The Shikongren Method: Cases, Volume Four

Translator's note. A case about flies, and about position mattering as much as event: two troubles at eye level are worse than two at the ankle, and one swatted, one away, means one danger dodged and one still coming. The student's follow-up — what if he slapped his own eye — gets the sharpest answer in the volume.

A student asked: two flies were hovering in front of the observed person's left eye. He slapped at them with his right hand, knocked one down so that it fell in front of him, and the other flew away. How does the Shikongren method read this?

Teacher Lü's analysis:

1. Flies hovering at the left eye. (a) A fly stands for troublesome people, matters and things, and for petty people. So it can be read as: recently, and at the point marked X, he encountered bad people, bad matters, bad things. (b) Where the fly hovers matters: in front of the eye is not the same as at the chest, at the abdomen, or by the foot. Hovering at the eye is more infuriating — which means the bad people and bad matters he met were worse, and it also means he watched with his own eyes, plainly and clearly, while someone took him in.

1. One fly swatted down in front of him, one flown away. This means that recently, and at the point marked X, he dodged one danger brought by a bad person, matter or thing — but there is at least one more danger of that kind that he will not dodge.

The student's feedback on the spot: in the year X he did something foolish. He was taken in by his landlord, paid three years' rent in one go, and handled the matter badly.

The student asked again: in this case he slapped the fly onto his own eye. Does that need reading?

Teacher Lü: then it shows all the more that he was blind, and that his decision was wrong. You do not slap a fly onto your eye. It proves a serious error of decision: at that recent point he mistook a person, mistook a thing — bought a fake antique, took up with the wrong friend, chose the wrong partner. A whole series of mistakes.