Seeking the Spirit of the Book of Change: 8 Days to Mastering a Shamanic Yijing (I Ching) Prediction System [ハードカバー]

First, I placed an order for the hard cover copy after I finished the book. That should say something about the book.

This was the first time I was exposed to I Ching and it has been a wonderful experience. For someone from the East, I am no stranger to shamanism, foretune teller and guys called themselves masters who claimed that they can accurately predict the future and do things to influence changes and events. However, Master Wu's book presented the prediction system in a whole new way. It is a numerical system that tells a lot about law of nature. Like feng shui, its ultimate goal is help people achieve harmony. After all, if China is full of master shamans who can predict the future, they would still be ruled by emperors and Forbidden City wouldn't be just a tourist attraction.

The book is entertaining, beside very informative. Master Wu's narrative, relaxing style makes you want to keep reading. He made I Ching easy to understand, with real life examples that the readers can relate to. An amazing fact: the binary system used in today's computers has its origin in the I Ching system (need to verify this).

The Qi Gong exercises at the end of each chapter are priceless. They are very easy to follow. Master Wu even explained each form and how it affected the organs in your body. I recognized the exerise immediately, having exposed to Qi Gong before.

It has been a wonderful experience reading the book. While you might not become a shaman after reading the book, it will certainly enrich your knowledge and who knows, even improve your health with the Qi Gong exercises.

This is easily one of the best books on Taoist (or Daoist) philosophy or Chinese shamanic practices I have read. It is well written, clear, and uncluttered by obscure references and terms. It is intended to explain some of the deeper history and meaning of the Yijing, or Book Of Change (not "Changes," as is often translated). It is also meant to instruct in the way of viewing the Universe as did the ancient shamans who created Yijing and what became formalized as Taoism (Daoism).

The book is organized as a series of eight lessons presented as if one were spending time with Master Wu at a retreat. Each lesson includes drinking tea, discussion of the history and meaning of certain aspects of trigrams, numbers, etc., as they relate to Yijing ("I Ching" in the Wade-Giles system). Qigong exercises to aid in the study are also included in each lessons.

I found the text remarkably refreshing and bursting with clarity and insight missing from every other text on the subject I have read. Not only are we treated to lessons on the historical derivations of trigrams and hexagrams, but also on deeper meanings in the bagua, numerology, and the interesting diagram called "hetu."

Master Wu's writing is clear and informative without being obscure or pedantic. One really gets the flavor of sitting with a genuine Master in pristine settings and absorbing the knowledge as one would absorb sunlight and a good meal. It is relaxed but instructive, and while not organized in "cookbook" fashion, there is a great deal of information here that would require (and deserves) long and in depth study. This is not a book one simply reads, this is a book to study and review, over and over again.

The qigong exercises are also interesting, and I intend to add them to my practices.

I was intrigued in particular by some of the numerology and the hetu, which I find closely linked to advanced physics, math, and the work of people like Viktor Schauberger. There is indeed much which remains forgotten in the mists of time...

If you are interested in Yijing, Chinese (or Asian) religion, philosophy, or culture, then I would heartily recommend this book. If what you are after is a quick, New Agey cookbook for playing with prediction, don't bother. This book is for serious students of these topics and does not lend itself to instant party trick kinds of things. (On the other hand, it may also lead you into more serious study.....)

A great book. I look forward to more of Master Wu's work.s

This book was a little challenging for me to grasp. I've spent some time with this book trying to wrap my mind around it. While Master Wu goes through great effort to explain I Ching to the western culture, I felt that maybe I wasn't ready for this book or it needed a better explanation.

There is a lot of pictures and diagrams. In my advance copy, the figures as related in the text was not matched up with the images. For me, in Master Wu's movements, I felt that there needed to be a better indication of his moments or more partial pictures to show movement.

I wouldn't classify this book as a "beginners" book. More so of someone who is more acquainted with I Ching.