Clarity,
Office 17622,
PO Box 6945,
London.
W1A 6US
United Kingdom
Phone/ Voicemail:
+44 (0)20 3287 3053 (UK)
+1 (561) 459-4758 (US).
When one is relatively new to the I Ching and just building up an experiential relationship with it, it can be very helpful to have the testimony of noted individuals who have derived sufficient benefit from it to have kept going back to it for practical insight, very often over the course of many decades.
A taste of this is given in an article by Dana Wilde, “How Ancient China Came to America: The I Ching as Bible.” [www.theosophical.org/publications/quest-magazine/1564-how-ancient-china-came-to-america-the-i-ching-as-bible] The author, commenting on friends and acquaintances who first encountered the I Ching in their youths in the ‘60’s as part of a larger pattern of ‘spiritual’ exploration, notes: “Those who told me that the I Ching is their bible believe they have evidence of things unseen. Tarot cards and Ouija boards mainly dropped out of their lives as either unreliable or dangerous or simply fake. Some of them keep a skeptical eye on astrology. Drugs have long since left their lives as dangerous, short-lived, and largely illusory. But the I Ching remained and actually grew in importance to them.”
That kind of testimony, drawn from long experience, is extremely valuable in gauging the potential value and significance of fostering a relationship with Yi in an ongoing way. To this end, I have gathered a number of such testimonies below, but would very much welcome similar testimonies that others might know of.
______________
Richard Wilhelm:
Wilhelm, however, has made every effort to open the way to an understanding of the symbolism of the text. He was in a position to do this because he himself was taught the philosophy and the use of the I Ching by the venerable sage Lao Nai-hsüan; moreover, he had over a period of many years put the peculiar technique of the oracle into practice. His grasp of the living meaning of the text gives his version of the I Ching a depth of perspective that an exclusively academic knowledge of Chinese philosophy could never provide.
[C.G. Jung, Introduction to Wilhelm/Baynes, The I Ching or Book of Changes]
______________
C.G. Jung:
I am greatly indebted to Wilhelm for the light he has thrown upon the complicated problem of the I Ching, and for insight as regards its practical application as well. For more than thirty years I have interested myself in this oracle technique, or method of exploring the unconscious, for it has seemed to me of uncommon significance. I was already fairly familiar with the I Ching when I first met Wilhelm in the early nineteen twenties; he confirmed for me then what I already knew, and taught me many things more.
[C.G. Jung, Introduction to Wilhelm/Baynes, The I Ching or Book of Changes]
______________
Marie-Louise von Franz:
As we were driving back to the conference after lunch, she [Marie-Louise von Franz] revealed to me that whenever she was asked to lecture or participate in a conference, she consulted the I Ching, and it alone determined her acceptance or rejection of the invitation.
[www.herovictim.com/vonfranz.htm]
______________
Stephen Karcher:
Yijing and its great tradition has been a spiritual and practical guide and a very real help in times of crisis for many people over the thousands of years it has existed. It has certainly changed my life, and I feel a deep gratitude for its presence as it guides me and those I love and care for. I sincerely hope something of this spirit comes through in this translation and that you, too, may experience shen ming, the friendship of this clear and loving spirit.
[Yijing in Brief (www.greatvessel.com; via Internet Archive)]
______________
Allan W. Anderson:
While for many academicians the oracular function of the I Ching is a source of embarrassment and bafflement, it is for those of us who have learned to consult it as an Oracle nothing short of a “grace”.
[Allan W. Anderson, Reflections on the I Ching, p.47]
______________
Stuart Alve Olson:
During the many years I've read, studied, and used the Book of Changes, I’ve always found it to speak truth to me, even though it wasn’t always apparent at first examination.
[Stuart Alve Olson, Book of Sun and Moon (I Ching), Vol.1, Traditional Perspectives on Divination and Calculation for the Book of Changes, p.v]
______________
Lou Marinoff:
The I Ching maintains that personal, familial, social, and political situations change according to natural laws that the wise understand and take into account when making decisions. By acting in accordance with Tao, one does the right thing at the right time and thus makes the best of any situation. I have been consulting the I Ching for thirty years and have never once regretted it.
[Lou Marinoff, Plato, Not Prozac!: Applying Eternal Wisdom to Everyday Problems, Appendix A (See also Appendix D)]
______________
Ron Masa & Debbie Hart:
My partner, Debbie Hart, and I have used the I Ching to inform our major life questions, career choices and health decisions for years. We would hate to do without it. Guessing at life choices that have huge consequences is a risky business.
[https://universityofyourself.com/i-...ive-guide-for-daily-decisions-great-or-small/]
A taste of this is given in an article by Dana Wilde, “How Ancient China Came to America: The I Ching as Bible.” [www.theosophical.org/publications/quest-magazine/1564-how-ancient-china-came-to-america-the-i-ching-as-bible] The author, commenting on friends and acquaintances who first encountered the I Ching in their youths in the ‘60’s as part of a larger pattern of ‘spiritual’ exploration, notes: “Those who told me that the I Ching is their bible believe they have evidence of things unseen. Tarot cards and Ouija boards mainly dropped out of their lives as either unreliable or dangerous or simply fake. Some of them keep a skeptical eye on astrology. Drugs have long since left their lives as dangerous, short-lived, and largely illusory. But the I Ching remained and actually grew in importance to them.”
That kind of testimony, drawn from long experience, is extremely valuable in gauging the potential value and significance of fostering a relationship with Yi in an ongoing way. To this end, I have gathered a number of such testimonies below, but would very much welcome similar testimonies that others might know of.
______________
Richard Wilhelm:
Wilhelm, however, has made every effort to open the way to an understanding of the symbolism of the text. He was in a position to do this because he himself was taught the philosophy and the use of the I Ching by the venerable sage Lao Nai-hsüan; moreover, he had over a period of many years put the peculiar technique of the oracle into practice. His grasp of the living meaning of the text gives his version of the I Ching a depth of perspective that an exclusively academic knowledge of Chinese philosophy could never provide.
[C.G. Jung, Introduction to Wilhelm/Baynes, The I Ching or Book of Changes]
______________
C.G. Jung:
I am greatly indebted to Wilhelm for the light he has thrown upon the complicated problem of the I Ching, and for insight as regards its practical application as well. For more than thirty years I have interested myself in this oracle technique, or method of exploring the unconscious, for it has seemed to me of uncommon significance. I was already fairly familiar with the I Ching when I first met Wilhelm in the early nineteen twenties; he confirmed for me then what I already knew, and taught me many things more.
[C.G. Jung, Introduction to Wilhelm/Baynes, The I Ching or Book of Changes]
______________
Marie-Louise von Franz:
As we were driving back to the conference after lunch, she [Marie-Louise von Franz] revealed to me that whenever she was asked to lecture or participate in a conference, she consulted the I Ching, and it alone determined her acceptance or rejection of the invitation.
[www.herovictim.com/vonfranz.htm]
______________
Stephen Karcher:
Yijing and its great tradition has been a spiritual and practical guide and a very real help in times of crisis for many people over the thousands of years it has existed. It has certainly changed my life, and I feel a deep gratitude for its presence as it guides me and those I love and care for. I sincerely hope something of this spirit comes through in this translation and that you, too, may experience shen ming, the friendship of this clear and loving spirit.
[Yijing in Brief (www.greatvessel.com; via Internet Archive)]
______________
Allan W. Anderson:
While for many academicians the oracular function of the I Ching is a source of embarrassment and bafflement, it is for those of us who have learned to consult it as an Oracle nothing short of a “grace”.
[Allan W. Anderson, Reflections on the I Ching, p.47]
______________
Stuart Alve Olson:
During the many years I've read, studied, and used the Book of Changes, I’ve always found it to speak truth to me, even though it wasn’t always apparent at first examination.
[Stuart Alve Olson, Book of Sun and Moon (I Ching), Vol.1, Traditional Perspectives on Divination and Calculation for the Book of Changes, p.v]
______________
Lou Marinoff:
The I Ching maintains that personal, familial, social, and political situations change according to natural laws that the wise understand and take into account when making decisions. By acting in accordance with Tao, one does the right thing at the right time and thus makes the best of any situation. I have been consulting the I Ching for thirty years and have never once regretted it.
[Lou Marinoff, Plato, Not Prozac!: Applying Eternal Wisdom to Everyday Problems, Appendix A (See also Appendix D)]
______________
Ron Masa & Debbie Hart:
My partner, Debbie Hart, and I have used the I Ching to inform our major life questions, career choices and health decisions for years. We would hate to do without it. Guessing at life choices that have huge consequences is a risky business.
[https://universityofyourself.com/i-...ive-guide-for-daily-decisions-great-or-small/]
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