 Clarity's I Ching Newsletter: Issue 63 "We learn nothing from the things we know." John Cage |
™From the Editor— Click the blue 'play' button to listen to the audio introduction, or if that won't work on your computer use this link to listen with your usual media player.
"Dear Hilary,
I read, in your newsletter, the description of Sandra questioning whether the I Ching was valid in her case. In her words:
"Now I'm getting concerned that the I Ching is not really offering advice to me anymore, but is merely showing me how I feel."
It is my understanding that the I Ching is objective, just in a way that reflects back what we present to it. I see the I Ching as a mirror, reframing our question in a new light. Of course the hexagrams were coming back in a way that commented on her feelings. She was receiving a comment on "her" situation, and the way she was responding to the object of the question. The I Ching can be uncannily direct with its observations.
Just an opinion.
Ian Hammon."
Feedback from Laura, whose reading was in the last issue:
"Hello Hilary :
I've just read through my reading , and it was perfect! The taming power of the small is what this kind of job is all about! So much goes into the smallest detail. For one thing, I'm not naturally good at details, and since this job forces me to pay particular attention to them, I am improving my perception and have grown more conscientious about the job itself, and I find this new awareness influences all areas of my life. Like "cleaning my closet ", so to speak.
It is a long, sometimes winding road, and frustrating and tiring at times. I continue with my teaching, so I have "sacrificed" most of my free time. I do not plan to give up teaching. I mean, translating would have to become a very stable income, which for the time being is not the case. As for my "control" over the situation, I Ching is absolutely right, as usual: I am just a tiny element in the whole picture, so I "restrict" myself, to produce the job as well as I possibly can.
And I have become very conscientious, maybe that is the greatest of blessings!
Another interesting thing that struck me in the reading, was the suggestion of accumulating skills, because I have had to avail myself with all kind of tools, like dictionaries,specialized in some cases, the translator which helps out with the typing and the body of the translation, then all kinds of regular encyclopedias, graphics, maps, and so on. I tell you a lot of improvisation was present in that I just had to "wing it". I definitely need to improve both, my English and my computer skills.
I've long come to terms with the idea, that I will never stop being a student, it has always opened doors for me, and since I am getting a bit better at details it all seems to fit in. As for my team of helpers, I can rely a lot on Suri, my husband, who unlike me, is great with details, is an avid reader of English and helps me a great deal with the writing and particularly the last edition.
Anyway, I will re-read the reading, several times as I do with the translation, to make sure I take care of all the details .
Thank you very much for putting my question forward
Love to you and your dear ones!
Laura"
™DIY Corner: Excluding multiple moving lines?— "Hi Hilary,
Alfred Huang states in The Complete I Ching that when there is more than one moving line it becomes too complicated to get a clear answer. He then goes on to give methods of excluding any additional moving lines that may have been generated. From my (limited) experience of the I Ching, I do tend to agree with him as I have had occasions when multiple moving lines appear to contradict each other.
I'd be very interested in hearing your views on this matter.
Regards,
Mike Blenkiron"
Hi Mike,
I appreciate Alfred Huang's book very much, but don't agree with him about this. As I see it, Yi is perfectly capable of giving very short and simple answers when these are called for, so when the answer is not short or simple, it makes most sense to accept that and work with it. For some suggestions on what else you might do with those apparently contradictory lines - apart from applying a rule to eliminate the information they offer altogether! - have a look at this extract from the I Ching Course .
"I was asking before what does it mean by Following, Wanderer, Creative Power, Pushing Upward, The cauldron etc.
Where do I get those explanations?
Thanks
Josey"
Hi Josey,
Those are the names of the I Ching hexagrams, so to get an explanation of what they mean you just need a helpful copy of the book. You can find outstanding free online versions at LiSe Heyboer's and Bradford Hatcher's websites. (Look for sections B and Q in Bradford's book.)
Or there are reviews of translations, including recommended ones for beginners, at Clarity's I Ching bookstore.
™Hexagram of the Month: 4, Not Knowing ˜ Click the blue 'play' button to hear an audio supplement about my experiences with Hexagram 4 in practice. Or if that won't work on your computer, use this link to listen with your usual media player. There's a transcript at the bottom of this page.
This has to be one of the more uncomfortable and frustrating hexagrams to receive. And then there is its reputation as the Yijing's way of issuing a reprimand when you ask too many questions. It's true that that's what it sounds like:
'Not knowing, creating success.
I do not seek the young learner, the young learner seeks me.
The first consultation is clearly informative.
The second and third muddy the waters,
Confusing, and hence not informative.
Harvest in constancy.'
But it would be a mistake to get 'stuck' on this reputation. For one thing, Yi is not like some irascible grandparent who gets fed up with being questioned - and anyway, its repertory of rude responses to misguided questions is much more impressive than this. More seriously, there is so much more to be learned from Not Knowing.
It's worth knowing that this hexagram often dramatises someone else's perspective, warning you that this is what you'll encounter. It's not an uncommon scenario when someone receives hexagram 4: they'll be in a hurry, eager for answers, while the person they're questioning is reluctant. If they keep on asking they may provoke a negative emotional response - anything except the answer they were hoping for. (There are a few examples of this in the audio section.) And Not Knowing is the very opposite of Radical Change (Hexagram 49): this role of the ignorant petitioner is not something you can transform by force of will.
But the real question is, why would we want to? It's only when you don't know that you can learn anything: the position of the learner is an honourable one, not an embarrassment to escape. The Judgement says firmly that there is 'harvest in constancy'; the commentary on the Judgement says that 'his will (the questioner's) responds to mine'. So when you're sure that Yi is speaking directly to you through the judgement (rather than enacting someone else's response), there's no need to feel dismissed. There is actually encouragement here to keep learning - only not by clutching for answers.
Not Knowing stands at the very beginning of our experience - the second half of the Yijing's first inverted pair of hexagrams, where yin and yang intermingle for the first time. Hexagram 3, Sprouting, expands its range of possibilities, but stays rooted:
'Sprouting: seeing, and not letting go your dwelling place.
Not knowing: disordered and also clear.'
The young ignoramus steps out into the world, and finds it to be much bigger and more confusing than she ever imagined. I was strongly reminded of this the other day when I dipped into a beginners' book on NLP (neuro-linguistic programming). Learning, it said, started with 'unconscious incompetence' - when you don't even know what you don't know - and progresses into 'conscious incompetence'. At this stage,
'You know enough to know that you are not very good and it takes a lot of your conscious attention. This stage is uncomfortable, but it is also when you are learning the most.'
So Not Knowing is not an embarrassment, but a stage of learning. It may even be a stage that passes naturally in its own time as your understanding develops: the nuclear hexagram, Returning (#24) indicates that at heart this is about awareness that grows from inside. And the Image suggests that this comes about not so much through the answers you can get, as through experience:
'Below the mountain, spring water comes forth. Not Knowing.
The noble one uses the fruits of action to nurture his character.'
Notes
From the I Ching Community:
How a transcendent social structure might function (A good 'Open Space' moment.)
And beyond:
Online oracles and a downloadable book about a novel explanation of the meaning of each line position. It leads to strange ideas about some hexagrams, but makes very interesting reading overall.
Read the theory, consult the online oracle (though they unfortunately have their line values muddled), or jump to this page for the music for every hexagram.
I provide personal I Ching readings from £25.
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completely private and unconditionally guaranteed.
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