Llamada de Emergencias

Recently the ancient Chinese I Ching, or Book of

Changes, has won a surge of interest in the West as

thousands turn to its pages, to seek its enigmatic counsel, via the spinning of three coins.

How can the spinning of coins designate the precise passage in a book applicable to a question asked millen­ niums after the book was written? In his introduction to the Richard Wilhelm translation,* the venerable psychia­ trist C. G. Jung prevails quite convincingly upon the reader to put aside the conventional causal point of view (that D happened because C happened, which in turn happened because B happened and A happened), and, in­ stead, to think in terms of what he calls a synchronicity (A, B, C and D are all events in the same momentary situation of the physical and psychic realms). He himself questions the 1 Ching about his writing the introduction and gets an amazingly “perceptive” reply.

If you can approach the I Ching with an open mind, tonight can provide some unexplainable evidence of the wisdom of the ancient Chinese. Answers are invariably “on target,” pertinent to the question, to the subject and to our times.

The living meaning of the oracle’s words lies as much in our unconscious mind (one of the attributes of the psychic realm) as it does in their literal translation. Because understanding the hidden symbolism is a key to extracting that meaning.

One must also understand the Chinese approach to eval­ uating a moment in time. The logic and judgment of the Western mind, as it sifts and evaluates, is by-passed by the

*Published for Bollingen Foundation, Inc., by Pantheon Books, New York. 1950.

Chinese in favor of a total picture at the moment of observation, down to the most nonsensical of details—in­ cluding the way the subject has caused three coins to fall.

One can accept this total picture concept more readily when it is seen in action—maybe not unerringly for even doctors, lawyers and scientists can be wrong, but certainly convincingly. It is not a concept exclusive to the use of the / Ching. It manifests itself, too, when a wine taster sips to identify a vineyard and vintage, when a psychometrist tells of an object’s past, when an astrologist without know­ ing your date of birth tells you what it is, or when a man with a forked stick tells the U.S. Army in South Viet Nam or a New England farmer where an underground water supply exists.

The I Ching has been an object of study and guidance for Chinese scholars and statesmen for three thousand years. The two main Chinese philosophies—Confucianism and Taoism—took inspiration from it. Even today, where political bars do not interfere, the I Ching is a common companion of Chinese people who seek counsel to help them cope with the perplexities of life.

For some, the perplexities of the I Ching may be just as frustrating as life, especially when attempts are made to understand the origin and meaning of its symbology—the hexagrams in particular. However, the I Ching is not meant to be a tool of scholars alone; the book may be used directly by an individual for guidance on a particular prob­ lem, and that guidance may be obtained from a few passages selected by the toss of three coins. Instructions are contained in the procedure below.

As Jung says: to some the / Ching and how it works may appear as clear as day; to others it may appear “shadowy as twilight” or “dark as night.” Those here this evening who are tied irrevocably to the concept of the flow of time, and cannot accept the fact that time may be an illusion just as matter is an illusion of the senses, are free to observe. Others, who feel free to seek to discern the / Ching’s meaning, should now prepare for a discovery.

Procedure

Step 1 The leader reads the above introduction and asks

for a volunteer who wishes to pose a personal question which he or she is willing to share with the group. As in the case of the pendulum, the question should not be made up of a number of parts, but should be kept as

simple as possible. However, the question need not require merely a yes or no answer.

Step 2 When the question is framed and stated, the

questioner throws three coins six times. Each time a record is kept of the heads and tails. Trigrams are constructed: the table supplied with the book explains how this is done and indicates a “judgment” in the book which should then be consulted. This “judgment” should be read together with the further elaboration offered in the “image” and the line. If further instructions are needed, see below, after Step 4. The questioner responds to the reading by telling the group what the passage means to him as regards the problem. The group comments on any other ideas that they may have gleaned from the passage.

Step 3 The procedure is repeated by other participants

who wish to volunteer.

Step 4 Refreshments and discussion. The group then can,

with respect and seriousness of purpose, direct a group question at the I Ching such as: Should the group continue? Or: What is the next step for the group to take—Part III or Part IV (Sensory or Metaphysical awareness)? Or: What level are we at? The procedure might be for six

interested persons at random in the group to make the

tosses of the coins.