l From a different perspective l

| Wednesday, Nov. 06, 2002 || 10:54 a.m. |

I once was enthralled by the I Ching, I still am but I have not let it lead my life as I once did before.

So From another I Ching resource this what my coin toss has to say:

Hexagram 50 - THE RITUAL CAULDRON

The cauldron

Great auspiciousness

Expansion

The great image says:

Above wood there is fire: the cauldron

The noble one corrects the situation to solidify fate

Thousands of roads enter the great path of Tao. To find such a road means one found one�s Ding. Creating a masterpiece can be such a road, or religion, or a Koan, or even growing beans. But however small one�s Ding may be, it always contains the huge inner storage of spiritual richness.

It gives consecration to one�s life, making its size unimportant. And making it invulnerable for any attacks.

It will be a true life and it will earn a place in the annals of Heaven.

9 at 2: The cauldron is richly filled. My companions are struck by disease. It cannot reach me. Auspicious.

Who has inner strength cannot be infected, who has a rich mind (or sees his life a rich) knows no envy, a healthy plant has no louse. Life supports life, it makes itself survive. Don't get depressed by a bad situation, your essential riches are inside.

Hexagram 56 - ITINERANT TROOPS

Itinerant

Small expansion

A determination about wandering is auspicious

The great image says:

High on the mountain there is fire: Itinerant

The noble one is clear minded and cautious in imposing punishment and does not protract lawsuits

In every country, even far away from home, one finds the same universal rules. Human rules can differ fundamentally, but the voice of the gods is everywhere the same.

Who hears these voices can speak all languages on earth, he will find safety and a home wherever he is. God and Allah and Manitou and Buddha all come from the same source, only the names are different. So speak and behave from out this source, and accept the human rules as being part of this particular landscape. Adapt to them with extra care, to make up for being unfamiliar with them.

In every unknown and new situation, behave like being in a strange country.

Does it make any more sense? I hope so... I am still trying to figure it out.