Guanyin fortune stick
77
Middle stick
In a dream you are told of great riches,
but fame beyond the clouds turns out empty in the end.
Far over water and mountains, the news is hard to trust,
until a helpful patron points the way and you smile.
jadealmanac.com
The allusion most editions give is Lin Xiangru returning the jade to Zhao. Around 283 BCE the state of Zhao owned the famous He Shi jade disc, and King Zhao of Qin offered fifteen cities for it. Zhao was weaker and dared not refuse, so the minister Lin Xiangru carried the disc to Qin. When the king passed it around to his courtiers and said nothing about the cities, Lin saw the offer was empty. He took the disc back on a pretext, threatened to smash it and himself against a pillar, and quietly sent it home with a servant. The tale suits a middle stick about dreams of riches: fifteen cities were promised from far away, none were real, and the treasure was saved only by someone who saw through the promise.
A dream of riches is the oldest image of wealth that exists only in the telling. Interpreters see it as a warning about offers and forecasts that sound generous and cannot yet be checked.
Fame beyond the clouds is a name that floats high and far from anything you can hold. Readers take it to mean reputation is not the prize to pursue under this stick.
Far water and distant mountains stand for news that arrives from too far away to verify. Readers advise treating reports, rumors and long-distance deals with caution until someone close can confirm them.
The patron who points the way is the turn in the poem, and the smile is the relief of finally knowing. Most readings take it as advice to consult one experienced person before committing.
梦中说得是多财
声名云外终虚来
水远山遥难信实
贵人指点笑颜开
Seven characters a line, as printed in the BW Monastery edition.
Sources for the story: zhouyi.cc Guanyin lot 77: https://www.zhouyi.cc/lingqian/guanyin/5460.html; ttlingqian.com Guanyin lot 77: https://www.ttlingqian.com/guanyin/77.html; masterseanchan.com Guanyin oracle lot 77 (title also given as 'Telling a Dream in a Dream').
Optional: the temple way
At a temple the stick is not yours until two moon blocks agree: one flat side up and one round side up, a holy cup.
Stick 77, "Finding Treasure in a Dream", is a middle stick, a mixed stick, good with conditions. Like telling a dream inside a dream, don't hope for fame; wait for the right time and a patron's guidance.
The two of you are not well matched.
More empty than real; trade is hard to win.
Feet on the ground, practical work; study twice as hard.
Draw another stick , or for a straight yes or no, throw the moon blocks
The verse follows the BW Monastery edition of the Guanyin set; the English rendering and reading are Jade Almanac's own. A drawn stick is a tradition and a prompt for reflection, not advice about health, money or the law.
