21. God Explains I Ching | Dramatic Adaptation Of God: An Autobiography, As Told To A Philosopher [Part 21]

"The 'I Ching' was a simple  guide to action, trying to figure out what the situation was so they could know which virtue was appropriate to it."  

Welcome to God: An Autobiography, The Podcast. A dramatic adaptation and continuing discussion of the book God: An Autobiography, As Told To A Philosopher by Jerry L. Martin.

He was a lifelong agnostic, but one day he had an occasion to pray. To his vast surprise, God answered- in words. Being a philosopher, he had a lot of questions, and God had a lot to tell him.

Read God: An Autobiography, As Told To A Philosopher.

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Transcript

Season Two - Episode Twenty One

 GOD: AN AUTOBIOGRAPHY - THE PODCAST
 
JLM -       Narrator (Jerry L. Martin) - voiced by Scott Langdon 
 Jerry -     Jerry Martin - voiced by Scott Langdon
 GOD -    The Voice of God - voiced by Jerry L. Martin, who heard the voice

 
JLM

Were these God's earliest verbal communications? For generations, Chinese farmers in Anyang would dig up "dragon bones" and sell them for medicinal uses. In 1899, an archaeologist discovered they were etched with markings--primeval Chinese characters a millennium older than previously known texts. On the bones were recorded a question and an answer, usually a yes or no. Will the king's child be a son? Will tomorrow be good for hunting? In prehistoric times, priests would heat the bones with red-hot pokers and divine the meaning of the resulting cracks.

The oracle bones had come up in one of my first prayers. Rushing ahead without reading, I had asked simply, 

JERRY

Lord, what were You up to with the Chinese?

GOD

You might say that the Chinese approached Me; I did not approach them. They explicitly consulted Me. That is the meaning of the oracle bones.

JLM

So the oracle bones were not a divine bolt out of the blue, like God speaking to Abraham. The Chinese sought divine guidance and God responded. What began as brief inscriptions on the oracle bones grew into a classic on how to behave in various situations.

GOD

The I Ching was a simple guide to action, trying to figure out what the situation was so they could know which virtue was appropriate to it. It is a very ancient work--one of the earliest--and represents an important moment in the conversation with Me.

JERRY

Lord, I seem to have two possible starting points on China--the discussion of the aesthetic appreciation of nature or the oracle bones as the precursors to the I Ching.

GOD

The two are really one. Correctly reading the oracle bones also required the "willing suspension of desire." That is one of the hazards of consulting oracles. Too often one wants only to hear good news or flattering reports or accept solutions with which you are comfortable. To correctly read the bones, or any oracle . . .

JLM

For a moment, I feared I had lapsed into just listening to my own thoughts. 

JERRY

I hope You're saying this, Lord.

GOD

. . . to correctly read any oracle requires not being attached to specific outcomes, not preferring, or not being influenced by preferring, one reading over another. That requires a restful, detached attitude--not very easy to achieve at court.

JERRY

With a ruler breathing down your neck.

GOD

Precisely. What the marks on the bone are doing is attuning the seer to the situation, letting it "speak" to him. This situation "wants" a certain action or attitude. The seer has to quietly "listen" to the situation.

JERRY

What did this do for Your development, Lord?

GOD

It was a refinement. I had communicated with earlier man primarily by warnings and nudges to go one way rather than another.

JERRY

With the people of Israel, You gave commandments.

GOD

Yes, but this, the oracle bones, was much earlier. It invited Me to present Myself, not as an urging force, but just as a manifestation of the right order--and, like a patient being diagnosed, to "wince" if something was wrong. And, in a sense, it made Me beautiful. Obviously, the cave painters had seen My beauty too, but that response was primarily localized to seeing the divine presence in particular animals. The questions put to the oracle bones were about larger situations and pointed ultimately to the whole of Nature as a divine order.

JERRY

And a beautiful order?

GOD

Precisely. And this was new to Me. There are two aspects here. First, that I am the right order of the universe, which is different from just being its organizer. We are moving from regularity, the laws of nature and human nature, to a moral and aesthetic order. Second, that My order is beautiful, that it can be sensed aesthetically, that there is encoded within it a fittingness, rules of fittingness, of what is right to do in different situations. The Taoists picked up on one aspect of this, the Confucians on another.

JLM

The oracle bones led to the I Ching.

Ching means an authoritative book or classic. I means "changes." Human situations are always changing, and the I Ching gives a taxonomy of the sixty-four kinds of situations a person can confront. It was studied for its wisdom, for divination, and for identification of one's situation and how best to respond to it. You toss coins or sticks to know which of the sixty-four sections will answer your question.

Years ago, a friend had talked me into trying it. At the time, I was drawn to a certain erotic adventure, to put it delicately. It could have been a disaster. I was looking for permission.

I tossed the coins and was guided to a section. It was the Chinese equivalent of Henry David Thoreau's "Simplify, simplify." 

Irritated, I did not do any more I Ching.

I wondered if I should try it again.

GOD

No, read it for the original divine encounter.

JLM

The book's ancient wisdom is contained in symbolic language that must be decoded. Like people for three thousand years, I found it fascinating. But I was told,

GOD

Do not overrate the I Ching. It is useful, but no more useful than seeking guidance from the Bible by opening to a random passage. It is not magic.

JLM

Nevertheless, I was told,

GOD

It might be My voice that they hear.

JLM

As I started reading the I Ching, my notes record,

"This is what is coming to me: The sticks - represented as lines, symbols - may have originally begun as oracle devices, but the book is not an oracle. It is a way of listening to God - however conceived at that time - of seeking guidance, not predictions. The key is not in throwing sticks or tossing coins, but in letting God lead you to the relevant section." 

I began to understand how God's voice can be present even in a tradition that does not posit a personal god.

GOD

Congratulations. You have listened to what I have told you, which is to think, "What is God trying to communicate here?" Continue on that tack.

JLM

Each section of the I Ching begins with a brief poetic statement, called the Judgment, followed by the Image, an explanation couched in symbolic language.

I was guided to start with Number 2, the Receptive, Earth, which emphasizes the "feminine." In the Chinese tradition, the feminine or receptive or passive is not considered less important; on the contrary, it is foundational. The section begins:

"The Receptive brings about sublime success,

Furthering through the perseverance of a mare.

If the superior man undertakes something and tries to lead,

He goes astray;

But if he follows, he finds guidance. . . .

Quiet perseverance brings good fortune."

JERRY

The feminine, represented by the earth but also by the mare, is receptive, yielding.

GOD

Yes, you just need to go along with My will. 

JERRY

But there are obstacles and negative forces as well?

GOD

Yes, of course. But the feminine lays a substratum, just as the womb is crafted for life, to give proper life to a human being. The universe is the matrix of My will.

JERRY

So, Lord, sometimes, even in situations that involve conflict, the key is simply to continue quietly and persistently yielding to the will of God--and this relates to the plane of action?

GOD

Sort of.

JERRY

To something more like the substrate of the plane of action? Not so much action--what one does or doesn't do--as the attitude, and the underlying spiritual reality in which the attitude is grounded, of an undeflected yielding to the divine will?

GOD

Yes, better. Now go back to Number 1--the Creative.

JLM

Different responses are called for in different situations. Sometimes the "feminine" response in Number 2 is needed; other times the "masculine" response in Number 1 is called for.

"Number 1. The Creative.

The Creative works sublime success,

Furthering through perseverance."

JERRY

Lord, this is the same as Number 2. Both say that 'sublime success' comes from 'perseverance.'

GOD

Yes, but this is the active side of perseverance, struggle--not just letting be, letting oneself be the instrument of the Divine, but being the agent of the Divine.

I have asked you to be My instrument as in the Receptive, in telling My story. In the context of your organizational work, you were an agent. They are two sides of the same coin.

JERRY

So the active is not 'working on' the passive--they are two quite different movements?

GOD

Not exactly. Sometimes, in a sense always, the active is working on the passive, the matrix. The matrix or substrate is receiving form and direction. It is the instrument, but if I want something done, I need not only instruments but also doers, initiators.

Part of the complexity of the world is that I do not create what I want--My designs--directly, like a sculptor working in clay that can be molded. I work through people.

JERRY

More like the director of a play?

GOD

Exactly. 

JERRY

Lord, should I move on to the next part?

GOD

Linger over this. Think about "perseverance."

JERRY

Well, it means persistence, follow-through, not surrendering, not giving up.

GOD

Not surrendering. This is the combat aspect. You have to fight in life--not against the flow, but with it, against obstacles to it.

(Music)

JLM

I moved on to other reading, but about six months later I was guided back to the I Ching, and told to pray in more detail about each section.

Number 1. The Creative.

The Creative works sublime success,

Furthering through perseverance.

JLM

I sensed that the Creative refers to God's overflowing into human beings and into human action.

So this is a situation where God's overflowing moves toward success in what is most important in this situation, creating an outcome that fits the nature and destiny of the people and forces concerned, through attuned, firm, purposeful action. This sounds like a situation in which firm action is called for, not action based on human choice or willfulness, but action that is an instrument for channeling God's overflowing presence into the situation so that there is a natural fulfillment of all parties concerned.

GOD

Now the Image.

JLM

The movement of heaven is full of power.

Thus the superior man makes himself strong and untiring.

GOD

The meaning is now transparent, isn't it?

JERRY

Yes, Lord. It is another way of saying the same thing. Sometimes the divine reality -'the movement of heaven'- is flowing into a situation in a potentially powerful way. It behooves a properly attuned person to tap into that divine presence, to make himself or herself the instrument, and to engage in strong, purposeful action in accord with it. The result will be an outcome that fulfills or actualizes the individuals and forces involved.

GOD

Go on to Number 2.

JLM

Number 2. The Receptive. It begins:

The Receptive brings about sublime success,

Furthering through the perseverance of a mare,

If the superior man undertakes something and tries to lead,

He goes astray;

But if he follows, he finds guidance. . . .

JERRY

But if he follows, he finds guidance, seems to mean: If he follows like a dance partner, yields to the situation, and listens for God's voice, it will come to him, and he will know the right things to do.

GOD

Yes. Both situations occur. There are times you know what to do, what God wants of you, and there are times you do not, when the situation itself may be unclear, you don't know who are the good guys and who are the bad guys, or what action would be efficacious rather than risky or counterproductive or ineffective. In those situations, flow with the situation, staying attuned to Me, and sensitive to the forces present and the various actors, and the right action--or lack of action--will manifest itself.

Now go to Number 3.

JLM

The third of the sixty-four sections, each providing guidance for a particular type of situation, is called "Difficulty at the Beginning." Before I had a chance to read the Judgment, I was told,

GOD

Sometimes you don't know from the beginning what to do and, perhaps forced to act, you act wrongly--either morally or in terms of consequences. Then you need to rectify, to regain your footing, to seek advice and help from others.

JLM

I read Number 4 and then went to Number 5, "Waiting."

Waiting. If you are sincere, 

You have light and success.

Perseverance brings good fortune.

It furthers one to cross the great water.

GOD

Go to the Image.

JLM

Clouds rise up to heaven.

The image of waiting.

Thus the superior man eats and drinks,

Is joyous and of good cheer.

JERRY

Why the title 'Waiting'?

GOD

This is all quite simple. The task is not always to fight or act, or to try to mobilize one's potential or effort to yield and follow God's will. There are times for just being, because you already are what you should be, and so is the universe, and you should enjoy, appreciate, understand that fact. The universe is a joy, not just an arena for action. It is a celebration.

JLM

I had learned that there are two keys. You have to trust that your device for selecting the Number fitting your situation reflects divine guidance. Having found it, you have to meditate on the Judgment and Image in a prayerful, yielding way.

In I Ching, I had found another way God communicates.

[Interlude]

JERRY

Lord, China is overwhelming.

GOD

You are looking at a massive culture that goes back thousands of years. You cannot expect to understand their relation to Me by building it up out of pieces. You need to step back and take a look at the whole.

JERRY

Lord, I don't see the whole.

GOD

Yes, you do. You just have to relax, and not feel you have to understand and master everything. Try it.

JERRY

When I step back, keeping in mind the ancient classics I have read . . .

GOD

No, you don't have to do that. Step farther back.

JERRY

When I look at I Ching, I see . . .

GOD

No, step farther back.

JERRY

Lord, when I step way back, I see people living in a bounded, well-defined world, characterized by geographic and linguistic unity; a world in which they must yield to the elements, to the rise and fall of the rivers and the changing seasons; a world in which the organization of the whole determines whether the parts can function well; they must all function in concert, in harmony; a world that lives under the dome of Heaven, of an overarching natural order, within which people are living vis-à-vis one another in a similar order, harmony, and hierarchy, with rules of graciousness and deference essential to maintaining order and harmony, and either going with the flow or using stratagems to ride the flow successfully, while having an appreciation for the small objects and minute details resonating to the whole.

GOD

And now what does that tell you about Me?

JERRY

You are the whole to which the parts are resonating, to which they must yield—since stratagems do not work with You—who embodies the order they must replicate in their lives and social relations, who is seen in the beauty and order of nature.

GOD

And what does that tell you about what it is like to be God?

JERRY

You are that calm center, that framework of order, that creative source of beauty, and that inner impulse to relate to others well. Am I on track, Lord?

GOD

As I told you, you might say that the Chinese sought Me, not Me them. Through the oracle bones, they sought to be in tune with Me. And I saw that My way of relating to humans need not be only through whispering and urging, but that people can respond directly to the physical, moral, and aesthetic order I present; that these are not separate, unrelated tasks for Me but are all of a piece and they are one way that I communicate to people and that people can respond to Me. This, again, is a step toward My integration as a "personality."

JERRY

So: The Chinese have an aesthetic appreciation of Nature and want to fit in harmoniously. But, in real life, there is always a plane of action. The Taoists are one-sided and neglectful of the demands of action. The Confucianists are one-sided in the opposite direction. They address action, but fail to fit it into a cosmic context. For them, it remains at a social level. But doesn't the I Ching combine the two?

GOD

Exactly! You have been reading My mind, literally. I Ching is a kind of synthesis of the two emphases of Chinese thought--harmony in the natural and in the social orders. The first is larger, a frame for the second, and more open to Me, but the Taoists took it away from action. The Confucianists were preoccupied with action solely in the context of social harmony and not in accordance with My will. In I Ching you see both, and that is why there are classic commentaries in both traditions. Both felt it was their book.

JERRY

And the book has been popular ever since.

(Music)

JLM

Polytheism, Egypt, Confucius, the Tao, the I Ching--I now knew something about the pieces of the puzzle, but hadn't a clue how they were supposed to fit together. Was there a big picture?