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Coming and going in 39

void

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I always have the same problem when receiving moving lines in 39 - however i have phrased my question I'm never sure what is meant by the coming and going. For example I decided, with some help from the Yi Jing to not receive treatment from a certain dentist and go elsewhere (believe me the state of my teeth warrants a yi jing consultation). Before finally cancelling my appt with her I checked asking basically was it the right thing to turn down treatment with her. I got 39 line 4. That puzzles me because I'm not sure if the coming is going to her or not going - though I had to make a decision and chose not to go, and my feeling was this line meant that ? I always have this issue when getting lines in 39, can someone give me some guidance ?
 

bradford_h

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Going (wang) was your old or original plan,
before you entertained doubts.
Coming (lai) is your changed mind's new direction.
 
A

ann

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"I checked asking basically was it the right thing to turn down treatment with her."

Void, is that how you phrased the question? It's important not to ask a closed question - ie one that can be answered yes or no. It would be better to ask about the outcome of going to her in one reading, then of not going to her in another. Apologies if you already know this.

That said, I agree with Bradford!
 

void

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Thankyou Bradford, I think i made the right decision.. Anne I had somewhat overconsulted on this issue and had received my answer, i was just kind of double checking it was not going to be a regrettable decision.. I know what you are saying re closed questions, yet on occasion I choose to ask them. Though with 39 as i said even if i phrase the question properly concisely the coming and going has always puzzled me - because I don't know which part of the considered action is referring to the 'coming' and which to the 'going'. Brad seems fairly clear on this.
 

dobro p

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Hex 39's about difficulty in proceeding. (So if you've had difficulty in understanding some of the lines, that right in tune with the situation lol.)

Another possible take on the going and coming thing: going means proceeding externally, in the outer world. Because the situation when you draw Hex 39 is one of difficulty, that kind of action is bound to be problematic. So what to do? Well, one meaning of coming is coming to yourself I think - turning the focus of your attention inward and to yourself. Forget dealing with circumstances, and deal with yourself. You can't changed circumstances, but you can work on yourself and your attitudes and responses to the way things are.

I like Brad's take on it though.
 

void

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Thanks Dobro but in this instance action in the outer world is necessary - I have 2 infected teeth that could get very painful at any time. My taking action in the outer world seems unavoidable in order to remedy it. I have been recommended some specialist treatment which I will have to wait for which will cost quite alot of money - or I could have gone to my regular NHS dentist in whom I have little trust. All along the Yi Jing has seemed to counsel to see the specialist and also tell me that I can afford it, lol. So yesterday I asked 'have i made right decision in cancelling nhs dentist, whose appt was today, and got 39,4. My decision was really mostly already made just needed to check I was completley wrong or doing something silly - so hence the coming and going threw me.
 

dobro p

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Yup. In that case, the change of direction isn't from outward to inward. It's from the way you've been going to something else. So 39.4 talks about a change (cancellation) of direction that has a positive outcome. Looks like you made a good decision.

This has been a good thread for me. I understand 39 better now.

Hope the dental work is soon, and successful.
 

void

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Thanks Dobro and everyone. I guess teeth are a pretty unexciting topic for consultation - it isn't till they start hurting one ever even thinks of them, then when they do you can't think of much else.
 

philippa

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Hi Void,

Out of curiosity, how did you resolve your dental issue?

Philippa
 

void

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Hi Philippa, hmm deep philosophical question eh.

Actually this one really stuck in my mind as I followed the counsel of the Yi when just using my common sense I really wasn't sure.

Turned out had I gone to the NHS dentist it would have been disastrous as I had extra root canals their equipment would never have picked up. Thus I followed my 'changed minds new directions' as Brad put it and the outcome was very favourable for me and my teeth.
biggrin.gif
 

philippa

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Hi Void,

This is indeed good news. I am glad your teeth are in a better condition.
happy.gif


On a slightly more philosophical note, I've been pondering on the meaning of "coming" and "going" lately. In spite of the etymology discussed here, your "case study" definitely makes me feel more comfortable with the overall meaning of 39.

Thanks!

Philippa
 

bradford_h

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Technically it's Going and/or Coming (Wang Lai), not Coming and Going. In the meaning of the Hexagram there's a difference and a meaning to that order.
 

philippa

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Hmm.

Brad, I understand your point. You are emphasizing the importance of word order (going = the past, coming = the future). Funnily enough, if one reverses the two characters, you get "lai wang" (interaction, communication), which is an entirely different animal.

One thing with Yi I had (still have) trouble with is not only the polysemy (here: "wang" and "lai") and the word order, but also the location of the punctuations as well as the function of, ahem, function words. One example comes to mind is 25.2.

The joy of old Chinese!

Philippa
 

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