I ching (what's the use of hexagrams)

After Confucius learned the Book of Changes, he said, "Don't take it." . Xunzi also said: those who are good and easy will not take it. It can be seen that people who really understand the Book of Changes do not use it for divination, but divination is the main content of the Book of Changes. So what does the word divination mean? What does the sixty-four hexagrams represent? So what is the role of the sixty-four hexagrams in the Book of Changes in our lives?

What is "hexagram"? "Hanging up" means hanging up, just like we take a photo and put it in a photo frame and hang it on the wall. That's what it means. Why did you hang up? Because people's eyes are on the foreign minister, we can easily see others, but we can never see ourselves clearly. We can see the dirt on other people's faces at once, but we can't see the dirt on our own faces. Therefore, it is said that "the bystander is clear, and the authorities are confused." So we hang up our image and have a good look, that's what it means. Everything in the universe is always connected, not isolated. So look at this scenery, from the current concept of photography. You must choose a certain angle. I want this work, shoot it and hang it here for me to see. In other words, the same scenery, everyone's shooting direction is different, and the theme used is different, so what they get is still different. Gua, there are two key words, the first is "Gua", and each of us has six hexagrams. This six-pointed star is an old man. No matter what kind of knife is used, I believe that the old knife is either a metal knife or a stone piece, which is relatively thin, so it is used as a knife. It is natural to row and row like this, and it becomes stubborn. Each symbol in the hexagrams is called a hexagram, and the whole Book of Changes is two different symbols, Yin is called a hexagram and Yang is called a hexagram. The hexagrams in the dry hexagrams are all yang hexagrams, and the hexagrams in the Kun hexagrams are all yin hexagrams. Among the sixty-four hexagrams, six hexagrams are all yang, only dry hexagrams; All six hexagrams are yin, only Kun hexagrams. The other 62 hexagrams are all yin and yang, and yang and yin. This tells us that there are not many pure yin and not many pure yang, which is the most complicated. Therefore, there are few real good people and few real bad people, and the most bad people are good and bad. As I said before, Yin and Yang are one, and there is no way to live forever without them. The most important thing of Yin and Yang is transaction, so the very important concept in the Book of Changes is transaction. Endlessness is the result of the transaction. As long as the transaction is stopped, the business cannot be done. The words and characters we use in today's society are probably related to the Book of Changes, and we also talk about the Book of Changes every day, because the Book of Changes has been integrated into the blood of China people and has become our cultural gene. There are sixty-four hexagrams in the Book of Changes. What does this mean? As far as we sum up everything in the universe, it finally evolved into 64 representative situations. Go to the diviner and find out what happens. Therefore, we regard the Book of Changes as a treasure book of life, that is, we can look it up when we encounter something. It's clear at first glance: in this case, we must grasp these basic principles and how to deal with them, so as to avoid misfortune. Reading the Book of Changes makes people seek good fortune and avoid evil, which is not high enough. In fact, at the end of the Book of Changes, there is no concept of good or bad luck, which is more difficult. Reading the Book of Changes needs to be understood layer by layer, and it is impossible to understand the Book of Changes at once.

The 64 hexagrams in the Book of Changes represent 64 scenes in the life of the universe. Although nature is ever-changing, there are certain laws, and human society is ever-changing and has certain laws, so history is often strikingly similar. Our life also has certain rules, so the Book of Changes is a treasure house to understand the life of the universe. But how did the hexagrams representing various scenes come into being? How can we understand the meaning of divinatory symbols?

This is a list of 64 hexagrams. There are eight kinds of upper hexagrams and eight kinds of lower hexagrams. When the upper and lower hexagrams are combined, a hexagram is produced. So this table is very clear, a * * *, sixty-four hexagrams, not difficult at all. Our ancestors lined up and found that there are only 64 different combinations, one is not many and the other is many, which is what modern mathematics calls permutation and combination. Sixty-four hexagrams of the Book of Changes are not difficult. What is difficult is that each hexagram has its code name. The bottom hexagram is called the first hexagram, the following hexagrams are called two hexagrams, three hexagrams, four hexagrams and five hexagrams, and the last hexagrams are called the last hexagram. The beginning and the end represent time, and the most important thing in the Book of Changes is time. With the change of time, everything is changing, so people in China always say "at any time", which means to change at any time. The beginning, the second, the third, the fourth, the fifth and the last are the time sequence of six hexagrams. There is another saying, down, two, three, four, five and up, which means the position of six hexagrams. Besides time and place, how do you describe Yin and Yang? It's simple. Yin is called six, and Yang is called nine. Why are men afraid of nine? Because the extreme yang is called nine, and nine is the anode. So you can't say that you will celebrate your father's 59th birthday. No, that's very bad for him. Fifty-nine years old, hurry to celebrate your sixtieth birthday, and avoid nine, because nine is the anode. There is a concept in the Book of Changes, that is, extremes meet. No matter who goes to extremes, the future must be reversed. This is easy for us to understand in physics: once an object reaches the vertex of a parabola, it will inevitably go down, without exception. Open the Book of Changes, and on the ninth day, the first one is positive, and the second one is negative. You can draw the corresponding image when you see the number, and you can think of the number when you see the image.

There are only two kinds of hexagrams in the Book of Changes: Yang hexagrams and Yin hexagrams, because all changes in the universe are the result of the interaction of Yin and Yang. Each hexagram in the sixty-four hexagrams is composed of six hexagrams, except for the dry hexagrams, which are all yang hexagrams, and the Kun hexagrams are all yin hexagrams.

Why is Yang called nine and Yin called six? That makes sense. Kun is a pure Yin with six paintings, so Yin is called six. Some people may think that Yang is a three-picture painting and should be called three. How can it be called nine? Because Yang is creation and Yin is cooperation. Under the sun, creation without cooperation can only be empty talk and complete fantasy, and the ultimate ideal cannot be practiced. Some people want to cooperate fully, but they don't create and don't know where to go. So when you say yang, you must bring yin, which is the so-called yang dominating yin. Yin and Yang are inseparable. A person who knows the culture of China must remember that when we talk about the sky including the earth, and when we talk about men including women, we will never be separated. When we call others gentlemen, men and women are the same. Men are called gentlemen and women are also called gentlemen. We treat men and women equally, but later people interpret it as male superiority and female inferiority, which is very strange. Women can do everything that men can do, but there is one thing that women can't do, and that is having children. You say men are great, and you let men have a baby for everyone to see? He can't be born. What can we do? We know nature very well and know that it is useless to have only Yang, so we must bring Yin, so we say that "the solitary Yin is not long, and the solitary Yang is not long". Yin and Yang must exist at the same time to be endless. So when we look at Yang, the sum of up and down is nine, so we use "nine" to represent it. It's easy to understand, don't memorize it. This table is sorted out: on the ninth day, the second day, the third day, the fourth day, the fifth day and the ninth day, divination is explained by this symbol. You will find another question: Why is the first one called Grade Nine and the second one called Grade Nine instead of Grade Nine? He has a point. The beginning is more important, so the first nine, putting the beginning before the nine, is called "the ninth day"; Just like after birth, gender is very important. The Book of Changes tells us that textbooks for men should not be the same as textbooks for women. A girl can learn more about art, music and cooking, which is good for her. However, although women can do better, the right chef must be a man. This is that there is yang in yin and yin in yang. He must be like this. Will not be separated, or you will eventually become two kinds of people. Yin and Yang must cross. We look at the pictures of DNA, which are also cross. In fact, the more developed science is, the more it can prove the correctness of the Book of Changes, and a lot of scientific knowledge can help us understand the Book of Changes more conveniently. Life is about making different adjustments at each stage. Each hexagram has six hexagrams, that is, six symbols, telling us to divide a thing into six stages and adjust it step by step. Think about it. You analyze things when you meet them, right? Let's look at it from the perspective of modern science. You have to analyze it If the analysis is one hundred, it will be chaotic. It's too easy for you to analyze into three, so you divide into six. I believe that you can hardly analyze things in more than six stages. You divide it into six stages, and then adjust it according to the differences between the six stages, and you will be smooth. This is the greatest effect of the Book of Changes on us.

Learning the Book of Changes is to master the basic principles of the Book of Changes. At different stages of life, we should know how to adjust ourselves. Everyone's life is actually in their own hands, and the images of a person's life are all drawn by themselves. So did Confucius draw a divination for himself after reading the Book of Changes? How did he draw it?

Confucius not only read the Book of Changes, but also realized that everyone should draw this hexagram by himself. There are some people in our life who just draw a six-pointed star and leave; Some people drew two or three hexagrams and he left; The divination you drew is your own, which is called self-portrait in current terminology. Confucius calculated divination once in his life. What's it called? Known as the general program of life struggle. This hexagram is a very important reference for everyone, because you only need to read it clearly, and then you will know how to go. Confucius, the general program of life struggle, where is this hexagram written? Written in the Analects of Confucius, I believe everyone can recite it. Nine times out of ten, I am determined to learn, so I point out this sentence. What was his first stage? Fifteen years old, so he knows. Fifteen years old is the first stage of my life, and I am determined to learn. Have you found out why you want to learn when you are fifteen, so you don't have to learn before you are fifteen? That's not true. A person should learn from an early age, but you are not yet fifteen. You'd better not set a goal, it's too early. You see, many children are talking about what I want in the future. It's all a joke, just for fun. Don't set goals until you are fifteen. You see, we are fifteen years old now and just graduated from junior high school. After graduating from junior high school, you have to decide what I want to study. At the age of fifteen, you decided the direction of your study. Fifteen years old, he should know, what is he going to do with his life? He found it himself. We didn't make him. You see how much Confucius gave us in one sentence. Fifteen years old is the first stage of life, with learning as the goal. Do you know what you are going to do with your life? Which direction are you going to study? We can't hesitate any longer. The second sentence is familiar to everyone, standing at thirty. You see, at the age of fifteen, you will grope for another fifteen years and study for another fifteen years. Only when you are thirty can you determine the principles of your life. At the age of fifteen, I decided my ambition, and then I walked in this direction for fifteen years. I can probably come to the conclusion that I have several principles in my life until I am 40 and I am not confused. You have to practice according to your principles for another ten years, and then see what the result is, before you can say, well, this is probably the end of my life. Being forty without being confused doesn't mean that people don't doubt anything when they are forty. There is no such person. That "not confused" just means that I am not confused about my own principles, and others are still confused. Confucius advocates never too old to learn. If we were forty years old, we wouldn't be confused. If you don't study in the future, what else can you learn? I think we are too careless in reading The Analects. We just explained it there, but we didn't fully understand the meaning of Confucius' sentence. This is a very regrettable thing. People who want to say it are not confused. I can be confused in a small range, and others are still confused. This is the right thing. So don't explain that when a person reaches the age of 40, you have no doubt, and that is a saint. At the age of forty, I am not confused about my life goals, my life direction and what I want to learn. A person over forty can barely know that I don't hesitate in the range of what I want to learn, so I have decided to go on like this in my life. What is the following sentence? You knew your destiny at the age of fifty. You can't get along with yourself if you don't know your destiny when you are fifty.

Confucius' life is a complete divination with six hexagrams. Confucius' life is divided into six stages: learning at fifteen, standing at twenty, standing at thirty, not confused at thirty, knowing destiny at forty, obeying at fifty, and not overstepping at sixty. So what does the fate of 50 years old mean? Who decides the fate of life?

You live to be 50 years old. When you look back, you will find that you have a hand to arrange along the way. You have to do this. You've come a long way, which is why you are like this today. You can't run away. Why are you like this today? It's the result of your accumulation since childhood. A person's present situation is the result of accumulation from small to large. The Book of Changes tells us that a person will change once every twenty years. You see, in our society, intergenerational alternation has been going on for almost twenty years, and everyone has to take 100% responsibility for himself. Suppose you are thirty now, and you are responsible for your future fifty. When a person reaches the age of 50, you will know that you don't complain and do everything yourself. At the age of 50, I understand that fate is made by myself. At the age of fifty, you only know one sentence. What is fate? Our life's efforts are just to prove what kind of life you have. If you don't succeed, you won't succeed and feel at ease. Why does everyone have to succeed? Everyone has to live a different life with others in this life, and not everyone is the same. This is called individual difference in psychology. Many people look at individual differences and don't know what individual differences are. Individual difference is that you are different from others. You are the only one in the world. No one is exactly like you. It is out of the question. Who created my life? I did it. I created my life. I created my destiny. Who do I complain about? There is nothing to complain about. Admit it. Can you do it again? There is no way to do it again. The biggest secret in life is that you can't do it again. So 60 sounds good, why should it be good? Because you will meet a lot of people who don't know you at all, and they will just point at you, make a hullabaloo about, lose their temper when they listen, and lose their temper when they don't listen. What should I do? It is easy to hear. Listening is the same as not listening. Then do what you want, not too much. Not overstepping the rules means that I am 70 years old, and I behave myself, which has almost become my living habit. I probably won't make many mistakes, so I can do it with confidence. Confucius' life is divided into two stages, one is before the age of forty and the other is after the age of fifty. So Confucius said that when a person reaches 450 years old, you still don't know what you are doing. Maybe you can forget this life. He just said that you are in your 40 s to 50 s, which is the most important key in life. It is difficult for you to ask a person under 40 to go to school. You can only let him go to school, go to school. Only people over 40 can achieve it. What can they achieve? What to learn next? Going to school is common sense. Confucius finally summed it up in one sentence, six words, that is, do your best and die. Remember to try your best to overcome all difficulties before you are 50. You don't care whether others tell you whether you will succeed in the future. You should go all out. But after 50 years old, you have to resign yourself to fate. I have this successful life, and I will succeed naturally. If I didn't, I wouldn't insist. Why work so hard? All fame and fortune are empty in the end.

Confucius not only painted a divination of life, but the more important divination of Confucius was his completely different life perception in six stages of life. So what kind of life feelings does Confucius have in the six stages of his life? And these feelings of life, for our lives, and what inspiration?

Did Confucius draw only one hexagram in his life? He also drew a hexagram, and more importantly, the hexagram that many people didn't notice was the opening of The Analects. Learning times are also good. You see, this is in contrast to five out of ten who are determined to study. You should know that is his ideal and life plan. This is the result of his practice. Over there, he said that five out of ten are determined to learn. Here, I'll tell you what I got from practicing this sentence. It's good to learn from time to time. This habit is not a review, but a habit. Does it count if you finish learning? Only by forming habits can you be happy. If you accumulate here after studying, what are you happy about? Prepare for the exam. After learning, practice it in your life and form a habit. You will be very happy. The second is the achievement of having friends come from afar and being thirty. When a person reaches the age of 30, there are basic principles in dealing with everyone. People will be happy to deal with you if it's not chaotic, so your friends will come to see you from afar as soon as they have time. Then what is this principle? Your principle is to put yourself in your friend's shoes and he will come naturally. You only care about yourself, and he will never come. Even if you call him, he won't come. This is the result of his practice at the age of 30. It is such a delight to have friends coming so far. What is the result of forty without confusion? People don't know and don't care. What is a pestle? Just a little angry. Because of your principles, you are not confused, but people will be confused. People say why are you like this? But you're not angry at all. Why are you angry because he can't understand you? So if we don't see much in The Analects, what are we reading? People who don't know and don't worry are extremely difficult for China people to do, and it's not easy. You see, today we are just the opposite of what Confucius said. People go on the rampage without knowing it, which is completely contrary to Confucius. I tell you, it's like a mountain. You see, among all the sports stars, I only know one named Yao Ming, and I don't know anyone else. I know why, because Yao Ming is very tall, it's just one. Why do I have to know all the movie stars? There's no need! Then you can imagine that no matter how excellent and special you are in your industry, others still don't know you. That's natural. Tell yourself not to doubt. What other people think and see you is none of your business. At the age of 50, I know my destiny. Which sentence corresponds to it? You are also familiar with this sentence, which is called getting angry and forgetting to eat. Only in this way can you know that when you are young, you can't get angry and forget to eat. That's impossible. Why are you angry and forget to eat? Reading romance novels is over; Why are you angry and forget to eat? Go to the internet cafe, it's over. Angry and forgetting to eat is conditional, that is, when you know what you are going to do in this life, you will do it wholeheartedly, and at this time you will never care. It is conditional that you can get angry and forget to eat. Sixty is pleasing to the ear, and Confucius forgets his worries in four words. What do you mean, forget your troubles? I was so happy that I forgot my sadness. That can't be the case, then this person is confused, insensitive and obviously sad. If you want to be happy and ignore everything, then this kind of person can still be obtained. To forget your troubles happily is to treat all your troubles as fun. I'm not sad that others are sad about this, because it's my own business, so it's his business for others to look at you like this. A person still has worries, fears and worries in your work, that is, there are still many obstacles, which shows that you have not lost your appetite and devoted yourself wholeheartedly. When a person finds what you want to do, you will forget the hard work, which is just your preliminary work. There will be a lot of people attacking you, talking about you behind your back, and even openly challenging you, trying to catch your little handle. It doesn't matter. That's what happened. This is called taking pleasure in forgetting your worries. Everything, if it happens to others, will feel very worried, but in my feeling, it is a pleasure. If you have a clear goal, accepting the challenge itself is a pleasure. If there is no goal, it is something completely different that is annoying. This is the Book of Changes, with changes of yin and yang. Seventy, doing what you want from the heart is not crossing the line. Confucius also said that you don't know that old age is coming. Confucius never knew he was so old, because he didn't know he was old. You are comfortable with what you have done, and you have no worries. Do you feel old? People should be old, not old. No one can escape the physical age, but the mental and psychological state is different for everyone, all of us. Confucius is always young because he has the result of such a concrete practice.

As we know, Confucius drew many hexagrams. In fact, everyone has been drawing a lot of hexagrams all his life, so we should start with the hexagrams of the Book of Changes. The Book of Changes is based on gossip, so when you talk about gossip in the Book of Changes, you mean the sixty-four hexagrams. But since it is sixty-four hexagrams, we need to give each hexagram a code name, which is called the name of the hexagram. There are dry hexagrams, Kun hexagrams, auspicious hexagrams, useless hexagrams, Thai hexagrams and negative hexagrams. Every hexagram has a hexagram name, but after the hexagram name comes out, is everyone clear? Not necessarily, so there must be hexagrams. Gua Ci is an explanation. Why should I name it? The hexagrams represent the big environment, the different changes in each big environment and each stage. That's called hexagrams. A hexagram tells us that you'd better divide everything into six different stages, and then examine its stage changes, so that you can know what its final result is. Since there are six hexagrams, we will give them different words to show that this hexagram is at this stage. What are its characteristics? You should pay attention to some things. In this way, when we see a six-pointed star, it will add some operations to the overall environment. We all know that in the sixty-four hexagrams, besides hexagrams, besides figures of speech, nine and six are also used. Whenever you find Yang, you know that it uses nine; Whenever you see yin, you should consider using six. Using six is relatively simple, that is to say, if you are a pussy, you have only one principle, that is, to be loyal to your people and your affairs to the end, which is very simple. Because it is cooperation, people who cooperate can't have too many opinions and opinions. If you want to cooperate fully, then you are loyal to the end. But when Yang appears, you know it is creative, a creative thing, so it is different from Yin hexagrams. You can't change, you say I create, I create, and finally change is endless disaster. So we use nine to tell you that you are at different stages. Although you are Yang, although you want to create, you have to have different stages and fully grasp your characteristics. Therefore, you should be very careful about the interpretation of Nine. It tells us that even if you are masculine and creative, you should pay attention to one sentence, which is called phased adjustment. You see the same dragon, depending on your position and the characteristics of your dragon, you can't just show it. To see the hexagrams in the Book of Changes, of course, we must start with the dry hexagrams.