Peace. For some time now, I have engaged myself in the study of various Scriptural texts (in translation alas!). Some of these works have only confused me, confounded me. So I thought I might mention some of these Books in the hope that some of you might have some experience and understanding of them that you are willing to share.

First of all... While most of the Chinese canon seems to me a clear and straightforward guide to moral and spiritual excellence there is a text which stands out, an almost monolithic, mysterious presence in the Books of Old China. This is the I Ching. I have two translations of this work. I never leave this text without a sense of wonder, amazement and utter confusion. Indeed, Confucius himself once lamented his lack of mastery over this great work.

So if anyone has some advice on how to approach this text I would be very grateful.

The teacher of Confuscius is important. It may have been actually "Lao Tse" who was his teacher, and a 'krishna/arjuna' parallel in another form that resulted in his view toward the text. The text is there like many others, but this one has a signigicant regard for mathematics and astrology that is only now coming to ground. Numerology is profound, but its psychology is awkward. Some of the late buddhist cannon attempts to absolve the tension by relegating meditation and openness to the achievements of mankind.

In my opinion, the Yi Jing is utter supersticious rubbish, and moreover impossible to translate in a meaningful way, among other things because the notions linked to the words and practices are long since lost.

Ask anybody anywhere today, including Chinese people, how much information you get from throwing a couple of yarrow stalks around. To make it blunt, people believing in this sort of things should seek medical attention.

I Ching, and interesting read. The hardest part about reading the I Ching, is understanding the eastern perceptions of concepts. It's also difficult because we as westerners are too focused on the end goal, when eastern thought is more focused on the journey. What I found from studying the I Ching, is that it helps you understand NOW, which by understanding the way Chi, Tao, and the way of nature works, you can guess what will inevitably happen in the future if things stay on the same path. But even my Taoist master feels it's all folly. But still an interesting read. And I wish you much luck with it.

Also, I doubt Lao Tzu was Confucious' master, for there understandings of Tao were very different, if not completely opposite. But that is just my understanding.

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The only constant in this universe is change. Are you ready to change??

My partner has studied the I Ching for quite a few years and is currently writing a book on it.

My understanding of the divination, be it by yarrow stalks or coins or something else, is that it identifies the forces that are active in the current moment. This indicates a general trend. A hexagram may or may not have "moving" lines (those in the process of flipping from yin to yang or vice versa). IIRC, an "old" line will give birth to a "new" line of opposite polarity. By flipping the bits, as it were, one changes the original hexagram into a second one that provides additional information about the situation.

Ultimately, one must interpret the I Ching images through one's own intuition and experiences to derive any meaningful wisdom.

Once I threw some old coins for an 'oracle' and the results were profound. Being naturally yin dominant, supposedly, I threw yin after yin after yin, until I changed my countenance deliberately and sure enough threw a single yang. The symbol and number associated with my tosses was me in a nutshell (even the dan), and interesting for an original go of it.