had once told me. While lucky enough not to be struck by lightning, it can damage one’s health or pockets. The loud encroaching thunders can be rather frightening, especially when it is not raining, while one types out the secrets for blogging.

After giving out the omen on the wind borne diseases and the air disasters, the Yi had wanted to tell me something else. Upon consultation, the prognostication given seems to be another omen or heaven secret to complete the four seasons of 2009.

This time, instead of revealing the heaven’s secret or omen in the explicit manner like in previous occasions over the past few years, one would present it in the form of a Guan Yin qin (divination slip) adding on an ‘ancient’, to assist clarity. (I have tested it two nights ago, and there was no usual rumbling from Heaven.)

It could also provide an opportunity for the esoteric, Yi aficionados and Daoist devotees to ‘crack’ their heads over what is the revelation – the heaven’s secret. Readers can try to decipher the message(s) from heaven and comment, if they so wish.

Spring winds borne diseases. False hope and black hands hide heaven.

Summer air disasters. No parts or poor maintenance.

Autumn rains rockets. Watch the south east region.

Winter drum beats in the distance. Pigs cry, fish laughs, and cranes fly home.


Ancient (Gu Ren) for the latter two seasons:

Guan Lo advises Cao Cao not to move.

Moving heaven and earth

The ancients say that sincerity is part of human nature. And that sincerity is the way of heaven. According to the Doctrine of the Mean (Zhong Yong), there are different levels of sincerity and the most complete of it allows the Yi diviner to divine like a spirit (shen).

The Judgment in Hexagram 61 Zhong Fu / Inner Truth says:

Inner Truth. Pigs and fishes. Good fortune. It furthers one to cross the great water. Perseverance furthers.

Commentary:

Pigs and fishes are the least intelligent of all animals and therefore the most difficult to influence. The force of inner truth must grow great indeed before its influence can extend to such creatures. In dealing with people as intractable and difficult to influence as a pig or a fish, the whole secret of success depends on finding the right way of approach. One must first rid oneself of all prejudice and, so to speak, let the psyche of the other person act on one without restraint. Then one will establish contact with him, understand and gain power over him. When a door has thus opened, the force of one’s personality will influence him. If in this way one finds no obstacles insurmountable, one can undertake even the most dangerous things, such as crossing the great water, and succeed.
[Wilhelm / Baynes]

If you have ever visited pig or fish farms, you may find that pigs and fishes are happiest when it comes to feeding time. Just like humans, creatures need to eat, to fill their empty stomachs. To the pigs and fishes, their owners by feeding and taking good care of them are sincere. This can also apply to reliable teachers and students.

Nine in the second place means:
A crane calling in the shade. Its young answers it. I have a good goblet. I will share it with you.

Confucius says about this line:

The superior man abides in his room. If his words are well spoken, he meets with assent at a distance of more than a thousand miles. How much more then from nearby! If the superior man abides in his room and his words are not well spoken, he meets with contradiction at a distance of more than a thousand miles. How much more then from nearby!

Words go forth from one’s own person and exert their influence on men. Deeds are born close at hand and become visible far away.

Words and deeds are the hinge and bow spring of the superior man. As hinge and bow spring move, they bring honor or disgrace.

Through words and deeds the superior man moves heaven and earth. Must one not, then, be cautious?

The great sage advised that in our dealings with people and/or nations by way of speech, writing and/or action, the Junzi have to be sincere, reliable, and cautious. Since their words and actions can move (gan dong) heaven and earth. If their sincere words and deeds can begin to move heaven and earth, do they not have the same effect with pigs and fishes?

Just like the current handling of the two ‘nuclear’ nations by world leaders and the UN Security Council, if they do not put in more sincerity that can even influence pigs and fishes, they may realize too late what they should have done to avoid an omen or heaven’s secret given by the Yi.

The mystical Light (2)

If neidan practitioners or Daoist students harbor any doubts whether or not the Circulation of the Light meditation is as ancient as what Lu Dongbin had claimed in his Secret of the Golden Flower, and for assurance, they could study what Zhuangzi wrote in his well known ‘Fasting of the heart/mind’ known as ‘Xin Zhai’ in pinyin. (Also refer to my thoughts on Xin Zhai in the entry dated September 26, 2005.)

If we just use our intellectual minds to understand what he was trying to tell in Xin Zhai, we could miss his key points on the basics of the Circulation of the Light meditation. He had also mentioned that neidan practitioners need to focus on the breath.

Then he indicated that if we look at the aperture, the empty apartment is filled with light through it. After seeing this light, spiritual intelligences will come and take up their dwelling with us. And that the meditation had been practiced by Yu and Shun, Fu Xi and Ki Khu, all their lives.

In the excerpt taken from the Secret of the Golden Flower translated by Richard Wilhelm/ Cary Baynes, (refer to the first entry) intellectuals would probably understand Lu Dongbin’ explanations why the mystical light is not in the body alone, nor is it outside the body because he talked about nature and the mind of man in the first two paragraphs. However these later two paragraphs of the excerpt contain the mystery:

“The light-flower of heaven and earth fills all the thousand spaces.

But the light-flower of the individual body passes through heaven and covers the earth. Therefore as soon as the light is circulating, heaven and earth, mountains and rivers, are all circulating with it at the same time.”

How can this be and what is the light-flower, scholars and intellects may ask or have asked down the millennia?

Probably that is why Laozi said that the Tao that can be spoken is not the eternal Tao, and the Buddha indicated that the Way cannot be understood through the intellect alone.

Since the dual cultivation of essence (meditation) and of bodily life (virtues) is requisite to the understanding of this mystical light (within and without the body).

As a going away gift to a Western student of Quanzhen teachers in China, I had indicated in a post in the Tao Bums that he could see stars and galaxies if the light is bended enough. Probably he thought that either his leg was being pulled, or that I may know something about neidan. Since months earlier in reply to his pointed question, I had told him that I have only read a few books and practice meditation.

But it is good to see some occasional hits from Beijing and other cities of China on this blog after that. Because many of those neidan practitioners or teachers who could see the light and has sufficient heat in their palms to help heal swine flu or flu A (H1N1) happen to live in China. Others could live elsewhere in the world.

If any reader of this entry or their teachers can also see the light during meditation and have sufficient heat in their palms, they can try to heal themselves and/or others of any flu.

Since the viral pandemic has spread across the globe and affecting tens of thousands confirmed cases (according to the CDC, up to a million may have been affected in the US), it could be timely to reveal how these neidan practitioners (the Shi) can help heal swine flu.

The flu virus can be considered both cold and dark. The Shi would require to use the heat from the palms to act against the cold and the light to chase away the dark. (Think of Hexagram Xun, 57.2 or refer to my entries on it.)

Usually before the flu starts, ‘patients’ would complain of sore throats. If a neidan practitioner heals the sore throat by applying heat and the unseen light from his or her palms, then the flu would dissipates before it gets full blown – accompanying running nose, fever and other related symptoms.

If my experiences are correct, the heat and the light from the palms will drive the flu viruses away or at least make them inactive overnight.

While people across the world suffer the common flu at least once or twice a year, my family and I had not suffer from a full blown one for almost a decade, around the time when I first started to apply this thermal healing on myself and on them.

Of course, it would be safer to allow the ‘patients’ to take medication while you assist in the healing with the thermal heat and the light, since I do not know what level you are at in your neidan cultivation.

However if you can also see the stars and/or the galaxies, billions of light years away, like Laozi and Buddha, like the space telescopes of the US – a great contribution by science towards Tao cultivation, I am sure that you can heal these ‘patients’ of their flu.

Nothing more needs to be said of those who have gone beyond these levels since I had already mentioned their strong healing powers in the entry on “Whether the ancient masters can heal swine flu?”

To reflect on this light, perhaps readers should reread the Zhouyi, Tao Te Ching chapter one and the chapters relating to virtues, to understand why the Shi (the ancient masters) can see the way of heaven without looking out of the window.

They would also gain some insight if they also read Xin Zhai, the Shurangama Sutra, the Hindu sutras and texts, and the Secret of the Golden Flower translated by Wilhelm. The ideal thing in our daily and continuous cultivation or practice on earth is to eventually link up to heaven.

In addition, it is not for nothing when the Buddha mentioned that by seeing this light, we can also see the lands of the thousand Buddhas. There are many more wonderful signposts of the Way to be seen or heard.

And it all started by keeping still and cultivating virtues to be the right person. This dual cultivation is taught in the Zhouyi, the Daoist classics and texts, the Confucian books, and the Buddhist sutras. Yet many down the ages ask how? No wonder Laozi lamented that his Tao is easy to follow but most prefer the bypaths.

In case, Yi students and neidan practitioners missed it, according to the Zhouyi, the practice of benevolence (ren) and righteousness (yi) will eventually lead to sincerity (zheng) or inner truth.

To help the weak and needy is righteousness, and to heal the sick is benevolence.

But it is still up to neidan practitioners or the ancient masters if they want to heal swine flu sufferers in their respective country or not.


P.S.

If you or your teacher fall under the category of neidan practitioners who can see the light and feel the heat during meditation but unsure of how you can help, please post your comments on this entry or sent an email to me. I can provide some further guidance where required.

The mystical Light

More than 2,500 years ago, Laozi taught it, years later Buddha spoke about it; Hindu deities had also mentioned this mystical light.

Several centuries earlier, the Light was already incorporated in the Book of Changes by the holy sages, so was Tao, yet few seemed to notice or able to relate it with the Way.

Perhaps it is rather hip to discuss yin yang instead of the dark and the light, since the later minted terms (c 300 BC) have been used to represent many other things in the modern world. While yang can represent the light, the Daoist celestial immortal, Lu Dongbin in his Secret of the Golden Flower mentioned it was Guan Yinshi, the student of Laozi, who first revealed the Circulation of the Light meditation.

Why it is called the Circulation of the Light meditation perhaps has significance to the esoteric. Down the millennia those who practice meditation are many and they understand what Qi is. But not many actually understand or know about the mystical light that circulates together with the Qi.

There was once an online article written (the website hosted by two Koreans was since taken down) about a Korean King who was equally mystified who one day decided to give a big reward to anyone in his Court or any scholar who could provide a coherent answer on this mystical light. Apparently no one came forward to claim the reward.

Few meditation teachers know about the mystical light. If their students are ever taught the full circulation of Qi, known as the small heavenly orbit (Xiao Zhou Tian), no one seems to mention about this light.

An elderly ex-colleague of mine was taught the small heavenly orbit by visiting Taiwanese masters for a few years. After asking him about the light, he told me that he could only see darkness during meditation. Knowing his character well and that he can keep secrets, I gave him a few pointers.

A few months later, I asked him about his progress and he told me he could see the light. ‘How was it?’ I asked. ‘Very bright’, he exclaimed with joy.

You see, a neidan practitioner needs proper safeguards during meditation. Apart from humility and heat, the mystical light is also very important. (For further information, please refer to the entry on safeguards placed under Notes on meditation. The same safeguards have been posted in the Taobums forum to point out to a neidan beginner who felt cold during meditation and was seemingly being disturbed by dark or yin spirits.)

According to Lu Dongbin, this mystical light is not in the body alone, nor is it only outside the body.

“Mountains and rivers and the great earth are lit by sun and moon; all that is this light. Therefore it is not only within the body.

Understanding and clarity, perception and enlightenment, and all movements (of the spirit) are likewise this light; therefore it is not just something outside the body.

The light-flower of heaven and earth fills all the thousand spaces.

But the light-flower of the individual body passes through heaven and covers the earth. Therefore, as soon as the light is circulating, heaven and earth, mountains and rivers, are all circulating with it at the same time.”

If you understand clearly what the heavenly immortal had said above, you can go and claim the big reward from the royal Korean court!

But if you are asked to prove it, no adept can. Since how can any neidan adept ever show you the light circulating and which can only be seen within? They can show you heat by touch but they cannot show the mystical light until they have become enlightened. By then, they may not even want to discuss anything, let alone blog!

Yet they may consider it of merit to help the weak and the needy; and heal the sick with their strong heat and the light emitting from their hands. In a way, they could be assisting the gods (include heavenly immortals and Buddhas)?

The third class scholars will laugh and some other scholars may scoff at what has been discussed, but that is Tao. With this entry, perhaps earnest students may have learned something more.

Could the ancient masters (Shi) heal swine flu patients?

Now that the World Health Organization had, belatedly according to various health experts, announced a pandemic of swine flu known as A (H1N1), there was a sudden big jump in confirmed cases in certain countries that had hidden the real figures.

It is in a way, unjust for hiding the confirmed figures, since they had been ‘exporting’ the flu via foreign students returning to their home countries, usually less developed ones, for summer or winter holidays. I understand that the US summer break started the week ended May 10, 2009(?).

Well, in the real world, the rich or the strong bullies the poor or the weak. And if man cannot do anything about it, heaven may sometimes help. But I digress.

According to the symptoms reported, swine flu like any other type of flu can be cured since it is a viral infection. Whether or not, the ancient masters (Shi) could heal swine flu patients is the topic in question.

When the ancient masters can observe the mysterious and contemplate the profound, and see the numerous gates, they can without a doubt heal swine flu patients. After all it is not that difficult.

Neidan practitioners who already have confirmation(s) like those mentioned in the Secret of the Golden Flower by Lu Dongbin would also be able to heal themselves and others of swine flu. So would those who have Qi flows 24/7.

Even those neidan practitioners who can feel heat and can see the Light during meditation may be able to heal themselves and others of swine flu.

Therefore definitely the ancient masters can heal swine flu patients. They would have more than the requisite heat and the Light to cure any viral infections.

But would they lend a helping hand is another question altogether.

Air disasters (2)

After reading news on the Air France missing plane, a reader wrote in on June 2nd to ask if the revealed heaven secret for 2009 was for airborne diseases or for air disasters. My simple reply was that I had blogged the Air disasters' entry early (March 28, 2009) to forewarn readers so that they could plan their flights accordingly.

If not for the sudden loud thunders, the entry title on March 28 would very well have been – ‘Air disasters and wind-borne diseases’. Check what was written on the post script of that particular entry.

Readers could also miss out that my eldest sister had intended to fly back in May. (Refer May 2, 2009 entry on Outbreak of wind-borne diseases.)

The ill fated Air France Flight 447 with 228 people on board went missing on the night of May 31, 2009 en route from Rio de Janeiro to Paris. With updated reports coming in, the plane met with heavy turbulence (strong winds / thunderstorms).

According to aviation experts, investigators, and authorities - the modern version of Priests and Magicians, it could be the fault of speed sensors known as pitot tubes (yet to be confirmed).

“BEA (the French air accident agency) said the A330 had sent out 24 error messages in four minutes including one indicating a discrepancy in speed data. It said similar problems had happened before. Air France said it had first noticed in May 2008 that ice in the sensors was causing lost data in planes like the A330, but that it failed to agree with Airbus [the plane manufacturer], on steps to take.” [Reuters Sunday June 7, 2009]

In the first entry on Air disasters, I have already put IATA and the aviation authorities on notice to monitor the proper maintenance and the equipment of air planes. We are in the midst of a global recession, no?

Apparently some Air France pilots will now not fly the A330s if two out of the existing three pitot tubes were not replaced. How much do three new pitot tubes cost, by the way!

If we also think of what the WHO is currently doing – shifting goal posts and not following the preset condition for declaring a pandemic or a level six for the A (H1N1) flu. The flu has already infected over 26,500 people in 73 countries with 140 deaths. It seems that money is more important than human lives in developed countries, recently.

The Yi also told En Medio de la Tierra in April that the Mexican government got it wrong by declaring that the A (H1N1) flu was declining in their country. They are supposed to monitor and control the outbreak. Look what have they done to their own people? Out of the reported 140 deaths, one hundred Mexicans have died from the disease.

According to news reports, if all 228 people on board the Air France Flight 447 died, it could be the worst air disaster since 2001. And summer is not over yet.

Heaven’s secrets are something like this.

Do the Wu (court diviners/magicians) and sincere Yi aficionados really have to step out of the door to know what is happening in the world?

Learning to please yourself

Why do Laozi, Confucius, and the Buddha keep on learning till their final days?
Probably like most of those reading here, they remained earnest and sincere students even after they had become sages. Reading from the ancient books and classics, we get to know that the Junzi and the Da Ren are called that because they still have more to learn and cultivate before they can become sages (Sheng Ren).

How do students progress through the various stages of study and practice (or cultivate) to reach the level of a Junzi? And how do Daoists reach the level of Wu Wei?

They simply have to be earnest and sincere in their studies and practice.

If they want to be a good artist (like Michelangelo), an excellent butcher (like Cook Ting), a renowned martial artist (like Zhang Sanfeng), a Court Yi diviner (like a Wu), a neidan master (like a Shi), for example, they need to continually put in the extra mile in their studies and practice.

So what did Laozi and the Buddha learn and cultivate?

They practiced meditation and cultivated virtues. So did Confucius, except that his meditation practice probably was that of contemplation. And Confucius can be said to have put in more effort in emphasizing the cardinal virtues for posterity.

Yet the later and some modern Daoists argue that Laozi did not like virtues because his so called student, Zhuangzi was dead against cultivating Confucian virtues. To the Daoists in the East, such arguments are laughable. Since how could someone become a Junzi or a right person for Tao without cultivating the cardinal virtues?

Are the cardinal virtues not taught in the Zhouyi? Is the Zhouyi not written before the times of Laozi, Confucius, and the Buddha? What have some Yi aficionados been reading all these years?

Have I not mentioned in a much earlier entry that the cultivation of these virtues can bring about the magic of Tao? Do I sound like pulling your legs?

It has been an uphill struggle, about five years ago, to tell Taijiquan practitioners in the West that Zhang Sanfeng founded the particular form of martial arts, and not some one else who happened to live in the Wudang mountain. Now most agree that it is the case since more and more students from the East are interacting in Daoist forums.

It is also an uphill battle to inform Daoists in the West that cultivating virtues forms part of the dual cultivation. They thought and some still thinks that dual cultivation means the ‘angelic’ dual cultivation that has something to do with sex as promoted in the Hua Hu Ching purportedly written by Laozi – I have already indicated with supporting reasons why that spurious claim cannot hold water.

What can be revealed in this blog should be more than sufficient for readers. Yet some think they deserve better by asking for my secrets. Have I no rights to keep some of my own studies and hard earned experiences, secret?

Even if I were to write a book today on how to obtain Heaven’s secrets with the Yi and/or how to get the specific dates, readers would still not be able to do that.

For without the earnest sincere study and practice, and without the continual cultivation of the cardinal virtues, it will prove difficult for Yi aficionados to obtain Heaven’s secrets. And without spiritual clarity or wisdom (refer to Zhang Sanfeng’s commentary on the hundred character stele) even if the Yi informs you what is really going to happen, you may not be able to correctly interpret or decipher the prognostication.

If you do not believe me, try interpreting the various heaven secrets or omens, past or present, in my blog.

If they prove too difficult, try the ones given to Professor Sam Crane and interpreted here. If you still cannot understand them, try the five or six hexagrams given by the Yi a few years ago to the American lady using the handle, Val, in the I Ching Community. These are the prognostications where the Yi actually spoke. If you can interpret them all, then you may have reached the level of Wu Wei and do not really need to read my thoughts on the Yi, anymore.

Meanwhile I am learning to please myself. Since if I claim to know more than others, readers may say that I am arrogant. And if I claim that I do not know, the trolls would imply that I am selfish and/or arrogant.

When are you learning to please yourself?

Perhaps you can do so when you have learned how to rectify your heart/mind (Xin). How to rectify the heart/mind has been blogged before but you may have not noticed!

Cheerio!

Whom to believe?

Law abiding citizens would invariably believe what their rulers or governments tell them. However if they have been fooled time and time again, they become disillusioned and will remain skeptical of government policies or of statistical information provided, especially in rich countries where a large proportion of the people are well educated and therefore more discerning. Rightly so, one would say, thus agreeing with the teachings of both Confucius and Mencius.

The Chinese adage of ‘A hand cannot hide heaven’ would probably apply to the current scenarios unfolding in the financial world and of the health of people living on earth.

Financial engineering is not real change. So is under-reporting of the real confirmed figures of the new flu A (H1N1). When unofficial figures differ so widely from the official tally, can we really believe the government(s) or ruler(s) of the day?

It has been reported by Bloomberg that the World Health Organization had been pressurized not to raise the current swine flu situation to pandemic – the highest level of 6. One had also read that WHO intends to use the coined term flu A (H1N1) to include swine/human/avian flu. Notice the subtlety of the intended change.

How long can such ‘hand or collective hands hide heaven’? The truth will always prevail. (Think of the previous US President keeping the arrest of a few Malaysian terrorists, by Malaysian authorities, who intended to bomb the Library Tower in June 2003 – around my predicted date during the time - under wraps for three years. There was a previous entry on this which relates to the omen titled ‘Another 9/11’.)

This is an excerpt taken from a Reuters report on May 20, 2009 titled, “H1N1 to resist drugs?”:

"The US Centres for Disease Controls and Prevention (CDC) says there have been 5,469 confirmed cases of the new flu A (H1N1) across the US, but Dr. Anne Schuchat has said this is only the tip of the iceberg. CDC acting director Dr. Richard Besser estimated last week there were 100,000 cases. "(May 10, 2009?)

Countries whose students study in the US are much concerned since hundreds, possible thousands would be returning for their summer break. The first confirmed case in China was a student who flew back from the US on May 10, 2009. The two confirmed cases in Malaysia were students who returned from the US on a MAS flight on May 11.

Pleas from some governments have been made to the US to check for suspect cases at her exit points but have apparently fallen on deaf ears. Probably the cost of placing exit checks outweighs human lives.

Perhaps under-reporting the seriousness of outbreaks in countries can help bring back confidence to their battered economies, since the share markets have been rallying what with the recent moving of goal posts to allow banks to under-report losses or over-report the worth of their toxic assets. How would I know?

All I know is that sincerity is the way of heaven. Therefore no hand or collective hands can ever hide heaven. And that the Zhouyi tells sincere Yi aficionados, the true happenings in heaven and on earth.

So whom to believe, our government(s) or the Yi? The choice is always up to you.

May 10, 2009 could be a black Sunday

In my annual hexagram for 2007, the Zhouyi told me that a wanderer would steal my cow. The main culprit, Bear Stearns did just that on August 17, 2007.

In the following year’s annual hexagram, the Zhouyi indicated that Heaven and Earth will close on September 15, 2008 and that the able have to hide since there will be no Tao on earth. Both events brought on panics in the global financial markets and many corporate or individual investors were badly burnt by the resultant great wealth destruction.

In my annual hexagram for 2009, the Yi indicated that one may have to use the Shi (priests/ancient masters) and the Wu (magicians/ Yi diviners) in great number.

My interpretation of the omen is that there would be outbreaks of wind-borne diseases (and air disasters) across the world. And the significant date is on May 10, 2009 which could turn out to be a black Sunday for many.

If the omen turns out to be correct, even if the date is wrong, it will be Heaven’s will (Tian Yi), as indicated to kin last March. To avoid the big crowds, my family did not join in the usual annual Vesak Day celebrations on May 9th this year. I do not think Buddha would mind that at all.

Obviously the omen is slowly unfolding, what with the constant reports of minor outbreaks of wind-borne diseases here and there including Malaysia on Friday the 8th, if we monitor the national or global news.

Unfortunately, no one can see the viruses until they get affected by them and become ill. The other bad news would be there is no known remedy for the genetically mutated viruses.

When people have been significantly weakened, - emotionally, mentally, or physically - by stress and distress especially caused by the recent global wealth destruction and loss of livelihood, they are easier to succumb to such illnesses and/or flu.

Therefore one may have to use the Shi and the Wu in great number to help these ill people when the time comes, if necessary.

And the only encouraging thing is that Good fortune is the final outcome of the omen.

Cheerio!

Outbreak of wind-borne diseases

On the 23rd of April 2009 I was having a long conversation on the phone with my learned Quanzhen Daoist friend when he brought up the subject of the expected air disasters blogged on March 28, 2009, and what the (related) omen was which could not be revealed then because of the ever encroaching and very loud thunders.

Since the omen was about to occur, I told him over the phone, that it related to the outbreak of wind-borne diseases. And many across the world could be adversely affected. (Yesterday, I have already given him the exact date. Since he can receive and have been receiving heaven’s secrets over the past decades.) Obviously my eldest sister who had planned to fly back to Malaysia in May and decided to defer her plan to visit a sick relative, was told earlier.

By an eerie coincidence, Mexico announced the outbreak of swine flu, now known as influenza A (H1N1), a couple of days later. And within a week, it has spread to the US, NZ, Europe, and now Asia.

However if my interpretation of the omen or heaven’s secret turns out to be correct, this influenza A (H1N1) is just a precursor to more outbreaks of wind-borne diseases to come.

Tuberculosis or TB after having been banished for decades has recently made a come back and could be on the rise again. Isolated instances of avian flu have been reported in China and Russia. The much feared SARS that had quietly slinked into dark corners in 2004 could also resurge. So far, the World Health Organization (WHO) has made the right calls and has raised its warning levels adequately. And so have the governments across the globe which have taken safety precautions to protect their citizens. (Recall my foot note warning in the Air Disasters’ entry that governments would have their hands full if the omen actually occurs? Remember the Heavenly forewarning signs – the eclipses of the sun for 2009?)

Is it not good to have foresight, or foreknowledge of heaven’s secrets? We can plan and reveal things accordingly, if heaven allows it to be revealed.

If you do not know me by now and only have briefly read my commentary on matters of the Tao and the Zhouyi, you may, like a few others who did, jump to a hasty conclusion that I do not know anything or just trying to be self important. But many others who continue to read what I have to say or publish find that it is not the case. The skeptics may realized that one is only sharing experiences that few have experienced, especially on the spiritual, and pointing out truths that lay hidden in the ancient books and classics. On various occasions in the recent past, Yi aficionados in the West have likened me to Hexagram 50 Ding, the Cauldron.

How do all these relate to my recent hints and the interpretation of Hexagram 57 Xun, and the line in the second place? Much, the discerning and deep-thinker Yi aficionados would say.

Xun, the Gentle, Wind already tells aficionados plenty. The trigram Xun can mean eldest sister or eldest daughter.

The ancients had also indicated that Xun relates to crouching, therefore at times we have to hide. One disagrees that Xun means Coward published on a website by a fellow Yi aficionado. The name of The Gentle is apt, if you are familiar with Chinese culture and human nature.

When there is still an absence of Tao on Earth since September 15, 2008, what do the able do? They remain in hiding. Did I not blog this about my annual hexagram for 2009?

Xun also relates to influence. Only those who have the talent and virtue are designated to influence and lead. This particular omen relates to the outbreak of wind-borne diseases.

It is a well known fact that the WHO and pharmaceutical companies do not have the cure for such wind-borne diseases, since the viruses have continuously mutated beyond their knowledge or available information. WHO has already indicated that it would be months before the antidote for influenza A can be ready and made available worldwide? What about other sudden outbreaks, if any.

Therefore the second half of the prognostication or omen on the use of priests (shi) and magicians (wu) in great number would be held in abeyance until the time is right or ripe, to assist the gods.

To assist the gods is to help the many people (possibly in the millions) affected worldwide by the wind-borne diseases where there is no current known antidote because of the generic mutation and resistance to existing antibiotics.

The gods (include Daoist celestial immortals and Buddhas) are humane and just, so would the Shi and the Wu, if they have the talent and virtue to assist the gods. It would be revealed at a later date, where necessary, how the Shi and the Wu could help.

Meanwhile, I have taken a week’s leave from work. And have stored up enough food and foodstuff in case emergencies are called in my country and/or worldwide. And gone into hiding!

If some Yi aficionados or regular readers say that is cowardly, fine. It makes no difference. They know much, I don’t.

Cheerio!

Notes on Hexagram 57.2 Xun – Priests and magicians are used in great number

Many Yi aficionados would agree that some prognostications can be interpreted literally. And that is when we understand most from the oracle. The deeper and more experienced diviners would say it depends on the question and the answer, and our own levels of understanding, but this may not tell us much if the Yi never spoke.

On the assumption the Yi actually spoke on this occasion and the question is for an annual hexagram, what can the deeper and more experienced interpreters make out of this prognostication?

The Judgment:

The Gentle. Success through what is small. It furthers one to have somewhere to go. It furthers one to see the great man.

Nine in the second place means:

Penetration under the bed. Priests and magicians are used in great number. Good fortune.

Wilhelm provided a good explanation to the line in Book I of his translation where it was mentioned that the task of priests (Shi) is to trace the intangible influences that slink into dark corners that affect people by suggestion. And thereafter the magicians (Wu) would remove the influences. When such elusive influences are brought to light and branded, they lose their power over people.

Of course the ancient way of interpretation could be different. Shi would mean ancient masters of the Way. And Wu would mean diviners who used tortoises and/or yarrow stalks for divination.

The Yi could be telling the diviner, he is on the right track to become a master of the way and diviner using the yarrow for divination. And he is to bring into the light and brand those intangible influences that had slinked into dark corners. (That is because of humanity and justice.) Furthermore he could influence the Shi and the Wu and use them in great number when the time is right, to assist the gods.

Some Yi aficionados may think the interpretation incorrect but I have not revealed much yet. It may help their understanding of the interpretation if they read up on Wilhelm’s translation on Hexagram 57.2 including that of Book III to prepare for a deeper interpretation later, if heaven finally allows the omen to be published.

Meanwhile Laozi may have something to say about it in his Tao Te Ching chapter 47.1:

‘Without going out through the doors, one can know what is happening in the world; without looking out of one’s windows, one sees the Tao of Heaven.’
[Lin Yutan]

The great sage was talking about the Wu and the Shi respectively, in case readers do not know. The Wu and recently the Shi have been paying much attention to what has been published in this blog! Figure that out for yourself.

Cheerio!