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Post by Admin on Sept 20, 2023 15:59:29 GMT 10
I began to explore the I Ching about 35 years ago after reading some of Carl Jung's books. I was very intrigued by Jung's fascination with the I Ching , and wished to know what is it that caused a famous Western-European doctor to invest a significant portion of his life researching and studying this Chinese classic. This curiosity has prompted me to set forth on a journey of my own into the mysterious and perplexing realm of the Book of Changes.
Recorded here in this board is a collection of notes and thoughts and description of various attempts which I've made over the years to gain some understanding of the Yi. It has not been easy, to say the least, and the result of my effort has been very meager. Nevertheless, for me the I Ching has overall turned out to be quite a useful arrow in the quiver, a valuable prop aiding my survival in the dark turbulent jungle of life.
Hexagram 99 - GREAT FRUSTRATION
(Constantly digging, hard going, plenty of errors. No blame !)
  
When I first looked at this kind of 6 black lines some 3 decades ago, my mind drew a blank. I didn't even know then that they form what is called a "hexagram". Today, this image triggers all sorts of meaning and association :- ... inner and outer trigrams, ... fire above heaven.., ...a great possesion, ... my own remarkable incident of synchronicity ... etc...
So is it all in the mind ? The hexagrams have no intrinsic meaning or significance by themselves ? Is it all a subjective experience, constructed from various pieces of information which I've collected in the course of living ?
The Chinese sages of ancient time have formulated a robust mental structure , and used hexagram symbols to convey their messages. (I would not be surprised if the Chinese writing itself has been inspired by the form of these hexagrams). They have laid a firm foundation, erected an elegant framework on which the following generations can elaborate, decorate, build and assemble more and more compositions. ...
And thus the I Ching world seems to me a subjective realm, masterfully painted by some super minds over time, and by gradually tuning into it, ordinary individuals like me would also be able to have coherent and uplifting subjective experiences of a lesser kind. Looking back now , in my own life it has actually provided a subtle buffer and unobtrusively steered me away from another equally subjective universe which is still mindlessly expanding all around me, one in which "the original sin" arbitrarily and unceasingly hovers above my head insisting I seek salvation.
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Post by Admin on Oct 9, 2023 12:44:32 GMT 10
A map of the human psyche
I came across Carol Anthony's book (The Philosophy of the I Ching) a few years ago, but only started reading it in detail recently. Her writing has inspired the following chain of thoughts in my mind:
The Book of Changes started out by painting a map which describes the essential nature of the spiritual territory that a human being would have to traverse in his/her earthly existence.
Immersed in this sea of incessant changes one would have to be very lucky to stay afloat without some form of life-raft to hold on to. The Book of Changes has been designed to be such a safety vehicle, as well as to provide a light source assisting navigation through untold well-concealed and well-powered obstacles. It's the operating manual that one can refer to whenever it becomes necessary to trouble-shoot, to grease the steering wheel of life.
Ideally one would have to know this operating manual by heart, and have a firm grasp of its underlying concepts and principles in order to react timely and respond effectively in the face of unexpected challenges. This is no different from the key to solving mathematical problems:- one has to be well-versed with all the basic symbols and the relevant theorems of maths. With such an immense field of application which is life itself, however, the super mind behind the I Ching probably has selected divination as a tool through which the element of chance can be introduced for more flexibility, to minimise personal bias and blind spot, and to increase the degree of correspondence between the questioner's inner state and the external world.
Naturally it would be impractical to specifically address every possible life situation , nevertheless, the Yi has identified the major themes, a number of typical conditions that any person would encounter sooner or later in the course of living. These scenarios are enumerated and associated with the 64 hexagrams. The Book often suggests the appropriate action to be taken in these circumstances by describing the behaviour of the superior man.
"The superior man" represents the highest potential expression of a human being. It's a role model that can help to focus attention and effort to channel our energy. Contained within the image of the superior man are the following qualities: innocence, open-mindedness, the will toward good, devotion, detachment, kindness and modesty. The Book of Changes often reminds us that through perseverance and constancy it is possible to reach this superlative state of mind .
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