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Partly about hexagram two, and also as a new thread on I Ching and Tai Chi

gene

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Hello

I have not written on the relationship of the I Ching with Tai Chi for a while, and here I will start a new thread on the same subject, but with some things to say about hexagram two as well.

Hexagram two is the hexagram that well describes yin energy. We would do well to study hexagrams one and two together as a unit in order to enhance our understanding of yin and yang energy. Because without yin there can be no yang and without yang there can be no yin. The trick is to see how they work together and how together they form an integrated whole. Yin and Yang can complement each other or they can conflict with each other. They do one or the other. When there is conflict it is because the nature of their integration is not yet completely understood.

Tai Chi is built upon softness, but softness, when it becomes totally soft, also becomes totally hard. That is because when yin reaches its ultimate yinness it translates into yang. This is also true for yang. The essence of Tai Chi is based upon Eastern Philosophy, which some would call religion. I do not call it such because of the deep implications of it and because it is based upon natural law, which the ancients understood and we do not.

But hexagram two describes yin in ways deeper than we can understand within the context of the English language. Yin is pure receptiveness. But when we are talking about reception on an esoteric level such as this, what is it that we are receptive to. We are receptive to the yang of heaven. Therefore, the Tai Chi practitioner must totally, totally, give up him or her self and surrender to the higher power. This is true not just in martial arts, but in life as a whole. Every religion, every ancient philosophy encourages this, total surrender. The Christians have the song, "I surrender all" which is so meaningful to them. Unfortunately, while many honestly try to be this way, they really do not totally understand what it means. Even today's martial artists, often do not understand what it means. In the West, our martial arts are based on hitting hard, being very aggressive, by using muscular force and engage in power techniques. This works, up to a point. And in the west we have no way of seeing how it does not work, because we have no idea what it means to "surrender." And yet, that is exactly what yin energy wants us to do, is surrender. This goes against everything that seems natural to us. It does not make sense.

But lets take a look of what happens when we surrender. First, the judgment in hexagram two says, "If the superior man undertakes something and tries to lead, he goes astray. But if he follows, he finds guidance." When I do push hands in Tai Chi, as best as I can at my level of expertise, I intend to use this same principle. If my opponent pushes, I yield and neutralize the force, If he or she recognizes what I am doing, and pulls back, I follow. If they continue trying to push I simply allow it, and move out of the way. I never use force against force. I completely "surrender" to the will of my opponent and allow that person to do whatever they want to do. When they push I yield, when they pull back I follow, but never with hardness, only totally softness, so that they do not feel my intentions or understand my attack. And yet I understand theirs, because I can sense their intentions when I am soft.

As far as my level in Tai Chi, it is better than many who have had much more class time than I have, and yet it does not even come close to the level of a master. I rarely practice push hands anymore, I just practice the form. That gives me a great disadvantage in some ways, but an advantage in others. Push hands requires a partner, and if one is not careful, no matter how good they are, that can lead to difficulties. Yet to understand the form completely, a partner is required.

Hexagram two surrenders to the power of heaven. Hexagram two is not inferior to hexagram one, which is heaven and it is unrestrained power. But neither is it superior. Together they complement each other, and together they form a comprehensive whole which is greater than the some of its parts. "Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard," Because it requires a greater understanding than can be accomplished with words.
 

wild bergamot

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Gene, I liked what you wrote about push-hands, softness and receptivity. I studied qigong with a tai chi teacher. I did push hands a few times. He was all about softness. Long, round, soft, and smooth. In push hands it was all about following. My teacher had some good stories about following.

He also called the Yi a map of the world. I never did study the Yijing with him. I have had regrets about this.

Clearly Hexagram 2 is a reflection of the yin aspect of the inner martial arts. Perhaps there are deeper connections between the Yi and tai chi? I wonder if you can tell us more. I'd be interested.
 

gene

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Thanks wild.

I am doing this because I think it was Hilary a long time ago asked me to compare the I Ching to Tai Chi. I did for a while, then didn't. I get involved in too many things and am too unfocused. If you have a really soft teacher I imagine he or she is better than me. I have met many of Chen Man Ching's students, and although he tried strongly to impress softness upon them few seemed to get it. I haven't had enough practice to be really good, but in the short amount of practice I have had I passed a lot of people up. I do understand the principles even if not always able to put them into practice.

I mentioned surrender regarding hexagram two. Another way of putting it is 'non resistance.' We are open to the flow, and do not resist what comes our way but just go with it. This is talked about in the I Ching and the Tao Teh Ching, in fact in most religious philosophies, but mostly people just give lip service to it, and do not really understand it. Beyond a certain point, I don't either. But I try, day after day after day, to increase my understanding a little more each day. Not just in martial arts but in all of life. In the martial arts we develop a root, and though we yield, we do so without loosing our balance. A paradox, because we should not have any root. At least not an immovable root, but we should have a movable root that keeps us from losing our balance. This is true in all of life. Not just in push hands. In push hands we can be lulled to sleep by someone who continually pushes slow, then suddenly pushes fast and we lose our balance, unless we have that 'movable' root. As a kid we always were asked, what happens when the irresistible force meets the unmovable object? A better question might be, "what happens when the irresistible force meets absolutely no resistance? Well, I hope to talk about this more as I move along.
 

gene

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Or a better spelling, should be Chen Man Cheng, or better, Zhen Mann Cheng.
 

peter2610

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Thanks Gene - very interesting thread.
Would it be accurate to describe any Tai Chi opponent as an unopened book which must be carefully read in order to understand its ‘root’ or ‘essence.” To do this could requires a sophisticated level of yin mastery which must be acquired slowly and carefully over a period of time. A “Master” might read his opponent’s essence extremely quickly and will sense the likely winning combination well before he actually uses it. I would imagine that a skilled opponent will seek to conceal his combinations, his strengths and weaknesses in order to make his”style” as confusing as possible.
 

gene

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Thanks Gene - very interesting thread.
Would it be accurate to describe any Tai Chi opponent as an unopened book which must be carefully read in order to understand its ‘root’ or ‘essence.” To do this could requires a sophisticated level of yin mastery which must be acquired slowly and carefully over a period of time. A “Master” might read his opponent’s essence extremely quickly and will sense the likely winning combination well before he actually uses it. I would imagine that a skilled opponent will seek to conceal his combinations, his strengths and weaknesses in order to make his”style” as confusing as possible.


Yes, that is pretty accurate. Softness conceals our intentions because we make no overt moves of our own unless a window is there. By being soft I partly mean no actions of an aggressive nature, the hands and arms are just there to sense the force of the other person. When they push they are hard, so that intention is picked up on immediately. This however, requires being adept at the art of stickiness and following, (hexagram two) We never lose contact with our opponent. And simply follow. Adhering and sticking are an art that takes a long time to develop.
 

uxmonkey

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Hi Everyone,

New to this community. I am starting to read the "I Ching" and have looked at the first hexagram, which is based on the trigrams for "Heaven" and "Father". I found it interesting, that these trigrams, 3 horizontal unbroken straight lines, correspond directly visually with the Chinese character for 3 (三). As the "I Ching" does relate very much to numerology, I have explored this further in my blog post, so please feel free to check it out and let me know what you think:

https://amdinvestor.wordpress.com/2017/01/01/on-the-i-ching/

All the Best,

Dan
 

gene

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Hi Everyone,

New to this community. I am starting to read the "I Ching" and have looked at the first hexagram, which is based on the trigrams for "Heaven" and "Father". I found it interesting, that these trigrams, 3 horizontal unbroken straight lines, correspond directly visually with the Chinese character for 3 (三). As the "I Ching" does relate very much to numerology, I have explored this further in my blog post, so please feel free to check it out and let me know what you think:

https://amdinvestor.wordpress.com/2017/01/01/on-the-i-ching/

All the Best,

Dan


Thanks Dan,

You have a nice website. It is in a nice format. You may or may not be interested in my blogspot, genesiching.blogspot.com If you are interested, I hope you like it.
 

gene

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There is a great deal I find of interest in hexagrams one and two, (well actually in all of them). Lao Tzu says there is no up without down, no in without out, and no good without evil. When I explain this to my Christian friends they bristle. That is because they do not understand that is the concept of good and evil, not just the doing. If you cannot define evil, how can you define good? So hexagrams one and two spell out the contrasts as much as they can in two six line hexagrams. In hexagram one line one, things have not yet started to stir. In hexagram two line one, things have just barely begun to decay. We consult the I Ching to see where we are on the sine wave. But if we listen to hexagram two line one, we learn that we need to be able to discern the signs before they have really begun to manifest. In terms of Tai chi, the master detects a persons energy and intention (both hexagrams line one) before the person even begins to move. He becomes extremely sensitive. In this way, we have to become extremely sensitive not only to the intentions of an opponent, but also of a partner or a very significant other. One thing however, that can really cripple a relationship is to use what we detect to criticize or react to it negatively. Even when things are showing early signs of going down hill there is the possibility of minimizing that energy if we are sensitive to it and know how to turn it to positive use.

Sun Tzu said that it is not enough to know that when leaves are falling or turning color that autumn is coming. We must be more sensitive to the signs at an earlier stage. This we can do when our mind is calm, at peace at rest. And hexagram two is the hexagram for rest. Hexagram one is movement. It is also the 'irresistible force,' to which yin energy totally yields to. In the process of yielding, the energy remains at rest, and is peaceful and calm. In this way a lady of understanding can totally overcome a man in a positive sense at least, when she is receptive, at peace, and calm. When we are calm we are also receptive. But men can do this too. There is nothing wrong with movement. The I Ching throughout the hexagrams posits movement and rest. The idea is that yin and yang have to work together. When they work together and do not combat each other they stabilize the entire universe, and the universe fades away and all that is left is a united soul and spirit. Matter is created by motion. yin receives that motion being receptive to it. Thus, at one and the same time, the dragon in line one hexagram one is still asleep in the ground, but ready to awaken, and the receptive recognizes the signs of the time, and allows contraction. How can one expand and contract at the same time? Well, it is ultimately a function of remaining still and integrating both energies, in a sense of calmness and peace. See hexagram fifty two for this idea as well. As Yoda said to Luke in Starwars, "No there is no why! You will know when your mind is calm, at peace." That is why Lao Tzu said that "without even looking out the window one can know the world." When that happens, the I Ching becomes something that exists inside ourselves, and we intuitively understand. When we realize that 'there is no why' we understand the I Ching within ourselves and that is our guidance.
 

gene

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I've talked a little bit about line one in the first two hexagrams, but just a little bit more before I go on. As I said, the first line in hexagram one shows the very beginnings of an upward trend while the first line of hexagram two shows the very beginnings of a downward trend. The key for us is to recognize the signs of the times at the earliest time possible.

The bully on the playground usually takes a wild punch at the other kid, but he is bigger and stronger, and takes advantage of that size. He will usually get away with it, in the moment at least because of his size and strength. If we gets older however, and attacks someone will skill and expertise he may find his punch going into nothingness and he himself falling down from his own momentum. That is because he violated a law expressed at the very beginning of the I Ching. He didn't wait for the right time. He just attacked without any sensitivity to the situation at all. Hexagram thirty four talks about this as well with the story of the goat who butts his head against the fence and gets his horns trapped in the fence. This can be due to an obstinate attitude. A good tai chi player must bide his or her time and wait for a window of opportunity. He or she must use a little wisdom and expertise. This is done by being sensitive to the demands of the time which the I Ching in so many places advises us to do. If the dragon is still hidden in the depths his power is not available to us.

But this doesn't just apply to tai chi or martial arts. It applies to life in general. We must be sensitive to the proper timing. If we just act in haste, as the I Ching so often says, "we will have cause for regret." Both of these first lines in the first two hexagrams talk about timing.

But there is something else here too. The first line of any hexagram if correct would be a yang line. Therefore even in the yin hexagram there is a hint of time and timing. In one case it might be best not to act at the time, in the case of hexagram two it might be, and don't quote me on this because it depends on the situation, best to act now before it is too late. But both these lines have an aspect of space as well. Not just timing. However, I would say that space is represented far more in the line in hexagram two as yin refers to space, yang to time. Therefore, since it is in a yang place, we have a condition of timing, "act now, before it is too late," but also a condition of space, as "hoarfrost is on the ground." Yang is time, yin is space.

And we cannot have one without the other. Therefore, the I Ching is telling us right here that the physical world, and time, as well know it is an illusion. For without space, since time is measured by how long it takes to move from one place to another, there can be no time, and since the distance between two objects is measured in relationship to how long it takes to get from one point to another, it becomes clear they are not independent of each other, but each causes the other two exist, and if you take one away, the other disappears as well.

More on this later.
 

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