Although this procedure is well within the premises ofTaoist philosophy, it appears exceedingly odd to usHowever, not even the strangeness of insane delusions or ofprimitive superstition has ever shocked me. I have alwaystried to remain unbiased and curious rerum novarumcupidus. Why not venture a dialogue with an ancient bookthat purports to be animated? There can be no harm in it,and the reader may watch a psychological procedure thathas been carried out time and again throughout the millenniaf Chinese civilization, representing to a Confucius or aLao-tse both a supreme expression of spiritual authority anda philosophical enigma. I made use of the coin method, andthe answer obtained was hexagram 50, Ting, THECALDRONIn accordance with the way my question was phrased, thetext of the hexagram must be regarded as though the I Chingitself were the speaking person. Thus it describes itself as acaldron, that is, as a ritual vessel containing cooked foodHere the food is to be understood as spiritual nourishmentWilhelm says about thishe ting, as a utensil pertaining to a refinedcivilization, suggestsfosteringnourishing of able men, which redounded to thebenefit of the state,,, Here we see civilizationas it reaches its culmination in religion. The tingserves in offering sacrifice to God.Thesupreme revelation of God -yem is trs in prophetsnd holy men. To venerate thueveneration of God. The will of god. as revealedthrough them should he accepted in humility
Ching is here testifying concerning itell conclude that the IKeeping to our hypothesis, we mustWhen any of the lines of a given hexagram have thevalue of six or nine, it means that they are speciallyemphasized and hence important in the interpretation. Inmy hexagram the spiritual agencies" have given theemphasis of a nine to the lines in the second and in the thirdplace. The text says:Nine in the second place meansThere is food in the tingMy comrades are envious,But they cannot harm meGood fortuneThus the I Ching says of itself: "I contain(spiritual)nourishment. Since a share in something great alwaysarouses envy, the chorus of the envious is part of thepicture. The envious want to rob the I Ching of its greatpossession, that is, they seek to rob it of meaning, or todestroy its meaning. But their enmity is in vain. Its richnessof meaning is assured; that is, it is convinced of its positiveachievements, which no one can take away. The textcontinues:Nthe third place means:The handle of the ting is alteredOne is impeded in his way of lifeThe fat of the pheasant is not eatenOnce rain falls, remorse is spentGood fortune comes in the end
The handle [German Griff is the part bywhich the tingcan be grasped [gegriffen]. Thus it signifies the concept(Begriff) one has of the I Ching(the ting). In the course oftime this concept has apparently changed, so that today wecan no longer grasp(begreifen) the I Ching. Thus"one isimpeded in his way of life. "We are no longer supported bythe wise counsel and deep insight of the oracle; therefore weno longer find our way through the mazes of fate and theobscurities of our own natures. The fat of the pheasant, thatis, the best and richest part of a good dish, is no longereaten. But when the thirsty earth finally receives rain again,that is. when this state of want has been overcome"remorse, that is, sorrow over the loss of wisdom. is endedand then comes the longed-for opportunity. Wilhelmcomments:"This describes a man who, in a highly evolvedcivilization, finds himself in a place where no one notices orrecognizes him. This is a severe block to his effectivenessThe I Ching is complaining, as it were, that its excellentqualities go unrecognized and hence lie fallow. It comfortsitself with the hope that it is about to regain recognition
The answer given in these two salient lines to thequestion I put to the I Ching requires no particular subtletyof interpretation, no artifices, no unusual knowledgeanyone with a little common sense can understand themeaning of the answer: it is the answer of one who has agood opinion of himself, but whose value is neithergenerally recognized nor even widely known. Theanswering subject has an interesting notion of itself: it looksupon itself as a vessel in which sacrificial offerings arebrought to the gods, ritual food for their nourishment. Itconceives of itself as a cult utensil serving to providespiritual nourishment for the unconscious elements or forces("spiritual agencies")that have been projected as gods.inother words, to give these forces the attention they needorder to play their part in the life of the individual. Indeed,this is the original meaning of the word religio-a carefulobservation and taking account of (from relegere)thenuminousThe method of the I Ching does indeed take into accountthe hidden individual quality in things and men, and in one'sown unconscious self as well. I have questioned the I Chingas one questions a person whom one is about to introduce tofriends: one asks whether or not it will be agreeable to himIn answer the I Ching tells me of its religious significance,of the fact that at present it is unknown and misjudged, of itshope of being restored to a place of honor. this lastobviously with a sidelong glance at my as yet unwrittenforeword. and above all at the English translation. Thisseems a perfectly understandable reaction, such as one couldexpect also from a person in a similar situation