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I- Ching anyone ?


duanja
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I spent many years pondering and trying to understand 'I-Ching' (Book of Changes). I bought several different versions of the book because they are all translations (many from missionaries in China at the time) and so the meanings tended to be different and not quite accurate, compared to the original texts.

I found in the end that (in my view) it is one of the most profound books the Chinese ever developed. It started my thirst for studying Chinese philosophy.

Be careful though, that you dont get caught up in the 'prophesising' aspect of the book (as it was originally used to tell the future by laymen). There is a much greater (also in my personal view) snap-shot of how the Chinese viewed the world around them and tried so hard to understand the whole concept of 'change' and how to deal with it in daily life. It is a wonderful and rich insight into how Yin and Yang actually work.

Somehow, wouldn't it be great if there was a compulsory subject at school called 'Change'. It is something that all of us have to deal with every minute of every day, but we are so useless at understanding and dealing with it, most of the time.

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Peemarc.... thank you for your input naja.

So you do not take I-CHING as a fortune-telling method, right?

But can you do I-CHING prophecy ja?

fortune telling, future telling, divining, prophesy is all much the same.

You should read a wonderful book called "The Fortune Teller Told Me".

I think its all bullshit really. But, sometimes it does make you think about your life in different ways and about what you may or may not do. But that all.

In China many things like I-Ching were developed, as was the whole theory of Feng Shui, for example. For everyday laymen and common folk, who could not grasp the higher or deeper meanings of these things, they looks for simple rules and answers to follow, so they didnt have to think too much.

Fortune telling, is a bit like religion. It enables people to stop thinking and put the responsibility for their decisions and actions onto something else. then they have God (for example), or the fortune teller to blame if something goes differently.

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