Is the I Ching Ever Wrong?

[petrosianii]

Right or Wrong or Cause or Effect?

Well, I am starting to agree with dobro.. I think the categories of "right" and "wrong" are what the I Ching is trying to help us transcend all along. Answers, I'm finding, are less about right and wrong and more about cause-effect, i.e. karma. That is: if I want this outcome, then I'll follow this course; if I''ll want that outcome, then follow that course. When I'm in this frame of mind, right and wrong seem irrelevant.
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I think, and according my humble opinion, I Ching responses are never wrong. They are always right.

Sometimes the answers are what we dont want to know or to be aware of. But when somebody thinks that the answer is wrong, must meditate and go deeply inside of herself o himself searching the truth. Mind is the most powerful tool that we have and therefor sometimes is gambling with our conscious mind.

Anytime that we ask, mind must be like a blank page. Then the question will obtain the right response.

Be well

Leah

 

[sergio]

Hi Petrosianii,
Dobro is indeed right this time.We view all events in our life as good/bad,
right/wrong and that make us see life through the window of our desires and emotions,thus distorting our view of reality.
But I don't think karma plays a part into this.As Bradford would say,that is a concept foreign to the authors of the Yi and a later addition to the book.If I am not wrong Karma
refers to the sum of your actions in life that have an effect on the lives of others and also in reencarnation but when consulting the YI we usually deal with specific,isolated events in your life,not on such grand scale.
Sergio

 

[petrosianii]

Karma

Sergio, I'm not so sure I agree with the statement that the concept of karma was not known to the authors of the Yi. I'm using the term Karma in its orginal Sanskrit sense, derived from Hindu philosophy; 'karma" comes from the root kr, which means to do, or to act. Karma, therefore, includes the idea of action, and the consequences of action. That is the orginal sense of the word, and that is a very Eastern concept. It is a concept you see all through the I Ching, and it is quite likely that the philosophers of the yi were well aware of the principle of karma, even if the term was not used explicitly.

thanks for the thoughts,
Eric

Hi Petrosianii,
Dobro is indeed right this time.We view all events in our life as good/bad,
right/wrong and that make us see life through the window of our desires and emotions,thus distorting our view of reality.
But I don't think karma plays a part into this.As Bradford would say,that is a concept foreign to the authors of the Yi and a later addition to the book.If I am not wrong Karma
refers to the sum of your actions in life that have an effect on the lives of others and also in reencarnation but when consulting the YI we usually deal with specific,isolated events in your life,not on such grand scale.
Sergio

 

[dobro p]

Dobro is indeed right this time.

This time?

This time?

I'm so confused...

 

[sergio]

Hi Petrosianni;
I don't want to stray away from the central issue of this thread but the karma reference somehow brought us to this etymology of the word and its insertion in the Yi.First I would like to point that Buddhism is generally accepted to had been brought into China from India shortly after the opening of the Silk Road trading route somewhere between 5- b.c.e and 50 c.e.There are written records about Buddhist monasteries from as early as 93 c.e.but the Yi as a classic in China dates back to 2300b.c.e in conservative estimates.Karma been a concept so attached to Buddhism could not posibly be incorporated into the Yi.The two other main pillars of Chinese culture namely the Daoists and Confucians have very different points of view regarding the same issues.But,once again,the three philosophies have influenced the Chinese culture so much that is very hard to separate one from the other and maybe we shouldn't be so technical about it after all.Thanks for your comments and,coming back to your question,the Yi seems to be never wrong but it can not be always right.Confucius said that the Yi was right 80% of the times so how am I to disagree with him?
Merry Christmas to you,Petrosianii!
Sergio

 

[sergio]

OOPS..It should be 50 b.c.e not 5 bce.Sorry.
Sergio

 

[rosada]

To ask, "Is the I Ching ever wrong?" implies the questioner is wondering if he can put aside his own doubts and assumptions and follow the I Ching's guidance with impunity. The answer is no. "The tao that can be named is not the true tao." No guidance that comes from without is as close to Truth as the guidance that comes from within. By the time we've formed a question. tossed the coins and read the answer circumstances have changed so completely that it is only because we have a mind that we can make any connection between our original question and the responce at all, and the mind is notorious for distorting. So this is not to say the I Ching is wrong, but just that we will always be to some degree out of sync with it's responce. But not to worry. If the I Ching revealed the real truth - that is, if the words of the I Ching were the perfect answer, the perfect responce, the perfect fit to our inquiry, well, then time would stand still and the world would disappear and who would want that anyway?

 

[sergio]

Hello Rosada:
I disagree with most of your remarks.First I don't think 'impunity' is the right word to use as an implication in the question because of the negative meaning of the word,namely to do something one knows is wrong and get away with it.That's hardly what anybody(I hope)have in mind when asking "is the Yi ever wrong"?.It's more a reassurence to follow the Yi's advise even against our own views what is questioned here.Second,if no guidance from outside is as close to the Truth as the one coming from within then why bother consulting the Yi at all?It may be at least an impartial guidance and it may be in accordance with our views but whenever is in discordance then it is that we pose the question-is the Yi ever wrong?Third;if the process of change would be as instantaneous as you assert then why consult the Yi at all?One of the implied postulates of the Yi is that change is neverending but also when it happens is a process that endures for a while thus allowing us to adjust to the circumstances and get around it or through it in a better way,avoiding unnecessary suffering.SO what you are saying is not that the Yi is wrong but useless instead.The Yi certainly reveal the true nature of events to us and how we fit into that-if that is the Truth(as you put it)I don't know and neither does anybody but it certainly gets closer to it by means of impartiality and wisdom.The world will not stand still at this revelation,my reality will not dissappear and why would it anyway?The Yi has been delivering the Truth for the past years to me and to Humanity for the past thousands of years and here we are,still asking-Is the I Ching ever wrong?
Sergio

 

[martin]

You don't understand Sergio. You cannot understand as long as you are listening with your mind.
The Way that is minded is not the ...