Best Book / DVDS on I CHING!

[Mal]

[Daeluin]

I find it odd the Taoist I-Ching isn't mentioned here.

 

This is Thomas Cleary's translation of Liu Yiming's commentary on the I-Ching. It focuses on a very specific theme of using combinations of yin and yang, with very little subjectivity.

 

Sometimes I like a little subjectivity, and I'll consult many other translations briefly, and extrapolate the essence. When the root of what a particular line means isn't clear, this helps me to locate an angle from which I can gain perspective, and then the whole thing falls into place. It's surprising sometimes to see which book offers up the key. Or perhaps I don't find a key at all - this equally helps refine my perspective.

 

 

I have always found Hua Ching Ni's "Book of Changes and the Unchanging Truth" to be most useful. It is good for both the beginner and the advanced student in that it outlines the basics of how the bagua was formed and then goes into extended detail. Master Ni prefers the seed method and I have found it also to be both simple to use and very revealing and accurate.

 

This book is another favorite. There is an incredibly detailed introduction to taoist cosmology / math that even goes into the workings of Chinese Astrology. The readings for the hexagrams are poignant and are followed by poems and stories which help to capture the essence of the challenge one might face as related to the hexagram.

 

The seed method is very simple and may allow greater calmness to focus on the question during the calculation. One simply reaches index finger and thumb into a container of seeds (something like short-grain rice) and pinch out some seeds into a pile. Do this until you have six piles. Then do a seventh pile to select a line number. An even number of seeds is yin. An odd number of seeds is yang. These are your hexagram lines. When making the piles, start with one close to you, the next a little further away, and so on with the sixth pile furthest away. Like the lines of a hexagram where we start with the bottom line. The seventh pile I place to one side, and if it has 6 or fewer seeds, the number of seeds indicates the line. If it has more than six I subtract six until there are six or fewer, and that is the line number. The focus is on the type of change described by the hexagram, and in particular, how the chosen line operates within this framework of change. This is simpler than working with multiple moving lines and 2 hexagrams, and allows to go really deep with one hexagram.

 

I also like The Astrology of I Ching. Beyond the system of astrology, the commentary on each line is an in depth interpretation of someone's life time. This is invaluable when I'm struggling to unravel the deeper meaning of a line and other commentaries aren't offering enough to work with. If someone is interested in the astrological component I recommend reading my post on biting through he luo li shu and developing an understanding of bazi (4 pillars of destiny, chinese astrology) first.

 

 

Just a general note.... the Changes are ever changing. Layers upon layers of nuance. One may study them for a lifetime. The text which accompanies the symbols is very elucidating, but is also written from the perspective of a very old culture. Our own cultures have likely explored these principles, and sometimes translating the historical metaphor to a contemporary metaphor does wonders. It really helps to understand the idea of Filial Piety. Also the husband-wife relationship may refer to the controlling cycle of the five elements.

 

Also be careful framing the question. We tend to like either-or questions, but I-Ching is about balance. I find answers to this or that actually end up pinpointing the balance between this and that. Tell the I-Ching a story and see what advice it wants to share. I've read that historically it was not advisable to ask questions about the future, only ask about present situations. Ask why or how. Feel out the day. Don't be so black and white.

 

Good luck, keep things simple, and study the trigrams!