Uploaded October 2023 | Updated September 2026, 3 weeks ago

---

The opening paragraph of Chapter 3 in my book I Ching, The Oracle makes reference to the three major Taoist texts referred to as the Three Mysteries. This video is an introduction and overview of the three texts.

TIMESTAMPS:
00:12 What are the Three Mysteries?
01:00 What is the School of Mysteries?
01:50 Xuan and the Mysterious Lady of the Nine Heavens
02:52 Mystery 1: The Zhouyi [I Ching]
03:44 Mystery 2: The Laozi [Tao de Ching]
05:31 What are the Core Values of Taoism?
06:30 Mystery 3: The Zhuangzi
13:50 “Three Mysteries, Three Essentials” (Buddhist Principle)
14:12 3 x 3 x 3 Cube of Space; Lo Shu Square
16:10 “Xuan” Word References in the Three Mysteries

WORD LIST:
Mystery; the Occult; Darkness (玄, Xuan)
School of Mystery (玄學, Xuan Xue)
Three Mysteries (三玄, San Xuan)
I Ching (易經)
Zhouyi [the I Ching] (周易)
Tao de Ching (道德經)
Laozi (老子)
King of All Scriptures (萬經之王, Wàn jīng zhī wáng)
Five Thousand Characters (五千言, wǔ qiān yán)
Zhuangzi (莊子)
--- Inner Scrolls [of the Zhuangzi] (內篇, Nèi piān)
--- Outer Scrolls [of the Zhuangzi] (外篇, Wài piān)
--- Addenda Scrolls [of the Zhuangzi] (雜篇, Zá piān)
Hui Shi (惠子, Huìzi), 370-310 BC philosopher
Línjì Yìxuán (臨濟義玄), 9th c. Chan Buddhist master
Three Mysteries, Three Essentials (三玄三要, sān xuán sān yào)

I CHING, THE ORACLE (BOOK):
Amazon, https://a.co/d/bktPXJi
Penguin Random House, penguinrandomhouse.com/books/724023/i-ching-the-oracle-by-benebell-wen
North Atlantic Books, northatlanticbooks.com/shop/i-ching-the-oracle

I CHING, THE ORACLE Free Companion Course: benebellwen.com/i-ching-the-oracle/a-companion-course
I CHING Practicum Worksheets: benebellwen.com/i-ching-the-oracle/i-ching-worksheets
I CHING, THE ORACLE Amendments to Text: benebellwen.com/i-ching-the-oracle/amendments-to-text