The Living I Ching: Using Ancient Chinese Wisdom To Shape Your Life Download Free (EPUB, PDF)
From the author of 365 Tao and a leading authority on Taoist practice and philosophy comes a completely innovative translation of the classic text of Eastern wisdom, the I Ching.The I Ching, or Book of Changes, is an ancient manual for divining the future. Its basic text is traditionally attributed to the Chinese King Wen, the Duke of Zhou, and the philosopher Confucius. By tossing coins, rolling dice, using a computer, or, more traditionally, counting yarrow stalks, one can create a seemingly random combination of heads or tails, odd or even, yin or yang, to construct six lines (for example, solid for odd numbers or broken for even numbers). These six lines make up a hexagram that provides advice, predictions, and answers to questions on topics from love and career to family and finance.While known mostly as a tool of divination, the I Ching is also a repository of centuries of wisdom. Most of the existing translations offer either dense, scholarly commentary or little more than fortune-cookie platitudes, but in The Living I Ching Deng Ming-Dao takes a more holistic approach. His new translation recovers the true wisdom and philosophy of this ancient classic, so that the I Ching becomes more than just a book of fortune-telling -- it becomes a manual for living.
Paperback: 448 pages
Publisher: HarperOne (April 11, 2006)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0060850027
ISBN-13: 978-0060850029
Product Dimensions: 7.4 x 1.1 x 9.1 inches
Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars See all reviews (25 customer reviews)
Best Sellers Rank: #521,777 in Books (See Top 100 in Books) #65 in Books > Religion & Spirituality > New Age & Spirituality > Divination > I Ching #316 in Books > Religion & Spirituality > Other Eastern Religions & Sacred Texts > Taoism #406 in Books > Politics & Social Sciences > Philosophy > Eastern > Taoism
Ming-dao does a marvellous job of conveying the essential mystery and poeticism of the I-Ching, capturing its exotic flavor, while at the same time, in the second double-page, explaining the gist of the message for the western reader. Still, it is good to own several versions, because each author provides a valuable slant on the material. I rate this a bit higher than Wu wei's, although his is more straightforward.
For those with interest in the I-Ching, or Book of Changes, Deng Ming-Dao does a spectactular job translating the intent, beauty and complexity of each hexagram and trigram. Each Hexagram gets 4 pages showing the character, the pinyin, the statement and the lines with a detailed discussion.This is far more than a new-age surface reading of the I-ching. The translations and discussion are fresh and timeless with illustrations by Mr. Ming-Dao himself. Whether you are trying to develop a deeper undertanding of Chinese Culture or are looking for a guidance in living your life this volume is well worth picking up, reading and rereading.
I've bought four different translations, in search for a book to provide me with the big picture -- the essence of the book -- in a way that's easy to understand. With this book, my fifth, I finally found a perfect place to begin the journey.This translation is very lucid and well organized. It has a flow of its own that gently guides you down the path, allowing you to make many of the discoveries on your own. As another reviewer noted, it's still good to own several version if you're a serious scholar, but this book has a perfect balance of everything in a beautifully designed and worded package.I'm proud to own this book. Several times now, I've found myself amazed at the quality of this book, with the layman in mind. Although I'm still in the process of reading it, I'd highly recommend it. I'll make sure to update this review down the road...
As with all of Deng Ming Dao's books, this one is very well written and beautifully designed. He has written as clear of an explanation of the I Ching as I have ever read and if you've ever read any other books about it you know what I mean. I highly recommend this book if you have any interest in learning about the I Ching or if you'd like to learn more about it.
This beautiful translation is in keeping with the care and character of the very best in Chinese Wisdom Literature. That it was done over time with deep conviction to render the essence of Taoist Spiritual Integrity is evident on every page.Deng Ming Dao reaches across centuries to convey the eternal with beauty and living Spirit.I cannot recommend it highly enough.
Readers of other works of Deng Ming-Dao will not be disappointed with "The Living I Ching," which exceeds in depth, clarity and scope all that he has produced before. Readers and users of texts on the I Ching written by other authors will find their own consciousness and awareness developing, and enriching their lives beyond normal expectations. Those who have had little or no experience with either Eastern thought or the I Ching can have confidence in the authenticity of the principles underlying the composition of the I Ching.The author's purpose is to help readers shape their own lives with the assistance of "ancient Chinese Wisdom". The I Ching is not a "fortune-telling," divination means in the usual sense of the term, nor a prophetic announcing. Rather, it is an oracle for guidance in living life harmoniously. It reveals both the nature of a given situation and the sequence of circumstances and events which led up to the situation in question, as well as the course of events to emerge in the future. Deng Ming-Dao writes:"This, then, is what the 'Changes' finally means: it means absorbing the principles of change so that we can not only sense them intuitively, but also make intelligent decisions for the future to yield positive benefits. This is also the best way to understand the 'Changes' moral structure."Deng Ming-Dao has created a text that is "a step-by-step way of absorbing the "Changes" directly." He frames the book with the metaphor of a pilgrimage (a spiritual journey) of 8 Circles. The circle is a common aspect of a pilgrimage, i.e. "one travels with the intention of returning to normal life". The second common aspect is "change," for the person on a pilgrimage returns to normal life with enhanced insight and spiritual strength. The circles start with "The Origin" continues through "Yin and Yang", "The Four Images", "The Early Heaven Eight Trigrams", "The Early Heaven Hexagrams", "The Later Heaven Eight Trigrams", "The Later Heaven 64 Hexagrams', to the 8th circle, "The Voice of the Oracle." The last circle is actually written in the first person on the "I Ching" who tells of its own "pilgrimage".This pilgrimage takes the reader/user from ontological/cosmological principles underlying the I Ching through the evolution of yin and yang, trigrams, hexagrams and the words of Fu Xi, King Wen and Confucius. All of this is presented in the most down-to-earth, reader friendly style I have ever read in books on the I Ching. Deng Ming-Dao says that the I Ching is a human oracle and he presents it as a human in writing and in philosophy.The "poetry" of Deng Ming-Dao increases the dimension of understanding of each hexagram. The pictographic lines are concise and informative. An accompanying poem/verse presents an earthly event such as a woman seated in a carriage meeting a man, or a crane swooping down while people on the ground erecting a building. The verse gives a "sense" of the significance of the principle underlying the hexagram and is worth re-reading after reading the more formal exposition. The Statement is an overall summary of the action of the hexagram. Each line of the hexagram (arranged diagonally bottom to top) is again an action type statement. The Image again is very physical in description and always includes aspects of nature. The text itself extends 2 pages. The first part contains a bit of philosophy, using history as an example and the second part, discusses each line, concluding with the relevance of the Image to the hexagram as a whole. Altogether, it is a rewarding and thought provoking discussion.I highly recommend this book.
Beautiful book, wonderful layout, but serious flaws (goofed up young yin and young yang) and typos galore. The artwork is very good, and also the poetic renderings, but hard to look past the basic mistakes.
I have read almost every book by Deng Ming-Dao - he is definitely my favorite living Taoist writer, and I have studied Taoism for the past 13 years. This one helped me to understand the symbolism of the I Ching better, for sure, but it wasn't what I had expected from the sub-title, "Using Ancient Chinese Wisdom to Shape Your LIfe." It certainly didn't do that for me, and I couldn't see how it was supposed to. Granted, I only read about half the book. It didn't hold my interest long enough to finish it.
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