The I Ching Book of Merit

[charly]

...
24.6
You blew it again. This is terrible.
If everybody fought weight the way you do,
No one would lose an ounce.
I should never have tried to help.
Sure, call again - in ten years.

-rosada

Hi, Rosada:

Like it much.

Speaking with your own LITTLE: 3

Make the trips you want, no matters how far or how long.
But at the end the best meals are that of MOM!


H.24
COMING BACK HOME
FROM A TRIP
WHIT THE LITTLE CHANGE DIVINERS.

Have a ticket for going and coming back.
Friends will go with you.
On Sunday will return.
Good for a long trip.
(Only one week but much longer for your own experience)

Thunder below the earth, are the littles stepping in the ground.

24.1 Short distance, minitourism. No regret.
24.2 Coming back sleeping in pullman.
24.3 Don't make always the same trip!
24.4 You'll go with your friends, but to your home will return alone.
24.5 Enjoy the trip even when you're coming back.
24.6 Keep secure the ticket for coming back. Loosing it will be horrible. The fear will not let you travel for ten years...

Yours,

Charly

 

[rosada]

Oh I really like this a lot Charly!
You've not only made the meanings clear but this story will be easy to memorize!

rosada

 

[charly]

...
I've never thought of 25 as a newborns kind of inncocence...its more like consciously letting go of plan and design...as anything can happen.

...

Hi, Trojan:

I like it.

The second character of H.25's name is 妄wang4, meaning ABSURD. it depicted a GIRL WITH A HAT, as you can see in Sears'Chineseetymology:

Here is said that WANG (the hat) is the phonetic component , and NU (woman 女) the signific, for the sense of FRANTIC / FRENETIC ! Women use to be so? (1)

I DON'T LIKE IT. What if the own character WANG means INNOCENCE?

(2)
​

H.25 WU WANG, not wang might have the sense of NOT SO INNOCENT, whych, I believe, was what Wilhelm wanted to say. (3)

LITTLES, of course, are INNOCENT, but NOT TOO MUCH.

All the best,


Charly
____________________________
(1) http://www.chineseetymology.org/CharacterEtymology.aspx?characterInput=妄&submitButton1=Etymology
(2) From: http://www.dreamstime.com/royalty-free-stock-image-asian-girl-wearing-hat-image2753396
(3) Of course, the woman under the hat in 妄 is naked, but that's another story... and not for all the children, only for babies.
Ch.

 

[rosada]

Merit Badge 25. Paint a Picture

JUDGEMENT
Every child is an artist.
The problem is to remain an artist once [you] grow up.
-Pablo Picasso

IMAGE
I saw the angel in the marble
And carved until I set him free.
-Michaelangelo

25.1
The marble not yet carved
Can hold the form of every thought the greatest artist has.
-Michaelangelo

25.2
When I begin painting I am in a state of unconsciousness;
I suddenly forget that I am holding a brush in my hand.
-Wu Chen

25.3
Success is dangerous.
One begins to copy oneself,
and to copy oneself is more dangerous than to copy others.
it leads to sterility.
-Picasso

25,4
The promises of this world are,
For the most part,
Vain phantoms
And faith in oneself is the best and safest course.
-Michaelangelo

25.5
Have no fear of perfection - you'll never reach it.
-Salvador Dali

25.6
The greatest danger for most of us
Lies not in setting our aim too high and falling short,
But in setting our aim too low,
And achieving our mark.
-Michaelangelo

or..
25.6
I don't now anything about Art
But i know what I like.
(Misfortune as in self-satisfied Innocence keeping one from exploring further.)

-rosada

 

[rosada]

Merit Badge 25. Be Here Now

JUDGEMENT
If not now, when?
-Rabbi Hillel

IMAGE
The same thing happened yesterday,
Only to different people.
-Walter Winchell

25.1
Let babies come in their own time.
-Mothers' Guide to Natural Childbirth

25.2
Time's fun
When you're having flies.
-Kermit the Frog

25.3
Procrastination is the thief of time.
-Edward Young

25.4
If a man loses pace with his companions perhaps it is because he hears a different drummer.
Let him step to the music he hears.
-Henry David Thoreau

25.5
Time heals all wounds.
-Geoffrey Chauder

25.6
Haste makes waste.
-Benjamin Franklin

---rosada

 

[rosada]

26. The Taming Power of the Great

THE JUDGEMENT

THE TAMING POWER OF THE GREAT.
Perseverance furthers.
Not eating at home brings good fortune.
It furthers one to cross the great water.

THE IMAGE
Heaven within the mountain.
The image of THE TAMING POWER OF THE GREAT.

Thus the superior man acquaints himself with many
sayings of antiquity
And many deeds of the past,
In order to strengthen his character thereby.

-Wilhelm

 

[charly]

THE JUDGEMENT

THE TAMING POWER OF THE GREAT.
Perseverance furthers.
Not eating at home brings good fortune.
It furthers one to cross the great water.
...

Hi, Rosada:

When the littles get tall enough, they acquire the power for taming even their parents.

Sometimes the LITTLES have the power for taming their TEACHERS, not always being rebels.

THE FINE ART OF APPLE-POLISHING

See here the first recorded case, a mesopotamian story:

... Students learned by copying lessons on clay tablets, memorizing the lessons, and then reciting them for the school's headmaster (the "school father") or other teachers, monitors, and proctors of the school.

The composition translated here, about a day in the life of a budding scribe, was evidently widely known...

The young scribe-in-training described here is repeatedly caned by his teachers for failing to memorize his lessons and for disciplinary problems. The boy then asks his parents to invite the headmaster to their house and to provide him with wine, food, and gifts...

... by the end of the dinner, the headmaster praises the young man to Nidaba, the Sumerian goddess of writing, and predicts that he will become the foremost student in the school.

SOURCE: Samuel Noah Kramer, "Schooldays: A Sumerian Composition Relating to the Education of a Scribe," Journal of the American Oriental Society 69, vol. 4 (Oct-Dec 1949): 199-215
From: Children & Youth in History
At: http://chnm.gmu.edu/cyh/primary-sources/408

In the link you can read all the translation of a clay original from Nippur.

The story made me think that H.25 WU WANG might be read as an advice for LITTLES when BACK TO THE SCHOOL:

无 wu2: without / not / no / avoid /
妄 wang4: untrue / false // ignorant / stupid // frantic / frenetic /
... I should add GUILTY.
​

H.25
无妄
Wu Wang
NO UNTRUE
NOT GUILTY

Avoid to be found GUILTY

​

Little Change Diviners have to learn that they are not responsible for the last results of casting the coins and telling oracles for others.

Little Diviners must warn the consultants that they (the consultants) run all the risks and that there is no claiming teller for the INSIGHT or LACK OF INSIGHT they could have got.

There is a sort of indemnity clause in the contract between the diviner and the consultant. Of course, not everybody think so. An angry customer is a dangerous factor and divination is a risky job.

Think it well before geting into this club, once IN, difficult to get OUT.

Yours,


Charly

 

[rosada]

Your comment is very timely Charly. Just yesterday one of the students I am tutoring said to me, "My reading skills have really improved since we've been doing this." Well...I don't know about that but if he thinks so, great. What really made me smile though was that he seemed to be saying this to somehow impress me, either to think that his reading really had improved or to make me feel I was worthwhile as a tutor. Either way I figure even if the kid only learns to improve his apple polishing skills here, that too is an important thing to know in life!

I'm looking at the lines now trying to come up with a suitable Merit Badge. "Travel the entire world and then write your own encyclopedia"? Anyway, here are the lines:

26.1
Danger is at hand. It furthers one to desist.

26.2
The axletrees are taken from the wagon.

26.3
A good horse that follows others.
Awareness of danger,
With perseverance, furthers.
Practice chariot driving and armed defense daily.
It furthers one to have somewhere to go.

26.4
The headboard of a young bull.
Great good fortune.

26.5
The tusk of a gelded boar.
Good fortune.

026.6
One attains the way of heaven. Success.

-Wilhelm

Considering the last line of 25. Innocence was about the danger of an Innocent plowing ahead when the time was not yet ripe for further action it makes sense to me that the next hexagram would be about holding back, a headboard on a young bull and a gelded boar.
Everything in 26 is about slowing down then finally at 26.6 The way of heaven opens up.
Makes me think the I Ching is addressing that awkward age between 18 and 22 where a kid is capable of making commitments but doesn't yet have the judgement to realize what they want to do, so I Ching says, "Hmmm... Slow things down by taking on something really big - like see the world, map the Universe, memorize the I Ching, just don't start having kids yet."

I also think how Innocence ends with 25.6 saying Innocent action brings misfortune. I see that as suggesting that when the time for Innocence is past it is no longer charming. Indulged in for too long and Innocence becomes Ignorance. Then it's time to 26, cross the great waters, explore, get a real life education..

It seems the I Ching hexagrams keep repeating a theme of ignorance, pausing, sharing ideas, going forward and then again an awareness of ignorance and again the need to return, exchange ideas and then once again test those theories out in the world....
-rosada

 

[rosada]

Merit Badge 26. Volunteer to be the Designated Driver

JUDGEMENT
Volunteer to be the one who perseveres all evening and stays sober.
Go to the party.
Drive everyone home safely.

IMAGE
Develop your people skills using your knowledge of the laws and the highways.

26.1
"DANGER. Desist!"
Be able to say this when a person has had too much to drink.

26.2
The car keys are taken from the car.

26.3
That's it.
Just follow these tried and true directions:
Be aware of the danger.
Stay firm.
Keep your focus on you being the driver.
{You'll get better with practice.}

26.4
Tip:
Hide the shoes of the bull-headed ones
- to stall them if they try to walk out.

26.5
Tip:
Give a microphone to the bore
- if you're fortunate, he'll want to sing instead of drink.

26.6
You're an angel!
Everyone flies home safely on your wings.
Success!

-rosada

 

[bamboo]

Badge 26 Learning to Control the Gift of Energy (How to Let The Force Be With You)

1. Timing is everything. Squandering your energy before it is timely to act only succeeds in letting the air out of your otherwise beautiful balloon. Recognize when it is time to hold back; this lets the energy build for the more appropriate time.

2. Okay. Enthusiasm got the best of you and you've lost your balance. NOW you learn the valuable lesson of how to re-build the go-cart for optimum future success. Don't give up before the miracle.

3. Perfecting your ability to master the force takes practice. You will find that suitable activities like the martial arts, fencing, dance classes - or even the PSATs - provide opportunities to learn and grow. Reign in your eagerness to be the best; learn your technique by watching others. Now is the time to learn the value of caution.

4. Wow. BY now you know how a black belt is earned. Less is more. You've gained admirable control, while managing to keep the Beginner's Mindset. Good for you! Keep up the good work.

5. Powerful emotions like anger, rage, jealousy, lust, and even greed, don't have to be negative. In fact, they are grist for the mill. Learn to understand and channel these manifestations of The Force and you will be a true master.

6. When the timing is perfect and your energy aligns with the Force of the Universe, you know it. The most powerful actions and intentions move with a seemingly effortless purpose and grace. The Master allows Life to fulfill itself and rejoices in his/her participation.

 

[charly]

H.26
大畜
da4 chu4

THE CAROUSEL

(1)

Big Animals, but not dangerous.

Eating hot-dogs and pop-corn: lucky

Profitable to cross the entry
for playing in a secure place.​

26.1:
Does it look DANGEROUS?
Let us observe from outside a little.
We don't go to desist for the first impression.

26.2:
We know that CAROUSEL WAGONS lack of axletrees,
nevertheless THEY MOVE! (2)

26.3:
Horseback riding, car driving require perseverant exercise
(profitable but hard).
WOODEN HORSE riding, CAROUSEL CARS driving,
only needs a touch of FANCY.
Good for going far.

26.4:
Corrals are for BABIES, baby-bulls have it.
We are enough EXPERIENCED,
let us enjoy our freedom.

26.5:
Let us have a TALISMAN,
no matters if BOAR'S TUSK or CHICKEN'S BONE.
Even CHINESE COINS are good for our self confidence. (3)

26.6:
Coming home after trying all the carousel features,
we feel like having GOT THE PARADISE.
What a good time!

Till the next.


Charly



_________________________________-
(1) From: 中華民國身心障礙者藝文推廣協會全球資訊網
At: http://www.apad.org.tw/ap/news_view.aspx?bid=29&sn=ede8654c-5abd-48bf-8b6e-62625bd62214

(2) the same happens with SEDAN CHAIRS [輿]

From: 明治開化期の日本と朝鮮
At: http://f48.aaa.livedoor.jp/~adsawada/siryou/060/resi020.html

(3) Also is good to win a FREE RIDE in the carousel RING GAME.

From: http://classicground.blogspot.com/2008_06_01_archive.html


Ch.

 

[rosada]

27. The Corners of The Mouth (Providing Nourishment)

THE JUDGEMENT

THE CORNERS OF THE MOUTH.
Perseverance brings good fortune.
Pay heed to the providing of nourishment
And to what a man seeks
To fill his own mouth with.

THE IMAGE

At the foot of the mountain, thunder.
The image of PROVIDING NOURISHMENT.

Thus the superior man is careful of his words
And temperate in eating and drinking.

THE LINES

27.1
You let your magic tortoise go,
And look at me with corners of your mouth
drooping.
Misfortune.

27.2
Turning to the summit for nourishment,
Deviating from the path
To seek nourishment from the hill.
Continuing to do this brings misfortune.

27.3
Turning away from nourishment.
Perseverance brings misfortune.
Do not act thus for ten years.
Nothing serves to further.

27.4
Turning to the summit
For the providing of nourishment
Brings good fortune.
Spying about with sharp eyes
Like a tiger with insatiable craving.
No blame.

027.5
Turning away from the path.
To remain persevering brings good fortune.
One should not crlss the great water.

027.6
The source of nourishment.
Awareness of danger brings good fortune.
It furthers one to cross the great water.

-Wilhelm

 

[rosada]

Well that didn't last long.
From 26.6 "One attains the way of heaven. Success" to 27.1 "You let your magic tortoise go, and look at me with corners of the mouth drooping. Misfortune." in just one line.

27 reads to me like the path of a total wastrel.

Merit Badge 27. Beauty School Drop Out

27.1
You let your magic tortoise go.

You lose your scholarship.

27.2
Deviating from the path to seek nourishment from the hill.

You drop out of school and go on welfare.

27.3
Turning away from nourishment.
Perseverance brings misfortune.
Do not act thus for ten years.
Nothing serves to further.

Boozing and snoozing - hitting rock bottom.

The only way is up...

27.4
Turning to the summit
For provision of nourishment
Brings good fortune.
Spying about with sharp eyes
Like a tiger with insatiable craving.
No blame.

So how does one go from being a bum to being this savior of mankind? Sounds like a description of some street person who finally sees the light and vows to build a mission to save all the other lost souls.

27.5
Turning away from the path.
To remain persevering brings good fortune.
One should not cross the great water.

You go back to school so you can have something real to offer.

27.6
The source of nourishment.
Awareness of danger brings good fortune.
It furthers one to cross the great water.

Now with a real purpose and real training you're finally equipped to go out and do something for mankind.

Hmmm...not really sure this is a merit badge every teenager should be encouraged to earn..

-rosada

 

[bamboo]

Well that didn't last long.
From 26.6 "One attains the way of heaven. Success" to 27.1 "You let your magic tortoise go, and look at me with corners of the mouth drooping. Misfortune." in just one line.

27 reads to me like the path of a total wastrel.

Merit Badge 27. Beauty School Drop Out

27.1
You let your magic tortoise go.

You lose your scholarship.

27.2
Deviating from the path to seek nourishment from the hill.

You drop out of school and go on welfare.

27.3
Turning away from nourishment.
Perseverance brings misfortune.
Do not act thus for ten years.
Nothing serves to further.

Boozing and snoozing - hitting rock bottom.

The only way is up...

27.4
Turning to the summit
For provision of nourishment
Brings good fortune.
Spying about with sharp eyes
Like a tiger with insatiable craving.
No blame.

So how does one go from being a bum to being this savior of mankind? Sounds like a description of some street person who finally sees the light and vows to build a mission to save all the other lost souls.

27.5
Turning away from the path.
To remain persevering brings good fortune.
One should not cross the great water.

You go back to school so you can have something real to offer.

27.6
The source of nourishment.
Awareness of danger brings good fortune.
It furthers one to cross the great water.

Now with a real purpose and real training you're finally equipped to go out and do something for mankind.

Hmmm...not really sure this is a merit badge every teenager should be encouraged to earn..

-rosada

but a lot of them do!........in fact maybe college itself - and what goes on there - is a lesson in 27....ill be back to elaborate on that!

 

[bamboo]

beauty school dropout

 

[rodaki]

hello everyone

missed this place but 20 left me in an overdrive of perfectionism (and amidst lots of work too) but still keeping my notes . . will post asap

Rosada I like your 27 but I read it with a twist . . maybe because I know of a beauty school dropout who took charge of her life, believed in herself and decided to study psychology (she recently came back from a psychological support project for women in Egypt). Or maybe because I had dropped out from uni to explore other options before going back to get my degree. Anyway, I think going off the beaten track to discover one's own tastes may be just what young people should be urged to do . . in many countries it's something that is generally encouraged too -well, not necessarily dropping out but exploring different sources of nourishment before finding one's own . .

 

[rosada]

Thanks, Folks!
Well, if the I Ching says it's a necessary badge, I must acknowledge superior wisdom!:bows:
i can't take the credit for the title.
"Beauty School Drop Out" is the name of a song in the musical Grease.
Rosada

 

[bamboo]

I forgot about that title in Grease! but it still makes me giggle as a badge. Rodaki, I had a very weird college path.....the first two years were a joke..the last two of undergrad I did very well under duress but i stillhad no idea what i wanted. then after I was a stay home mom, i kept having a dream that I was lost on a college campus and late for my classes. Eventually i went back to grad school and because i was older and more sure of what I wanted, it was like a smorgasboard of delight. I agree that a break in education is often a very good thing. esp because so many young people in college go off on a 27.3 path.....like the saying, college can become a bar with a 40.000 dollar cover charge!

 

[rosada]

I just noticed that 27.1.2.3.4 leads to 50.
Thus if you 1. lose your scholarship, 2. drop out, 3. become a bum, 4. resolve to change your life and the world and find those who will help you do it...50.Supreme Success!

rosada

 

[bamboo]

Badge 27: You Are What You Chew On.

1. If You keep asking outside of yourself: "Who Am I ?" , the only answer will eventually be a hollow echo. Silly rabbit, says the Universe, don't look at me! You're the alchemist - (and don't forget it!).

2. It isn't what you learn on 'the Mountain' that counts, it's what you do with it when you come back down.
"The kingdom of God cometh not with observation: Neither shall they say, Lo here! or, lo there! for, behold, the kingdom of God is within you."


3. " Everybody's saying that hell's the hippest way to go
Well I don't think so
But I'm gonna take a look around it though..." ~ joni mitchell

4. "Look, look, look to the rainbow
Follow the fellow who follows a dream"
Do the thing, make it happen, enjoy the hunt.

5. At some point though, you begin to learn that the beaten path won't really take you home. Finding your original self may mean retreating from life's pursuits for awhile, but this reprieve is worth the time spent. Little Green, be a non-conformer...

6. And by the way, when you find yourSelf, other people may beat a path to your door wanting what you have. It's okay to share yourself, but don't become a guru.

​

 

[rodaki]

Rodaki, I had a very weird college path.....the first two years were a joke..the last two of undergrad I did very well under duress but i stillhad no idea what i wanted. then after I was a stay home mom, i kept having a dream that I was lost on a college campus and late for my classes. Eventually i went back to grad school and because i was older and more sure of what I wanted, it was like a smorgasboard of delight. I agree that a break in education is often a very good thing. esp because so many young people in college go off on a 27.3 path.....like the saying, college can become a bar with a 40.000 dollar cover charge!

hi Bamboo

. . I had never heard of the 40.000 saying but maybe I can see where it comes from . .
I think one of the reasons I dropped out was exactly because I didn't feel I could fit in with the college mentality. It's true that dropping out caused lots of sideway looks, if not occasionally some pretty outright criticism, but I gained a lot of myself by making my own choices and taking responsibility for them. I agree that taking the longer road around and being less goal-oriented or hardwired into a given plan for life can be the best way to go ahead in creating one's happiness . .

 

[rosada]

28. Preponderance of the Great

THE JUDGMENT

PREPONDERANCE OF THE GREAT.
The ridgepole sags to the breaking point.
It furthers one to have somewhere to go.
Success.

THE IMAGE

The lake rises above the trees;
The image of PREPONDERANCE OF THE GREAT.
Thus the superior man, when he stands alone,
Is unconcerned,
And if he has to renounce the world,
He is undaunted.

28.1
To spread white rushes underneath.
No blame.

028.2
A dry poplar sprouts at the root.
An older man takes a young wife.
Everything furthers.

28.3
The ridgepole sags to the breaking point.
Misfortune.

028.4
The ridgepole is braced. Good fortune.
If there are ulterior motives it is humiliating.

28.5
A withered poplar puts forth flowers.
An older woman takes a husband.
No blame. No praise.

28.6
One must go through the water.
It goes over one's head.
Misfortune. No blame.

-Wilhelm

 

[bamboo]

Badge 12: Standing Tall Under Pressure

1. Relax. Know that you cannot build Rome in a day. You might be aware of stressors but you still have time - and need time - to plan your strategy. Trusting yourself is the first step.

2. Allow for the unexpected presence of a Power greater than yourself. When you may be feeling most alone, solely responsible, and fresh out of solutions, this alignment with Grace can support your endeavors and bring new ways of thinking, seeing and believing. These give birth to fresh possibilities and new forms, ones you may never have conceived of on your own.

3. Perhaps some demands and stressors are not really yours to shoulder at all.
Don't take Standing Tall to the extreme. When the pressure is too great for you alone, the creaky foundation of your ambition collapses, and it won't work to try and build it back up. This is unfortunate, but survival makes you stronger - and probably more humble- .

4. With a clear knowing about your capabilities, you handle the pressure expertly, taking on only as much as you can and no more. Learning to say no to 'too much' is a skill that takes integrity, courage, and the ability to stand for your principles.

5. Under supreme pressure, you might be tempted to cut corners or use questionable methods, and they may work for a time. Cramming all night for a test tomorrow, or using crib sheets for a book report might get you a decent grade, although in the long run, you probably won't have learned much of value.

6. Some kinds of pressure can't be avoided or even prepared for. Like tackling the rapids in a white water raft, or when your buddy falls through the ice on the lake. You meet the challenge head on and do your best, even if your best turns out to be not quite good enough. Overwhelming experiences are not for sissies, but on the other hand, if you are willing to go the distance, you might just emerge drenched, exhausted, slightly humiliated....and very proud.

 

[rodaki]

hmm, ok, here it goes, my notes for those past hexagrams . .
this is probably too much in one go but better late than never I guess . .


Hexagram 21: Papercut Rules

21 was a difficult one to decide upon but something that really made sense with it was seeing it not only as biting thru the obstacles, but also as setting limits not to be bitten thru. So 'Papercut rules' came from the papersigns that kids hang in their classrooms with the classroom rules . .

line 1: Group students together and assign to each group to make a sign with the rule you provide them with

line 2: Explain to them why we use words like 'must' and 'should' and how rules are made to ensure disagreements don't get out of hand

line 3: . . and that rules are not there to just be blindly obeyed but to remind us that we shouldn't do to others what we don't want others to do to us

line 4: Once finished and hung, here comes the difficult part, ie to actually live by the word

line 5: The more I'm learning about teaching, the more I realize that the biggest challenge is keeping to those rules on the spot and consistently, whatever my own mood is at that time. If I don't, innocence simply goes astray

line 6: of course there always are those kids that no matter what they'll just keep on defying those limits -then it's always good to remember that there are no rebels without a cause . .

___________​

Hexagram 22: Art Class


line 1: (entering class) Put your books away, today we're gonna play drawing games instead; it doesn't matter if you're good at maths or grammar, all you have to do is use your eyes and imagination

line 2: and there's no need to look at what others are doing, just let your hand move freely on the paper. It's ok if the lines falter or the house looks like it's going to fall over, we can say it sits on a mountainside and draw two columns for support

line 3: No reason to be stingy with your material and colors; only we don't want them all over the desks and floor

line 4: You can try drawing your favorite story or I can read out one to you and you can paint how you imagine it . .

line 5: When the bell rings, we can tie your drawings with some ribbon and you can take them home to your parents or grandparents or whoever you want to . .

line 6: . . and they can hang them around to see every day
( actually I have some of them too, hanging in my tiny kitchen wall )

___________​

Hexagram 23: Taking a Test


line 1: who doesn't recall those times when a teacher would enter the classroom and ask to put our books away to take a test (gulp! :bag

line 2: most times it meant getting weak at the knees and loudly protesting (especially if we'd come unprepared . .)

line 3: or we'd be more cool about it if we had come prepared.

line 4: In any case at some point we just went on to write . . or improvise (sometimes even invent!!)

line 5: and try to fill in our memory's gaps by thinking or looking around the pieces that we're missing (which for some meant quite literally 'looking around them' !!!)

line 6: No matter what, at the end of the hour we all had to hand in the papers and go ahead to check what we had done . .

(continued in the next post)

 

[rodaki]

Hexagram 24: Weekend! (schools stay closed and friends come and go to play)

line 1: 'Wouldn't it be awesome if the week was only two days and the weekend five miss!?' the little ones said to me the other day . .

line 2: 'Well, yeah, but then you'd spend much more time in the house instead of coming here where you can meet your friends easier', said I . .

line 3: Now, I knew this wasn't much of a reply for their agitated minds . . and sure enough there was a new wave of exclamations coming my way pretty soon . .

line 4: So I bid them to hurry up and finish their exercise so that we could have more time to play our game at the end of class!!

line 5: . . and so they did -this was last hour on a Friday and they'd rather spent more time playing rather than discussing days of the week! We even had time to give the 'best effort sticker'

line 6: (which btw I've decided not to give each time cause I realized it could completely sidetrack instead of inspire them!) And all that just before the bell rang and they all dashed madly out to catch their bus back to their homes and their well-earned, two-days weekend . .

___________​

Hexagram 25: Playing in the Schoolyard

line 1: Which usually ends up meaning playing in the dirt (!)

line 2: It is what happens when kids go out in the yard to play (without a care in the world about their shoes and clothes or their mothers nagging when they get home all muddied up!)

line 3: of course, kids are not obliged to know such things as tying their shoelaces perfectly or washing their clothes
(besides, it's always another kid's fault if they end up in mud! and I mean ALWAYS, lol)

line 4: but anyways, playing in the dirt is an essential part of being a kid (blaming others for it isn't though . .)

line 5: that's why we are usually lenient with them when they show up in class all bundles of joy and muddy clothes . .

line 6: . . but anyways admonish them for not being careful and still keep a close eye on them during recess . . especially if we keep on seeing the youngest or smaller ones being chased to the ground -playing in the dirt is quite different to playing dirty . .

___________​

Hexagram 26: Grill-fest Day
(a national festival in Greece affiliated to the Carnival, similar to the French Mardi Gras. Unfortunately our student board in high school had not made any plans which meant we had a regular school day and a lot of grumpy students in our hands . . )

line 1: a wrong way to start the day: the adjoining high school had a long line of grills set up and was preparing for a day of no-classes (hmmm). After a short while the whole place was smelling of coal and soon afterwards the smells got 'worse' (grmph). That looked like it was going to be a day spent trying to hold back our students from cutting class to join the festivities . .

line 2: As it happened it was my day supervising the hallway that joins the two schools so I grabbed my coffee and positioned myself there, stopping the usual suspects right on their tracks (humor helped a lot in that one, heh)

line 3: No, no, no, there was no giving up on the deserters' side, but luckily some kids from the next door school also came along to help by keeping an eye out too

line 4: Together we did a pretty good job I think (of course none of this would have happened if things had been planned ahead to begin with . . )

line 5: But it really cooled down around 5th hour when a heavy rain had everyone in the shades and our principal gave the kids permission to join their next door friends . .

line 6: At the end of the day we all went on to join the grillfest . . a nice finishing touch to a demanding day.


(27 and 28 coming along in the couple of following days! )

 

[bamboo]

rodaki, you get an A for handing in your late papers:bows:

 

[rodaki]

thanks!!

 

[charly]

I need more time to read all the jewels.

Meanwhile I have this take on H.28

大過
da4 guo4(1)

Great EXCEPTION Great
Now Without Paying Membership!
Affordable Fees.

Members' Conscription
for the Little Change Diviners' Club

Don't wait till the breaking point.
Opportunity will not last forever.

The lake goes over the trees.
Don't wait too much, life is short, take a smart decision.

If you don't have where to go, come to the Club.

Don't think about it too much, but...
BEWARE! 大過 da4 guo4
could also be translated as BIG MISTAKE!

Don't commit the error of your life.

​

(TO BE CONTINUED)

Yours,

Charly


________________
(1) 過 guo4 speaks of exceptional things or times
Ch.

 

[rosada]

Merit Badge 28. Jump Off The High Dive.

Climb up the old diving board
And jump off!
Hurray!

It takes a man of courage to stand up there alone,
Unconcerned,
And just do it!

28.1
Check to be sure the pool is full,
Maybe spread a few pillows around the edges?
No problem.

28.2
A little practice,
A little enthusiasm,
Perfecto.

28.3
Don't weigh yourself down with a life preserver.
Ditch the snorkel equipment too.
(This may not be such a good idea after all...)

28.4
You say some kid taught you how to do a swan dive? Lucky you.
(I hope you're not trying to make the rest of us look bad!)

28.5
So come on already.
(Make us wait and it's not nearly so impressive.)

28.6
A triple half gainer!
Awesome!
An inspiration to us all!
(Too bad you hit your head on the bottom of the pool...)

-rosada

 

[rodaki]

I was thinking of 27 as when I ask my students to read out loud what they have written (it seemed especially to fit with 27.1 because most of them feel uncomfortable reading aloud in English, it not being their mother tongue and all but yesterday I went to watch 'The King's Speech'. It is about king George V's second son that stuttered and how he overcame it, and again it made me think of hexagram 27 . .
The movie ends with him delivering a moving speech and when he finishes, his coach comments on how he stuttered a bit on the 'w's to which he replies, very seriously:

-Well, I had to stutter a bit, or else how would they know it was me!'

I thought 'what a great 27.6'! I loved the whole film too, it was really great to watch . .

have to run to work!!