Consulting the Book about Covid-19

[fai_35]

From a less humanocentric/anthropocentric standpoint, Covid-19 could be a good thing – less pollution, less human activities damaging the environment, less rape of the land, less human beings consuming finite resources. Sure I don’t wish the virus to win and destroy humanity but overall it is natural and I think it’s fair. The earth could use less humans on it for longer term viability.

Almost everyone wouldn’t want to be the chosen ones to go. My stance would be to recognise the law of karma at play, and duly pay respect to its workings. When the big winds of a natural disaster blow, we all would do well to seek shelter and wait for its passing. Should I be chosen to go, then so be it. Death would be the end of my current life and then in the scheme of things, there is rebirth.

As a human with all my limitations, I wonder about the bigger view. I seek to learn whence this arising of the virus, not to be sucked in with all the fear and anxiety, and hope to glean wisdom.

49 lines 4 and 5; changes to 36

My reading (I do an almost literal translation from the original Chinese text):
The Judgement: The day is upon us; have faith and confidence in the process. There are sublime offerings of success. The outlook is advantageous, the regrets disappear.

4th line: Regrets disappear; have faith and confidence. A fate altering time has come. It’s fortunate.

From the Illustrated I Ching by RL Wing: "A radical change is at hand. If your position is correct, your motives worthwhile, and you are properly prepared, the new situation will bring good fortune."

Remarks: An opportunity to re-strategise, to re-order your life. You may if you wish, change goals; the basis of power, of your sense of self may be changed.

5th line: The big human changes like a tiger. The oracle is not yet cast; have faith and confidence in the process.

Time for dramatic reform, revolution. Have faith and confidence in the process. We can survive and be transformed.

At the moment it is dark (36). The light is hidden and things are difficult.

Stay well,
Kai Fai

 

[svenrus]

#1
KaiFai: "From a less humanocentric/anthropocentric standpoint, Covid-19 could be a good thing – less pollution, less human activities damaging the environment, less.................................... "
I've been thinking this perspective through: Humans are in the top of the food-pyramid, no tigers to keep our population at Status Quo. Now and then it seems that the reasons for wars could be found in the same fact ie that no one keeps our population growth down... (?)
Usually I meet translations of Hex. 49's tag "Revolution" leading my thought toward human affairs concerning political issues but another translation of the tag I find in Richard Rutt's book (1) being: Leather
opening up a completely other perspective, namely Protection which is the function of that material or: a time to protect our skin against this virus.

1) ZhouYi, The book of Changes, Routledge, USA 2002
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[return]​

 

[my_key]

As a human with all my limitations, I wonder about the bigger view. I seek to learn whence this arising of the virus, not to be sucked in with all the fear and anxiety, and hope to glean wisdom.

49 lines 4 and 5; changes to 36

Hi Kai Fai
Your enquiry seems to suggest that a process is underway where the COVID-19 pandemic is Abolishing the Old through Brilliance Injured.
Certainly the lockdowns in many countries may be seen as a final catalyst for revolution. The change will be one of good fortune and embrace an alignment of actions with words to decrease sadness in the world (49.4). Rest assured, the transformation is already underway in the hearts of mankind and will strike with the brilliance of a tiger to bring about a new position in the world. (49.5)

...or it may be nothing like that at all.

Good luck

 

[rosada]

Asking "What is the bigger view?" is kind of a curious way to frame a question. As I puzzle to understand 36 as the resulting hexagram I'm wondering just how big a view are we talking here? Considering that 36 refers to the story of the man keeping silent to avoid risking his life by revealing his sanity I wonder if the I Ching is saying, "In the grand scheme of things never forget 49. Everything changes and 36. Everyone is crazy!"

 

[Liselle]

Fai, what did you ask, what was your question?

 

[svenrus]

1#
"............. As a human with all my limitations, I wonder about the bigger view. I seek to learn whence this arising of the virus, not to be sucked in with all the fear and anxiety, and hope to glean wisdom. "
Oh, I wasn't quite aware of this when I wrote my commentary.... (#2)

And yes, I think KaiFai (now: fai_35) is right when he (she) concludes: "Time for dramatic reform, revolution. Have faith and confidence in the process. We can survive and be transformed. "

........ (?)

 

[fai_35]

Thanks for your time reading and posting your responses.

The wisdom i gleaned from the Oracle is to look at the pandemic as a revolution.

Have faith and confidence that the remorse will disappear. It's time to change, to correct one's fate/life. (Few initial things stand out clearly - never ever go on a cruise ship, air travel less, spectator sports aren't essential, help the poor and the homeless, organised religions that gather in large groups can be dangerous... There's also a germinal sense of what's truly important and valuable, to stop wasting time on the frivilous.). The pandemic created conditions giving everyone a time and a chance to do, to realise this.

The bigger view is to imagine the big human being (大 人) changing like a tiger in a revolution. (To be big one goes beyond the puny self.) Before casting the oracle, the big human have faith and confidence in the whole process ie the process of revolution brought about by covid-19. Here the Oracle points a path to wisdom.

As for 36, it's the Trigram Earth over Fire, so light is hidden. The pandemic is a dark time. The Judgement speaks of advantages to be had amidst the difficult time. Indeed!

 

[Liselle]

Fai, did you ask a specific question for this reading? If you did, it would help if you could tell us what it was. If you didn't, that's fine - maybe you cast a reading while thinking "coronavirus" in your head?

Something that just came to mind is that 49 is a revolution, a change in governing principle as Hilary often describes it, but it's not the same as establishing a different way of life. Consolidation into something enduring is hexagram 50, 49's paired hexagram. (Turn them upside down and they become the other: - 49---- - 50 )

Analogies for 49 are political revolutions, or something like puberty for an individual. Think about a typical teenager: all of a sudden she feels grown up and wants to be grown up, so she'll start emulating the adults around her. She'll try hairdos and makeup, different styles of dress, she'll stop playing in mud puddles or with dolls. She feels like she's beyond childish things.

But she's actually not grown up. She doesn't know how to function as an adult, she's only just trying on the skin.

Ditto for national revolutions, the American one, for instance, since it's the one I'm familiar with. The 13 colonies declared independence and won a war. Great! Now what? We still had a nation and a government to establish. It didn't happen automatically the minute the British surrendered.

Point being, yes, we're trying different things out now, working from home and so forth. Some of it may stick to varying degrees, some of it won't.

Of course there are moving lines and a relating hexagram in your reading, too... I see what 49.5 says, for example, it's just that what passes for my common sense wonders what exactly is so obvious. I'd be truly astonished if spectator sports and the like are gone forever, for instance. Granted things like that may take a while, maybe until there's a vaccine.

 

[Changstein]

辉: "From a less humanocentric/anthropocentric standpoint, Covid-19 could be a good thing – less pollution, less human activities damaging the environment, less rape of the land, less human beings consuming finite resources. Sure I don’t wish the virus to win and destroy humanity but overall it is natural and I think it’s fair. The earth could use less humans on it for longer term viability."

Finally! Someone else who appreciates 反出生主.

Liselle: "Fai, did you ask a specific question for this reading? If you did, it would help if you could tell us what it was. If you didn't, that's fine - maybe you cast a reading while thinking "coronavirus" in your head?"

As best I understand it, asking what is the virus for, what is the reason for its being. More broadly, looking for meaning in all this. 辉: "I seek to learn whence this arising of the virus, not to be sucked in with all the fear and anxiety, and hope to glean wisdom."

辉, I think that what the oracle gave you is a very matter-of-fact response that aims to demystify this event. It is also unclear whether you are looking for ideas about this reading, or if you just want to share your own ideas with others (which is fine, of course). Then I hope you will not mind me saying:

Given the topic (and scale!) of your inquiry, with your clear intention to transcend "anthropocentric" attitudes, it puzzles me that you have taken the answer to mean 'you should act like this'.

A tiger does not prognosticate: he does not strategize or worry how his prey will retaliate. He does not question if his impetus is good or bad, right or wrong, his environmental impact, what it all means, or is it fair. And neither does a virus. Because of this, it 有命: an upper hand in the present climate, the agency to bring about change.

It's an entropic force that's disrupted the workings of our "humanocentric" world, that very abruptly brought society to a halt. And there's your "revolution". I think the emerging order is not at all the point.

The virus doesn't deliberate, it's not something deliberate. So it's anarchic, an agent of chaos (49).

By the way, it seems unlikely that this is going to have a major impact as far as culling human overpopulation. The most grim predictions I've heard put the death toll at a few million. That is not nearly enough to offset our environmental footprint, it's just a tragedy. Some people are even predicting the period of isolation will result in a baby boom. Biological hitchhikers like this virus have devastated the natural world for a long time, but this is the first time this has disrupted the global economy. The best we can hope for is some limitations on the free movement of people and goods, like caps on the number of people who can visit tourist destinations per year. Even this seems unlikely, as the USA continues to import vast quantities of medical supplies and has already decided to bail out the commercial airline industry.

Regards,
Donna

 

[fai_35]

Thanks for your thoughts Liselle. To respond:

Fai, did you ask a specific question for this reading? If you did, it would help if you could tell us what it was. If you didn't, that's fine - maybe you cast a reading while thinking "coronavirus" in your head?
...

@Liselle: Perhaps it's to do with the way i phrased my question... due to cultural/individual difference? In any case, may be the way Changstein/Donna put it might work better:

As best I understand it, asking what is the virus for, what is the reason for its being. More broadly, looking for meaning in all this. 辉: "I seek to learn whence this arising of the virus, not to be sucked in with all the fear and anxiety, and hope to glean wisdom."

Thanks Donna/Changstein. My intent of posting this thread is to get perhaps a kindred spirit who would provide some insight, such as yours. So it's bit of both - sharing my ideas with others and looking for ideas.
(I'm also at a point where i seek to go beyond my puny self ... but that is another story...)

Your response shed much light. Your rendition of 虎变 (tiger change) -
Changstein: "A tiger does not prognosticate: he does not strategize or worry how his prey will retaliate. He does not question if his impetus is good or bad, right or wrong, his environmental impact, what it all means, or is it fair."
helped me heaps; i gained some insights about how might a big human tiger change (大人虎变; first four characters of 49.5) .

I also appreciate your sharing of your other thoughts. Yea, with 7.8 billion people, even hundreds of million don't really put a dent on the overall population, how much less a few million. But at this point we don't really know yet. Overall, the Book is saying we'll pull through. When we do, life may appear more or less the same, or in whatever order that emerges. Meanwhile to me, heeding the orale, i would do well to 改命, change life/fate, look to how 大人虎变 "big human tiger change", and 有孚 to have faith and confidence in the whole process.

 

[diamanda]

the bigger view
49.5.6 > 36

The tables are completely turned, all orders/mandates/governments change (49.4).
The change is so obvious, that you don't need to ask the oracle (49.5).
36 - light and meaning obscured, injury, darkness.

This is a non-living organism threatening the whole of our species.
And other species too, including tigers (did you read the story about the zoo tiger?).

It's time to change, to correct one's fate/life. (Few initial things stand out clearly - never ever go on a cruise ship, air travel less, spectator sports aren't essential, help the poor and the homeless, organised religions that gather in large groups can be dangerous... There's also a germinal sense of what's truly important and valuable, to stop wasting time on the frivilous.

Golden words, so well phrased.

 

[fai_35]

Thanks for sharing your thoughts diamanda, my_key, svenrus, Liselle.

As i ponder over the Oracle, trying to reflect beyond the confines of my self, i see glimpses of what Revolution might mean in the broader sense.

As my_key pointed out, the pandemic is bringing about great change in the world. Governments moving 'mountains and seas' to mitigate the health and economic fallouts. Some of us see that 'free market forces' have collapsed, governments intervening offering free money, bailing out businesses, propping up the economy, 'taking over' private hospitals; like a make-shift form of 'communitarianism'.

The previous promises of globalization look a bit misled and unreliable now. Our subsequent conception of global trade will be changed drastically. Many governments will look to develop self-sufficiency at least for critical goods. I guess major economies will bring back some manufacturing industries to their own soil.

There will be some kind of a new world order i imagine. It's just that with my limited view, it's hard to discern. Maybe we'll have clusters of power, with the current single superpower ie US losing its 'status' and influence; China becoming less of the world's one number manufacturer, taking up some of the 'space'/'ground' lost by the US; Europe moving away from US and slightly more inward-looking (Pure imaginings at this point of course.)