Dear George,
So far our
year has consisted of one source of consternation after the next — car
problems, a house disaster, insurance dealings, making out a will, canceling
trips, medical anxieties, nightmarish politics, etc. Sometimes if things
get stressful enough, I turn to the I Ching to help think through problems.
The readings are nearly always on target and can be amazingly precise. My
brother-in-law, David Werrin, introduced us to the I Ching many years ago, and
we’ve been fans ever since. I encourage the curious reader to give it a
try if you haven’t already.
The I Ching
is an ancient Chinese book of wisdom. Influenced by Confucianism, it
dates back at least two thousand years and provides guidance for moral decision
making and action. One consults the I Ching by asking a question, then
tossing a set of three coins six times in a row. Each toss of the coins
results in a broken or unbroken line (see the I Ching for details), and the six
lines are arranged from bottom to top in a stacked hexagram like the following
example:
The six-line
hexagram is divided into an upper and lower trigram, each with its own name and
interpretation. There are eight possible combinations of broken and
unbroken lines for any given trigram, and consequently there are 64 (8 times 8)
possible hexagrams. Each of the I Ching’s 64 hexagrams has a name and an
associated reading which describes a life situation, provides imagery for
thinking about it, and makes suggestions about effective courses of action.
To give a more concrete sense of this, I’m going to describe three questions I
recently asked of the I Ching, the answers I received, and what I made of each.
My questions have do do with our loss of our sheepdogs, a household
catastrophe, and crummy hearing. The I Ching had lots to say.
Our Sheepdogs: Loss, grief
It’s been 10
months since Duffy died and 6 months for Mike. The dogs remain uppermost
on our minds. I sometimes anticipate them at the door when we return home
late at night or look for them in bed when I wake up in the morning. We
struggle with our loss because the dogs were so central to our daily lives,
particularly in terms of giving and receiving affection. They were also
the most frequent source of Katja’s and my shared experiences of happiness, and
we’re keenly aware of that void. I asked the I Ching about dealing with
my continuing sad feelings about the dogs.
The hexagram
I received for my sheepdog question is No. 43, Kuai (Break-through
[Resoluteness]). The upper trigram is Tui (The Joyous, Lake), and the
lower trigram is Ch’ien (The Creative, Heaven). Thus, the image is one of
a lake floating above heaven. The water, having floated to the heavens,
breaks through and comes down again as rain. According to the I Ching,
the hexagram signifies a break-through after a long accumulation of tension,
like a swollen river breaking through its dikes. The Judgment reads:
Break-through.
One must resolutely make the matter known
At
the court of the king.
It
must be announced truthfully. Danger.
It
is necessary to notify one’s own city.
It
does not further to resort to arms.
It
furthers one to undertake something.
The I Ching
states that the resolution of tension must be based on a union of strength and
friendliness. We must not get entangled in negative feelings.
Rather, “the best way to fight evil is to make energetic progress in the good.”
This hexagram, the I Ching notes, is linked to the third month (April/May).
MY
INTERPRETATION:
Our loss of
the dogs has definitely produced a lengthy accumulation of tension in both of
us. The I Ching reading suggests we are on the verge of a breakthrough in
this state of affairs in April/May. To accomplish this, it’s important
for Katja and I to truthfully disclose our feelings to one another (i.e., make
matters known to “one’s own city”) and rely on friendly cooperation.
Rather than remaining bogged down in negative feelings or acting in hurtful
ways (“resorting to arms”), we need to undertake new interests and “make
energetic progress in the good.” We’ll always cherish our memories of our
wonderful dogs, but now is the time to break through and move beyond grief and
mourning.
Our House: Catastrophe, angst
We arrived
home at the end of the day on April 6, only to find water pouring through our
kitchen and dining room ceilings from a pipe that had burst in the upstairs
bathroom. The insurance company immediately sent an emergency cleanup
crew, and they spent six days drying out the walls, ceilings, and floors (which
included tearing out our fairly new bamboo flooring, peeling off large patches
of wallpaper, and punching holes in the ceiling). Our first floor is
largely uninhabitable, and both Katja and I remain in a state of shock. I
asked the I Ching how to respond to this household disaster.
The hexagram
is Fêng (Abundance [ Fullness]). The above trigram is Chên (The Arousing,
Thunder), and the lower trigram is Li (The Clinging, Flame). The image
signals the arrival of thunder and lightning, but, as they join together, they
will produce abundance and greatness. The Judgment states:
Abundance
has success.
The
king attains abundance.
Be
not sad.
Be
like the sun at midday.
According to
the I Ching, “Only a man who is inwardly free of sorrow and care can lead in a
time of abundance. He must be like the sun at midday, illuminating and
gladdening everything under heaven…The darkness is already decreasing.”
MY
INTERPRETATION:
A barrage of
thunder and lightning has torn apart our house, and we have been wallowing in
sorrow and care for the last six weeks. However, before we know it, we
will have brand new flooring in our living and dining rooms, newly painted
walls and ceilings, and a fully restored first floor — better than before, a
true state of abundance and fullness. Like the sun at midday, we need to
be more bright and optimistic about our imminent future. “Abundance has
success.”
Faulty Hearing: Irritation, indecision
Aside from death and
disaster, my faulty hearing is my most constant source of annoyance and
frustration. That’s been going on for fifteen years or more, and I’ve
remained resistant to urgings from Katja, other family members, and friends
(however gentle and supportive) to consider hearing aids. Lately, though,
I’ve been reconsidering. Several classmates at my high school reunion
were enthusiastic about their hearing aids, and some of my acquaintances at the
university have said the same thing. On the other hand, I recently
had lunch with two long-time friends. One had purchased hearing aids a
year ago, but he didn’t bother to wear them to lunch because they don’t help
and are simply a hassle. The second friend mentioned that his wife had
bought top of the line hearing aids several years ago but had put them away in
a drawer because all they did was magnify uninterpretable sounds. Puzzled
and conflicted, I asked the I Ching, “What should I do about this?”
My hexagram is Huan
(Dispersion [Dissolution]). The upper trigram is Sun (The Gentle, Wind),
and the lower trigram is K’an (The Abysmal, Water). Huan depicts wind
blowing over water, dissolving and dispersing the water into foam and mist.
When a person’s vital energy is dammed up within him or her (the dangerous
condition signified by K’an, The Abysmal), gentleness serves to break up and
dissolve the blockage. The Judgment reads:
Dispersion,
Success.
The
king approaches his temple.
It
furthers one to cross the great water.
Perseverance
furthers.
According to the I Ching,
this hexagram has specifically to do with a divisive egotism and rigidity that
separates people. As family members cooperate in a common undertaking, “all
barriers dissolve, just as, when a boat is crossing a great stream, all hands
must united in a joint task.” In particular, rigidity melts away.
This only occurs, however, when “a man who is himself free of all selfish
ulterior considerations…perseveres in justice and steadfastness (and) is
capable of so dissolving the hardness of egotism.”
MY INTERPRETATION:
Hmm. It’s hard to
imagine, but this hexagram seems to imply that I have been ruled by the Abysmal
— selfishness, egotism, rigidity. Though I rarely think of Katja as a gentle
wind, she does have my interests in mind. According to the I Ching, I
will have success if I “cross the great water.” This seems to suggest
that I should make and follow through on a major decision. Numerous
voices in the past have encouraged me to cross the great water, and now the I
Ching is joining the chorus. I think I will come back to the I Ching
again next week and make sure this is right. I will definitely try not to
be rigid.
All in all, the I Ching
readings leave me in a more harmonious place. If one wants to experiment,
the public library is bound to have copies, as do Half-Price Books, Amazon,
etc. There are numerous online I Ching sites, but the ones I’ve seen are
over-simplified and crass compared to the book versions (especially the Wilhelm
volume cited below). Here’s a toast to keeping ancient wisdom in our
lives.
Love,
Dave
Source: The I Ching
or Book of Changes. The Richard
Wilhelm Translation. Foreword by C J. Jung. Bollinger Series XIX,
Princeton University Press, 1967 (3rd edition).
No comments:
Post a Comment