Lama Anagarika Govinda: The Inner Structure of the I-Ching

The most striking feature of the Book of Changes is that it is not looking for the unchangeable and eternal, ie not for something that corresponds to man’s desire to maintain his identity in a constantly changing and transitory world, but that change itself is declared basic principle of the universe. The Chinese did not fall victim to the wish-born thought that declares the human condition an exceptional case, negating thus the fundamental laws of the universe through conceiving man an unchangeable and eternal entity, different from all other life forms. Rather, they took the bull by the horns and discovered the eternal character of change, ie the fact that transformation is not an arbitrary alternation or instability, but a lawful change. Simultaneously, discovering this fact recognizes the periodicity that dominates life of all forms, being almost an expression of life itself and contrary to everything that opposes change and thus leads to death. For we are all mortal as long as we fear death, but immortal as we cease identifying with the limits of our present personality and devote ourselves to the eternal rhythm of the universe in which we live. Govinda, 1983

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