A BIOGRAPHY OF THE 'I CHING'

Richard J. Smith, The I Ching: A Biography (Lives of Great Religious Books) (Princeton & Oxford: Princeton U. Press, 2012) ("Despite the great and often glaring differences separating the Yijing from such religious classics as the Bible, the Talmud, the Qur'an, the Bhagavad Gita, and the Lotus Sutra, it deserves to be considered one of the great works of spiritually inspired world literature." Id. at 211. "The sustained appeal of the Yijing rests primarily in three related areas, all of which apply to many other classic works as well: (1) the intellectual challenges it poses, (2) the psychological insights it encourages, and (3) the creative inspiration it affords, not least by virtue of its powerful and pervasive symbolism." Id. at 212.).

LIU I-MING'S COMMENTARY ON CHANG PO-TUAN'S THE INNER TEACHINGS OF TAOISM

Chang Po-tuan, The Inner Teachings of Taoism, Commentary by Liu I-ming, translated from the Chinese by Thomas Cleary (Boston & London: Shambhala, 2001) ("Get rid of anger and hatred. If you do not sweep yourself clean of anger and hatred, You will be full of turbulence, which will obscure the truth." Id. at 37. "Relinquish attachment to the physical body. See the physical body as something temporary and artificial, And naturally there will be a way to seek the real body." Id. at 37. "Do not talk about right and wrong. Everyone should sweep the snow from his own door And not be concerned about the frost on another's roof." Id. at 39. "The Heart of Heaven and Earth: "The first essential step in cultivating reality is to find the heart of heaven and earth. The heart of heaven and earth, the universal mind, is what has been previously referred to as the natural, innocent true mind. This mind is subtle and recondite, and is not easily manifested; it only shows a glimpse when 'light appears in the empty room' and 'within darkness, suddenly there is illumination'." "Heaven is associate with yang, earth is associate with yin; the heart of heaven and earth is the mind in which yin is not separate from yang, yang is not separate form yin, yin and yang are merged. When yin and yang are conjoined, this mind is present; when yin and yang are separate, this mind is absent. It is not form, not void, yet both form and void; it is not being, not nonbeing, yet both being and nonbeing. Form and void interpenetrate, being and nonbeing cannot be established; this is ineffable existence within true emptiness. When you know this mind and keep it intact, the overall basis is already established and the rest is easy." "The ignorant who do not know this all manipulate the avaricious physical heart; some consider the active mind the heart of heaven and earth, some consider the still mind the heart of heaven and earth, some think the mind dwelling on the middle of the torso is the heart of heaven and earth. This is wrong. The avaricious heart is the conditioned human mind with personal desires; the active mind clings to existence, the still mind clings to nothingness, and dwelling mind fixes on form. These minds are as far from the heart of heaven and earth as mud is form the clouds." "The heart of heaven and earth is unified in action and stillness, is tranquil and unperturbed yet sensitive and effective, is sensitive and effective yet tranquil and unperturbed. How could it it refer to the physical, avaricious heart?" Id. at 76-77.).

RADICAL ACCEPTANCE

Tara Brach, Radical Acceptance: Embracing Your Life With the Heart of a Buddha, with a foreword by Jack Kornfield (New York: Bantam Books, 2003) ("Radical Acceptance reverses our habit of living at war with experiences that are unfamiliar, frightening or intense. It is the necessary antidote to years of neglecting ourselves,, years of judging and treating ourselves harshly, years of rejecting this moment's experience. Radical Acceptance is the willingness to experience ourselves and our life as it is. A moment of radical Acceptance is a moment of genuine freedom." Id. at 4. ).

LIU I-MING, AWAKENING TO THE TAO

Liu I-ming, Awakening to the Tao, translated from the Chinese by Thomas Cleary (Boston & Shaftesbury: Shambhala, 1988) ("The Natural Reality of the Infant: "When an infant is first born, it has o conscious knowledge, no attachment to pleasures and possession, no sentimental bonds. It knows nothing of wealth or poverty, has no idea of self, person, being, or life. For the infant, everything is open--nothing defiles it, for it is indifferent, equanimous, purely natural." "What I realize as I observe this is the Tao of restoration of innocence. If people are able to radically wake up and turn around, shedding attachments to things, to dwell in the realm of nothingness and formlessness, to uproot the sense and objects conditioned by history and sweep away the forces of habit acquired in the present life, letting go everywhere to be open and clear, pure and clean, then even if the body is old  the nature is restored; outwardly one may be weak, but inwardly one is robust." "This is the restoration of youth, the original state of the infant. Otherwise, once natural reality is lost, even if one is physically strong and fat as a pig or an ox, what is the benefit?" Id. at 25-26. "Moths and Worms: [] Worldly people follow what they desire--they compete for fame, grab for profit, indulge in drink and lust. They take artficialities for reality, take irritants for pleasure. Day and night they struggle uncertainly, anxious and worried all the time, wearing out their vitality and spirit. They are not willing to stop until the day they die." "Such people are like moths flying into a lamp and burning to death, like worms seeking heat losing their lives. This is what is called sending yourself to death without even being called by the Great Reaper." "If you know in yourself the value of life, see through emotional entanglements and sensual cages, leap out of the net of fame and profit, be like a complete simpleton, learn to be a flexible, yielding  ignoramus. Do not contend for what others contend for, do not love what other love. In all situations, lower yourself and honor others. In all affairs do not be impulsive or forward." "Be like a fish submerged in the depths, like a turtle in the mud. Then criticism and praise do not reach you, calamity and fortune do not affect you. You live spontaneously without seeking life, you avoid death by not bringing on death." "This is a good method of heading for good fortune and avoiding misfortune. Nevertheless, foolish people consider external things more important than essences and life, bringing death on themselves." Id. at 62-63. "When Oil and Coal Run Out: [] Only humans have the same energy of yin and yang and the five forces but cannot follow it naturally. They cultivate unnecessary habits, take pain for pleasure, take poison for medicine. Greedily and gladly following their desires, they chop away at the root of life. Eventually their vitality and spirit wear out, their real consciousness fades away, just as a lamp goes out when the oil is gone, and a fire goes out when the charcoal is used up. They will only come to the brink of extinction." "If people are really beyond the world, they consider essence and life important. They protect their vitality and spirit as one wold protect gold and jade. They take care of the true consciousness as one would take care of rare gems. They do not set foot in a pit of fire, they do not show up in the arena of right and wrong." At all times they set their minds on what is fundamental and focus their thoughts on the meaning of the Way. They are careful about what goes on inside them, and prudent about what they do in the outside world. They store their spirit and energy." "This is what is meant by the saying that enlightened people work on he fundamental; when the fundamental is established, the way comes into being. This is like adding oil to keep a lamp from going out, like adding charcoal to keep a fire burning. Those without life can have life, the unborn can live forever. Is the question of whether to live or die to be left up to heaven alone?" Id. at 67-68. "The Racehorse and the Nag: [] Nevertheless, there are many Taoists in the world who cannot with a true heart regard essence and life as most important. They talk about the virtues of the Tao, but in their hearts they are criminals and gangsters. They want their imaginings of the Tao, and they want their greedy ambitions too. They are easily angered and unreceptive." "The intellectuals among them, depend on their ability to memorize a few 'spiritual' sayings, and think they have the Way. Consequently they disregard others and will not seek enlightened teachers or visit capable friends, thus mistaking the road ahead." "The dull ones do not know to investigate principles, and do not distinguish the false from the true. Having studied some 'side-door' practices, playing around on twisted by-ways, they also think they have the Way, and will not go to high illuminates for verification, thus holding to their routines all their lives, trapped in unbreakable fixations." "People like these types to not really think about the matter of essence and life as the single most important thing in the world, and the cultivation and maintenance of essence and life to be the single most difficult thing in the world. How can this be easily known, or easily accomplished?" "This is why those who study Taoism may be as numerous as hairs on a cow, but those who accomplish the Way are as rare as unicorns horns." Id. at 77-79. In studying this text I could not help but think about my yoga practice as part of my path to the Way. Am I on the by-way, or on the high road of practice? Am I a criminal, gangster, intellectual, etc., playing at Yoga and the Way, or do I have a serious Yoga practice focused on fundamentals, essence and life? Are my Yoga teachers real, or just charlatans? Am I real, or am I a charlatan? Am I in the world or beyond it?).

SUGGESTED FICTION: CONTROL(?) AND CHOICE(?)

Jerzy Kosinski, Steps (New York: Grove Press, 1968, 1997) ("For the uncontrolled there is no wisdom, nor for the uncontrolled is there the power of concentration; and for him without concentration there is no peace. And for the unpeaceful, how can there be happiness?" The Bhagavadita. "So to find out whether you loved me, you had to sleep with another man? I didn't sleep with him. But if you wanted to find out how you are without me, why did you refuse such a critical test? I didn't refuse; he didn't ask me. He said he loved me and wanted to marry me. Maybe he thought that if he asked me to go to bed with him, I would refuse because of my involvement with you. You see, I told him about you, and what was between us. But you spent a lot of time together. He must have kissed you. You touched him. Yes. And his tongue was in your month, and he stroked your body. Tell me, would you have gone to bed with him if he had wanted you to? I was ready to. What is the verdict of your judge and jury? The verdict is that I am capable of independent judgment and that I want to remain with you. And him? I told him I wouldn't leave you. I like him; he's a good man; but it would be a different life with him. I know I prefer the life you and I have together. I chose that part of me which wants you over and above the self I would become with him. Above all, I know that I alone decided this." Id. at 44-45. "Almost all of us on the jury were able to discuss and imagine how he had committed the crime and what had impelled him to it. To clarify certain aspects of his case, some of the jurors acted out the role of the accused in an attempt to make the rest of us understand his motives. After the trial, however, I realized that there was very little speculation in the jury room about the victim of the murder. Many of us could easily visualize ourselves in the act of killing, but few of us could project ourselves into the act of being killed in any manner. We did our best to understand the murder: the murderer was a part of our lives; not the victim." Id. at 94. From the backcover: "Jerzy Kosinski's classic vision of moral and sexual estrangement brilliantly captures the disturbing undercurrents of modern politics and culture. In this haunting novel, distinctions are eroded between oppressor and oppressed, perpetrator and victim, narcissism and anonymity. Kosinski portrays men and women both aroused and desensitized by an environment that disdains the individual an seeks control over the imagination in this unforgettable and immensely provocative work.").

LIU I-MING, THE TAOIST I CHING

Lui I-ming, The Taoist I Ching, translated from the Chinese by Thomas Cleary (Boston & London: Shambhala, 1986, 2005) ("This volume presents an explanation of the classic I Ching based on the teachings if the Complete Reality school of Taoism, in particular that stream of the Complete Reality school known as the Clear Serene branch." Id. at 1. "A proud dragon has regrets." "Promoting strength excessively, being only strong and not flexible, knowing how to go forward but not how to withdraw, is being like a dragon of drought: When the dragon gets to be proud, it cannot give life; when strength goes to excess, one will fail in one's tasks. When yang culminates, it must shift to yin. The celestial jewel gained is again lost. It is a logical matter of course, This is why the text says a proud dragon, one who goes too high, has regrets." Id. at 43. "Accord with the wrong people." "When one is oneself ignorant and foolish and also associates with ignorant and foolish people, this is accord with the wrong people. Accord  with the wrong people has no benefit and is harmful. What is the value of accord then? This represents incorrectness of outer accord." Id. at 64-65. "Accord with one outside is right and bodes well." "Flexibility according with the firm, seeing the wise and wanting to be like then, even the ignorant will become illumined, even the weak will become strong. This is external accord being correct." Id. at 65. "Tranquility". "Tranquility means going through in harmony. [] Yang is strong inside, yin is submissive outside. Strength and submission unified, yin and yang correspond; it therefore is called tranquility." "Only when yin and yang are harmoniously combined is it possible to accomplish things. Therefore the way of tranquility is that the small goes and the great comes; it is auspicious and developmental. The small is yin and the great is yang: 'The small goes' means yin submits, 'the great cmes' means yang is strong. With yang strong on the inside and yin submissive on the outside, the primordial gradually returns and acquired conditioning gradually melts away; thereby it is possible to reach the realm of pure yang with no yin. It is a matter of course then to be fortunate in action, and for activity to develop. "However, in the path of bringing about tranquility, there is a firing process, there is a course of work. If advancing and withdrawing are done with the proper timing, and one is strong yet act docilely, using docility to nurture strength, one can bring about tranquility and preserve it, understanding essence through understanding life, attaining nonstriving through striving, completing the great Way. On this one can be sure." Id. at 71-72. "If you want to act on something, you should first understand it; first understanding, then acting, all actions will be as you will. This is why biting through, using action within understanding, is developmental. Action with clarity is always based on understanding; its development and frustration may be symbolized by the administration of justice. Nothing in the world is harder to administer than justice; if the true conditions of justice are not clear, right is considered wrong and wrong is considered right--arbitrarily applying penalties, the calamity extends to the innocent, mistakenly injuring essence and life." "Practice of the Tao is like administering justice: Discerning true and false, right and wrong, is like the judge deciding good and bad; getting rid of falsehood and keeping truth, so as to preserve essence and life, is like the justice administration rewarding the good and punishing the bad, so as to alleviate the burden of injustice. When you investigate and find out true principle, it is clear in the mind and evident in practice; fully realizing essence and perfecting life, it is unfailingly developmental and beneficial." Id. at 100. "Constancy". "But the path of pervasive illumination is not possible without a constant mind. Constancy means singlemindedly applying the will, the longer the stronger, not becoming lazy and slacking off. Thereby one can comprehend essence and life; so there is a path of development in constancy , and it is also possible to be impeccable thereby." "However, though constancy can lead to development and impeccability, it is only beneficial if constancy is correct. If it is not correct, abandoning the real and entering into the false, then it is not developmental, and is faulty. The blind practitioners in the world who go into deviant paths, taking what is wrong to be right, aggrandizing themselves, boasting of their practices and cultivating vain reputations, striving all their lives without ever awakening, most assuredly are capable of constancy, but they are constant in aberrated paths, not constant in the right path. If you want to seek eternal life in this way, you will on the contrary hasten death; when your time is up, you will have no way out, and cannot escape the blame--how could you gain good fortune? Therefore constancy in the developmental, impeccable way is only brought to fruition by correctness." Id. at 132-133. From the backcover: "The I Ching, or 'Book of Change,' is considered the oldest of the Chinese classics and has throughout history commanded unsurpassed prestige and popularity. Containing several layers of text and given numerous levels of interpretation, it has captured continuous attention for well over two thousand years. It has been considered a book of fundamental principles by philosophers, politicians, mystics, alchemists, yogins, diviners, sorcerers, and more recently scientists and mathematicians." "The first part of the present volume is the text of the I-Ching proper--the sixty-four hexagrams plus sayings on the hexagrams and their lines--with the commentary composed by Liu I-ming, a Taoist adept, in 1796. The second part is Liu I-ming's commentary on two sections added to the I-Ching by earlier commentators, believed to be members of the original Confucian schools; these two sections are known as the Overall Images and the Mixed Hexagrams. In total, the book illuminates the Taoist inner teachings as practiced in the School of the Complete Reality." "Well versed in Buddhism and Confucianism as well as Taoism, Liu I-ming intended his work to be read as a guide to comprehensive self-realization while living an ordinary life in the world. In his attempt to lift the veil of mystery from the esoteric language of the I Ching, he employs the terminology of psychology, sociology, history, myth, and religion. This commentary of the I Ching stands as a major contribution to the elucidation of Chinese spiritual genius.").

AGAINST THE PERVERSE 'TOUGH LUCK' FORM OF LIBERTARIANISM

Andrew Koppelman, The Tough Luck Constitution and the Assault on Health Care Reform (Oxford & New York: Oxford U. Press, 2013) (DO WE REALLY WANT TO INTERPRET THE CONSTITUTION AS BEING  VOID OF COMPASSION? From the bookjacket: "Chief Justice John Roberts stunned the nation by upholding the Affordable Care Act--more commonly known as Obamacare. But legal experts observed that the decision might prove a strategic defeat for progressives. Roberts grounded his decision on Congress's power to tax. He dismissed the claim that it is allowed under the Constitution's commerce clause, which has been the basis of virtually all federal regulation." In The Tough Luck Constitution, Andrew Koppelman explains how the Court's conservatives embraced the arguments of a fringe libertarian legal movement bent on eviscerating the modern social welfare state. They instead advocate what Koppleman calls a 'tough luck' philosophy: if you fall on hard times, too bad for you. He argues that the rule they proposed--that the government can't make citizens buy things--has nothing to do with the Constitution and was in fact tailor-made to block this one law after its opponents had lost in Congress." "Koppelman also places the Affordable Care Act within a broader historical context. After the failure of the Articles of Confederation, the Constitution was written to increase central power. The Supreme Court's previous limitations on Congressional power have proved unfortunate: it struck down anti-lynching laws and declared that child-labor laws would end 'all freedom of commerce, and . . . our system of government [would] be practically destroyed.' Both somehow survived after the court revisited these precedents. Koppelman notes that the libertarian-inspired arguments used against Obamacare are radically new--not based on established constitutional principles." "Ranging from early constitutional history to potential consequences, this is the definitive postmortem of this landmark case." From the text: "Almost no one is a serious Tough Luck Libertarian. Those who make Nozick-like claims typically do so in a baldly selective way, when someone proposes to diminish their own share of the pie to benefit someone else. Then redistribution, from which the speaker usually benefits in multiple ways, becomes an intolerable intrusion on liberty. So there is a dilemma for those who invoke Nozickian arguments. You can invoke them consistently, in which case you end American civilization as we know it. Or you can invoke them only opportunistically, in which case you won't deserve to be taken seriously. The judges and attorneys who sought to invalidate the ACA faced this dilemma. They typically responded by grabbing the second horn--a constitutional limit tailored to do in the ACA, which would probably never be relevant again." "Not all libertarianism is Tough Luck Libertarianism. You can believe in vastly reduced regulation of markets while thinking that there's nothing inherently just about the way they distribute property. Friedrich Hayek, the leading proponent of this view, endorsed Rawls without inconsistency. The concerns raised by Scalia, Kennedy, and Alito are Nozickian, not Hayekian." Id. at 11. I wonder what percentage of college graduates over, say, the last twelve years (this way we can speak of the twenty-first-century college educated) have read Robert Nozick, John Rawls and/or F.A. Hayek. I suspect it is a rather small percentage.).