Benebell Wen | I Ching: Philosophy or Fortune-Telling? @BenebellWen | Uploaded September 2023 | Updated October 2024, 1 hour ago.
This video lecture is part of a companion course series leading up to the release of my third book, I Ching, The Oracle: benebellwen.com/i-ching-the-oracle/a-companion-course

Learn more about I Ching, The Oracle: benebellwen.com/i-ching-the-oracle

A previous video in this companion course series might be a helpful guide on how to interpret an I Ching hexagram: youtu.be/_Pd-yv7h2mQ?si=3ORJizoSi4Et6DxM

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Timestamps:
00:18 The historical origins of the I Ching and the Mandate of Heaven
01:23 The Zhou dynasty births Confucianism, Taoism, and Legalism
02:08 The Five Classics, rooting the I Ching in philosophical discourse
02:48 Studying selected lines of the Zhouyi together
04:22 Book of Change as a book on first principles
04:39 Case study of Hexagram 32 (The Eternal) on how the philosopher and the fortune-teller might assess a hexagram
06:48 Book of Change as a book on moral values; the jun zi (the sage)
07:31 Citing passages on moral values found in the I Ching
09:08 Topics of Chinese philosophy found in the I Ching
09:35 Shamanistic divinatory origins of the I Ching: to unite Heaven and Earth
10:21 Historically, consulting the Yi (I Ching) must be steeped in spiritual preparatory work, rites and ritual; philosophical study of the I Ching is the spiritual cultivation necessary for divinatory work with the I Ching
11:01 Why do we characterize philosophy and fortune-telling as mutually exclusive
12:47 Occult uses of the I Ching throughout East Asian history
14:22 Revisiting the Five Classics and 14:54 the thesis of the Book of Change
15:13 Exercise 1: As a Philosopher
15:25 Examples of philosophical questions to present to the Oracle for consideration; also 16:05 for a second list of philosophical questions
16:36 Spiritual cultivation comes from the challenging process of interpreting, assessing, and considering the Yi’s message
17:10 How to interpret your I Ching hexagram casting result; also 17:34 for more tips on how to approach interpreting your reading
18:25 Exercise 2: As a Fortune-Teller
19:18 Exercise 3: Personifying the Oracle
20:58 Leaning in to what you perceive as the tone that the Oracle is taking with you in this instances; what are your feelings and emotions in response to the reading; interpret the visuals you’re receiving as symbolic
21:22 Concluding thoughts on philosophy vs. divination/fortune-telling

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I Ching, The Oracle (North Atlantic Books, 2023), benebellwen.com/i-ching-the-oracle
- Amazon (US): https://a.co/d/cmm0qLP
- North Atlantic Books, a California-based non-profit publisher: northatlanticbooks.com/shop/i-ching-the-oracle
- Penguin Random House: penguinrandomhouse.com/books/724023/i-ching-the-oracle-by-benebell-wen