The I Ching

[Sloppy Zhang]

So I've seen descriptions of the I Ching hexagrams and stuff before. I've heard it say they can be used with divination... but I have not seen anywhere how to use them that way. What are the methods for doing so?

 

And, in a slightly related note, where is a good place to go to learn about the five elements? I've seen a few posts here and there by people who really know the elements, and it looks really interesting, so where can one go to start learning?

[Stigweard]

Heya Sloppy Zhang,

 

There are 3 main ways to consult the I Ching:

 

1. 3 Coin method: tossing 3 coins

2. Yarrow stalks

3. Seeds or beans

 

Read more at wiki

 

I personally prefer the seed method.

 

As far as the Wuxing / Wu-Hsing 五行 (Five Elements / Phases) go, check out these links:

 

http://www.lieske.com/5e-intro.htm

http://www.northernshaolinacademy.com/new/...ementsChart.xls

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Five_elements...ese_philosophy)

http://weber.ucsd.edu/~dkjordan/chin/hbwuushyng.html

 

Cheers

 

[Sloppy Zhang]

Thanks Stigweard

[riverheron]

Hi all,

 

coming soon, master zhongxian wu is publishing a book on the Yijing tradition that he carries. This system uses neither coins, stalks or seeds, but works with a direct resonance with spirit and a bit of long division. It is quite an amazing way of working with the yijing, and connects directly in with the images of the trigams and the first 8 movements of the wudang he style taiji form. No book or commentary is needed for a reading, once you learn the symbolic meanings of the trigrams.

 

hope you enjoy!

 

http://www.amazon.com/Seeking-Spirit-Book-...8651&sr=8-1

 

love qi~

[Mak_Tin_Si]

I-Ching can be used in many ways. Martial arts, chi gung, taoism, anything. The most important thing is not to focus on the "usage" of it, but to find the root understanding of WHY it is developed to this stage.

 

So first is to look at yin yang and 5 elements cycle.

 

Understand it and you will find it very useful in your daily life. It actually opens up one's mind to deeper understanding of nature. Then you can connect the dots between things and see things people cannot see because you see ahead of them so much.

[Wayfarer64]

Thanks for that insight Mak Tin Si!

 

I would like to hear back from you what you think of the poetry I've written as companions to the Yijing.

 

 

Sean has kindly given me the banner that appears from time to time -and here is the link...

I hope anyone may enjoy these poems and take a chance at becoming user-friendly with the book of changes through any way they seem comfortible in trying to receive a reading...

 

http://www.lulu.com/content/265718

 

Love to all- Pat

Edited April 16, 2009 by Wayfarer64

[Mak_Tin_Si]

Where are the poems? and are they chinese? or english?

 

Thanks for that insight Mak Tin Si!

 

I would like to hear back from you what you think of the poetry I've written as companions to the Yijing.

Sean has kindly given me the banner that appears from time to time -and here is the link...

I hope anyone may enjoy these poems and take a chance at becoming user-friendly with the book of changes through any way they seem comfortible in trying to receive a reading...

 

http://www.lulu.com/content/265718

 

Love to all- Pat

[taiwandeutscher]

He, who uses the Yijing for devination, missed the point.

 

Xunzi, somewhere!

[Wayfarer64]

Where are the poems? and are they chinese? or english?

 

 

Hi Mak Tin Si- the poems are in English and can be found at the link or hitting the yellow Wayfarer Sonnets banner link that Sean has kindly provided...

 

I will try to PM you a copy of them - but they are not in a ready form to do so just yet...Only proto-types are - which may have to serve - Many thanks - Pat

[11:33]

He, who uses the Yijing for devination, missed the point.

 

Xunzi, somewhere!

 

What is the point then? (serious question)

 

All the Best,

11:33

[Brother K]

What is the point then? (serious question)

 

All the Best,

11:33

 

The best way I have found to describe it, is it is a teacher a guide for those of us who are not lucky enough to have access to a physical teacher. I have used it and many other things for divination but have since abandon those things. Now I use the I Ching strictly as a guidance tool, and it serves me well.

 

riverheron recommended a book above on I Ching describing a way to use it without using coins, stalks, or seeds and it sounds interesting, and in that vein I recommend a book by western sex magick expert Louis Culling called "Incredible I Ching" it is a book on intuitive interpretation of the hexagram after one arrives at that after using coins, stalks, or seeds. Here is a link to those that are interested:

http://www.amazon.com/Incredible-Ching-Lou.../dp/0877280541/

 

With all that said I have almost always used the Wilhelm version of the Book, but have recently got a copy of The Taoist I Ching by: C;eary and find it also very good and useful. I have about 10 different versions/translations in my possession, but those are the two I use the most.

 

I hope this helps you see the point of such a rich and wonderful system of teaching that should not be overlooked by anyone.

[Siliconvalley1]

Tao Meow had some very insightful things to say in this context. Let me see if I can find them and post them here.

[Uncle Screwtape]

I am surprised by how much the I Ching is overlooked by those on the Taoist path. I think it teaches us so much about how Tao works and how to become part of the processes ourselves. I only really started to understand the I Ching when I read the Ta Chuan (Great Treatise) which is one of the Ten Wings of the I Ching. The Wilhelm I Ching has the Ta Chuan translated and you can get it on its own from Stephen Karcher. It brought the I Ching to life for me.

 

I consider the I Ching to be, first and foremost, a great teacher. People say a book can never teach as much as human, and normally I would agree but not in this case. It is my experience that the hexagrams got inside me and worked on changing me from within. My patterns of thinking have changed and I now begin to see the complex dynamics of change in the world and in people.

 

As a book of divination I use it less and less, but it is still a very potent tool in that regard.

 

I have recently purchased the Eranos I Ching, which is a thing of beauty; it really is. It presents the I Ching to you in an utterly unbiased form, without commentaries, and allows you, from its 'fields of meaning' to discern for yourself the subtle nature of the Oracle and what you are being told. Hard work, mind, but worth it.

 

Taomeow does indeed have some very insightful things to say about the I Ching, and it was she who helped me to see its 'personality'.

Edited May 29, 2009 by Uncle Screwtape