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Go Back   Spiritual Forums > Religions & Faiths > Taoism

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  #1  
Old 19-02-2011, 03:43 PM
windwhistle
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I-Ching

Anyone interested in the I-Ching? What's the most straight forward book?
I've tried Wilhelm's and it was really hard for me to relate to. I have the Women's I-Ching and it comes too much from a Wiccan perspective. Is Cleary's a good bet?

Also I've heard the coin method isn't near as accurate as the yarrow sticks due to numeral formulations.

Does I-Ching bring one closer to Tao.

I know that I-Ching became popular 500 years after Lao-Tzu wrote the Tao Te Ching.

I've personally never been good at tarot cards...love the artwork, just couldn't thread the meanings together. I wonder if I-Ching is just another folly because I'm bored sometimes!
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  #3  
Old 19-02-2011, 04:06 PM
windwhistle
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Wow Thanks Medium_Laura!!!

I appreciate your being here on this forum. You are incredibly helpful and present! Thanks.
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  #4  
Old 19-02-2011, 05:37 PM
windwhistle
Posts: n/a
 
Sorry...got another question...Does studying the I-Ching bring one closer to the Taoist ideal?

Or is it nothing to do with Tao? I know it is about changelike yin and yang. Is it based on Tao?
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  #5  
Old 19-02-2011, 06:12 PM
Medium_Laura
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Hmm that is something I'm not quite sure of. It is a form of divination, maybe you should ask the I-ching :) And you're welcome
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  #6  
Old 20-02-2011, 02:15 AM
TzuJanLi
Posts: n/a
 
Greetings..

Quote:
Originally Posted by windwhistle
Anyone interested in the I-Ching? What's the most straight forward book?
I've tried Wilhelm's and it was really hard for me to relate to. I have the Women's I-Ching and it comes too much from a Wiccan perspective. Is Cleary's a good bet?

Also I've heard the coin method isn't near as accurate as the yarrow sticks due to numeral formulations.

Does I-Ching bring one closer to Tao.

I know that I-Ching became popular 500 years after Lao-Tzu wrote the Tao Te Ching.

I've personally never been good at tarot cards...love the artwork, just couldn't thread the meanings together. I wonder if I-Ching is just another folly because I'm bored sometimes!
I have six translations, Cleary's suits my 'nature'.. it has a decidedly Taoist flavor, a little harsh for some genteel sensibilities, or folks looking for 'mystical' stuff.. what i have learned, is that by reading so many translations so many times, i don't need to use it for 'divination', its wisdom is revealed as Life unfolds..

More tha a tool for divining the future or determining a particular course of action, the I Ching is a brilliant study of human nature.. that is its predictive essence, that it describes people's 'nature' and how they interact under different circumstances.. it's interesting to experience how insightful and well-studied the authors of the I Ching were..

Be well..
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  #7  
Old 20-02-2011, 04:56 AM
windwhistle
Posts: n/a
 
TzuJanLi,

Thank you for your post. I can tell you are a humble and wise I-Ching scholar. I like what you wrote and have a greater understanding now.

I have asked this question of the oracle:

"Will the I-Ching teach me more about Tao?"

I received Hexagram 8 - Pi or Unity

Now the water lies on top of the earth, flowing toward other water, forming streams that unite into rivers that flow into seas. All the lines are feminine and yielding except the fifth which holds them all together.
Unity brings good fortune. Water on the earth is the image of holding together.

My changing lines were 1 and 6. Each gives a drastically opposite reading. Which line do I read, one or six. It can't be to read Both as that is totally confusing!

Changing line descriptions:

Line 1

True loyalty is without reproach. When the breast is as full of sincerity as a flowing bowl, good fortune comes from far away.

The whole is greater than the parts. The content of the earthenware bowl is everything. The empty bowl signifies nothingness of form. The truth in a man’s heart speaks louder than his words.
The inner strength of the sincere man will attract unexpected good fortune.


Line 6

There is no great leader, no union. Great misfortune.

No enterprise can succeed without strong leadership. The right moment for unity has passed. Now hesitation will only bring regrets when it is too late.


So how to read this???
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  #8  
Old 20-02-2011, 05:20 AM
tragblack
Posts: n/a
 
I follow something called "The Tao Oracle." It includes cards, but I still use the coins to toss my draw, unlike what the book asks me to do, which is draw cards or lay them out in a spread. The descriptions in the book are not the traditional draws, but they speak the same message-- perhaps a bit "plainer."

Out of all divination techniques that I know, I-Ching is my favorite.
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  #9  
Old 21-02-2011, 02:44 AM
TzuJanLi
Posts: n/a
 
Quote:
Originally Posted by windwhistle
TzuJanLi,

Thank you for your post. I can tell you are a humble and wise I-Ching scholar. I like what you wrote and have a greater understanding now.

I have asked this question of the oracle:

"Will the I-Ching teach me more about Tao?"

I received Hexagram 8 - Pi or Unity

Now the water lies on top of the earth, flowing toward other water, forming streams that unite into rivers that flow into seas. All the lines are feminine and yielding except the fifth which holds them all together.
Unity brings good fortune. Water on the earth is the image of holding together.

My changing lines were 1 and 6. Each gives a drastically opposite reading. Which line do I read, one or six. It can't be to read Both as that is totally confusing!

Changing line descriptions:

Line 1

True loyalty is without reproach. When the breast is as full of sincerity as a flowing bowl, good fortune comes from far away.

The whole is greater than the parts. The content of the earthenware bowl is everything. The empty bowl signifies nothingness of form. The truth in a man’s heart speaks louder than his words.
The inner strength of the sincere man will attract unexpected good fortune.


Line 6

There is no great leader, no union. Great misfortune.

No enterprise can succeed without strong leadership. The right moment for unity has passed. Now hesitation will only bring regrets when it is too late.


So how to read this???
The I Ching will not teach you more about Tao, it won't even guide you.. it tells you a stories related to human nature and relationships, and.. if you are clear in your 'toss', and intending 'understanding'.. the result of the toss and hexagrams will be 'stories' that 'can' apply to your situation.. ultimately, all the stories apply, the solution is in your sincerity to understand to situation.. the Life you have lived will find meaning in the hexagrams and the stories.. if you trust that meaning, your intention will naturally follow, but.. if you don't trust the meaning, do not act upon the the result.. better yet, take the time you would have invested in a 'reading', and get still with your understanding of the situation.. the same Universe/Tao/Cosmos that speaks through the I Ching, speaks through You.. it IS you..silence speaks more clearly than words, even the I Ching's words.. you already understand the situation, what you seek is a reason..

Life reveals Tao, in the same way that Tao reveals Life.. through 'you', be still and feel Life..

Be well..
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  #10  
Old 04-06-2011, 10:27 AM
lucky
Posts: n/a
 
Quote:
Originally Posted by windwhistle
Sorry...got another question...Does studying the I-Ching bring one closer to the Taoist ideal?

Or is it nothing to do with Tao? I know it is about changelike yin and yang. Is it based on Tao?

The answer is no.... Either you are in the Tao or you are out of it. The I Ching is not going to bring you there.
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