I-ching - Philosophy and Practice
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Oracle of Changes
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I-ching and the Philosophy of Changes
The philosophy of I-ching is focused on the idea of change. Change is eternal - both for the cosmical and the human world - and therefore it is necessary to know in due
time how to adapt to it. We can see here the oracular function of I-ching, namely that of connecting our activity to the temporary conditions and to correct those tendencies that couldn't be successful in a given social or
cosmical context.
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On the other hand, there are some key themes of I-ching philosophy, which we also find in the Taoist philosophy.
For example, the idea that any movement should be produced on the line of minimum resistance. What's the minimum resistance? The image of a brook flowing down the valley, without any efforts, is eloquent.
Not only that you should not subdue things by force to your will, but you should know to use the circumstances in order to fulfill your purpose. Chinese people have a saying that banters somebody's cleverness: you lead him to the station and he takes the train. So to say, what big deal to take the train when you're at the station, anybody
could do that, it's a matter of course? The philosophy of naturalness could draw its inspiration from this saying without any care for its sarcasm. Indeed, the Chinese
philosophy that sets a high value on pragmatism, could express maxims as: when you're hungry, eat; when you're thirsty, drink and when you're sleepy, sleep. The odd part of this matter is that
this simplicity of vision seems to be the very mark of a liberated spirit, who achieved Satori (the illumination in Zen Buddhism). *** The philosophy of naturalness in I-ching
leads to suggestions and indications that always take into consideration the situation. Let's take for instance, hexagram
There were many circumstances when we felt as we were caught between Scylla and Carybdis, and we didn't know what to do. The Oracle tells us textually: in such a situation when we are
confronted to obstacles we cannot overcome directly. In this case, wisdom tells us to stop and to withdraw. This is an advice we could all think about: when you can do nothing there is nothing else to do than... not to do! We could ask ourselves with good reason full justification: "What's new about this?" "Nothing", is the Oracle's answer. Here is an example of natural wisdom (philosophy), which, because is
"natural", it is a matter of course! I-ching philosophy results from a natural wisdom connected to the real events of life. It is not a speculative philosophy such as the
one elaborated in the Western philosophical systems: a philosophy for its own sake, without any echo into reality. This aspect misled Hegel who, in his "History of Philosophy", thought to find in the
classical Chinese philosophy a fragment of dialectics in a primitive stage! Bibliography:
There are, of course, some exceptions to the line of minimum resistance
: when you are in the service of a prince, and you have to rush boldly into the face of the difficulties or when you serve a noble cause, which is above the personal interests.
39, Obstruction, which describes the following conjuncture: a dangerous abyss in front of us, an inaccessible mountain behind us. You could neither move forward nor backward, we would say.
> I-ching, translation by Richard Wilhelm.
> "Zen Buddhism and Psychoanalysis", Harper and Row, New
York.
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