Q: Dear Dr. Mao,
Is there a connection between the Eight Treasures tai chi exercises and the I-Ching. There are Eight Treasures matching the Eight Trigrams and there are sixty-four movements that seem to correspond to the sixty-four hexagrams. If there is a connection, can this information benefit the spiritual development of the practitioner in some way?
A: You are correct in your assessment of the similarities between the Eight Treasures and the eight trigrams in the I-Ching. In fact, the original eight treasures had sixty-four movements, thirty-two standing and thirty-two sitting, reflecting the sixty-four hexagrams of the I-Ching. Due to the similarity of the thirty-two sitting movements to that of Dao In, the current eight treasures retain the standing movements only. Those who wish to incorporate the additional thirty-two trigrams should practice those through learning the Dao In.
