I Ching

"It is not I who seek the young fool; The young fool seeks me."

"To nourish oneself on ancient virtue induces perseverance."

"An army must set forth in proper order. If the order is not good, misfortune threatens."

"The superior man falls back upon his inner worth In order to escape the difficulties. He does not permit himself to be honored with revenue."

"He whose truth is accessible, yet dignified, Has good fortune."

"No boasting of wealth before one's neighbor."

"It is unlucky to sound off about happiness."

"To go one's way with sincerity brings clarity."

"Those above can ensure their position Only by giving generously to those below."

"The superior man acquaints himself with many sayings of antiquity And many deeds of the past, In order to strengthen his character thereby."

"If you are sincere, you have success in your heart, And whatever you do succeeds."

"The great man, by perpetuating this brightness, Illumines the four quarters of the world."

"When tempers flare up in the family, Too great severity brings remorse."

"Thus the superior man controls his anger And restrains his instincts."

"Thus the superior man: If he sees good, he imitates it; If he has faults, he rids himself of them."

"The superior man encourages the people at their work, And exhorts them to help one another."

"Fire in the lake: the image of revolution."

"When one's own day comes, one may create revolution."

"Change proves true on the day it is finished."

"Thus in fear and trembling The superior man sets his life in order And examines himself."

"Cultured people practice self-examination with trepidation and fear."

"Keeping his back still So that he no longer feels his body. He goes into his courtyard And does not see his people. No blame. True quiet means keeping still when the time has come to keep still, and going forward when the time has come to go forward. In this way rest and movement are in agreement with the demands of the time, and thus there is light in life. The hexagram signifies the end and the beginning of all movement."

"Thus the superior man Understands the transitory In the light of the eternity of the end."

"Wind over lake: the image of inner truth. Thus the superior man discusses criminal cases In order to delay executions."

"Perseverance brings good fortune."

"Cary F. Baynes (from the German translation by Richard Wilhelm), The 'I Ching' or 'Book of Changes, Bollingen Series, vol. 19 (Princeton UP, 1950)"

"Thomas Cleary, reported in Webster's New World Dictionary of Quotations (2005) p. 428, Chambers Dictionary of Quotations (2005) p. 428, The Yale Book of Quotations (2006) p. 382"

"First take up the words, Ponder their meaning, Then the fixed rules reveal themselves. But if you are not the right man, The meaning will not manifest itself to you."

"The Book of Changes, in a word, is a kind of geometry of mythology... It tells of the readiness of time and the art of moving with its tides, rocking with the waves, and is the most important statement remaining to us of that aspect of ancient Chinese thought which relates the individual to the order of the outer world."

"The I Ching is the world's oldest guide to 'the virtuous life'."

"The purpose of the I Ching or the tarot … is to help you get access to yourself, by providing ambiguity for you to interpret. And this quality of ambiguity is shared with nearly all forms of divination — cast artifacts, or entrails, or weather formations, or events such as the flight of birds, that one could choose either to see as "omens" or to ignore. The very thing that makes these divination techniques seem so unscientific is what makes it possible for them to work."

"There is a book called the I-Ching, I'm not trying to push it, I don't want to talk about it, but it's the only thing that is amazingly true, period, not just for me. Anybody would know it. Anybody that ever walks would know it. It's a whole system of finding out things, based on all sorts of things. You don't have to believe in anything to read it, because beside being a great book to believe in it's also very fantastic poetry."

"I threw the I-Ching yesterday, it said there might be some thunder at the well."

"Whatever you do, be sure to let your readers know that every sentence can be read in an almost infinite number of ways! That is the secret of the book. No one will ever know what it really means!"

"The I Ching does not offer itself with proofs and results; it does not vaunt itself, nor is it easy to approach. Like a part of nature, it waits until it is discovered. It offers neither facts nor power, but for lovers of self-knowledge, of wisdom—if there be such—it seems to be the right book. To one person its spirit appears as clear as day; to another, shadowy as twilight; to a third, dark as night. He who is not pleased by it does not have to use it, and he who is against it is not obliged to find it true. Let it go forth into the world for the benefit of those who can discern its meaning."

"Its name, "The Book of Changes," is suggestive; and we find throughout its contents the vague idea of change replaced by the more definite one of "transformation," the key-word of alchemy... "The diagrams," [Confucius] says again, "comprehend the profoundest secrets of the universe; and the power of exciting the various motions of the universe depends on their explanation;—the power to effect transmutation depends on the understanding of the diagrams of changes." Here, in a word, is the...general object of Chinese students of alchemy."

"The origins of astronomy can be found in the I Ching. Using the principle of astronomy, calendrical studies, and the I Ching to understand thoroughly the meaning of the unity of heaven and man is difficult. Nevertheless, we should study the I Ching little by little and fuse it with the principles of astronomy and calendrical studies. Then we can investigate the similarities in all things."

"The "Book of Changes" is regarded with almost universal reverence, both on account of its antiquity and also the unfathomable wisdom which is supposed to lie concealed under its mysterious symbols."