MARCIEGAMBETTA
Marcie Gambetta
English 231
I Ching
Hexagrams 35-48
Reading Journal 10
10/1/14
FIRST THOUGHTS
My first thoughts about reading the next section of hexagrams were a little more hopeful. We are halfway through the reading, at the top of the hill. Scanning through the next section looks like more of the same. I am curious to see if the thoughts get any more complex or profound.
QUOTES
From Hexagram 37 - “From the beginning each child must be accustomed to firmly established rules of order, before ever its will is directed to other things. If we begin too late to enforce order, when the will of the child has already been overindulged, the whims and passions, grown stronger with the years, offer resistance and give cause for remorse. If we insist on order from the outset, occasions for remorse may arise-in general social life these are unavoidable-but the remorse always disappears again, and everything rights itself. For there is nothing easily avoided and more difficult to carry through than "breaking a child's will."
I liked this quote because I do agree with it, but I did think it was a little obvious. If you nip things in the bud with children, correcting them when they are young you will save yourself so much trouble later on. Teach a child proper behavior when young and they will think proper behavior is normal. They will know right from wrong and you will save yourself heartache. If you wait until the child has established bad habits and then try to teach him when he is older, not only will he less flexible, he will think you are punishing him and it will make the learning of good behavior harder for him. I have seen this in my life. We had this philosophy with our children and for the most part they are very well behaved high achievers and we get compliments all the time. For example, when they get home, homework is done before anything else. This has been the rule since day one and they do not question it, homework first. My brother in law whose children are the same age, on the other hand did not have this philosophy and used to give us grief. Once they were older, his children were getting bad grades and not doing their school work. He tried to start implementing strictness with school work with them when they were in middle school and was met with obstinacy and problems. They did not want to have structure and discipline when they hadn't had it before. He actually, apologized to us for ever giving us a hard time and regretted that he was weak when they were young and did not establish good habits in them when they were more pliable. This reminds me of the saying "Spare the rod, spoil the child."
From Hexagram 40 - "A thunderstorm has the effect of clearing the air; the superior man produces a similar effect when dealing with mistakes and sins of men that induce a condition of tension. Through clarity he brings deliverance. However, when failings come to light, he does not dwell on them; he simply passes over mistakes, the unintentional transgressions, just as thunder dies away. He forgives misdeeds, the intentional transgressions, just as water washes everything clean."
This quote reminds me of the biblical teaching from Matthew 18, the Parable of the Unforgiving Servant. When you hold on to anger or the missteps of other people you are really only causing yourself stress. The people that have wronged you don't sit there and dwell on how they have bothered you, they move on and live their life. While you, if you hold on to it, do not live to the fullest of your potential because you are always focusing on the negative, reminding yourself of what they did to you, and only causing tension in your life. It is better to forgive, clear the air and move on not only for the person that caused the offense, intentionally or not, but for you too.
QUESTIONS
How are coins used in conjunction with the I Ching?
Coins are used in substitution for yarrow stalks and have become the more popular way of obtaining a reading from the I Ching. Three identical coins are used and tossed. The arrangement of heads and tails will have a number value. The number value is identified and correlated to which type of line will go with it. Then, this is repeated 5 more times to get the primary hexagram.
Who is said to have started I Ching?
Fu Hsi (or Fu Xi) is a mythical hero in Chinese legend and is credited with starting the I Ching. According to tradition, there was a flood that wiped out every person except Fu Hsi and his sister Nuwa. After the flood they went to the top of the Kunlun Mountain, where they prayed for a sign from God. God answered and blessed their union. Together they worked on repopulation and to speed up the process they created people out of clay, the power from God made the clay people come to life. Fu Hsi taught his people many things, including how to fish and cook, he instituted marriage and offered the first open air sacrifices to heaven. He is said to have learned about the I Ching from the He Map. The arrangement of the trigrams was given to him off of the back of a dragon horse that rose from the Luo River. That discovery was said to have been the origin of calligraphy.
VOCABULARY
Kou:
Definition: Coming to meet
Sentence: Kou can be used to say people are coming to meet each other, but it could also be used to express compromise.
Sheng:
Definition: to push up; to rise up in a timely manner
Sentence: Luke embodies the essence of Sheng, he worked hard and waited until the time was right to rise up as a leader.
SUMMARY/RESPONSE
Today, I was looking forward to the reading, in that, we are at the halfway point and soon will be done. I felt this group of hexagrams dealt with many things including; Political structure, good vs evil, family, and service to fellow man. The "wisdom" still seemed like common sense to me, but nowadays, common sense isn't that common. I also, felt like the proclamations were open ended, allowing the person to arrive at their own conclusion and also dependent upon the actions of the person.
Hexagram 47 was an example of common sense teaching. If you are broken, you will not have success. It was also an example of self-fulfilling prophecy. If you are cheerful despite danger and adversity you will have success but, if you allow yourself to be broken, then no success for you. If you are the right man or are great, well then, you will have good fortune and remain blameless.
"Times of adversity are the reverse of times of success, but they can lead to success if they; befall the right man. When a strong man meets with adversity, he remains cheerful despite all danger, and this cheerfulness is the source of later successes; it is that stability which is stronger than fate. He who lets his spirit be broken by exhaustion certainly has no success. But if adversity only bends a man, it creates in him a power to react that is bound in time to manifest itself. No inferior man is capable of this. Only the great man brings about goo[d] fortune and remains blameless."
Hexagram 37, "If the father is really a father and the son a son, if the elder brother fulfills his position, and the younger fulfills his, if the husband is really a husband and the wife a wife, then the family is in order." could also relate to biblical teachings of the proper ways for families to act. If everyone knows their roles and respects them the family unit will have harmony. If there is not proper respect for roles then there is discord and a breakdown of the family. Notice, it doesn't say the Father IS the Father no matter what...then the family is in order, it says IF the Father IS REALLY a Father...then the family is in order. For the family to be in order each family member must be respectful of their roles. A father isn't a father if he is abusive or isn't a proper role model, he is a father if he acts like it.
There were several literary themes that stood out to me this time. One was “Man Struggles Against Societal Pressure”. This is illustrated well in Hexagram 41 "It is unselfish and good when a man, after completing his own urgent tasks, uses his strength in the service of others, and without bragging or making much of it, helps quickly where help is needed. But the man in a superior position who is thus aided must weigh carefully how much he can accept without doing the helpful servant or friend real harm. Only where such delicacy of feeling exists can one give oneself unconditionally and without hesitation." This is telling you despite what society thinks you should help out others and not brag about it. This is similar to the biblical quote from Matthew 6:3-4 "But when you give to the poor, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your giving will be in secret; and your Father who sees what is done in secret will reward you". It is also warning you to not give in to society and help too much. If you help them too much then the may not acquire the skills they need to fend for themselves. "Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day; teach a man to fish and you feed him for a life time."
Another theme that stood out was "Good vs Evil". In Hexagram 36, "Here the Lord of Light is in a subordinate place and is wounded by the Lord of Darkness." as with others throughout this section you can see this theme. Light, which is good has temporarily been overcome by the Lord of Darkness, which is evil. Hexagram 43 is another lesson regarding this theme, "Passion and reason cannot exist side by side-therefore fight without quarter is necessary if the good is to prevail. In a resolute struggle of the good against evil, there are, however, definite rules that must not be disregarded, if it is to succeed. First, resolution must be based on a union of strength and friendliness. Second, a compromise with evil is not possible; evil must under all circumstances be openly discredited. Nor must our own passions and shortcomings be glossed over. Third, the struggle must not be carried on directly by force. If evil is branded, it thinks of weapons, and if we do it the favor of fighting against it blow for blow, we lose in the end because thus we ourselves get entangled in hatred and passion. Therefore it is important to begin at home, to be on guard in our own persons against the faults we have branded. In this way, finding no opponent, the sharp edges of the weapons of evil becomes dulled. For the same reasons we should not combat our own faults directly. As long as we wrestle with them, they continue victorious. Finally, the best way to fight evil is to make energetic progress in the good." Good cannot abide evil, and evil cannot abide good. Evil will always try to corrupt the good. The last part of Hexagram 43 reminds me of the bible verses from Proverbs 25:21-22 "If your enemy is hungry, give him food to eat; And if he is thirsty, give him water to drink; For you will heap burning coals on his head, And the LORD will reward you." These both point out that you should not fight evil by stooping to that level and fighting back with evil, but rather you will be more successful combatting evil with good.
The last one I will discuss, even though I saw a lot more, is "Overcoming Adversity". Clearly demonstrated in Hexagram 39 "Here an individual is confronted by obstacles that cannot be overcome directly. In such a situation it is wise to pause in view of the danger and to retreat. However, this is merely a preparation for overcoming the obstructions. One must join forces with friends of like mind and put himself under the leadership of a man equal to the situation: then one will succeed in removing the obstacles. This requires the will to persevere just when one apparently must do something that leads away from his goal. This unswerving inner purpose brings good fortune in the end. An obstruction that lasts only for a time is useful for self-development. This is the value of adversity." This quote is explaining that, it is important to overcome adversity because you can learn valuable lessons. I liked where it pointed out the prudence of pausing in order to prepare. I thought this was excellent advice for some, who are a little more reckless and jump into problems without knowing the full extent of the problem or background information.
I used the Formalism form of Literary Analysis to analyze this text. This text is ancient and yet people apply it to their lives today. I thought it would be important to view it through this lens. Even though the symbolism is ancient Chinese, the ideas can stand on their own in any time and you do not need the time frame to understand the ideas presented. The entire text must work together for the diviner to make his prediction.
WORKS CITED
Dictionary. Dictionary.com LLC 2014. Retrieved 9/27/14, from http://dictionary.reference.com/
I Ching, translated by Richard Willhelm. Retrieved 9/27/14, from
http://www2.unipr.it/~deyoung/I_Ching_Wilhelm_Translation.html#1
The Bible. New International Version
Unveiling the Mystery of the I Ching. Retrieved 9/27/14, from http://www.iching123.com/1_text.htm
Crystal Spirits I Ching. Retrieved 9/30/14 from, http://www.crystalspirits.biz/CrystalSpiritsInfosite/divination/iching.htm
Online Clarity How to Consult the I Ching. Retrieved 10/1/14, from
http://www.onlineclarity.co.uk/learn/consult/casting.php
Photo Credit:
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f8/I-Ching-chinese-book.jpg