Yi Jing, Oracle of the Moon

神數

“Shen Shu”, Spirit Numbers 25-48

Numbers
1-24
25-48
49-72
73-96
97-120
121-144
145-168
169-192
193-216
217-240
241-264
265-288
289-312
313-336
337-360
361-384

25 Seen and unseen

見不見
也防人背面
過不過
到底無憑撩

Some things you see and others you don't
Be on guard against the other side of people
Some things you detect and others you don't
In the end there is no evidence
(expl. 001-048)

26 Phase of life

一番桃季一番春
誰識當初氣象新
林下水邊尋活計
見山了了稱心情

One time of peach and plum blossom
One time of spring
Who knows when the initial atmosphere renews
Retired he seeks a living at the water side
Beholding the mountain with clear understanding and a gratified mind
(expl. 001-048)

27 A real person

莫怪我見錯
心性自成痾
偏僻不通心
真人卻不魔

Do not blame me that my views are like scythes
My disposition strange
Stubborn and secluded with a sealed off heart
However a real person and not a demon
(expl. 001-048)

  錯 Strange, surprise, very, complain.
  痾 disease, resentment, shortcomings.
  真人 Real person, Dao.: immortal.

28 Ambition fulfilled

祿馬交馳
男兒得志時
行程早辦
榮歸樂期頤

Good luck and horse joined in gallop
The man fulfilled his ambitions at the right time
He started out on the journey early
Returns in glory as a pleased centenarian
(expl. 001-048)

  祿 Luck or offficial salary.

29 The borders of Heaven

了卻心頭事
三生夙有緣
香開十里桂
移涉入天邊

Settling the affairs of heart and mind
Three incarnations since long fated by karma
The fragrance of ten miles of Osmanthus opens
Walk into the horizon
(expl. 001-048)

  三生Three incarnations, past, present and future.

30 Buying Qì

緣黃閣白了頭
畢竟成何濟
不如趁此精神猶好
買些真氣

Contribute to the golden pavilion
whitehaired one
In the end it becomes a way to help
Inferior to benefitting of spirit now
It is still good to buy some true Qì
(expl. 001-048)

31 A good companion

離別間
雖不易
同伴行
猶不滯
早早起程
免他失意

Take leave for a while
Even if it is not easy
A competent companion
Not one who dawdles
Set out on the journey as early as possible
Avoid to disappoint him
(expl. 001-048)

32 Sunset

樂之極矣憂將至
巽兌分明吉與凶
未能光大終幽暗
日落西山返照中

When pleasure is extreme grief will arrive
In Gentleness and Joy clearly good luck joins bad luck
The failure to be glorious finishes gloomy
In the reflected rays of the sunset
(expl. 001-048)

  日落西山 The sun goes down behind the Western mountain: sunset.

33 The way of the clouds

歷過波濤三五重
誰知浪靜又無風
須教明達青雲路
用舍行藏不費功

After experiencing a few huge billows
Who would expect the waves to calm and the wind to die down?
Understanding the way of the clouds has to be taught
To go forward when the road is open or stop when it is closed requires no work
(expl. 001-048)

  三五 Three five: a few.

34 Raise your head

缺月又重圓
枯枝色更鮮
一條夷坦路
翹首望青

The crescent moon waxes to big and round again
The bare branches get more color and freshness
A strip of smooth and level road
Raise your head and gaze into the blue sky
(expl. 001-048)

  翹首raise the head (to look), long eagerly.
  望 gaze, look, long, full moon.
  青天 blue sky; upright magistrate.

35 Just this sandbank

行路難行路難
今日方知行路難
前程廣大何足慮
勉力今朝度此灘

The journey is difficult
The journey is difficult
Today you learned that the journey is difficult
The wide space of the future is not worth considering
Make an effort now to cross this sandbank
(expl. 001-048)

  此灘 this shore: here. (compare with verse 39).

36 Spring desires

春景明
春色新
春意傍水生
春天無限好
好去宴瓊林

The spring scenery is bright
The colors of spring all new
Fresh desires at the waterside
Spring is bright and splendid without limits
I love the Qionglin banquet
(expl. 001-048)

  宴瓊林 Qionglin banquet, feast hosted by the Qing emperor for successful candidates of the imperial examination.
  This poem is about the Garden of pure brightness on the river

37 Dao and virtue

萬馬歸元
千猿朝洞
虎伏龍降
道高德重

Ten thousand horses return to the chief
Thousand apes towards the cave
Tigers hide and dragons descend
Dao is great and virtue grand
(expl. 001-048)

38 The call of the golden Feng bird

黃鸝報上林
春色鮮明
提鞭快著馬
上速行程

Huang Feng is calling in Shanglin
The colors of spring are bright
Raise the whip and make it snap
Immediately start the journey
(expl. 001-048)

  This poem is about Shanglin Park, the emperor's garden.

39 The other shore

大肆放靈丹
救人行萬千
到頭登彼岸
渡過人仙班

On a large scale exert miraculous cures
Help innumerable people competently
In the end you climb the other shore
Crossing over to the immortals
(expl. 001-048)

  彼岸 The other shore, Buddh: perfection, completeness.
  仙班 'immortal class', scholars with a high literary degree.

40 Dark mysteries

一帶水
碧澄澄
舟往江上
月到天心
穩步其中
玄妙不聞
非人誤己
幾喪生身

In a clear water region
like bluegreen jade
The boat sails upstream
with the moon right overhead
Steadily and in the center
I cannot understand the mysteries
But who runs counter makes mistakes
The seeds of losing his life
(expl. 001-048)

41 Everything as it should be

桃李舒妍
春光鮮麗
良辰美景君須記
隨心所往
事事相宜
無用多疑干瀆神祇

Peaches and plums open up their beauty
Resplendent sights and sounds of spring
A beautiful scene in bright weather
Which the lord should remember
When he aims to fulfill his desires
For everything to be as it should be
There is no need for uncertainty
Which violates the revered spirits
(expl. 001-048)

  良辰美景 A beautiful scene in bright weather; favorable circumstances.
   瀆神 violate spirits, disturb your peace of mind.

42 The mysteries of fate

隱中顯
顯中微
個中有玄機
參得透了
直上仙梯

It is hidden in the obvious
It appears in the abstruse
Therein dwell the mysteries of fate
If you comprehend this thoroughly
You go straight up the immortals' stairway
(expl. 001-048)

43 Hold the reigns

無上去
在前頭
回頭一悟
繩韁好收
千條萬線路常在
自好搜求

Don't go for the top or for the front
Turn around with understanding
Gather the reins in an easy way
There are 1000 paths and 10.000 roads
With self-esteem search and inquire
(expl. 001-048)

44 Like a pine tree

四顧無門路
桃源路可通
修煉成正果
萬歲壽如松

Looking around there is no door or road
You need to open up the road to Táoyuán
Practice ascetism and become reborn
And live as long as a pine tree
(expl. 001-048)

  This poem is about the story of Taoyuan

45 Home of spiritual values

不用忙
不用慌
自有駐足鄉
鳴鼓響鐘地
三寶見門牆

No need to hurry
No need to be nervous
You stay in a place
Where drums are beaten and bells are sounded
The three treasures meet gates and walls
(expl. 001-048)

  三寶Three Treasures; The teachings of Chinese religions have each their own set.

46 Stop running

奔波一世
總是虛浮
無常一到
萬事休
急早回頭

Rushing about all one's life
Always superficial
With changeable goals
Everything gets lost
Turn around immediately
(expl. 001-048)

47 Return home

真真真
人不識
真真真神有靈
歸宗返本
方是元精

The real truth - people fail to see
The real truth - Spirits have power
Return to the ancestors and back to the roots
The place of primary perfection
(expl. 001-048)

48 The vicissitudes of life

走盡天涯
風霜歷遍
不如問人参天
漸漸有回首見

Leaving for the utmost edge of the world
Experiencing wind and frost everywhere
It is better to ask people and consult heaven
Little by little you turn around your views
(expl. 001-048)

  風霜wind and frost: vicissitudes of life or travel.