Libo

The art is profound and distant: the heart method of the Ren school.

date unknown (未詳) · anonymous (佚名) · Volume 2 / 2

Charting guides: Da Liu Ren Chart Calculator, Jin Kou Jue Chart

噫!術之至幽也,莫深乎課;道之至遠也,只在乎心。心既達於玄妙,課亦通乎古今。無常德兮不為卜,有正已者乃可為。占欲求夫感應,志其在乎精嚴。 心者,萬物之主,分兩節觀之。

The final passage laments: Alas, among all the techniques of divination, none is more profound than the Six壬 lesson; and among the great Dao, the most distant is actually within the human heart. If the heart can reach the subtle and profound, then the lesson can connect past and present. Those without constant virtue and discipline should not be consulted, and only those who can rectify themselves can learn this art. To seek response through divination, the mind must be fully devoted to the two words "precision and rigor." The explanation says: the heart is the master of all things, and here it can be viewed in two aspects.

求測之人,必其心正且事切,方可動問,於斯則課符實情,占無不驗,若漫然無事而戲占,難求其驗。 六壬學者,宜活達通變,隨其事而斷,不可膠柱鼓瑟。然壬學重於程式,古之人早洩盡天機,餘輩但坐享膏澤,但求“無一字無來處”,不必炫奇求巧,自為曲說。“精嚴”一字,在戒學壬之人宜尊先賢遺意,切戒穿鑿也。

The first layer says that the person seeking divination must have a sincere heart and a pressing matter, only then can the divination be initiated and the question asked; only in this way will the divination correspond to reality and be accurate. If one has no real matter and merely divines for amusement, it will be difficult to obtain a reliable response. The second layer, regarding those who study the Six壬 (Liuren), says that one should be flexible and adapt to the matter being divined, and not be rigid like a zither with fixed strings. However, the art of Liuren also places great emphasis on fixed procedures and rules. Ancient scholars have already fully revealed the secrets of divination; we today merely enjoy the legacy of our predecessors. We should only strive to ensure that every word has a source, without showing off or inventing strange interpretations. The phrase "precision and rigor" in the赋 (essay) is a warning to those studying Liuren to respect the original intent of the ancients and avoid forced interpretations. The ultimate purpose of the "Kuanang Fu" lies in the sincerity of the person seeking divination and the proper approach of the diviner.

The original text is in the public domain. The English is a machine-assisted translation of this library’s own Chinese paraphrase, checked against a fixed glossary so that technical terms match the definitions used elsewhere on this site. It is a reading aid and does not replace the original.