The Philosophy of the I Ching

About this book

Chapter 1. This book presents the cosmological background of the I Ching and its many concepts. It describes the Tao the binary system of numbers that forms the 64 hexagrams of the I Ching the Sage who speaks through it the I Ching view of existence and the hidden Cosmic order that underlies all apparent chaos. Thus rather than: In the beginning there was chaos one sees that In the beginning there was order. Chapter 2 describes what in the I Ching is called the superior man or noble Self as the unconditioned true self; the inferior man is seen as the socially constructed self-image or ego. The superiors or helpers described by the I Ching are revealed as inherent character-traits such as natural modesty natural kindness and the capacity for patience and perseverance. The inferiors are discussed as aspects of the bodily self that speak as when they say I am hungry I am tired. Also discussed are the many references in the I Ching text to cultivating the true self and that imply self-development to be necessary if we are to learn how to harmonize ourselves with the way the Cosmos works.// Chapters 3 and 4 discuss the anonymous wise Sage who speaks through the I Ching and the attitudes that are important on the part of the I Ching student if he is to gain the Sages help.// Chapters 5 6 and 7 describe the process of self-cultivation undertaken when we accept the Sage as our teacher. It describes how the Sage teaches us mostly in real-life learning situations so that what is perceived in the head is transmitted to the heart as wisdom. It also describes many important I Ching principles such as coming-to-meet-halfway and working through the power of Inner Truth.// Chapters 8 and 9 describe the more technical aspects of the I Ching within the context of its historical development: the development of the lines trigrams and hexagrams. It also describes its traditional methods of use but gives an entirely new method discovered by the author that enables the student to understand its messages very precisely.