accept three precepts

the paws of the buddha smelled like popcorn

Even if

you know how to recite

the texts, you still have to discern reality

from artificiality. Why? Sound and form dim the mind,

falsehoods fool the ears; personality and ego become second

nature, the disease of self-affirmation is deep-seated.

When the mind is separated from the

Way, the principle is hard to

comprehend.

If you wish

to return to the supreme

Way, have deep faith and first accept

three precepts. If you practice in accord with

these three precepts consistently from

beginning to end, then you will

attain the true Way. The

three precepts

are:

simplifying involvements

not craving anything

quieting the mind

…A scripture says,

“If people can empty their minds

and not contrive anything, it is not that

they want the Way, but the Way

spontaneously reverts

to them.”

Treatise on Sitting Forgetting

concentrate on the higher laws

benoit courti

By concentrating on the higher laws,

you acquire the power that

underlies them.

This hexagram teaches us to set an example for others through our own contemplation of proper principles.

A fundamental fact of consciousness is that we take on the attributes and energy of that upon which we focus our attention. In studying and meditating on the I Ching, we are concentrating on the underlying principles that govern the universe. Through contemplation of the wisdom of such principles as independence, detachment, modesty, acceptance, and tolerance, we begin to embody them in our own lives. Their power informs our actions and practices and we begin to have great influence as a result.

This hexagram comes to indicate that you need to make a self-correction and return to contemplation of proper principles. By sacrificing the harsh judgements of your ego and asking the Sage for guidance, you free yourself from hindering influences and increase your merit—and thereby your ability to have an influence.

It is in the quiet contemplation of what is correct that we become detached from anxious emotions about the situations that face us. This detachment gives us the balance and calm to choose solutions which are in accordance with the higher laws. In so doing we gain the aid of the Creative in everything we do, and others are drawn to this strength. Truly, we gain the ability to lead through contemplation of the principles of our own leader, the Sage.

from The I Ching, or Book of Changes

Hexagram 20, Kuan / Contemplation

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