Yen Hui

Well, it looks now as if I'll be here for another week, at least, to tie up some loose ends. After that, let's see what happens Dec 2012. If we're still here, I'll pay ya a quick visit. Maybe there'll be some skilled alchemists on board by then. If not, I'll not be back after that. Peace, bro'!

Here ends the road for me with the Taobums. I can be reached at the Inter-Tribal Forum. It's been a slice! Cheers to the Bums and may you always seek the Way! ~ Yen Hui On the Taoist Philosophy of Dispassion, or Emotional Clarity :- "Those who are unable to attain the Tao are those whose minds are not clear and who are still slaves of their emotions." ( Cultivating Stillness: A Taoist Manual for Transforming Body and Mind, p. 55 ) Three Lines from Hexagram 58 on Dispassionate Living :- Nine in the second place means: Sincere joyousness. Good fortune. Remorse disappears. We often find ourselves associating with inferior people in whose company we are tempted by pleasures that are inappropriate for the superior man. To participate in such pleasures would certainly bring remorse, for a superior man can find no real satisfaction in low pleasures. When, recognizing this, a man does not permit his will to swerve, so that he does not find such ways agreeable, not even dubious companions will venture to proffer any base pleasures, because he would not enjoy them. Thus every cause for regret is removed. Six in the third place means: Coming joyousness. Misfortune. True joy must spring from within. But if one is empty within and wholly given over to the world, idle pleasures come streaming in from without. This is what many people welcome as diversion. Those who lack inner stability and therefore need amusement, will always find opportunity of indulgence. They attract external pleasures by the emptiness of their natures. Thus they lose themselves more and more, which of course has bad results. Nine in the fourth place means: Joyousness that is weighed is not at peace. After ridding himself of mistakes a man has joy. Often a man finds himself weighing the choice between various kinds of pleasures, and so long as he has not decided which kind he will choose, the higher or the lower, he has no inner peace. Only when he clearly recognizes that passion brings suffering, can he make up his mind to turn away from the lower pleasures and to strive for the higher. Once this decision is sealed, he finds true joy and peace, and inner conflict is overcome. THREE QUOTES FROM THE TAO TE CHING on Dispassionate Living:- TTC 10 Purifying hidden perception, can you make it flawless? Loving the people, governing the nation, can you be uncontrived? As the gate of heaven opens and closes, can you be impassive? As understanding reaches everywhere, can you be innocent? TTC 03 "The government of sages empties the mind and fills the middle, weakens the ambition and strengthens the bones, always keeping the people innocent and passionless." TTC 01 "Always passionless, thereby observe the subtle." ( Quoted from Cleary's Translation of the TTC )

Well, then, what is the actual definition?

It should've been called "How to Con a Good Bud?" Not a good thing to do, really!

Thanks for an honest reply, but permit me to qualify some things. First, the kind of "sexual thoughts" I was referring to were the emotionally charged kind, normally associated with sexual acts, whether they be solo or with a partner. Secondly, I was referring to "normal" days, when you're feeling healthy and your libido is in high gear. On those particular days, do you ever make a conscious effort, or specific intent to steer away from any and all sexual cravings and activities? Thirdly, a true "celibate," at least according to my thinking, is not one who is forced by circumstance to remain single, but one who intentionally chooses that path, and intentionally abstains from any and all sexual activity; but if s/he should stumble, from time to time, it is not habitual. Rather, it is her/his habitual intent to minimize, if not entirely rid themselves of all sexual cravings. Was that the kind of "celibacy" you practiced? Fourthly, "sexual addiction" means, to me, that your libido is in the one who's in control, or calling the shots; as opposed to "higher" nature governing and controlling the body. The addict is, at least to me, one who absolutely must have her/his "sexual" fix, whenever the urge is upon her/him, and has reached a feverish-like pitch. The "addict" absolutely cannot say "no," under normal, everyday conditions. How do you define "addiction"? At any rate, if I can just switch tracks here, for a quick minute, to persons who are looking for ways to control their libido, and cultivate a "dispassionate" thought-life, they should observe here the direct link between the body's chemistry and diet. Certain foods and supplements are to be avoided, as they react like throwing fuel on a fire. This is especially meant for persons with an over-active libido, and who would like to regain control of it. Of course there is more to that than merely the question of diet, but as you have pointed out, diet plays a huge part in the overall equation, and should not be underestimated.

Sounds like a serious addiction, there; and as we all know, addictions are both unnatural and unhealthy. Just out of curiosity, witch, have you ever tried to go a whole day without any sex, or sexual thoughts?? I know it's none of my business, but since you're in the mood for true confessions, I thought I'd ask the question, just for curiosity's sake.

BCT, if fate is merely some future event, then how can we ever experience it? But if it's a reality that we eventually experience, then fate signifies, in some sense, present time's inner design or configuration, as it has come to be through intent and creative decision. According to the I Ching, our task is to master fate, but that requires understanding. How can we master fate, from moment-to-moment, if we do not understand it, or how it unfolds according to the laws of movement? If we can understand those laws, then we can "pre- calculate" our movements, and harmonize the passage of time, in both its contracting and expanding phases. If the theory of synchronicity, as summarized by Jung, (in that quote from him already posted twice in this thread,) has any truth to it, then the Oracle which we receive, in response to our question, is necessarily a reflection of present time, from the standpoint of its imperceptible existence, during the beginning or early phase of its gradual unfolding. In my previous post, you have a long string of pearls from the I Ching and TTC which spell this out clearly, in some reasonable depth. At any rate, according to those, all beings and forms within the world of the senses, come to exist first in the world of spirit before they ever begin to take physical shape in the world of nature. This is the clear and undeniable teaching of Hexagrams One and Two, where it is stated that "The course of the Creative alters and shapes beings until each attains its true, specific nature, then it keeps them in conformity with the Great Harmony;" and that nature, i.e. the Earth Mother, conforms to the creative impulses of the spirit. These creative impulses exist in the spirit realm long before they begin to appear or take shape in the visible world of the senses. So, from that standpoint, or the standpoint of the spirit world, they already exist, even though they may not have, as yet, begun to unfold and take shape or physical form within the world of nature. So long as these creative impulses have not yet crossed over the gulf, or threshold seperating the worlds of spirit and nature, and begun to take physical shape, then positive changes can still be effected to harmonize the unfolding of time; and to create a state of equilibrium within nature and the world of sense. Whether we like it or not, we exist in the world of nature and the senses, according to our own creating, and we have the power to effect positive changes, in time, but do we have the clarity to do so? We do, if we can but reconnect and harmonize with our primal spirit mind and original nature. I suppose that depends on your philosophy of life, or what you think it means to live properly. According to the I Ching, to live properly means consciously adhering to principle, and the way of nature. Living according to nature means modelling ourselves after Heaven and Earth, which are denoted in Wilhelm's I Ching as the primal images of the Creative and Receptive powers of the universe. Now, it is clearly stated in Hexagram Two that the nature of Earth is to conform to the creative impulses of Heaven, or the spirit world. Conforming to the creative impulses of the spirit mind means living in harmony with the invisible forces of the hidden. As Lao Tzu has written: "Those who in ancient times were competent as masters were one with the invisible forces of the hidden." ( Wilhelm, TTC, 15 ) And in TTC 64, it's also stated that: "One must work on what is not yet there. One must put in order what is not yet confused." If you take the time to investigate this line of thought through the string of pearls offered in my previous post, I think you'll begin to comprehend the philosophy of "knowing the seeds," and its critical relevance to the art of wu-wei, or the way of harmonious non-action. Being one with the invisible forces of the hidden, according to the way of the sages, means doing things while they are still easy and simple to do. Is it not easier to uproot an oak tree, for example, while it's still a seed or seedling, rather than after it has fully grown? According to I Ching teaching, the Oracle is a practical tool or way "to know the seeds" which are the first imperceptible signs of change. Harmonious living requires cultivating an awareness of the signs of the times, and acting in harmony with them, far in advance to their full growth and manifestation; and even creatively manipulating the way these seeds of change gradually progress and unfold. That is the clear and undeniable teaching of the following Hexagram One passage: "The course of the Creative alters and shapes beings until each attains its true, specific nature, then it keeps them in conformity with the Great Harmony." Therefore, to model ourselves after the image of Father Heaven ultimately means harmonizing ourselves with "the course of the Creative," as a co-creator in the art of altering and shaping "beings until each attains its true, specific nature." That ultimately means becoming a vessel of healing and wholeness to a lost world; to creatively assist in gently guiding society back to a primal state of innocence and purity, long lost to civilized society, so-called. Let's look once again at the following passage from Hexagram One, which contains the heart or essence of this teaching, about the practical relevance of "knowing the seeds":- "The Chinese word here rendered by 'sublime' means literally 'head,' 'origin,' 'great.' This is why Confucius says in explaining it: "Great indeed is the generating power of the Creative; all beings owe their beginning to it. This power permeates all heaven." For this attribute inheres in the other three as well. The beginning of all things lies still in the beyond in the form of ideas that have yet to become real. The Creative furthermore has power to lend form to these archetypes of ideas. This is indicated in the word success, and the process is represented by an image from nature: "The clouds pass and the rain does its work, and all individual beings flow into their forms." Now, the most important words, for me, are cogently expressed in the last line: "The clouds pass and the rain does its work, and all individual beings flow into their forms." What this image depicts is that the gradual birth, emergence and unfolding of all natural phenomena (shapes, forms, and beings,) strictly conforms to the way of organic growth and fruition, according to a well-defined system of natural laws. Though the term seed is'nt explicitly used in this image, it is clearly implied within the context. All beings and forms first emerge from the spirit as germs of life, which follow an organic pattern of growth and development. The cloud and rains mean nothing and can do nothing without the seed, for the spark of life resides in the seed; yet the seed can't realize its true nature by itself, without the creative participation and life-giving forces of the clouds, rain, and sun-light, which co-operate in the work of awakening the germ of life which lies dormant and hidden deep within the seed; and these forces are the conditions of life provided by the Earth Mother, who organically nurtures that life. From the standpoint of modelling yourself after the Earth Mother, that means becoming a nurturer. Learning to nurture and bring things through to completion. That means providing the right conditions for optimum or peak growth, so that all natural things might completely realize their true nature in good time, and according to an organic pattern of growth. Work out all possible inferences and applications on your own. Thus, what the healer-sage concerns himself with is the nature of these seeds, and the right conditions of life and death. Then may s/he only completely realize her/his own creative potential and true nature. So, then, yes, I am saying that the Oracle helps us to discern the specific trends of events, while they are yet "seeds", and still in the germination phase or seedling stage. These "seeds" are also defined, in the I Ching, as belonging to the class of phenomena know as the "signs of the times," while still in the germinal stage. "Signs of the times" are often visible for a long time before we become aware of them, but the sage is aware of them while they are still seeds, and imperceptible to the ordinary person. Now, I ask you: Is it wise or sage-like to ignore the signs of the times? Or to study and harmonize our creative activity according to those signs? How the I Ching and TTC answer such a question is clearly reflected in my previous post, for those who have taken the time to actually peruse it. Well, once again, if you believe there is any truth to the theory of synchronicity, then the Oracle that one receives, through the casting of the coins, is an accurate depiction of the configuration and inner design of present time; and the current trend of its flow, through the expanding and contraction phases. Again I ask: If our task is, according to Hexagram One, to harmonize the flow of time, and master fate, is it not wise to conceive a way to know the precise configuration of present time; at the beginning of all events, while things are still small and easy to guide in their gradual unfolding? That is the precise purpose of the Oracle: To assist us in the creative activity of life, according to Hexagram One, by revealing the imperceptible configuration and inner design of all movement(s), while still yet in their germinal and seedling phases of gradual unfolding.

FIVE MORE QUOTES FROM THE I CHING 01 - 5. The Creative knows the great beginnings. The Receptive completes the finished things. "Here the principles of the Creative and the Receptive are traced further. The Creative produces the invisible seeds of all development. At first these seeds are purely abstract, therefore with respect to them there can be no action nor acting upon; here it is knowledge that acts creatively. While the Creative acts in the world of the invisible, with spirit and time for its field, the Receptive acts upon matter in space and brings material things to completion. Here the process of generation and birth are traced back to their ultimate metaphysical meanings." ( The Great Treatise, Part 1, Chapter 1 ) 02 - HEXAGRAM 1 => "The Chinese word here rendered by 'sublime' means literally 'head,' 'origin,' 'great.' This is why Confucius says in explaining it: "Great indeed is the generating power of the Creative; all beings owe their beginning to it. This power permeates all heaven." For this attribute inheres in the other three as well. The beginning of all things lies still in the beyond in the form of ideas that have yet to become real. But the Creative furthermore has power to lend form to these archetypes of ideas. This is indicated in the word success, and the process is represented by an image from nature: "The clouds pass and the rain does its work, and all individual beings flow into their forms." (THE JUDGMENT) 03 - On Creative Thinking: "At the beginning of the world, as at the beginning of thought, there is the decision, the fixing of the point of reference. Theoretically any point of reference is possible, but experience teaches that at the dawn of consciousness one stands already inclosed within definite, prepotent systems of relationships. The problem then is to choose one's point of reference so that it coincides with the point of reference for cosmic events. For only then can the world created by one's decision escape being dashed to pieces against prepotent systems of relationships with which it would otherwise come into conflict." ( The Great Treatise, Part 1, Chap 1 ) 04 - 1. Movement and rest have their definite laws; according to these, firm and yielding lines are differentiated. Events follow definite trends, each according to its nature. "Owing to changes of the sun, moon, and stars, phenomena take form in the heavens. These phenomena obey definite laws. Bound up with them, shapes come into being on earth, in accordance with identical laws. Therefore the processes on earth--blossom and fruit, growth and decay--can be calculated if we know the laws of time. If we know the laws of change, we can precalculate in regard to it, and freedom of action there- upon becomes possible. Changes are the imperceptible tendencies to divergence that, when they have reached a certain point, become visible and bring about transformations." ( The Treatise, Part 1, Chap 1 ) 05 - 4. Therefore they called the closing of the gates the Receptive, and the opening of the gate the Creative. The alternation between the closing and the opening they called change. The going forward and backward without ceasing they called penetration. What manifests itself visibly they called a pattern. That which furthers on going out and coming in, that which all men live by, they called the divine. "In this passage are shown the tao of heaven and the conditions of men as recognized by the holy sages. The closing and the opening of the gates signify the alternation of rest and movement. These are likewise two conditions pertaining to yoga practice that are attainable only through individual training. Penetration is that state in which the individual has attained sovereign mastery in the psychic sphere as well and is able to move forward and backward in time. The next sentences show how the material world arises. First of all there is a pre-existent image, an idea; then a copy of this archetypal image takes shape as a corporeal form. That which regulates this process of imitation is a pattern; and the force that generates these processes is the divine principle. Many parallels to these expositions are to be found in Lao-tse. ( Treatise, Part 1, Ch 11) SEVEN QUOTES FROM THE TAO TE CHING:- TTC 36 What you want to compress you must first allow truly to expand. What you want to weaken you must allow to grow truly strong. What you want to destroy you must first allow truly to flourish. From whomever you want to take away to him you must first truly give. This is called being clear about the invisible. TAO TE CHING 59 In leading Men and in the service of Heaven there is nothing better than 'Limitation'. For only through limitation can one deal with things early on. Through dealing with things early on one redoubles the forces of Life. Through these redoubled forces of Life one rises to every occasion. If we rise to every occasion, no-one knows our limits. If no-one knows our limits we are capable of possessing the world. If one possesses the Mother of the World one gains eternal duration. This is the DAO of the deep root, of the firm ground, of eternal existence and of lasting sight. TTC 16 Return to the root means stillness. Stillness means return to fate. Return to fate means eternity. Cognition of eternity means clarity. TTC 55 To know peace means to be eternal. To know eternity means to be clear. TTC 52 To see the smallest means to be clear. To guard wisdom means to be strong. If one uses one's light in order to return to this clarity one does not endanger one's person. This is called the hull of eternity. TTC 21 Dao brings about all things so chaotically, so darkly. Chaotic and dark are its images. Unfathomable and obscure in it is the seed. This seed is wholly true. In it dwells reliability. TTC 14 One looks for it and does not see it: its name is 'seed'. One listens for it and does not hear it: its name is 'subtle'. One reaches for it and does not feel it: its name is 'small'. The three cannot be separated, therefore, intermingled they form the One. EIGHT FINAL QUOTES FROM THE I CHING:- 06 - HEX 08 => "If the beginning is not right, there is no hope of a right ending." (LINE 6) 07 - HEX 24 => "Everything must be treated tenderly and with care at the beginning, so that the return may lead to a flowering." (THE IMAGE) 08 - HEX 01 => "The course of the Creative alters and shapes beings until each attains its true, specific nature, then it keeps them in conformity with the Great Harmony." (THE JUDGMENT) 09 - HEX 01 => "Things that accord in tone vibrate together. Things that have affinity in their inmost natures seek one another. Water flows to what is wet, fire turns to what is dry. Clouds (the breath of heaven) follow the dragon, wind (the breath of earth) follows the tiger. Thus the sage arises, and all creatures follow him with their eyes. What is born of heaven feels related to what is above. What is born of earth feels related to what is below. Each follows its kind." (LINE 5) 10 - HEX 02 => "Only because nature in its myriad forms corresponds with the myriad impulses of the Creative can it make these impulses real. Nature's richness lies in its power to nourish all living things; its greatness lies in its power to give them beauty and splendor. Thus it prospers all that lives. It is the Creative that begets things, but they are brought to birth by the Receptive. Applied to human affairs, therefore, what the hexagram indicates is action in conformity with the situation. The person in question is not in an independent position, but is acting as an assistant. This means that he must achieve something. It is not his task to try to lead--that would only make him lose the way--but to let himself be led. If he knows how to meet fate with an attitude of acceptance, he is sure to find the right guidance. The superior man lets himself be guided; he does not go ahead blindly, but learns from the situation what is demanded of him and then follows this intimation from fate." (THE JUDGMENT) 11 - HEX 16 => "This describes a person who does not allow himself to be misled by any illusions. While others are letting themselves be dazzled by enthusiasm, he recognizes with perfect clarity the first signs of the time. Thus he neither flatters those above nor neglects those beneath him; he is as firm as a rock. When the first sign of discord appears, he knows the right moment for withdrawing and does not delay even for a day. Perseverance in such conduct will bring good fortune. Confucius says about this line: "To know the seeds, that is divine indeed. In his association with those above him, the superior man does not flatter. In his association with those beneath him, he is not arrogant. For he knows the seeds. The seeds are the first imperceptible beginning of movement, the first trace of good fortune (or misfortune) that shows itself. The superior man perceives the seeds and immediately takes action. He does not wait even a whole day." (LINE TWO) 12 - HEX 03 => "If a man tries to hunt in a strange forest and has no guide, he loses his way. When he finds himself in difficulties he must not try to steal out of them unthinkingly and without guidance. Fate cannot be duped; premature effort, without the necessary guidance, ends in failure and disgrace. Therefore the superior man, discerning the seeds of coming events, prefers to renounce a wish rather than to provoke failure and humiliation by trying to force its fulfillment." (LINE THREE) 13 - HEX 43 => "If an individual is careful and keeps his wits about him, he need not become excited or alarmed. If he is watchful at all times, even before danger is present, he is armed when danger approaches and need not be afraid. The superior man is on his guard against what is not yet in sight and on the alert for what is not yet within hearing; therefore he dwells in the midst of difficulties as though they did not exist." THREE FINAL QUOTES FROM THE TAO TE CHING:- TTC 15 Those who in ancient times were competent as masters were one with the invisible forces of the hidden. TTC 64 What is still calm can easily be grasped. What has not yet emerged can easily be considered. What is still fragile can easily be broken. What is still small can easily be scattered. One must work on what is not yet there. One must put in order what is not yet confused. A tree trunk the size of a fathom grows from a blade as thin as a hair. A tower nine stories high is built from a small heap of earth. A journey of a thousand miles starts in front of your feet. TTC 63 Whosoever practises non-action, occupies himself with not being occupied, finds taste in what does not taste: he sees the great in the small and the much in the little. He repays animosity with Life. Plan what is difficult while it is still easy! Do the great thing while it is still small! Everything heavy on earth begins as something light. Everything great on earth begins as something small. Therefore: if the Man of Calling never does anything great, then he can complete his great deeds. N.B. - All quotes from Lao Tzu were taken from Wilhelm's translation of the Tao Te Ching.

Paul, the subject under discussion is a profoundly mysterious one; as anyone can easily attest to - who has actually made the effort to seriously plumb its depths. On pages 262-263 of Wilhelm's I Ching, it is clearly stated that the Oracle was invented by the ancient sages to arrive "at an understanding of fate." That is the very first thing we must realize. Now, "fate" is there described, (at the very opening of Book Two,) not as a "chart of possibilities," as you say, but as "the ultimate meaning of the world," "as it is," and "how it has come to be so through creative decision (ming)." Let us be clear about this, though: what you and I experience, right now, in present time, is our "fate", according to I Ching teaching. So, then, fate is not some "future" possibility, strictly speaking, as you have stated, but our present "reality," both spiritually and physically. All present time reality has both a physical and spiritual aspect to it. This is the philosophy of yin and yang, as expressed in Hexagrams One and Two. While the spiritual aspect of present time is invisible to the physical eye, it is still very real and present, nonetheless; and is perceived by the mind's spiritual eye, if it has been opened and is receptive to it. The ancient sages who composed the I Ching viewed the spiritual aspect as the tao or inner design of all the changes within the material world of physical forms. This too is clearly intimated in Hexagram One. As we know, all physical reality is continuously changing; and these changes conform to this inner design. The Oracle was invented by the ancients for the purpose of penetrating this hidden or invisible inner design, in order to help us act freely in harmonizing our movements with the continuous flow of time. Observing the Oracle from this standpoint, (and definition of 'fate,') we may see that the Oracle received is not one of endless possibilities. It is actually a revelation of the tao or inner design of present time; that is to say, the spiritual reality which is behind and underlying present time, as it is - and as it unfolds into a new physical reality. It reveals to us the divine seeds, which are, (as I have previously said, based upon the I Ching,) "the first imperceptible signs of change," but imperceptible only to the physical senses. Hexagram Two describes it in terms of the "intimations" of fate. But tuning into these "intimations" requires a profound receptivity to the inner design of spiritual reality. In Chan terms, this means reconnecting and harmoninzing the guest with the host, or the conditioned mind with the original mind. It is very important, though, for us to grasp, right here and now, that present time, in terms of its physical manifestation, is being influenced by the future; that is to say, by an invisible reality existing prior to, and is actually guiding the unfolding and manifestation of physical reality. It's regarded as the future only from the standpoint of it's not yet having crossed over the threshold or reality, from the invisible world into the visible world of physical actuality. From the standpoint of the spirit world, though, it is not the future but something that is very real and present. But while the present is shaped by the future, the future itself is shaped by the power of intention, which is described in the first paragraph above as "creative decision." As previously stated, Carl Jung has commented on this philosophy of inner design, (in his Foreword to the I Ching;) refering to it as the precise "configuration" of present time: "The manner in which the I Ching tends to look upon reality seems to disfavor our causalistic procedures. The moment under actual observation appears to the ancient Chinese view more of a chance hit than a clearly defined result of concurring causal chain processes. The matter of interest seems to be the configuration formed by chance events in the moment of observation, and not at all the hypothetical reasons that seemingly account for the coincidence. While the Western mind carefully sifts, weighs, selects, classifies, isolates, the Chinese picture of the moment encompasses everything down to the minutest nonsensical detail, because all of the ingredients make up the observed moment." With this knowledge, we are able to act freely and effectively harmonize the flow of time. If we view your statement in the above light, then far from there being endless possibilities, every question posed to the Oracle can have only one possible design or configuration, at the present time; for the Oracle reveals the already existing reality or inner design of the spiritual world, which is underlying and guiding the unfolding of physical reality. Now, it is made very clear, in the Treatise, that the only way to act freely and in harmony with present time reality, is to contemplate and grasp its inner design, as it is and as it unfolds. We are talking here about the divine seeds of change; planting, cultivating, harvesting, or even rooting them up early, if necessary. In summary, then, I must repeat that the Art of I Ching Divination is not about charting possibilities, strictly speaking, but entirely about mastering fate, as defined in the opening paragraph above.

Hi Aiwei ~ I'm afraid the above statement is incorrect as well, but I have no time to address it right now. It will have to wait. Thanks!

how wise. you are the new grand pooh-bah and master of disaster!

Charting possibilities has absolutely zero to do with I Ching divination. The above comment only tells me you do not understood the I Ching's teaching concerning "fate", or how to master it. Time does not permit me to explain right now. Perhaps later, if the right conditions prevail. I'll be watching. Nevertheless, if you are familiar with Hexagram One (<=LINK), you should be well-versed in it's teaching about harmonious movment, or movement in harmony with the Tao. But, since time is the basis of all movement, then moving in harmony with the Tao requires harmonizing the passage of "time", or making "time" harmonious. This is clearly implied in the following passages:- THREE QUOTES FROM HEXAGRAM ONE:- 01 - The first hexagram is made up of six unbroken lines. These unbroken lines stand for the primal power, which is light-giving, active, strong, and of the spirit. The hexagram is consistently strong in character, and since it is without weakness, its essence is power or energy. Its image is heaven. Its energy is represented as unrestricted by any fixed conditions in space and is therefore conceived of as motion. Time is regarded as the basis of this motion. Thus the hexagram includes also the power of time and the power of persisting in time, that is, duration. 02 - Applied to the human world, these attributes show the great man the way to notable success: "Because he sees with great clarity and cause and effects, he completes the six steps at the right time and mounts toward heaven on them at the right time, as though on sic dragons." The six steps are the six different positions given in the hexagram, which are represented later by the dragon symbol. Here it is shown that the way to success lies in apprehending and giving actuality to the way of the universe [Tao], which, as a law running through end and beginning, brings about all phenomena in time. Thus each step attained forthwith becomes a preparation for the next. Time is no longer a hindrance but the means of making actual what is potential. 03 - "The course of the Creative alters and shapes beings until each attains its true, specific nature, then it keeps them in conformity with the Great Harmony." [END OF QUOTES] But according to the teaching of Hexagram One, "time" is a creation of the Mind. Thus, in order to make it harmonious requires the cultivation of mindfulness, or the continuous "awareness" of present time. We can also refer to this as "presence of mind." This is also implied in Hexagram One. But in his First Lecture on the I Ching, Wilhelm makes the following statement: "Such attention as is snatched from us while we watch passively is, as a rule, not harmonious. However, by preparing the beginning of the coming day in time, that is, when God comes forth in the sign of the Arousing, it is possible to make the day harmonious." ( Lectures, pp. 15-16 ) And in Hexagram Two, it says this: => "If he knows how to meet fate with an attitude of acceptance, he is sure to find the right guidance. The superior man lets himself be guided; he does not go ahead blindly, but learns from the situation what is demanded of him and then follows this intimation from fate." It's implied in the above statement, that the clear intimations of fate are always present, but in order to discern them, in order to harmonize the flow of time, we must be present as well. This is what I mean by "presence of mind," or being fully "aware" of the present moment. The Ancestors created the Oracle for this precise purpose, that is, to correctly discern and identify these "present" intimations, which the Ancestors referred to as "the seeds" of destiny. The I ching says these "Seeds" are the first "imperceptible" signs of change; and in order to effectively harmonize "time", one must first know "the seeds." Thus, it is said in the I Ching that "to know the seeds is divine indeed."

Yes, I know. The teaching of the I Ching is very clear about that. It says we have the power to master our fate, if we would only reconnect with "The Creative" power inherent within ourselves, (also referred to as our "primal spirit mind",) learn to know the seeds, and master the changes. What it means by the seeds, I'll leave you to discover. But regarding mastering our fate, this is precisely what it says:- The Great Treatise of the I Ching - Part 1 - Chapter 4 4. In it are included the forms and the scope of everything in the heavens and on earth, so that nothing escapes it. In it all things everywhere are completed, so that none is missing. Therefore by means of it we can penetrate the tao of day and night, and so understand it. Therefore the spirit is bound to no one place, nor the Book of Changes to any one form. "We are shown here how the individual can attain mastery over fate by means of the Book of Changes. Its principles contain the categories of all that is--literally, the molds and the scope of all transformations. These categories are in the mind of man; everything, all that happens and everything that undergoes transformation, must obey the laws prescribed by the mind of man. Not until these categories become operative do things become things. These categories are laid down in the Book of Changes; hence it enables us to penetrate and understand the movements of the light and the dark, of life and death, of gods and demons. This knowledge makes possible mastery over fate, because fate can be shaped if its laws are known. The reason why we can oppose fate is that reality is always conditioned, and these conditions of time and space limit and determine it. The spirit, however, is not bound by these determinants and can bring them about as its own purposes require." (END OF I CHING QUOTE) So, yes, if we can master our fate, that would mean "we can change what is foretold by the I Jing." That is the very reason why even bother to consult the Oracle. If we learn to trust its counsel, and correctly follow it, we can change what it has fortold, if it warns of misfortune. If it foretells a good fortune, then why would you even want to change it? You would follow its instructions on how to secure that future for yourself. This is called acting and moving in harmony with the Great Way, or the harmonious way of non-contrivance. Now, in his book entitled Zen Wisdom, Chan Master Sheng-yen makes the following statement, which is in complete harmony with the above teaching of the I Ching. To me, they appear almost identical, though it is hard to tell from the Master's words below whether or not he understands the concept of synchronicity, though I suspect he understands it better than I do. He's the Master! Nonetheless, here's what he says:- FROM CHAN MASTER SHENG-YEN'S ZEN WISDOM Student [asks]: "Are causes and conditions controllable? Can I manipulate them to directly control my life?" Master Sheng-yen [replies]: "The Avatamsaka Sutra states that all dharmas are created by the mind. If our minds change, then causes and conditions also change. Whichever direction our minds move, so do causes and conditions. If our attitudes change, then what we perceive also changes. If we do not make an effort to change our lives and minds, then we will be influenced by the course of events we have already set into motion. If we adopt Buddhadharma into our worldview, then causes and conditions will shift direction, and events in our lives will change." (p. 39) [END OF QUOTE] One aspect of the I Ching's teaching above which is not quite clear in Master Sheng-yen's words, is the precise place of the "primal spirit mind" in this reconstruction of reality. According to the above, the I Ching says that the physical (conditioned) mind is incapable of effecting the changes, and that the change must come from the primal spirit mind, which possesses "The Creative" power that can shape form reality. I would suspect Master Sheng-yen believes that as well, but it is not clear from the above passage that he does. However, he does refer to the Avatamsaka Sutra, which must be taken into consideration; and that Scripture fully corroborates the I Ching's teaching, in that regard, as well as touching the principle of synchronicity, or the similtaneous manifestation and interconnectedness of all phenomena. It is very important for anyone aspiring to master the art of I Ching divination to be clear about synchronicity. In his Foreword to Wilhelm's I Ching, Carl Jung makes the following observations concerning it:- THREE QUOTES FROM JUNG'S FOREWORD TO WILHELM'S I CHING:- 01 - The manner in which the I Ching tends to look upon reality seems to disfavor our causalistic procedures. The moment under actual observation appears to the ancient Chinese view more of a chance hit than a clearly defined result of concurring causal chain processes. The matter of interest seems to be the configuration formed by chance events in the moment of observation, and not at all the hypothetical reasons that seemingly account for the coincidence. While the Western mind carefully sifts, weighs, selects, classifies, isolates, the Chinese picture of the moment encompasses everything down to the minutest nonsensical detail, because all of the ingredients make up the observed moment. 02 - In other words, whoever invented the I Ching was convinced that the hexagram worked out in a certain moment coincided with the latter in quality no less than in time. To him the hexagram was the exponent of the moment in which it was cast -- even more so than the hours of the clock or the divisions of the calendar could be -- inasmuch as the hexagram was understood to be an indicator of the essential situation prevailing in the moment of its origin. 03 - This assumption involves a certain curious principle that I have termed synchronicity, a concept that formulates a point of view diametrically opposed to that of causality. Since the latter is a merely statistical truth and not absolute, it is a sort of working hypothesis of how events evolve one out of another, whereas synchronicity takes the coincidence of events in space and time as meaning some- thing more than mere chance, namely, a peculiar interdependence of objective events among them- selves as well as with the subjective (psychic) states of the observer or observers. The ancient Chinese mind contemplates the cosmos in a way comparable to that of the modern physicist, who cannot deny that his model of the world is a decidedly psychophysical structure. The microphysical event includes the observer just as much as the reality underlying the I Ching comprises subjective, i.e., psychic conditions in the totality of the momentary situation. Just as causality describes the sequence of events, so synchronicity to the Chinese mind deals with the coincidence of events. The causal point of view tells us a dramatic story about how D came into existence: it took its origin from C, which existed before D, and C in its turn had a father, B, etc. The synchronistic view on the other hand tries to produce an equally meaningful picture of coincidence. How does it happen that A', B', C', D', etc., appear all in the same moment and in the same place? It happens in the first place because the physical events A' and B' are of the same quality as the psychic events C' and D', and further because all are the exponents of one and the same momentary situation. The situation is assumed to represent a legible or understandable picture. [END OF QUOTES] Well, that's all I'm prepared to say about it, for the time being, that is. Peace to the Bums!

LINK 2=> Hexagram 15 - The Judgment - In Section 1 of Wilhelm "It is the law of heaven to make fullness empty and to make full what is modest; when the sun is at its zenith, it must, according to the law of heaven, turn toward its setting, and at its nadir it rises toward a new dawn. In obedience to the same law, the moon when it is full begins to wane, and when empty of light it waxes again. This heavenly law works itself out in the fates of men also. It is the law of earth to alter the full and to contribute to the modest. High mountains are worn down by the waters, and the valleys are filled up." LINK 3=> Hexagram 32 - Line 1 - In Section 1 of Wilhelm "Whatever endures can be created only gradually by long-continued work and careful reflection. In the same sense Lao-tse says: "If we wish to compress something, we must first let it fully expand." He who demands too much at once is acting precipitately, and because he attempts too much, he ends by succeeding in nothing." LINK 4=> The Great Treatise - Part 2 - Chapter 5 2. When the sun goes, the moon comes; when the moon goes, the sun comes. Sun and moon alternate; thus light comes into existence. When cold goes, heat comes; when heat goes, cold comes. Cold and heat alternate, and thus the year completes itself. The past contracts. The future expands. Contraction and expansion act upon each other; hereby arises that which furthers. 3. The measuring worm draws itself together when it wants to stretch out. Dragons and snakes hibernate in order to preserve life. Thus the penetration of a germinal thought into the mind promotes the working of the mind. When this working furthers and brings peace to life, it elevates a man's nature. 4. Whatever goes beyond this indeed transcends all knowledge. When a man comprehends the divine and understands the transformations, he lifts his nature to the level of the miraculous.

Not necessarily. If we're talking the I Ching, it paints a slightly different kind of picture, as will appear from the following:- LINK=> The Great Treatise - Part 1 - Chapter 1 <=LINK 2. Therefore the eight trigrams succeed one another by turns, as the firm and the yielding displace each other. "Here cyclic change is explained. It is a rotation of phenomena, each succeeding the other until the starting point is reached again. Examples are furnished by the course of the day and year, and by the phenomena that occur in the organic world during these cycles. Cyclic change, then, is recurrent change in the organic world, whereas sequent change means the progressive [nonrecurrent] change of phenomena produced by causality. "The firm and the yielding displace each other within the eight trigrams. Thus the firm is transformed, melts as it were, and becomes the yielding; the yielding changes, coalesces, as it were, and becomes the firm. In this way the eight trigrams change from one into another in turn, and the regular alternation of phenomena within the year takes its course. But this is the case in all cycles, the life cycle included. What we know as day and night, summer and winter--this, in the life cycle is life and death. "To make more intelligible the nature of cyclic change and the alternations of the trigrams produced by it, their sequence in the Primal Arrangement is shown once again. There are two direction of movement, the one rightward, ascending, the other backward, descending. The former starts form the low point, K'un, the Receptive, earth; the latter starts from the high point. Ch'ien, the Creative, heaven." ( Wilhelm's I Ching, p. 283-284 ) Words are merely words, and therefore limited by nature in what they can convey. However, if we're specifically talking about what the I Ching teaches, then, according to the above passage, all change or movement is either cyclical by nature, or sequential. If it happens organically, that is, according to nature, as you seem to be saying, then the change is cyclical. If one eats only when one is hungry, or waits for the stomach to empty before refilling it, this means waiting for the right time before moving. If one waits for the right time, then it is a natural movement, repeated according to an organic cycle; at least that's my understanding of what the above quotation, from the I Ching, is saying to us. If one is not compelled by externals, that is to say, emotional thoughts, to continue stuffing one's face until one explodes, then one lives an organic lifestyle, according to life's natural rhythms: Never filling the stomach before it is empty, and never sleeping before one is honestly tired; this means waiting for nature to do its thing, without any interference from ourselves, in harmony with its own organic cycles. Furthermore, the above passage says that all recurrent change is cyclical by nature; whereas all other change which is non-recurring is causal in nature, and therefore linear, or sequential as the text states it. How to say it any other way presently escapes me.