I Ching 2022 - E-book - ePub

I Ching 2022 is a significant revision of my previous translation of the I Ching, which was entitled I Ching 2015. My goal in producing this translation is simple: What I would like to do is extend the influence and reach of the I Ching because it could be of great help to the individuals who live in this world. But to do this, it is imperative that we have a translation that is accurate, powerful, and crystal clear. I Ching 2022 also contains detailed instructions on how to cast an omen using either yarrow stalks or coins.
For those who have been using coins, one should be aware that a significant error, which will affect the accuracy of the omens you receive, has crept into the method that many people use to cast an omen. Additionally, I Ching 2022 contains extensive advice on how to interpret an omen. By using the logical method I recommend, you will be surprised at how much easier it is to interpret omens. To illustrate this method, I extensively analyze twenty-five omens that arose out of sample questions that I posed to the I Ching.
From my conversations with others and listening to their interpretations of omens that they have received, I have observed a strong tendency for people to be either overly optimistic, overly pessimistic, or overly fanciful about these omens. Completely lacking is a coherent system of interpretation that could be applied to any omen and would significantly reduce spur-of-the-moment interpretations that are based on fear, wish fulfillment, or fantasy. Now seventy-six, I began using the I Ching when I was twenty-one; in those fifty-five years, I have consulted the I Ching, on average, at least five to six times a day, which means that I've received over 100, 000 omens.
I think you will be very surprised at the amount and type of knowledge that a person picks up when he or she experiences something a hundred thousand times. The text of the I Ching is sometimes rather obscure, and while most translators have some practical experience with the I Ching, their translations are based more on the nuances of Chinese characters than the actual knowledge that comes from having received many hexagrams well over a thousand times.
Homeless during the 1970's, I have led a tempestuous life during which I encountered many dangerous situations and interesting opportunities. And as I faced literally life-changing decisions, the I Ching, which I had long since committed to memory, was always there beside me and has led me to where I am today. The I Ching is, in a sense, an ancient, practical encyclopedia that contains a complete vision of how a person can live in this world.
Basically, the I Ching looks through your eyes, perceives the world around you, and focuses on the problems that you are encountering. One would think that a book that was created thousands of years ago would contain, at best, a rather simplistic philosophy of life that is no longer relevant to a person living in today's world. Instead, one encounters a symbolic world filled with vivid poetic images, a fantastic panorama where you are guided to the precise image that suits your situation and are then pointed in the right direction. When you consult the I Ching and ask for advice, try to view it as a bizarre spiritual friend who just happens to be amazingly intuitive.
And the omens that you receive, some of which are really ESP events, are all about the phenomenal insights and perceptions of your bizarre friend. You can't see this friend, but you know this friend is there, and if his/her advice and perceptions weren't so astute and accurate, you would have dropped this friend from your life a long time ago. But nowadays, just like always, good advice is hard to find, so that's why you've kept this friend around.
And when times are rough and all hope seems lost, this is the friend that can and will save you.