Portland Shambhala Day 2024: I-Ching Throw Interpretation
I-Ching Throw Interpretation by Gardner Murphy
On Shambhala Day, the Portland Shambhala community has a tradition of throwing the I-Ching for the coming year. This year we carried out this tradition after sitting meditation, the international broadcast, and after serving up coffee and pastries. One notable innovation was that online participants helped throw one line by closing their eyes, counting one, two, three, and then showing one or two fingers. Those three participants on Zoom added up to one of the lines in the hexagram.
Water Above Wind Above
Wind Below Lake Below
Changing lines in 1,3,6
#48 Ching (The Well)
The wind trigram associated with element Wood, suggests the wooden poles used to lower buckets into a well, the source of nourishment. Water is associated with nourishment of the spirit. As a necessity for a community’s survival, we must ensure that our access to uncontaminated sources of refreshment (physical and spiritual) is carefully maintained. By ensuring that this nourishment is available to all, we will contribute enormously to the stability and contentment of the community.
ALSO
The well is the symbol of the unchangeable, inexhaustible abundance of the universe. As it applies to you, it represents teaching or information that is either given to you or for you to give another. Those who draw an insufficient amount from the source will experience misfortune. The well also means union. You may find it advantageous to join with the subject under consideration or have the subject join with you.
CHANGING LINE IN THE FIRST THROW —- a warning
The source is muddy. Therefore it is of no use to anyone, and no one can draw on it. Its time of usefulness may be past. If you are the source under consideration here, this line indicates that you have allowed yourself to stagnate and therefore have become no use to anyone, not even yourself. If the subject of this reading is someone other than you, the same interpretation applies in that its usefulness may have come to an end due to neglect. That does not mean it is not salvageable but that it needs refurbishing or rejuvenating.
(with three changing lines, #48 could be seen as unstable or in flux)
#61 Chung Fu (Inner truth)
This is formed by the trigrams Wind over Lake. Ripples on the surface of the lake represent the invisible force of the breeze. This image suggests that thought influences behavior, and the inner, spiritual world influences reality. To perceive that which the eye cannot register, we need to see with the heart. The hexagram’s shape, with a hollow area at the center of the otherwise solid-looking form, is likened by the I-Ching to the openness of the heart in a perceptive individual. Another interpretation of the hexagram’s form is that it represents two mouths coming together in a kiss as the two trigrams mirror each other.
In order to communicate and cooperate well with others, we must be able to comprehend their natures. We should only do so, however, with sincerity and a desire for mutual benefit. Manipulating people for our own gain may bring temporary advantages, but once our deception has been recognized this progress may be undone by the justifiable resentment that hypocrisy engenders. We must use the unseen power of our ideas and words gently, honestly, and honorably if we wish to effect lasting change in the visible world.
ALSO
This is a time for you to be clear about your goals and about making decisions regarding others. The way in which you can achieve that clarity is by emptying your mind of all prejudicial thoughts, foregone conclusions, or conscious expectations. Let your mind be open, receptive, and free of preconceived ideas. Practicing the pursuit of emptiness will bring you good fortune and your perceptions will bloom like flowers during a perfect summer. Your clarity will make it possible for you to discuss difficult problems and to resolve them.
Portland Shambhala Day 2024:
I-Ching Throw Interpretation by Gardner Murphy
