Comments on: Friday I Ching: Hurricanes and the Mandate of Heaven

By: Steve Lanzet

Steve Lanzet — Tue, 02 May 2006 16:14:09 +0000

“Therefore it is ever so important for dynastic rulers to be benevolent and virtuous to continue the rule. ”
politics doesn’t work that way. It’s all about the money. The average citizen is not able to see through the BS. There are no valid choices on the ballot. please send me a list of Americans that are benevolent and virtuous.
ps I live on a mountain and this is my 1st response to anything in your newsletter.
pps you look to young to be wise

By: Hilary

Hilary — Mon, 26 Sep 2005 10:58:42 +0000

Thanks for the feedback! Yes, the oracle (source of the original hyperlink?) must have been waiting for a while for someone to come up with the http://www.

By: Tarot Reading Power

Tarot Reading Power — Sun, 25 Sep 2005 18:32:51 +0000

I Ching - Politics and the Mandate of Heaven

This is a very interesting change, and I believe it points to the general administration of government under Bush, as well as the specifics of the Katrina response. Specifically, it points to the disjoint between image and reality in the adminsitratio…

By: Allan Lian

Allan Lian — Sun, 25 Sep 2005 17:35:43 +0000

For the benefit of those who may not understand about the idea of living in the mountains. In the olden days, most of the best Chinese masters live in seclusion in the mountains to practise their arts, be it martial or alchemy, and where they can be one with nature. A good example will be the founder of Taiqiquan, Zhang Sanfeng living and practising in Wudang Mountains.

Although some may not agree, after discussing with him and reading his contributions in the I Ching Forum in 2002/03, in his Biroco blog and Yijing Dao website, one has considered Steve Marshall to be a master in Yi studies. He has been quiet and reclusive lately, therefore the pun that he lives in the mountains.

By: Allan Lian

Allan Lian — Sun, 25 Sep 2005 16:36:34 +0000

Well, it has turned out that Bush is currently considering letting the Defense Department take charge in natural disasters of a certain size (as reported by AP-news.yahoo.com Sunday Sept 25). Either, someone has looked at the Yiâ€™s oracles given to Sam and interpreted Hexagram 7 Shih / The Army literally, and advised the US President to appoint a general to coordinate such matters? Or, the more likely case, the Yi has given Sam an advance notice of such an event.

Giving the Army too much power can sometimes be destabilizing as China found out a couple of decades ago, and therefore she has been trimming the size of her army and its powers ever since. Anyway, it is the US Presidentâ€™s prerogative on what he wants to do. As interpreted earlier, some official(s) can be out of a job, if they are not persevering (wise).

If US Presidents can also be deem to hold Mandates of Heaven, then the first to do so in the US could be the popular Kennedy family and decades later, the Bush family? But powerful families no matter how popular also have some drawbacks as stated in the Yi. Therefore it is ever so important for dynastic rulers to be benevolent and virtuous to continue the rule.

Yes, Sam. Luckily telecoms provided links to the trees and the mountains for me and Steve respectively (puns intended) apart from the populated cities (Hilary and yours) to communicate through the web. One understands that some geography books in US still show photographs of Malaysians living in trees. And Steve sometimes comes down from the mountains to buy provisions and to tickle our brains? (Joke)

By: Sam Crane

Sam Crane — Sun, 25 Sep 2005 13:40:11 +0000

I like the way you turn it around. I was thinking of it as Bush could lose the Mandate if he does not delegate effectively. You state it as Bush can begin to gain (regain?) the Mandate if he delegates effectively. In a way, your framing of the issue might take better account of Steve’s point that, perhaps, Bush had already lost (begun to lose) the Mandate before the hurricanes (i.e. as a result of an unnecessary war). And must say how fun it is to bat these ideas around between the US, UK and Malaysia (Allan). You’ve just go to love the web….