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Hi
I wondered whether anyone could recommend books on the I Ching. So far I have two suggestions that people have given me they are The I Ching: or Book of Changes (translated into English by Cary F. Baynes) and The I Ching and Modern Man: Essays on Metaphysical Implications of Change. I wondered whether these are worth getting or too heavy for a beginner. Also has anyone heard of the author Mitchell Damo are his titles a good read.
Many ThanksHi, LR.
I have probably 50 books on the I Ching that I’ve collected over the years in an attempt to understand it. There are many good books, but all are partial. The Wilhelm/Baynes edition is a classic everyone should have. I don’t know the other book you mention. I found Steven Karcher’s books all good: he has a more shamanic take on the I. I don’t recommend Thomas Cleary’s works: he kind of sucks all the cool Taoist stuff out of it and gives a very slanted view. John Blofield’s book is great – very insightful and Taoist – but doesn’t include all the texts. Alfred Huang’s book is good. Richard Rutt has a really good but somewhat academic book that summarizes all the scholarship on the history and development of the book. It’s called Zhou Yi: The Book of Changes.
There’s a great website that has a lot of reviews and other useful info called Yijing Dao, Calling Crane in the Shade. That would be a good place to go to check things out. It’s a deep subject and anyone interested in penetrating its depths should approach it with respect and realize it will require a commitment to study.
Bruce has mentioned the I Ching in many different contexts and I recommend you do some research on what he has to say about it. His approach is very practical and not so much based on its literary embodiment, but on its direct application and experience.
Good luck and happy reading!
Matthew
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