CHIH-HU OU-I'S BUDDHIST COMMENTARY ON THE 'I CHING'

Chih-hu Ou-i, The Buddhist I Ching (Shambhala Dragon Edition), translated by Thomas Cleary (Boston & London: Shambhala, 1987) (THE IMAGE: There is wind over the lake, with sincerity in the center. True Leaders consider judgments and postpone execution. [Commentary] True leaders know that when people do wrong, sometimes it arises from circumstances beyond their control; if they know how the people feel, they are sympathetic and sad for them, so they consider their judgments, giving weight to the people's merits and trying to minimize their faults. When it comes to execution, they would prefer to let the wayward slip by than to kill the innocent. In this way if one person is executed, everyone will submit and, even if executed, will not hate the executioner." Id. at 224. "This book is a reading of the classic I Ching by the noted Chinese Buddhist Chih-hsu Ou-i (1599-1655), and outstanding author of the late Ming dynasty whose work influenced the development of modern Buddhism in China. Ou-i uses the I Ching to elucidate issues of in social, psychological, and spiritual development." Id. at vii.).