Mencius said,
‘Po-i, that he might avoid Chou, was dwelling on the coast of the northern sea. When he heard the rise of king Wen, he roused himself, and said, “Why should I not go and follow him? I have heard that the chief of the West knows well how to nourish the old.”
Tai-kung, that he might avoid Chou, was dwelling on the coast of the eastern sea. When he heard of the rise of king Wen, he roused himself, and said, “Why should I not go and follow him? I have heard that the chief of the West knows well how to nourish the old.”
Those two old men were the greatest old men of the kingdom. When they came to follow king Wen, it was the fathers of the kingdom coming to follow him. When the fathers of the kingdom joined him, how could the sons go to any other?
Were any of the princes to practise the government of king Wen, within seven years he would be sure to be giving laws to the kingdom.’
[The Works of Mencius Book 4, Part 1. 13 Legge]
To excel in the study of ancient Chinese philosophy we need to keep an open and empty mind to understand the thoughts of exemplary ancients.
If you cannot understand the thoughts of the exemplary ancients, studying the ideas of Chen Tuan and Shao Yong, and to a lesser degree, Wang Bi and Zhu Xi, could be complementary and helpful. Instead I see many fellow Yi and Daoist students examining and quoting thoughts of modern scholars as if these scholars know everything there is to learn about Tao and the Zhouyi.
If we carry a whole baggage of ideas borrowed over from modern scholars, we can certainly miss the woods for the trees.
Who is to say that these modern scholars, unless they are already first class scholars of Tao and the Zhouyi, understand the profound subjects in depth?
Take for instance, how many sinologists would want to settle for the word ‘virtue’ to be that of Te in the Tao Te Ching? Trying to be sophisticated or appear deep, they coin many meanings for Te until students especially those in the West who read or follow them are often confused. This can liken to ‘sincerity in disintegrating influence’. (Also refer to the recent entry, February 22, 2010, on this particular line in the Yi.)
In the first entry on Influence (March 31, 2010), I highlighted in bold the respective and yet similar comments by the two greatest old men of the kingdom at the time. King Wen’s virtue influenced the two old men and through them, influenced the sons of the kingdom.
James Legge probably prompted by his learned Chinese mentors referred to a conversation between king Wen and Tai-kung in the Book of History, whereby Wen indicated that his grandfather was looking for him (Tai-kung / Jiang Jiya / Patriarch Lu Shang) long ago. To my knowledge, Wen’s grandfather was pivotal to the aim of locating and employing the worthy to help expand the influence of the Zhou clan.
But somehow the more important historical values in the comments made by Mencius in passing, seemed to escape the notice of both Legge and his learned mentors.
One explanation could be that they thought the comments were of no significant value; since like me, they harbored no doubts to the authenticity of ancient Chinese classics and books.
The more likely explanation is that the comments present no significant historical values to them at all. Perhaps, a kinder way to say it must have gone above their heads, since they did not connect Mencius’s comments made in passing, to the Tao and the Zhouyi.
The three historical personages, Po-I, Tai-kung, and King Wen, knew Heaven and Earth. They also knew their roots, and the timing to do what is right. The two greatest old men of the kingdom recognized the virtue of King Wen and therefore joined him.
Legge and his mentors referred to King Wen, Prince Chi, and Chou Hsin in the Ming Yi / Darkening of the Light hexagram. Wilhelm and his mentor mentioned six historical personages: Po-I, King Wen, King Wu, Prince Wei Tzu, Prince Chi and Chou Hsin, whom the wise and learned deemed to represent the respective six lines in this Hexagram 36.
Both Legge and Wilhelm together with their respective mentors seemed not to have spotted the insight of the ancient sage, Mencius, given on the subject of Tao and the Zhouyi. There is no evidence to the contrary shown in their respective translation of the Book of Changes, notwithstanding their comments in the Ming Yi hexagram. It does not say they have missed important issues nor their respective translations are not quite up to mark. If you still do not own a Wilhelm / Baynes translation of the Book of Changes, it is high time you bought one.
I had already made a link to Tao and the Zhouyi in the first entry and this second one too.
Perhaps you can broaden your mind and deepen your Daoist and Yi studies by trying to spot the connection to the two profound subjects?
Saturday, April 17, 2010
Saturday, April 10, 2010
Bumping into walls
No, I am not about to discuss the famous ‘Another brick in the wall’ song by Pink Floyd. This entry is on property bubbles in Malaysia, Hong Kong, and China. There is also some free lunch provided for pensioners on the safest investment in the world and the timing to invest in it.
If you wanted to know why house prices in Malaysia have suddenly risen in the latter half of 2009 to a spectacular high, check out the latest published Bank Negara report. It could also answer the foremost question on your mind (over the past few years) on how people can still find money to buy houses at new peaks. Simple, they borrow from banks.
According to the BN report, total household debt expanded by 9.4% to RM 516.6 billion or 76.6% of GDP as at end 2009 compared to RM 472.1 billion or 63.9% of GDP the previous year. Almost half of household debts were to fund house acquisitions. The volume of personal financing and outstanding credit card balances also picked up in the second half, expanding at an annual rate of 17.6% to RM 98.8 billion. Personal financing expanded strongly at 22.9% in 2009 to account for 14% of household debt. [Starbiz March 25 2010]
If we analyze the figures provided, at least RM 22 billion was borrowed by households to fund house acquisitions (half of the increase of RM 44 billion debt over 2008). Property players would also have noticed that after a tailing off, there was a sudden surge in demand and consequently house prices in the second half of 2009.
With the prevailing low interest rates scenario and constant prompting by market players, experts, and economists alike, speculators or ‘flippers’ have splashed out on houses with bank borrowings eager for short term profits or a quick kill and await for ‘bigger fools’ to buy from them.
Does this mean that the current upsurge in Malaysian property prices will continue for ever? Yes, if you believe in fairy tales. Or think like those property speculators who got badly burnt in the US, Europe, and Dubai, the past few years.
If we look around the world and into past trends of property cycles which represent change, we may get to know the answer. Otherwise we risk bumping into walls, and get hurt. How badly hurt investors get depends on the amount borrowed and the severity of falls in property prices. The amounts of credit used magnify both the gains and the losses. Since credit is a double edge sword.
Did Mencius not advise the Junzi not to stand near a wall since it can collapse? Knowing how to observe and read signs help. Since no one or any remonstration given can stop someone from bumping into walls if they insist on doing so, I occasionally remind my children with practical examples.
When bankers start questioning the reasonableness of property developers’ pricing of houses and shops, which they did last year in Malaysia, it provides a sign. When banks or Central Banks start raising lending rates, it is another sign. When banks advertise for more fixed deposits offering better rates than competitors but over a longer time span than the popular, it shows that their liquidity is fast dwindling – and that interest rates could further rise.
Banks are smarter than most but not all depositors are equally gullible!
For pensioners waiting for opportunities, wait for deposit interest rates to go very high (beyond the norm of good years or those paid by the pension funds) in your country of abode before tying in your cash in fixed deposits for the long term. Although interest rates can go sky high in the aftermath of the recent global financial crisis, they will fall back again after awhile otherwise economies would be 'strangled to dead'.
When house prices go higher than shops it carries a dire warning sign of over speculation. Can the houses rental match those of shops? One asks.
There are a few other signs that would show the peak of the property cycles in Malaysia, but go ask the same property experts who recently managed to convince you to buy for speculation or for a better word, invest.
According to recent media reports, apparently Li KaShing has had indicated that prices of housing units in Hong Kong have peaked. If it is so, investors or speculators of Hong Kong properties should take the cue from this Da Ren (great man) since realty and investments are his forte.
I particularly like his statements when asked by the media about the HK property market a week or two ago, which goes something like this: ‘Those who tell lies or exaggerate to mislead should be punished.’ ‘Those who bought into properties with their own money following his suggestion last year should have made some gains.’
To rein in speculative activities, China has recently stopped all government institutions including those of states to invest in realty using bank borrowings. The Chinese government realized that these institutions are fast becoming the main culprits in property speculation and for the rapid increase in prices since their borrowings constitute about 70% (?) of total lending for the purchase of realty in China.
When companies in various other industries use their cash and bank borrowings to load onto vacant properties arguably for long term investment, it is also a sign that the property bubble in China will burst soon.
Like in October 2005 while discussing Change, I have touched on the US property market, around the time when her housing prices have first started to fall. (No, we did not know back then, until years later when the media reports and statistics came rolling in.) Perhaps it is also coincidental that this entry touches on the property markets of Malaysia, Hong Kong, and China or maybe not.
For who knows change better compared to Yi aficionados who have spent decades of their lives studying and observing it? But how would I know?
Since your guess in change or property cycles, whether or not, luck plays a part, could be as good as mine.
However I blog this entry for a reason and when events unfold accordingly, I may elaborate why.
Cheerio!
If you wanted to know why house prices in Malaysia have suddenly risen in the latter half of 2009 to a spectacular high, check out the latest published Bank Negara report. It could also answer the foremost question on your mind (over the past few years) on how people can still find money to buy houses at new peaks. Simple, they borrow from banks.
According to the BN report, total household debt expanded by 9.4% to RM 516.6 billion or 76.6% of GDP as at end 2009 compared to RM 472.1 billion or 63.9% of GDP the previous year. Almost half of household debts were to fund house acquisitions. The volume of personal financing and outstanding credit card balances also picked up in the second half, expanding at an annual rate of 17.6% to RM 98.8 billion. Personal financing expanded strongly at 22.9% in 2009 to account for 14% of household debt. [Starbiz March 25 2010]
If we analyze the figures provided, at least RM 22 billion was borrowed by households to fund house acquisitions (half of the increase of RM 44 billion debt over 2008). Property players would also have noticed that after a tailing off, there was a sudden surge in demand and consequently house prices in the second half of 2009.
With the prevailing low interest rates scenario and constant prompting by market players, experts, and economists alike, speculators or ‘flippers’ have splashed out on houses with bank borrowings eager for short term profits or a quick kill and await for ‘bigger fools’ to buy from them.
Does this mean that the current upsurge in Malaysian property prices will continue for ever? Yes, if you believe in fairy tales. Or think like those property speculators who got badly burnt in the US, Europe, and Dubai, the past few years.
If we look around the world and into past trends of property cycles which represent change, we may get to know the answer. Otherwise we risk bumping into walls, and get hurt. How badly hurt investors get depends on the amount borrowed and the severity of falls in property prices. The amounts of credit used magnify both the gains and the losses. Since credit is a double edge sword.
Did Mencius not advise the Junzi not to stand near a wall since it can collapse? Knowing how to observe and read signs help. Since no one or any remonstration given can stop someone from bumping into walls if they insist on doing so, I occasionally remind my children with practical examples.
When bankers start questioning the reasonableness of property developers’ pricing of houses and shops, which they did last year in Malaysia, it provides a sign. When banks or Central Banks start raising lending rates, it is another sign. When banks advertise for more fixed deposits offering better rates than competitors but over a longer time span than the popular, it shows that their liquidity is fast dwindling – and that interest rates could further rise.
Banks are smarter than most but not all depositors are equally gullible!
For pensioners waiting for opportunities, wait for deposit interest rates to go very high (beyond the norm of good years or those paid by the pension funds) in your country of abode before tying in your cash in fixed deposits for the long term. Although interest rates can go sky high in the aftermath of the recent global financial crisis, they will fall back again after awhile otherwise economies would be 'strangled to dead'.
When house prices go higher than shops it carries a dire warning sign of over speculation. Can the houses rental match those of shops? One asks.
There are a few other signs that would show the peak of the property cycles in Malaysia, but go ask the same property experts who recently managed to convince you to buy for speculation or for a better word, invest.
According to recent media reports, apparently Li KaShing has had indicated that prices of housing units in Hong Kong have peaked. If it is so, investors or speculators of Hong Kong properties should take the cue from this Da Ren (great man) since realty and investments are his forte.
I particularly like his statements when asked by the media about the HK property market a week or two ago, which goes something like this: ‘Those who tell lies or exaggerate to mislead should be punished.’ ‘Those who bought into properties with their own money following his suggestion last year should have made some gains.’
To rein in speculative activities, China has recently stopped all government institutions including those of states to invest in realty using bank borrowings. The Chinese government realized that these institutions are fast becoming the main culprits in property speculation and for the rapid increase in prices since their borrowings constitute about 70% (?) of total lending for the purchase of realty in China.
When companies in various other industries use their cash and bank borrowings to load onto vacant properties arguably for long term investment, it is also a sign that the property bubble in China will burst soon.
Like in October 2005 while discussing Change, I have touched on the US property market, around the time when her housing prices have first started to fall. (No, we did not know back then, until years later when the media reports and statistics came rolling in.) Perhaps it is also coincidental that this entry touches on the property markets of Malaysia, Hong Kong, and China or maybe not.
For who knows change better compared to Yi aficionados who have spent decades of their lives studying and observing it? But how would I know?
Since your guess in change or property cycles, whether or not, luck plays a part, could be as good as mine.
However I blog this entry for a reason and when events unfold accordingly, I may elaborate why.
Cheerio!
Friday, April 02, 2010
A scholar of the Book of Changes
One definition of a scholar is that of a learned person (especially in the humanities); someone who by long study has gained mastery in one or more disciplines.
[wordnetweb.princeton.edu]
Scholarly method or scholarship -- is the body of principles and practices used by scholars to make their claims about the world as valid and trustworthy as possible, and to make them known to the scholarly public.
[wikipedia.org]
The reason I Google for a definition of scholar is because many people have claimed or tend to think that they are scholars of the Book of Changes (I Ching / Yijing / The Yi). The related definition of scholarly method or scholarship is also noteworthy for this entry.
If we consider the number of students in the world who have spent decades in the study of the Book of Changes, there would be many scholars of the Yi.
But are they considered learned? Have they gained mastery of the Yi? We ask.
A scholar of the Book of Changes would make claims about the Yi and/or its related studies as valid and trustworthy as possible, and to make them known to the scholarly public (in line with the definition of scholarship provided at wikipedia).
How many of the so called (or so claimed) I Ching scholars have publicly come out with claims about the Yi and/or its related studies as valid and trustworthy as possible?
Too few, in my books, therefore aspirant scholars should be encouraged and not eagerly condemned especially if they are considered friends , with the arrogant – those too full - left well alone. As taught in the Yi, heaven and humans raise the modest and level the full.
In my books, a scholar of this ancient classic known as the Book of Changes knows ancient Chinese history well, has studied the four Confucian books and the remaining four Chinese classics, is versed with Yi divinatory practices of old, and have published their original thoughts – valid and trustworthy as possible (thereby showing integrity) - either in books, blogs, or websites available for public consumption or for the dispute of their ideas.
Of the renowned Western scholars, James Legge and Richard Wilhelm fall under my category of Yi scholars. They and/or their mentors know the Yi well. Question them on ancient Chinese history or the four Confucian books and the five classics and they could very well have pointed out something that we have missed in our studies. However since they are no longer around, we can only learn from their commentary or well researched footnotes in the translations.
But it does not mean that these renowned scholars have spotted everything related to the Yi studies, which leave a lot of work to do for later scholars. The research into Hexagram 55 Feng / Abundance and an overlooked solar eclipse just before the Zhou invasion of Shang, leading to a book publication of ‘The Mandate of Heaven’ by Steve Marshall provides an example.
Another example could be that of the relationship between Tao and the Yi, which even the Chinese or Taiwanese professors of ancient Chinese philosophy recently try to tie in. That area of study is deep and profound probably beyond many including these professors, since top class Chinese scholars like the mentors of Wilhelm and Legge seemed to have missed them in the Yi. For examples: the space between Heaven and Earth, and the absence of Tao all under heaven – already discussed in this blog since 2008. And I am still waiting for any scholar or the learned including my Quanzhen friend to dispute my claims.
As blogged before, if people want to discuss the eternal Tao, we must first have some experiences of what Laozi, Buddha, the Daoist celestial immortals, and the Zhen Ren have had indicated. Otherwise it is just never ending rhetoric. Does this help to clear up some doubt on what Laozi meant in his Tao Te Ching chapter one?
Notwithstanding what fellow students may like to think, the reading of numerous Yi translations do not make one a scholar, we are just perusing the thoughts of the translators. Neither can a translator of the Yi in any form, whimsical or otherwise, be considered one. If you are only good at reading fortunes or at fengshui, try calling yourself a fortune teller or fengshui master. Like the circumspect fortune tellers and fengshui masters on the web, never claim the title of a scholar of the Book of Changes; unless you know deep in your heart you are versed with the Yi and its ancient usages – divinatory practices and others. Since sincerity is the way of heaven.
At the end of the day, whether or not you can make the ranks of a scholar of the Book of Changes depend on acceptance by your peers.
The difference between reputable Yi scholars and the not so good ones by and large depends on their own studies, research, and talent.
If several of your claims on the Yi or its related studies happen to appear invalid and untrustworthy, consider going back up the mountain where you can enjoy the peace and quiet!
Laying your mind fallow for awhile helps even if you are not a scholar of the Book of Changes. But that is not a claim on related Yi studies, just a mere observation!
[wordnetweb.princeton.edu]
Scholarly method or scholarship -- is the body of principles and practices used by scholars to make their claims about the world as valid and trustworthy as possible, and to make them known to the scholarly public.
[wikipedia.org]
The reason I Google for a definition of scholar is because many people have claimed or tend to think that they are scholars of the Book of Changes (I Ching / Yijing / The Yi). The related definition of scholarly method or scholarship is also noteworthy for this entry.
If we consider the number of students in the world who have spent decades in the study of the Book of Changes, there would be many scholars of the Yi.
But are they considered learned? Have they gained mastery of the Yi? We ask.
A scholar of the Book of Changes would make claims about the Yi and/or its related studies as valid and trustworthy as possible, and to make them known to the scholarly public (in line with the definition of scholarship provided at wikipedia).
How many of the so called (or so claimed) I Ching scholars have publicly come out with claims about the Yi and/or its related studies as valid and trustworthy as possible?
Too few, in my books, therefore aspirant scholars should be encouraged and not eagerly condemned especially if they are considered friends , with the arrogant – those too full - left well alone. As taught in the Yi, heaven and humans raise the modest and level the full.
In my books, a scholar of this ancient classic known as the Book of Changes knows ancient Chinese history well, has studied the four Confucian books and the remaining four Chinese classics, is versed with Yi divinatory practices of old, and have published their original thoughts – valid and trustworthy as possible (thereby showing integrity) - either in books, blogs, or websites available for public consumption or for the dispute of their ideas.
Of the renowned Western scholars, James Legge and Richard Wilhelm fall under my category of Yi scholars. They and/or their mentors know the Yi well. Question them on ancient Chinese history or the four Confucian books and the five classics and they could very well have pointed out something that we have missed in our studies. However since they are no longer around, we can only learn from their commentary or well researched footnotes in the translations.
But it does not mean that these renowned scholars have spotted everything related to the Yi studies, which leave a lot of work to do for later scholars. The research into Hexagram 55 Feng / Abundance and an overlooked solar eclipse just before the Zhou invasion of Shang, leading to a book publication of ‘The Mandate of Heaven’ by Steve Marshall provides an example.
Another example could be that of the relationship between Tao and the Yi, which even the Chinese or Taiwanese professors of ancient Chinese philosophy recently try to tie in. That area of study is deep and profound probably beyond many including these professors, since top class Chinese scholars like the mentors of Wilhelm and Legge seemed to have missed them in the Yi. For examples: the space between Heaven and Earth, and the absence of Tao all under heaven – already discussed in this blog since 2008. And I am still waiting for any scholar or the learned including my Quanzhen friend to dispute my claims.
As blogged before, if people want to discuss the eternal Tao, we must first have some experiences of what Laozi, Buddha, the Daoist celestial immortals, and the Zhen Ren have had indicated. Otherwise it is just never ending rhetoric. Does this help to clear up some doubt on what Laozi meant in his Tao Te Ching chapter one?
Notwithstanding what fellow students may like to think, the reading of numerous Yi translations do not make one a scholar, we are just perusing the thoughts of the translators. Neither can a translator of the Yi in any form, whimsical or otherwise, be considered one. If you are only good at reading fortunes or at fengshui, try calling yourself a fortune teller or fengshui master. Like the circumspect fortune tellers and fengshui masters on the web, never claim the title of a scholar of the Book of Changes; unless you know deep in your heart you are versed with the Yi and its ancient usages – divinatory practices and others. Since sincerity is the way of heaven.
At the end of the day, whether or not you can make the ranks of a scholar of the Book of Changes depend on acceptance by your peers.
The difference between reputable Yi scholars and the not so good ones by and large depends on their own studies, research, and talent.
If several of your claims on the Yi or its related studies happen to appear invalid and untrustworthy, consider going back up the mountain where you can enjoy the peace and quiet!
Laying your mind fallow for awhile helps even if you are not a scholar of the Book of Changes. But that is not a claim on related Yi studies, just a mere observation!
Wednesday, March 31, 2010
Influence
Mencius said,
‘Po-i, that he might avoid Chou, was dwelling on the coast of the northern sea. When he heard the rise of king Wen, he roused himself, and said, “Why should I not go and follow him? I have heard that the chief of the West knows well how to nourish the old.”
Tai-kung, that he might avoid Chou, was dwelling on the coast of the eastern sea. When he heard of the rise of king Wen, he roused himself, and said, “Why should I not go and follow him? I have heard that the chief of the West knows well how to nourish the old.”
Those two old men were the greatest old men of the kingdom. When they came to follow king Wen, it was the fathers of the kingdom coming to follow him. When the fathers of the kingdom joined him, how could the sons go to any other?
Were any of the princes to practise the government of king Wen, within seven years he would be sure to be giving laws to the kingdom.’
[The Works of Mencius Book 4, Part 1. 13 Legge]
‘Po-i, that he might avoid Chou, was dwelling on the coast of the northern sea. When he heard the rise of king Wen, he roused himself, and said, “Why should I not go and follow him? I have heard that the chief of the West knows well how to nourish the old.”
Tai-kung, that he might avoid Chou, was dwelling on the coast of the eastern sea. When he heard of the rise of king Wen, he roused himself, and said, “Why should I not go and follow him? I have heard that the chief of the West knows well how to nourish the old.”
Those two old men were the greatest old men of the kingdom. When they came to follow king Wen, it was the fathers of the kingdom coming to follow him. When the fathers of the kingdom joined him, how could the sons go to any other?
Were any of the princes to practise the government of king Wen, within seven years he would be sure to be giving laws to the kingdom.’
[The Works of Mencius Book 4, Part 1. 13 Legge]
Friday, March 26, 2010
The Ancient Tao
The Ancient Tao is something like this:
You cannot see, hear, or grasp it.
By sitting and forgetting, you can feel the heat and see the mystical light.
At higher levels, you can see forms and emptiness interchanging like what Laozi and the Buddha indicated.
Without Te or virtues, you are not the right person.
If pure, still, and empty, you can enter the gates and see galaxies or lands of the thousand Buddhas.
Without going out of the door, you can know what is happening all under heaven and whether there is Tao or not. Without looking out of the window, you can see the Way of heaven.
Once you locate the germinal vesicle, the space between Heaven and Earth, you are on the right path to Tao.
The fire from the germinal vesicle can scorch. If not intense, the fire cannot melt the medicine.
At times, you can hear celestial immortals and Buddhas sing.
Face the eight trigrams and know the ancestor.
Experience Wu Wei, and you will know what you are preparing for.
The Golden Flower shines brilliantly.
You see the original self.
The embryo grows……
Final aim, climb up heaven’s ladder.
Most if not all of the above have been referred to either in the Tao Te Ching, the Zhouyi, the Shurangama, the Zhuangzi (refer Xinzhai and Guangchenzi’s teachings to Huangdi), the Hui Ming Ching, the Hundred Character Stele, the Secret of the Golden Flower, and/or other important Quanzhen texts by Zhong LiQuan and Zhang Boduan.
If we have not experienced some or most of the above possible experiences indicated by the ancients, Daoist celestial immortals, and the Zhen Ren, can we venture to talk about Tao?
Would our discussions constitute the constant or eternal Tao?
As long as the inexperienced or the charlatans do not venture forth to teach Tao, there is goodwill on earth.
Cheerio!
You cannot see, hear, or grasp it.
By sitting and forgetting, you can feel the heat and see the mystical light.
At higher levels, you can see forms and emptiness interchanging like what Laozi and the Buddha indicated.
Without Te or virtues, you are not the right person.
If pure, still, and empty, you can enter the gates and see galaxies or lands of the thousand Buddhas.
Without going out of the door, you can know what is happening all under heaven and whether there is Tao or not. Without looking out of the window, you can see the Way of heaven.
Once you locate the germinal vesicle, the space between Heaven and Earth, you are on the right path to Tao.
The fire from the germinal vesicle can scorch. If not intense, the fire cannot melt the medicine.
At times, you can hear celestial immortals and Buddhas sing.
Face the eight trigrams and know the ancestor.
Experience Wu Wei, and you will know what you are preparing for.
The Golden Flower shines brilliantly.
You see the original self.
The embryo grows……
Final aim, climb up heaven’s ladder.
Most if not all of the above have been referred to either in the Tao Te Ching, the Zhouyi, the Shurangama, the Zhuangzi (refer Xinzhai and Guangchenzi’s teachings to Huangdi), the Hui Ming Ching, the Hundred Character Stele, the Secret of the Golden Flower, and/or other important Quanzhen texts by Zhong LiQuan and Zhang Boduan.
If we have not experienced some or most of the above possible experiences indicated by the ancients, Daoist celestial immortals, and the Zhen Ren, can we venture to talk about Tao?
Would our discussions constitute the constant or eternal Tao?
As long as the inexperienced or the charlatans do not venture forth to teach Tao, there is goodwill on earth.
Cheerio!
Thursday, March 18, 2010
The Art and Science of Yi divination
According to The American Heritage Dictionaries:
Art is a skill that is attained by study, practice or observation.
And Science is the observation, identification, description, experimental investigation, and theoretical explanation of phenomena etc. which can be tested.
For more definitions of Art and Science, please check online via thefreedictionary.com
Yi aficionados would be very familiar with the art of divination obtainable through the study of the Book of Changes (I Ching / Yijing / the Yi), practising divination by consulting the Oracle and observing the results. They will learn to master this art of Yi divination over the years or decades of study eventually to reach the highest stage ever recorded in ancient books – that is divining like a spirit. (Refer the Doctrine of the Mean)
Yi aficionados can also improve their divination skills by testing their ability in the interpretation of prognostications.
When the Yi speaks, the prognostication is true and if its interpretation is correctly done, the results can be foreseen, thereby making it clear as day. As long as the Yi speaks, a good interpreter of the Oracle could interpret the prognostication correctly whether he or she is next to or oceans apart from the diviner. This means that this theory can be ‘scientifically’ tested many times, and proven.
However, sad to say, many have yet to reach that requisite level and I am still on the lookout for some over the past ten years on the World Wide Web. Not surprising since the Yi has only spoken to a remarkable few diviners who blog their prognostications or posted them on I Ching websites, some of whom I have previously named.
If aficionados do not rise to the occasion, how could they know about the science of Yi divination and test their skills and the theory?
There are several instances of interpretation of other diviners’ prognostications in this blog over the past five years – those whom the Yi spoke to. Their prognostications were true and therefore reliable. The interpretations and the predicted outcomes unfolded – many times to a T.
Take for example, the interpretation of a prognostication on a stock investment given by the Book of Changes to a fellow Malaysian by way of Hexagram 29 Kan / The Abysmal. (Refer February 19, 2008 entry, ‘An interpretation of Kan / The Abysmal’ and the result in December 27, 2008 entry, ‘Few can alter Yi prognostications’)
The stock, Transmile, has recently fallen to its lowest price, 32.5 sen, after it became designated a PN 17 stock because its share capital and reserves had fallen below the threshold due to continual huge losses. (Have earnest Yi aficionados taken note of the continuous unfolding and the time?)
In the entries, I had mentioned that from experiences and observations, Kan is a bad hexagram for investments. The same emphasis on good and bad hexagrams was also made on the March 26, 2007 entry on ‘When the Yi speaks’. This theory of good and bad hexagrams have also been tested.
If some so called Yi experts or scholars still insist there are no good and bad hexagrams in divination, let them be. Just like those modern scholars who claim that Confucius has never read the Yi, or those who believe that real Daoist teachings do not touch on good and evil, they do not know what they are missing or learning.
If we do not improve our own art of Yi divination, it could prove difficult to understand the science of Yi divination. Without a sound knowledge of the art and science of divination, how can we ever hope to divine like a spirit and later to assist the gods?
Art is a skill that is attained by study, practice or observation.
And Science is the observation, identification, description, experimental investigation, and theoretical explanation of phenomena etc. which can be tested.
For more definitions of Art and Science, please check online via thefreedictionary.com
Yi aficionados would be very familiar with the art of divination obtainable through the study of the Book of Changes (I Ching / Yijing / the Yi), practising divination by consulting the Oracle and observing the results. They will learn to master this art of Yi divination over the years or decades of study eventually to reach the highest stage ever recorded in ancient books – that is divining like a spirit. (Refer the Doctrine of the Mean)
Yi aficionados can also improve their divination skills by testing their ability in the interpretation of prognostications.
When the Yi speaks, the prognostication is true and if its interpretation is correctly done, the results can be foreseen, thereby making it clear as day. As long as the Yi speaks, a good interpreter of the Oracle could interpret the prognostication correctly whether he or she is next to or oceans apart from the diviner. This means that this theory can be ‘scientifically’ tested many times, and proven.
However, sad to say, many have yet to reach that requisite level and I am still on the lookout for some over the past ten years on the World Wide Web. Not surprising since the Yi has only spoken to a remarkable few diviners who blog their prognostications or posted them on I Ching websites, some of whom I have previously named.
If aficionados do not rise to the occasion, how could they know about the science of Yi divination and test their skills and the theory?
There are several instances of interpretation of other diviners’ prognostications in this blog over the past five years – those whom the Yi spoke to. Their prognostications were true and therefore reliable. The interpretations and the predicted outcomes unfolded – many times to a T.
Take for example, the interpretation of a prognostication on a stock investment given by the Book of Changes to a fellow Malaysian by way of Hexagram 29 Kan / The Abysmal. (Refer February 19, 2008 entry, ‘An interpretation of Kan / The Abysmal’ and the result in December 27, 2008 entry, ‘Few can alter Yi prognostications’)
The stock, Transmile, has recently fallen to its lowest price, 32.5 sen, after it became designated a PN 17 stock because its share capital and reserves had fallen below the threshold due to continual huge losses. (Have earnest Yi aficionados taken note of the continuous unfolding and the time?)
In the entries, I had mentioned that from experiences and observations, Kan is a bad hexagram for investments. The same emphasis on good and bad hexagrams was also made on the March 26, 2007 entry on ‘When the Yi speaks’. This theory of good and bad hexagrams have also been tested.
If some so called Yi experts or scholars still insist there are no good and bad hexagrams in divination, let them be. Just like those modern scholars who claim that Confucius has never read the Yi, or those who believe that real Daoist teachings do not touch on good and evil, they do not know what they are missing or learning.
If we do not improve our own art of Yi divination, it could prove difficult to understand the science of Yi divination. Without a sound knowledge of the art and science of divination, how can we ever hope to divine like a spirit and later to assist the gods?
Saturday, March 06, 2010
Real masters will get it right
Just like those of Tao and the Yi, real masters whether they are practitioners of neidan, art, martial arts, fengshui, or fortune telling, they will get it right most if not all of the time. Since real masters would know what they are doing.
If they have come down or sent down from the mountain with their teachers’ blessings, they would be ready to face the world. Unfortunately, if we really observe their words and actions, there are fewer real masters than many students think.
For example, real I Ching masters do not read fortunes even if they know how to since it is not their specialty or forte. These real masters may have a higher call in life and according to the Great Treatise, if they are really skilled in divination, they can even assist the gods.
Yet we see so called I Ching masters or scholars trying to predict the fortunes of the country they live in, year in year out, giving out wrong predictions most of the time. And still they try.
Would it not have been better to leave the predictions to those – the fortune tellers and fengshui masters - who specialized in it? What is there to compete unless the best fortune tellers and/or fengshui masters in your country give out wrong predictions year in year out? But two wrongs do not make a right!
Therefore if you want to become a real I Ching master, go back up the mountain. And stay there until you get it right most if not all the time.
In this Tiger year of 2010, and unlike the last three years, there seem to be a dearth of annual predictions. In Hong Kong, the news reports say that the fengshui masters are keeping a low profile fearing a public backlash from previous wrong predictions and/or the high profile court case of one from their own profession who challenged a valid will of his dead multi billionaire client. The Judge said in passing that the wealthy fengshui master created a false will to claim the billions of his dead benefactor.
In Malaysia, there were few published predictions on her economy and the stock market for 2010. It could be that those who were getting it wrong over the past few years are being circumspect, it is a moral thing to feel shame, or these masters were possibly slammed by their fees-paying clients for failing them yet again. (If you are interested in what they had predicted over the past three crucial years, read my blog entries during the first quarter of those years.)
Unlike 2009 where one did not side with any of the fortune tellers, fengshui masters, I Ching scholars or masters, I would recommend Malaysians to follow the predictions of the young fengshui master for 2010. He could be right in that the first half year is better than the second half.
And that differs from the CLSA fengshui index 2010 for Hong Kong, in case you are following it for the KLSE stocks trading. But how would I know?
Unless I tell readers something different later this year, be very careful with your investments. Investors could get burned if they take on too much risk. Hope they know what a metal or white tiger can sometimes do to people. (Not much imagination required!)
Cheerio!
If they have come down or sent down from the mountain with their teachers’ blessings, they would be ready to face the world. Unfortunately, if we really observe their words and actions, there are fewer real masters than many students think.
For example, real I Ching masters do not read fortunes even if they know how to since it is not their specialty or forte. These real masters may have a higher call in life and according to the Great Treatise, if they are really skilled in divination, they can even assist the gods.
Yet we see so called I Ching masters or scholars trying to predict the fortunes of the country they live in, year in year out, giving out wrong predictions most of the time. And still they try.
Would it not have been better to leave the predictions to those – the fortune tellers and fengshui masters - who specialized in it? What is there to compete unless the best fortune tellers and/or fengshui masters in your country give out wrong predictions year in year out? But two wrongs do not make a right!
Therefore if you want to become a real I Ching master, go back up the mountain. And stay there until you get it right most if not all the time.
In this Tiger year of 2010, and unlike the last three years, there seem to be a dearth of annual predictions. In Hong Kong, the news reports say that the fengshui masters are keeping a low profile fearing a public backlash from previous wrong predictions and/or the high profile court case of one from their own profession who challenged a valid will of his dead multi billionaire client. The Judge said in passing that the wealthy fengshui master created a false will to claim the billions of his dead benefactor.
In Malaysia, there were few published predictions on her economy and the stock market for 2010. It could be that those who were getting it wrong over the past few years are being circumspect, it is a moral thing to feel shame, or these masters were possibly slammed by their fees-paying clients for failing them yet again. (If you are interested in what they had predicted over the past three crucial years, read my blog entries during the first quarter of those years.)
Unlike 2009 where one did not side with any of the fortune tellers, fengshui masters, I Ching scholars or masters, I would recommend Malaysians to follow the predictions of the young fengshui master for 2010. He could be right in that the first half year is better than the second half.
And that differs from the CLSA fengshui index 2010 for Hong Kong, in case you are following it for the KLSE stocks trading. But how would I know?
Unless I tell readers something different later this year, be very careful with your investments. Investors could get burned if they take on too much risk. Hope they know what a metal or white tiger can sometimes do to people. (Not much imagination required!)
Cheerio!
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