What the I-Ching Said

I asked the I-Ching if it had anything to say to Docudharma.

And I got a response.

The I-Ching is also called the Book of Changes, and the response I received had two changing lines.

I received Hexagram 61. Chung Fu/Inner Truth.

Here’s some of what the book says about Inner Truth (all quotes are from the Wilhelm/Baynes edition):

The wind blows over the lake and stirs the surface of the water.  Thus visible effects of the invisible manifest themselves.  The hexagram consists of firm lines aqbove and below, while it is open in the center.  This indicates a heart free of prejudices and therefore open to truth.  On the other hand, each of the two trigrams has a firm line in the middle; this indicates the force of inner truth in the influences they represent.

…

Joyousness and gentleness are the attributes of the two primary trigrams.  Tui means joyousness in following the good, and Sun means penetration into the hearts of men.  Thus one establishes the foundation of trust that is necessary in transforming a country.

What are hexagrams?  In my cases, I toss 3 Chinese coins 6 times and then draw six lines, one on top of the other.  Each toss has a numerical value depending on how they land, sort of a heads/tails kind of thing.  If you get an odd number you draw a straight (yang) line.  An even number, you draw a broken (yin) line.  In certain cases, the numerical value produces what is called a “changing” line.  When that happens, the line turns into its opposite and a new hexagram comes forth.

There were two “changing” lines in the hexagram about Docudharma, which means there were specific special messages in this reading.

The changing lines were as follows (please note the use of the word “men” comes from the fact this book was written long ago under a patriarchial society):

Nine in the second place means:

A crane calling in the shade.

Its young answers it.

I have a good goblet.

I will share it with you.

This refers to the involuntary influence of a man’s inner being upon persons of kindred spirit.  The crane need not show itseslf on a high hill.  It may be quite hidden when it sounds its call; yet its young will hear its note, will recognize it and give answer.  Where there is a joyous mood, there a comrade will appear to share a glass of wine.

This is the echo awakened in men through spiritual attraction.  Whenever a feeling is voiced with truth and frankness, whenever a deed is the clear expression of sentiment, a mysterious and far-reaching influence is exerted.  At first it acts on those who are inwardly receptive.  But the circle grows larger and larger.  The root of all influence lies in one’s own inner being: given true and vigorous expression in word and deed, the effect is great.  The effect is but the reflection of something that emanates from oen’s own heart.

Now that’s a pretty nice compliment from the I-Ching to Docudharma, I’d say.  Influence, sincerity, all that.  The whole hexagram, and this line in particular, brings strongly to mind the “ripple effect” edger displays in his great DD banner.

But there was another changing line which carried a more ambiguous note:

Six in the third place means:

He finds a comrade.

Now he beats the drum, now he stops.

No he sobs, now he sings.

Here the source of a man’s strength lies not in himself but in  his relation to other people.  No matter how close to them  he may be, if his center of gravity depends on them, he is inevitably tossed to and fro between joy and sorrow. Rejoicing to high heaven, then sad unto death — this is the fate of those who depend upon an inner accord with other persons whom they love.  Here we have only the statement of the law that this is so.  Whether this condition is felt to be an affliction or the supreme happiness of love, is left to the subjective verdict of the person concerned.

But wait!  There’s more!

Because of the two changing lines, a new hexagram appears:

37.  Chia Jen/The Family

This hexagram represents the laws obtaining within the family.  … The family shows the laws operative in the household that, transferred to outside life, keep the state and the world in order.  The influence that goes out from within the family is represented by the symbol of the wind created by fire.

I was intrigued by what the I-Ching had to say.  Seems to me Docudharma is indeed an influence in the larger world, that at our best we hold with each other in sincerity, that sometimes we fall in love with the place and get a bit imbalanced about it, as with anything one loves, but that what we are creating here is something that, like family, has a wider and larger impact on the world.

I would like to thank the I-Ching for responding to me, as I consider this book a living force.  Of course, my interpretation is only my own and I claim no great mastery, so that’s very open to discussion.