Harmonious Emptiness

The Buddhist I Ching, by Chih-Hsu Ou-I

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Just wanted to highly recommend this for any I Ching enthusiasts. It is an excellent combination of Taoist, Confucian, and Buddhist wisdom, and likely somewhat of an inspiration for Liu I Ming's alchemical I Ching commentary.

 

Chih-Hsu Ou-I shows a deep understanding of the changes in need for flexibility and firmness and the significance of the lines, often illuminating the meanings of the images and Confucian commentaries before discussing their application in terms of Buddhist endeavours.

 

An excellent text that shows the many convergences of the "three teachings" of Buddhism, Confucianism, and Taoism.

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I'd read a similar review and snagged a copy, though I didn't know about the possible Liu I-ming influence - thanks for that.

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Yes, keep in mind that that is my own speculation, but it was written well before Liu Ming started writing and so he likely read it and also realized that there was a gap in such literature pertaining to alchemy and the I Ching, influencing him to generously fill in the gap as he did with so many other Taoist texts.

 

There does seem to be a bit of similarity in style too, though I'm sure there would be regardless since the two books both talk about cultivation and hexagram lines.

Edited by Harmonious Emptiness
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