In no2DOtrigramQian, the heaven, is associated with the functional circuit Heart (HE). The heart is the seat of Shen, the creative force that transmits the celestial Dao to man, making him a unique individual, giving him presence and coherence of thought. In order for the divine to work within us, for us to feel the miracle of life, the heart must be empty, i.e., filled with serenity and childlike innocence, free from worries, desires, prejudices and evaluations.
A hexagram is formed by two trigrams, with the movement going upwards, just like plant growth: in divination the hexagram is built from bottom to top and later read accordingly.
The Huángdì Nèijīng (also: Huáng Dì Nèi Jīng or Nèijīng) is one of the oldest standard works of Chinese medicine and was written around 2698-2598 BC. It translates as “Inner Canon of the Yellow Emperor” or “Esoteric Scripture of the Yellow Emperor” and has been the fundamental doctrinal source for Chinese medicine for more than two millennia.
The Huángdì Nèijīng consists of two major parts. The first text, the Suwen, (Sù Wèn; Basic Questions) covers the theoretical foundation of Chinese Medicine and its diagnostic methods. The second and generally less referred-to text, the Lingshu (Spiritual Pivot), discusses acupuncture therapy in great detail. Collectively, these two texts are known as the Neijing or Huangdi Neijing. In practice, however, the title Neijing often refers only to the more influential Suwen.
The I Ching (Chinese 易經, yì jing, W.-G. I Ching, auch: I Jing, YI Ching, Yi King; “The Book of Changes”) is based on cosmology and philosophy of ancient China, particularly Daoism (Taoism). Basic ideas behind the I Ching include balance of opposites and acceptance of change. The book describes the world in 64 images which in turn consist sets of six continuous (Yang) or broken (Yin) lines (= one hexagram). The I Ching is treasured both for wisdom and prophecy.
The I Ching’s divination tradition has shamanic roots extending into the third millennium BC. For a long time divination was done without any written text but according to traditional rules and the questioner’s intuition.
The Book of Changes (aka I Ching) contains various texts which were all written relatively late in time: the judgments (short sayings that describe the overall situation of a hexagram), date from the first millennium BC; the Ten Wings, explanatory and commenting texts (3rd and 4th wing: the image; 9th wing: order of the hexagrams), were written around 400-200 BC.
Especially due to their structure (brief sentences, hierarchical order) the Ten Wings are often attributed to Confucius, but this is controversial. Basically two notions regarding the I Ching developed during its eventful history over thousands of years: one explores cosmological and social principles, the other one around the philosopher Wang Bi wants to explore the ideas that are hidden within the images themselves.
The no2DO interpretation model splits a hexagram into upper and lower trigram (“lower trigram”,”upper trigram”), and both core character (“first core character”; “second core character”).
Jacques Lacan (April 13, 1901 – September 9, 1981) was a French psychiatrist and psychoanalyst. He is known for his return to the original writings of Sigmund Freud, which he reread and reinterpreted in innovative ways. For Lacan, psychoanalysis is a language-based practice: the unconscious is structured like a language, and analysis unfolds through language. He rejected mainstream approaches such as ego psychology, object relations theory, and the school of Melanie Klein.
Lacan’s work has had a profound influence far beyond psychoanalysis — particularly in philosophy, literary theory, film, and the arts. Thinkers such as Michel Foucault, Jacques Derrida, Judith Butler, Slavoj Žižek, and Hélène Cixous have drawn on his concepts and extended them in new directions. His thinking continues to shape contemporary discussions on subjectivity, language, power, and desire.
Originates from the oldest part of the I Ching and is traditionally attributed to Wenwang (King Wen, the 12th century BC); short, vivid sentences describe the situation and conclude with a brief review.
Modern Interpretation: Basic trust; intuition; ancestral energy
Kan represents our basic trust and our unconscious resources, a distillate of our own – and sometimes third party – experiences and information that lie beyond our daily consciousness. Impulses and inspirations emerge from Kan and may trigger decisions or initiate actions. If we follow this gut feeling our actions will have a special quality: they feel a particular way “right”.
In no2DOtrigramKan, the water, is associated with the functional circuit kidney (KI), which is the seat of our spiritual heritage and origin of our will, determination, vitality and strength. The kidneys store the basic principles, the essential, the energy of our ancestors and the essence that creates new life. They represent a rich and concentrated source of energy and contain the reserves we can draw on in times of greatest need.
“King Wen Later Heaven” is one of the many ways how to attribute trigrams to phenomena of nature, the seasons, character traits, family relations, geographical directions etc.
However, this system is not fully compatible with the five elements theory, because King Wen’s Later Heaven only considers the classical four seasons, and ignores late autumn as the fifth season with its corresponding fifth phase element earth. After careful consideration, I have made a few changes to the order of King Wen’s Later Heaven which I explain in detail here: Trigrams, Elements, Functional Circuits
Chinese philosopher and politician, ca. 551 BC–479 BC, often referred to as Confucius. His philosophy, also known as Confucianism, emphasizes personal and governmental morality, correctness of social relationships, justice, kindness, and sincerity.
Modern Interpretation: Accepting that what is here and now; peace, stability, resting within oneself, feeling supported and maintained; to make good use of things; relationship and commitment; self-esteem; compassion
The following image is often chosen to describe Kun: soil in which a seedling is growing. Soil is unstructured matter: in soil a seedling finds everything it needs to grow; dead plants decay to soil. Kun‘s meaning, however, goes beyond unstructured matter (such as soil): Kun is unstructured potential, including tangible and non-tangible matter.
At the landmark points Dui and Gen, momentum is created by adding a line opposite to the preceding character to its top. Both characters open up to the (respective other) sphere and allow themselves to be touched – by inner (Gen) or outer (Dui) impulses. In Zhen and Sun, on the other hand, the precarious momentum of the previous sign takes now a clear direction: towards inner (Zhen) or outer impulses (Sun) impulses.
Legendary Chinese philosopher who is said to have lived in the 6th century BC. Depending on the transcription, the name is also written Laotse, Lao-Tse, Laudse or Lao-tzu.
Laozi is considered to be the founder of Daoism (Taoism). He is credited with the Daodejing, the main work of Daoism, which was probably written in the 4th century BC.
In no2DOtrigramGen, the mountain, is associated with the functional circuit large intestine (LI). The elimination of waste – not only in the material realm, but also emotions, thoughts, relationships, etc. – is its subject. Everything that has become worthless for us has to be excreted, because only when the unusable parts compost back into earth, they transform into new fertilizer, prequisit for change and new growth.
Chinese doctor and naturalist (1518-1593). Li Shizhen wrote numerous medical textbooks, three of which are preserved:
Běn Cǎo Gāng Mù本草綱目 (“Compendium of Materia Medica”)
Bīn Hú Mài Xué瀕湖脈學 (“Teachings on Pulse Diagnosis”)
Qí Jīng Bā Mài Kǎo奇經八脈考 (“An Exposition on the Eight Extraordinary Vessels“)
To the present day Li Shizhen’s teachings on pulse diagnosis serve as a basic textbook. In addition, a fundamental paradigm shift in the tradition of Chinese medicine is attributed to him, as he changed the old concept that the heart houses shen 神 and for the first time and officially made the brain the residence of mind and thinking. In doing so, he integrated alchemical experiences into medical thinking and approached the ideas of Western medicine.
Modern Interpretation: Clear discernment, purification, separation
Li (the fire) stands for our ability to differentiate facts, influences, emotions – in short: the world’s fullness. Without this ability to separate the “clear from the unclear”, we would be lost in a chaos of diversities. Only by differentiation, thus distinguishing what is important and what is not, we can concentrate on the essentials and are able to act.
In no2DOtrigramSun, the wind / tree, is associated with the functional circuit liver (LIV). Strategic assessment and planning belong to the functional circuit liver, here visions take shape. In this way, ideas become tangible, describable, they become concrete and finally lead to plans and strategies to implement the original visions.
In no2DOtrigramDui, the lake, is associated with the functional circuit lung (LU). The lungs is said to be the receiver of heavenly qi and that it distributes its inspiring impulses throughout the body. The lung is also the place of exchange with our environment: We absorb life energy and release our energy in rhythmical exhale back to our environment.
Archaeological site located in Changsha, China. In 1972, a tomb library was discovered there, which contains, among other things, a copy of the I Ching, which is much older than the textus receptus known so far and deviates from it by about 25 %.
If one compares the content of the I Ching from the tomb library of Mawangdui with the Textus receptus, several factors are important: First of all, the Chinese language has the peculiarity that spoken text is ambiguous when heard. If, however, it is written down and is to be interpreted, then on the one hand the figurative expressiveness of the character itself, and on the other hand also the associative ambiguities and variations in meaning that arise during pronunciation must be taken into account; this procedure, however, presupposes that information is available on the various levels of meaning of individual characters at the time of writing, including the historical-political background. For the grave finds of Mawangdui, this means that in order to understand the texts, both the historical context, the historic conditions in the Changsha area, and the personal circumstances of the buried person and his family must be taken into account. Furthermore, it is important to know that the I Ching, as a manual for divination, was mostly consulted in political or governmental matters, from which it follows that the I Ching from the Mawangdui tomb library could also have served as a political mouthpiece. (Cf. Hertzer 67-70.)
Functional circuit, pathway or channel through which, according to Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), the life energy (Qi) flows.
There are twelve main channels, each of which is assigned to one organ system. On the meridians themselves, there are special points where – e.g. through needles (acupuncture) or finger pressure (acupressure) – the energy balance can be influenced.
A model is a representation of reality, but not reality itself. In a model, complex relationships are simplified and reduced to their essential aspects. This allows aspects of reality to be grasped and understood more clearly than in the actual reality.
Models are an important tool for understanding complex relationships. With a model, for example, calculations and predictions can be made, hypotheses can be tested, and insights can be gained.
In this sense, it is intentional for a model to simplify and abstract reality without distorting it. It is also important to note that the more complete and realistic a model is, the less understandable and useful it may potentially be.
Nonthought. An expression from Zen Buddhism that refers to a state of mind in which one acts without thinking, without emotions, feelings or ego consciousness. Experienced martial artists act like this during a fight. In this state the mind work very fast and without hesitation, as it is without intention or goal.
What is mushin? Mushin: nonthought. D. T. Suzuki wrote at length on mushin. It’s nonthought, unconsciously, Mind without Thought, non-thought. It is the essence of Zen. Supposing you do something or want something in your ordinary life: if you act consciously, you are not mushin. If the impulse is expressed at conscious thought, it is not Zen. That is why training in a practice that involves the muscles an whole body is so important. It’s important for speaking too, Most people speak after the brain has given them the order to do so. But if you become mushin, hishiryo, you can speak unconsciously, without thought.Take a mondo*: if you ask a professor a question he has to think before he answers. But the zen monk answers without thinking, unconsciously. That’s why a Zen mondo is important. It’s the the same with actions. The brain thinks and you act afterwards. That is not mushin. Mushin is the body thinking. If you understand that, you can understand Zen. Most Zen stories have to do with mushin. Wisdom and intellectual learning are not the same. in everyday life, in conversations, most people think first and then answer; but very intelligent people use wisdom and do not think. They speak and answer through intuition. Book learning is different from true knowledge. In time, one ceases using the brain to answer questions. Through zazen you can understand how one can speak unconsciously. Your superficial brain rests and your inner brain becomes active and receives energy. In a mondo my answers come from the inner brain; the activity begins there. My inner brain answers you unconsciously, mushin. That’s why a zen mondo is different from an oral examination at the university. Speaking out of one’s book-learning is not wisdom. From long practice of zazen you will acquire this unconsciously: wisdom, not book-learning. When I give a talk, for example, I must prepare what I am going to say. Learning first… and a bit of wisdom. But the moment I stand up in the hall I begin to talk unconsciously and I don’t always stick to what I have prepared. I look at at the faces and see whether I need to change my talk. There is no more plan, my words come out of the unconscious, an that is why they impress people so strongly. That is teisho. Deshimaru 1991, 77
no2Do is a further development of the English term 2DO (2DO-list, to-do list, pending items list or task list). The prefix no suggests that quite often the most useful strategy confronting a problem is to do just… nothing – entirely in the spirit of Wu Wei (non-intervention).
In this respect, no2DO is first of all a play on words and refers to the exact opposite of 2do-lists and activism: there is nothing to do. Except perhaps to become aware of a situation in all its complexity and intricacy. Then, from this state of inner silence, to act spontaneously and in harmony with this overall situation, just a little, easily and effortlessly, without any effort of the will.
There is an expression for this attitude in Eastern philosophies: Wu Wei. Non-action. The exact opposite of a 2DO list. no2DO.
The objet petit a (French for “object little a”) is a key concept in Jacques Lacan’s theory. It refers to the object of desire – not as a tangible or identifiable thing, but as that which drives desire. It is the cause of desire, not its end.
The objet petit a is not a real object in itself but can rather be compared to a shadow. It signals that something is missing in the subject, but this “something” can never be fully grasped or named. For the subject, the objet petit a remains an elusive object of desire. A desire that is always in motion, shifting from object to object, always hoping for a fulfillment that never really arrives.
Function in Lacan’s theory: The objet petit a emerges from a fundamental experience of lack: in becoming a subject, the child loses something it cannot name – an imagined wholeness that never really existed. This lack structures desire, which from that moment on is always directed toward something that is supposed to replace this “lost something”. But the objet petit a is itself is a void, a gap – it can never be attained. It belongs neither to the symbolic nor to the real order, but functions as a rupture within the symbolic structure – a kind of disturbance that keeps desire in motion.
Five Phases of Transformation. The teachings of the five elements and the five phases of transformation (wǔxíng) is a Daoist theory for describing nature. It searches for regularities according to which dynamic transformation processes take place within the realm of the living. The five elements Wood, Earth, Water, Fire and Metal are derived from nature and stand for abstract properties.
Pictograms are small symbols or icons that summarize complex information in a clear, visual form, making it immediately understandable. Pictograms make something visible that would otherwise only exist as an abstract idea. They condense many explanatory words into a single, powerful image.
We are all familiar with pictograms because we encounter them everywhere, at airports, in road traffic or in instruction manuals. I started working with pictograms at no2DO in 2013.
