Dear forum members,

Anybody out there, having experience with the I Tjing?

For many years I was stick to the Richard Wilhelm version. For some months/ year, I realize that there is one much closer to 'divinition'. And so the link to (some) martial arts backgrounds/ philosophies.

THis weekend I will try to extract some basic cases, in realtion to asking the I Tjing for support and advice. Give me some time for the scanning job.

I think this forum is a great place to learn from each other. So please reflect your thoughts and expertise in this thread.

Warmest regards,

Evert.

Case 1
Let us suppose that an enquirer is debating whether to leave his present employment in order to take up a post abroad which, though it would increase his income and improve his prospects, might cause him regret for other reasons. (For the sake of simplicity, these reasons will not be specified in our example; but, were the enquiry a real one, they would occupy an important place among the many factors bearing upon the right interpretation of the oracle received.)

Question: A simple query, ‘Shall I accept the post which has been offered me in Tokyo?

He receives Hexagram 3, Chun, Difficulty, together with a moving line for the fourth place and, as a consequence of the latter, a second hexagram, namely Hexagram 17, Sui, Following or According With (for this is what Chun becomes when the fourth line ‘moves’ and thus changes from a yielding to a firm line).

PART 2:


The Text of the former hexagram presages difficulty followed by the utmost success and promises reward for (morally correct) determina¬tion; but it also advises against seeking a new goal or setting out for a new destination and advocates consolidating the present position. The Commentary on the Text, as usual, reinforces the teaching of the Text itself and adds a warning about the difficulties which are liable to attend the growth of something new. Similarly, the Symbol indicates difficulty and suggests that this is a time for setting our present circumstances in good order (for, when the I Ching states that the Superior Man does so and so, this should be taken to mean: 'If you value wisdom and virtue, you will do so and so'). The moving (fourth) line recommends hesitation now as a means of ensuring prosperity in the future; while the commentary on that line, with seeming contrariness, urges the pursuit of what is desired by the enquirer. The Text of the second hexagram (H.r7) also promises success and advises determination; it adds a firm assurance that we shall not be involved in error. The Commentary on the Text makes specific reference to the two compo¬nent trigrams by speaking of movement and joy conjoined and ends with a firm indication that, in all matters, it is essential to attend to the timeliness of our actions, thus according with one of nature's fundamental principles. The symbolism suggests that it would not be timely to take action now.

The interpretation of these apparently conflicting points in the light of the specific enquiry requires some skill. Several passages, if taken by themselves, seem to imply that, despite some initial difficulties, it would be well worth while for the enquirer to accept the post in Tokyo in a spirit of determination to succeed; but other passages seem to advise against a journey at this time, while advocating consolidation of the present position and emphasizing that a move just now would be most untimely. My own interpretation (leaving out of account background details, the character and attainments of the man involved, and the part normally played by intuition) would run something like this:

The Text of Hexagram 3, taken by itself, indicates that he should not accept a post abroad at this time, since this would involve a journey and a new goal in life, but that he should rather seek to consolidate his position in the organization where he now works. The Commentary on the Text suggests that this opinion should perhaps be modified somewhat because of the emphasis it places on the success attending the birth of something new, once the initial difficulties have been overcome; but the symbolism reminds us that there are matters to be set in order before any novel action is undertaken. The moving line both counsels hesitation and urges the pursuit of what is desired. The Text of the second hexagram (H.17) confirms part of what we have already learnt from the Text of Hexagram 3; but, whereas the former advises against a journey, the latter's reference to the conjoining of movement and joy makes it appear that a journey is rather to be desired than otherwise; however, the stress placed upon the need for timeliness forbids impetuosity, all the more so as what is said about the symbolism clearly indicates that this is not the right time to make a major move. From all this, I conclude that the enquirer should not be in a hurry to accept the Tokyo appointment, but that he should keep it (or the possibility of obtaining some similar post) in mind and be firmly determined to seize a chance of bettering his prospects by going abroad when it becomes more certain that the right moment has arrived.


Source: I Ching, The book of Change. John Blofeld 1965.

Hi Evert,

Being a Taoist, Im a firm believer in the I ching. I use a copy from a very odd source. Its called
"How to use the Iching by Stephen Karcher". To me, this book is a Diamond in the ruff. It was available in a Mainstream american corporate owned book store called "Barnes and noble".

His..intuitive understanding of the iching coupled with is abilitiy to clearly explain the core concepts and ideas is what makes it a unique find. He also is acclamated to various other systems of divination over 30 years, giving him a very..broad view.

He also has several other books out including:

"The elements of the Iching By Stephan Karcher"

and

"I ching: the classic Chinese Oracle By Karcher, and Ritsema, Rudolf" - which is considered by some the most compreshenisve translation in English of the I ching.

Case 2


Someone has received information that there is reason to suspect dangerous disloyalty on the part of a subordinate in the branch of administration which he heads. Yet, on the strength of the latter's past good record, he is reluctant to accept the fairly convincing but not altogether conclusive evidence of misbehavior. Accordingly, he enquires of the Book of Change:

Question: `Shall I dismiss, or at least transfer, this man, since there is reason to suppose that his activities are endangering the interests of the administration?'


For answer, he receives:

Hexagram 5, Hsu, Calculated Inaction, as well as three moving lines, the fourth, fifth and sixth, and (consequently)





Hexagram 14, Ta Yu, Great Possessions (or the Great Possessor).




From these, the following main points emerge. The Text of the former hexagram (H.5) indicates three things—the advantage of refraining from immediate action, the wisdom of being firmly determined and the auspiciousness of making a journey at this time. The Commentary on the Text underlines the importance of remaining inactive but determined; it adds that considerable clarity of mind is required if danger is to be avoided. What is said about the symbolism reiterates the importance of not acting hastily. Line four suggests that, even if violence were to erupt, we should still be well advised to sit back and let things take their course. Line five recommends thorough relaxation accompanied by firm determination to act rightly at the proper time. The Text of the latter hexagram (H.14) promises success to those who are already wealthy and powerful. The Commentary on the Text echoes what was said earlier about the need for firmness and strength. Under the heading Symbol comes the passage:

`The Superior Man suppresses those who are evil and upholds the virtuous.' My interpretation (with the usual reservations about background and intuition) is thus:

The Text, Commentary and Symbol of Hexagram 5 all indicate that, as yet, no action should be taken against the alleged culprit, but that the search for conclusive proof should be diligently pursued, even at the cost of travelling a considerable distance, should that seem necessary. It is also made clear that hasty action at this time might do much harm and that the mind must be guarded against bewilderment (in this case, probably due to prejudice, rumours, accusations and so forth). The two moving lines emphasize that, however dangerous the current of events may seem or actually become, this danger must be met by relaxing and biding our time. The Text of Hexagram 14, in promising success to one already wealthy or powerful (or both), seems in this case to indicate that the success of the administration will not be impaired as a result of our patient inactivity. The Commentary on the Text demands firmness and strength—but against what?

In the present context, this would seem to mean that we should resist any pressure brought upon us to dismiss the suspect without waiting for further proof. The passage derived from the hexagram's symbolism about suppressing the evil-minded and upholding the virtuous may indicate a need for zeal in refusing to allow ourselves to be led into acting unjustly. From all of this, I should conclude that the suspect is probably a maligned man, since the need for caution is stressed so often; that, in any case, the administration will weather any dangers arising from failure to dismiss him promptly; and that, unless and until his disloyalty is proved beyond all doubt, I must resist pressure to take punitive action.

It is true that we are still left in some doubt as to the man's guilt or innocence, since at best only the probability of his innocence has been established by the response; but, were the enquirer to express disappointment with this uncertain result, I should certainly chide him for underrating the Book of Change and seek to justify the response in these terms:

`Had the response ruled the suspect guilty, you would have been faced with the choice of punishing him and then feeling deeply contrite for having based so grave a decision upon a method of which scarcely one of your colleagues would have approved, or else of leaving him unpunished and then worrying acutely about his probable harmfulness to the interests of the administration you head. If, on the other hand, the response had ruled him innocent, though you might cease to worry about him, he would still remain an object of suspicion and dislike to his accusers and there would probably be times when you felt hesitant to trust him as fully as in the days before any accusation was whispered against him.

Therefore the I Ching says in effect: "Wait for certain evidence before you take action, safe in the knowledge that your patience will in no way endanger the interests you serve." '

Case 3

A woman who still retains some affection for her husband is so worried by the lightness with which he takes his responsibilities that she has begun to contemplate divorcing him, both for her own sake and the children's.

She frames her question simply: `Shall I divorce him or not?'

The response consists of Hexagram 11, T'ai, Peace.




As there are no moving lines, no other hexagram is involved. The Text of Hexagram 11 reads:

'The mean decline; the great and the good approach—good fortune and success!' (If the reader has carefully read what was said in the foreword of this book about the terseness of the Chinese language he will be prepared to understand 'the mean, the great and the good' as being equally applicable to persons and to qualities; i.e., 'the mean' may signify evil people and persons of little worth in some contexts, evilness and worthlessness in others.) The Commentary on the Text powerfully stresses the divine nature of conjugal harmony and goes on to presage the decline of those whose moral worth is insignificant (or, alternatively, the decline of moral worthlessness). The symbolism of the hexagram stresses further the perfections of conjugal harmony.

How to interpret what is said about the mean declining and so on will depend upon which, if any, of those involved in the case at issue can rightfully be regarded as despicable. The husband? Perhaps! Yet if he were entirely lacking in good qualities, his wife would scarcely need to consult the I Ching before making up her mind to divorce him. Some woman or women who have seduced him away from her? Possibly! Or does 'mean' refer to certain qualities in her husband which, according to the response, are not likely to remain with him much longer? Again, perhaps. If the wife feels that it would be unjust to identify him with 'the mean', the Chinese sense of which is synonymous with despicable, then what is said about the mean declining must either signify that some unprincipled woman or women are about to lose their influence over him or else that he is about to rid himself of his more evil qualities. In either of these cases, divorce is not indicated. On the contrary, the heavy stress laid upon conjugal harmony is a clear indication that the marriage can be saved if the wife is sufficiently intelligent, magnanimous and ready to forgive the past. Indeed, the omen promises a degree of marital felicity reminiscent of the perfect union of heaven and earth.

Under different circumstances, the oracle would have to be interpreted in quite another sense. If the husband has consistently behaved so badly as to deserve being classed as despicable by his wife even at moments when she is calm and free from anger; then it appears that, not only is a divorce much to be desired, but that it will be followed by the approach of `the great and the good', namely of a future husband with whom she can enjoy conjugal bliss as harmonious as the mating of heaven and earth! (However, if the woman is merely a little tired of her present husband's infidelity, she must not allow wishful thinking to lead her into the error of supposing that her best way to conjugal happiness necessarily lies through divorce and remarriage.)

The fact that two strongly conflicting interpretations can be put upon the same passages serves to underline the importance of taking into full consideration a host of background details absent from these examples and of giving proper scope to the work of intuition. Where both these matters receive adequate attention, there can be no room for doubt or conflicting opinions, for then it will be abundantly clear as to which of the alternatives applies.

In all the above cases, only the most simple form of interpretation has been attempted. In particular, very little weight has been given to the symbolism, which involves a detailed knowledge of the mutual influence of the component trigrams and of the compatibility or other-wise of the component lines. But as this knowledge cannot be acquired without long study and the guidance of an expert, it is safer to rely chiefly upon the texts and commentaries attached to the hexagrams and moving lines, for these provide the interpretations made by King Wen, Duke Chou and Confucius or, in any case, by men scarcely inferior to them in calibre as regards their understanding of the hexagrams and their component parts. To add or substitute our own interpretations based directly on the forms of the hexagrams would, for most of us, be rash, though we may one day find ourselves qualified to undertake at least a small amount of direct interpretation.

The Hexagrams

The text of the I Ching describes each of the 64 hexagrams, and later scholars added commentaries and analyses of each one; these have been subsumed into the text comprising the I Ching.

Philosophy

Gradations of binary expression based on yin and yang (Old yang, old yin; young yang or young yin, see the divination paragraph below) are what the hexagrams are built from. Yin and yang, while common expressions associated with many schools known from classical Chinese culture, are especially associated with the Taoists.

Another view holds that the I Ching is primarily a Confucianist ethical or philosophical document. This view is based upon the following:

The Wings or Appendices are attributed to Confucius.
The study of it was required as part of the Civil Service Exams. These exams only studied Confucianist texts.
It is one of the Five Confucian Classics.
It does not appear in any surviving editions of the Dao Zheng.
The major commentaries have been written by Confucianists, or Neo-Confucianists.

Both views may be seen to show that I Ching was at the heart of Chinese thought, serving as a common ground for the Confucian and Taoist schools. Partly forgotten because of the rise of Chinese Buddhism during the Tang dynasty, the I Ching came back to the attention of many scholars during the Song dynasty, concomitant with the reassessment of Confucianism by Confucians in the light of Taoist and Buddhist metaphysics, known in the West as Neo-Confucianism. The book, unquestionably an ancient Chinese scripture, helped Song Confucian thinkers to synthesize Buddhist and Taoist cosmologies with Confucian and Mencian ethics into a new kind of cosmogony that could be linked to the so-called "lost Tao" of Confucius and Mencius.

History

Traditionally it was believed that the principles of the I Ching originated with the legendary Fu Hsi. In this respect he is seen as an early culture hero, one of earliest legendary rulers of China (traditional dates 2852 BC-2738 BC), reputed to have had the trigrams (ba gùa) revealed to him supernaturally. Before the Zhou Dynasty, there was other literature on the "Change" philosophy, e.g. Lian Shan Yi (Lián Shan Yì) and Gui Cang Yi (Gui Cáng Yì). The philosophy heavily influenced the literature and government administration of the Zhou Dynasty. It was refined over time and I Ching was completed around the time of Han Wu Di (Hàn Wu Dì) during the Han Dynasty (circa 200 BC).

In the past 50 years a "Modernist" history of the I Ching has been emerging, based on context criticism and research into Shang and Zhou dynasty oracle bones, as well as Zhou bronze inscriptions and other sources (see below). These reconstructions are dealt with in growing number of books, such as "The Mandate of Heaven: Hidden History in the I Ching", by S J Marshall, Columbia University Press, 2001, and Richard Rutt's "Zhouyi: The Book of Changes" from Curzon Press, 1996. Scholarly PhDs dealing with the new view of the Book of Changes include the dissertations by Richard Kunst and Edward Shaughnessy. These and other scholars have been helped immensely by the discovery in the 1970s by Chinese archaeologists of intact Han dynasty era tombs in Mawangdui near Changsha, Hunan province.

One of the tombs contained more or less complete 2nd century BC texts of the I Ching, the Dao De Jing and other works, which are mostly similar yet in some ways diverge significantly from the "received" or traditional texts preserved by the chances of history. The tomb texts include additional commentaries on the I Ching, previously unknown, and apparently written as if they were meant to be attributed to Confucius. All of the Mawangdui texts are many centuries older than the earliest known attestations of the texts in question.

When talking about the evolution therefore of the Book of Changes the Modernists contend that it is important to distinguish between the traditional history assigned to texts such as the I Ching (felt to be anachronistic by the Modernists), assignations in commentaries which have themselves been canonized over the centuries along with their subjects, and the more recent scholarly history aided by modern linguistic textual criticism and archaeology. Many feel that the two are not necessarily mutually exclusive, but, for instance, many Modernist scholars doubt the actual existence of Fuxi, think Confucius had nothing to do with the Book of Changes, and that the hexagrams came before the trigrams.

This picture I tore from on of the most known and used I Tjing books around, and filled it in, like you see I've done.

Only the black part is not mine...