I came across the I-Ching when I was 17. I was working part time as bus boy at a Newbury's in new shopping center In Lemon Grove. It was then a small town on the out skirts of San Diego.Circa 1965. I got from them the first paycheck of my life...around Fifteen bucks. It was a lonely time for me. I had just a few friends from times gone by, but we were growing further apart each day. I felt a tremendous need to find something I could relate to, something that would point a way out of my despair.And no doubt due to a Christen up bringing, I was looking for God. Looking back it seems rather odd that the tiny book store I went to had the selection I found. They had one one shelf around 4 ft long for "Philosophy and Religious studies" I remember as that shelf sent me home with Allan Watts, Zen flesh, Zen Bones. Paul Reps An American Zen Master. Another book on Ranzni (?sp) and Soto Zen. all paper backs, all were alluring in their strangeness. I had Zero back ground or experience of Zen, Yet this is where I began trying to become a worthy person. But dead center on that self was a large Hardback, The cover gray, the book was Yellow but best of all it ran around 700 pages. You will forgive this boy if he felt that much more wisdom could be found in a much larger book! This gray and yellow book was to become my Spiritual mother and father. The I-Ching has played this role in millions of lives. It's roots are many and reach back to and beyond the Waring states period of Chinese history to nearly 3000 years in it's esoteric beginnings. The Chinese consider it, the I-Ching, the center piece of Chinese Cultural history and achievement. Master Tan, Confucius. Mencius,We Pi, King Wen,The Duke of Chow, Prince Chi and many others contributed to it's creation and brought the I-Ching into it's present form. The Ching borrows content from all of Chinese culture. Originally the texts were rhymed to make the text easier to remember Those rhymes were in some cases thousands of years old. They "recycled" Their history taking from any source that showed greatness of mind and heart. So I started reading. I worked with the I-Ching on my own and continued to do so until I was 20 years of age. Then a new friend knowing of my deep interest informed me that One Dr. Allan Anderson at San Diego State collage was teaching a course ion the I-Ching. For the next 2 1/2 years he would be my teacher. A baby sitter for those who in their youth are prone to error and have yet to learn restraint. Blessings upon those who teach the unworthy and find for them a path to worthiness. His classes were extraordinarily valuable to any who wanted to learn about and understand the I-Ching. He was my teacher and I have never stopped paying homage to his great wisdom and love of mankind. As one might imagine I have done many things in the last 50 years. None of which holds for me anything like my work with the Oracle. So Here's my path in a nut shell. Each day I ask of the Oracle two questions given to his classes by Dr. Anderson. 1. What rule of right Action should I keep in the foreground this day in order to make Adequate Passage from birth to and through death. 2. Have I made Adequate passage this day from birth to and through death. Looks easy don't it? ":O} I have of course asked innumerable questions, more than a few I should not have asked..sigh But these two questions tell me all I need to know each day to continue my walk with God. These two questions alert me to my failings and guide me to corrective measures when I have gone astray. I seem to always be going astray. I have never met with Wiser or kinder treatment. Nor have I ever met with a clearer rebuke and critical Correction. The Oracle leaves the Honest man little wiggle room in which to deceive one self....Although with effort I have managed to do it from time to time, Not always the honest man I think. Men have deceived me. Men have misled me. The Oracle, never. The Oracle has one main advantage to other paths and one disadvantage. The Oracle has no separate agenda. It has no ambition, it is without guile. It is dedicated to the uplifting of men and no student can deceive it. But...an Oracle is not a human being with whom one may converse freely. Some of It's answers can take years to fully understand. Some never understood. Most answers are accessible when one makes an effort. What do I do when I don't understand an answer? Usually I will probe a bit further making sure I'm not just re-asking the Question. For An Oracle gives only one answer, the correct answer and it is incumbent upon the practitioner to decipherer that answer. When I cannot do this....I wait. Sometimes for 5 minutes, sometimes for years. The Oracle does not serve man. The Oracle serves only God. With humility and time one can learn to serve the Oracle. and there by to serve God. The Oracle is a forgiving and loving master whose consummate harmony consists of holding to the great middle. The Oracle anchors us in the Great middle way. In Service to my Oracle lies my salvation. In service to my Oracle I approach my God. It is my belief that God worked though the Holy Sages to create a means for man to understand his will and the worlds he's created. As with all belief this is a matter of the Heart. What proof there is, is found only by a loving heart dedicated to the Good and devoted to the divine. Is this for you? I don't know...To answer such a question, I would ask the I-Ching. ":O}
