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The Building Blocks of the I Ching
Frank O'Shea hermesweb@hotmail.com
C'hien ____ the creative strong heaven father ____ ____ K'un __ __ the receptive devoted earth mother __ __ yielding __ __ Chen __ __ the arousing inciting thunder first son __ __ movement ____ K'an __ __ the abysmal dangerous water second son _____ __ __ Ken _____ keeping still resting mountain third son __ __ __ __ Sun _____ the gentle penetrating wind, wood first _____ daughter __ __ Li _____ the clinging light, giving fire second __ __ daughter _____ Tui __ __ the joyous joyful lake third _____ daughter _____These trigrams came to represent inherent processes in nature that correspond with their character. They also represent a family. Wilhelm explains the association between qualities and members of the family as follows:
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'the sons represent the principle of movement in its various stages-beginning of movement,
danger in movement, rest and completion of movement. The daughters represent devotion in its various
stages - gentle penetration, clarity and adaptability, and joyous tranquillity.'
These eight trigrams are then combined with one another to form 8 by 8 = 64 hexagrams, the original 64k computer. By casting coins or Yarrow stalks, as a means of divination, it is suggested that the answer to any question may be obtained. This is a contentious issue with the I as many have used the I to get forecasts in order make money or ascertain whether to move residence and so on without appreciating that the answers of the text are obscure for these purposes. The mind of the writers did not have these issues as priorities and their culture, circumstances and civilisation were entirely different to ours. Legge bluntly states that all divination is a folly. In some respects it may even be disastrous. There has been some link drawn between mental illness and diving the text. The answers obtained may contradict normal rational decision making to the point of confusion and indecision. It is possible to carefully supplement our decisions with information from the text provided that it is possible to provide reasons for the information i.e. to be able to 'translate' the answers in a readily understandable way. On the whole, though, divination is best forgotten about and the text approached in a scholarly way, devoid of personal interest. Such an approach can help broaden our perspective with recourse to divination.
A more fruitful approach would be to see the text as a kind of philosophical mirror. The actual essays on various subjects may reflect the 'bent' of our own nature. Thus, if we belong to a family and are the first son (as I am) our lives may be characterised by movement. The essay on the first son (hexagram 51) gives the qualities of the first son as 'thunder, movement, perilous', a phonetic character and the advice is be fearful and apprehensive, cultivate virtue and examine our faults. If we feel that this is an accurate reflection of what we are then the advice may be good and appropriate. Alternatively the I may be seen as explaining what happens or has happened to us, often in a moral sense. If an action produces distress it may be possible to find a reason why it has produced this distress. For example line three of hexagram 3 states:
The third line, divided, shows one following the deer without the guidance of the forester, and only finding himself in the midst of the forest. The superior man, acquainted with the secret risks, thinks it better to give up the chase. If he went forward he would regret it.
This line could explain the failure of a particular enterprise on the grounds of insufficient knowledge of the terrain (issues). Another line reads:
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He is as a porter yet riding in a carriage. He only invites robbers to attack and injure him.
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The makers of the I may be said to have known the philosophy of robbery. Burden-baring is
the business of small men. A carriage is the vehicle of a gentleman. When a small man rides in the
vehicle of a gentleman, robbers will
think of taking it from him. When one is insolent to those above him and oppressive to
those below, robbers will wish to attack him. Careless laying up of things excites to robbery.
Line 6 of hexagram 42 reads:
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We see one to whose advantage none will contribute, while many will seek to assail him. He
observes no regular rule in the ordering of his heart.
Legge states on this line that it illustrates the repulsive power of selfishness and that those who attack him will come from beyond his immediate circle. He only serves to increase himself
Many of the lines of the I are like this, explaining why we fail and how intensely difficult REAL and SECURE life actually is. Mostly we are unaware of the issues that determine us or threaten us. The I can enlighten us to these issues, less through divination and more through a knowledge of the text itself.
Return to O'Shea's Reading of the I Ching