I Ching

The mature period of Chou Wen-Chung’s compositional output was marked by the gradual formulation of his musical language from I Ching, or the Classic of Changes from the Western Zhou period (1000-750 BCE). The most documented aspect of Chou’s language was his system of pitch organization, which he named variable modes. It took Chou more than three decades to arrive at its final version, and it formed the backbones of his compositional structure. The theoretical foundation of this system is based on the I Ching trigrams. Two kinds of lines construct the trigrams; from the ontological theory of Yin and Yang dialectical monism, the unbroken line represents Yang, while the broken line represents Yin. Yin and Yang then combine to create the eight trigrams representing different basic principles of reality, and pairs of trigrams…

The I Ching, which translates to the Book of Changes, is one of the few surviving books from the beginnings of Chinese history. It is believed to have been used as a divination tool nearly 3,000 years ago by shamans, and continues to be used today. The I Ching differs from fortune telling as the decision lies in us rather than a foretold fate completely independent of what we may or may not do. The oldest oracles confined themselves to the answers yes and no, and this is the foundation of the I…

natural order of all that is. In the ‘Tao Te Ching’, 6th century B.C. Chinese philosopher, Lao Tzu, introduces the Tao as the undefinable inherent truth; the key to unlocking the ebb and flow of a joyous nonresistant life; to the bewilderment of those who choose to suffer the endless cycle of anxiety, worry and fear. Through this prodigious poetic masterpiece, Tzu introduces the world to his philosophies and births one of the worlds most impactful spiritual movements, Taoism. A philosopher and a…

unlike any other ruler seen in various religions, because he was not very concerned, he did not preach or was not worries about the other people just himself. Even though he was very rarely concerned, emperors still looked at him as their ruler. Lao Tzu developed characters that would become essential to the Taoism religion. These included the Tao Te Ching and The Way of Its Power. The Tao Te Ching was considered the beginning of the bible of the Taoism’s religion. They believed that in…

In China's ancient culture, there were many schools of thought, but the most important two thoughts are Ru tradition from “The Analects” and Daoist School from “Tao Te Ching”, which were created by Confucius and Laozi. Confucius promotes a hierarchical and moral society based on propriety while Laozi promotes a classless and simple social life. Although they seem to be two contradictory propositions, they both claim to go back and rebuild the lost Golden Ages through the way. Confucius…

The first reading in chapter one of our text Pursuing Happiness, edited by Mathew Parfitt and Dawn Skorczewski, presents material translated from The TaoTeChing. I studied multiple sources to find more about this ancient text, and in the paragraphs below I will discuss the meaning of Tao its self, the author behind the work, and how Taoism has grown and changed through the centuries up to present time. Taoism is a religion that originated in china approximately 2,400 years ago. The main…

Man becomes one with Nature or Heaven… and merges himself with Dao, or the Way.” a.By focusing on becoming virtuous we miss the target completely. Instead, when we ground ourselves with the world around us, we become one with the way. b.In the movie “The Rivers and the Tides” we can see Goldsworthy becoming one with nature declaring, “I’ve shook hands with the place.” 1.Andy Goldsworthy makes a wonderful example for non-action, as he is not searching for “the Way.” Instead, he allows it to…

I define reality as a combination of ideas, perceptions, and views that form the basis of one’s thoughts and actions. It is a collection of what we know to be true. In my life, I know reality through sensory perceptions and my own experiences, learning from the teachings of others, self-reflection and expression of emotion, and intuition or “understanding without knowing” as is described in Lao-tzu’s Tao Te Ching. Using these faculties, I have structured my own version of reality with which I…

thinking that has persisted throughout time. It is an endless endeavor at trying to understand the universe and our place in it. Lao Tzu is a chinese philosopher who founded Taoism which is defined as a way of life. He wrote his ideas in a book called Tao Te Ching that is still known around the world today. Marcus Aurelius is a Roman emperor who wrote Meditations, a book that has details about Marcus Aurelius’ thoughts and stoicism in general. While these two philosophers may have been born in…

Many of the poems from the Tao Te Ching and the Hua Hu Jing touch on the practice of wuwei. There can actually be examples of all three, humility, compassion and frugality found with in some of them. A lot of these concepts can come across as deep and cryptic, but when you get down to it and begin to understand them and break them down, they can be summed up to the three basic teachings stated above. Chapter two of the Tao Te Ching is among the chapters that stood out to me the most. I found…