Reflections on the I Ching

George Santayana once commented that, "The concept of Spirit does not interest
me, except as a technicality; it is the life of Spirit that I'm talking about. . ." And so
too with Professor Allan W. Anderson whose Reflections on the I Ching is written
precisely for the one engaging the life of Spirit. Throughout his career, Professor
Anderson tirelessly explored and shared his understanding of the Perennial or
Wisdom Tradition whose essential features remain the same in every classical
religion regardless of culture.

This collection of Professor Anderson's work on the I Ching, the earliest of the
Chinese classics, serves as a companion volume to his Self-Transformation and the
Oracular. The transcription of a short lecture series will assist the student who is
meeting the I Ching for the first time. The articles delve deeply into the original
text and so provide the philosophical underpinnings for the practice outlined in
the extended essay.

Every scripture has its particular genius. Arguably the genius of the I Ching is
its focus on making adequate passage from birth to and through death through
embodying timely action and awakening to the interplay of fate and destiny.
The serious student of the Wisdom Tradition will richly benefit from the sagely
interpretation Professor Anderson provides with Reflections on the I Ching.