|
|
6 |
|
H |
H |
T |
|
3 |
3 |
2 |
|
8 |
|
|
|
5 |
|
T |
T |
T |
|
2 |
2 |
2 |
|
6 |
|
|
|
4 |
|
H |
H |
T |
|
3 |
3 |
2 |
|
8 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
3 |
|
T |
T |
T |
|
2 |
2 |
2 |
|
6 |
|
|
|
2 |
|
H |
H |
T |
|
3 |
3 |
2 |
|
8 |
|
|
|
1 |
|
H |
H |
T |
|
3 |
3 |
2 |
|
8 |
|
HEXAGRAM 02 – K’un – THE RECEPTIVE
Above K’UN THE RECEPTIVE, EARTH
Below K’UN THE RECEPTIVE, EARTH
This hexagram is made up of broken lines only.
The broken line represents the
· dark,
· yielding,
· receptive
primal power of yin.
· The attribute of the hexagram is devotion;
· its image is the earth.
It is the perfect complement of THE CREATIVE –
· the complement,
· not the opposite, 1
for the Receptive
· does not combat the Creative
· but complements it.
It represents
· nature in contrast to spirit,
· earth in contrast to heaven,
· space as against time,
· the female-maternal as against the male-paternal.
However, as applied to human affairs, the principle of this complementary relationship is found
· not only in the relation between man and woman,
· but also in that
o between prince and minister and
o between father and son.
Indeed, even in the individual this duality appears in the coexistence of
· the spiritual world and
· the world of the senses.
But strictly speaking
there is no real dualism here,
because there is a clearly defined hierarchic relationship between the two principles.
In itself of course
the Receptive is just as important as the Creative,
but the attribute of devotion defines the place occupied by this primal power in relation to the Creative.
For the Receptive must be
· activated and
· led
by the Creative;
then it is productive of good.
Only when
it
· abandons this position and
· tries to stand as an equal side by side with the Creative,
does it become evil.
The result then is
· opposition to and
· struggle against
the Creative,
which is productive of evil to both.
THE JUDGMENT
THE RECEPTIVE brings about sublime success,
Furthering through the perseverance of a mare.
If the superior man
· undertakes something and
· tries to lead,
He goes astray;
But if he
· follows,
he finds guidance
It is favorable
· to find friends in the west and south,
· To forego friends in the east and north.
Quiet perseverance brings good fortune.
The four fundamental aspects of the Creative –
"sublime success,
furthering through perseverance"-
are also attributed to the Receptive.
Here, however, the perseverance is more closely defined: it is that of a mare.
· The Receptive connotes spatial reality in contrast to
· the spiritual potentiality of the Creative.
· The potential becomes real and
· the spiritual becomes spatial
through a specifically qualifying definition.
Thus the qualification, "of a mare," is here added to the idea of perseverance.
· The horse belongs to earth just as
· the dragon belongs to heaven.
Its tireless roaming over the plains is taken as a symbol of the vast expanse of the earth.
This is the symbol chosen because the mare combines
· the strength and swiftness of the horse with
· the gentleness and devotion of the cow.
Only because nature in its myriad forms corresponds with the myriad impulses of the Creative can it make these impulses real.
· Nature’s richness lies in its power to nourish all living things;
· its greatness lies in its power to give them beauty and splendor.
Thus it prospers all that lives.
· It is the Creative that begets things,
· but they are brought to birth by the Receptive.
Applied to human affairs, therefore, what the hexagram indicates is
action in conformity with the situation.
The person in question
· is not in an independent position, but
· is acting as an assistant.
This means that he must achieve something.
It is not his task to
· try to lead – that would only make him lose the way –
· but to let him be led.
If
· he knows how to meet fate with an attitude of acceptance,
· he is sure to find the right guidance.
The superior man lets himself be guided; he
· does not go ahead blindly, but
· learns from the situation what is demanded of him and then
· follows this intimation from fate.
Since there is something to be accomplished,
we need friends and helpers in the hour of toil and effort,
once the ideas to be realized are firmly set.
The time of toil and effort is indicated by the west and the south,
for west and south symbolize the place where the Receptive works for the Creative,
as nature does in summer and autumn.
If in that situation
one does not mobilize all one’s powers,
the work to be accomplished will not be done.
Hence to find friends there means to find guidance.
But in addition to the time of toil and effort, there is also a time of planning, and for this we need solitude.
· The east symbolizes the place where a man receives orders from his master and
· the north the place where he reports on what he has done.
At that time he must be
· alone and
· objective.
In this sacred hour
he must do without companions
so that the purity of the moment may not be spoiled by
· factional hates and
· favoritism.
THE IMAGE
The earth’s condition is receptive devotion.
Thus the superior man who has breadth of character
Carries the outer world.
Just as there is only one heaven,
so too there is only one earth.
· In the hexagram of the heaven the doubling, of the trigram implies duration in time, but
· in the hexagram of earth the doubling connotes the solidity and extension in space by virtue of which the earth is able to carry and preserve all things that live and move upon it.
The earth in its devotion carries all things, good and evil, without exception.
In the same way the superior man gives to his character
· breadth,
· purity, and
· sustaining power,
so that
he is able both
· to support and
· to bear
with people and things.
THE LINES
Six in the third place means:
Hidden lines.
One is able to remain persevering.
If by chance you are in the service of a king,
Seek not works, but bring to completion.
· If a man is free of vanity he is able to
o conceal his abilities and
o keep them from attracting attention too soon;
thus he can mature undisturbed.
· If conditions demand it,
o he can also enter public life, but that too
o he does with restraint.
The wise man gladly leaves fame to others.
· He does not seek to have credited to himself things that stand accomplished, but
· hopes to release active forces; that is, he completes his works in such a manner that they may bear fruit for the future.
Six in the fifth place means:
A yellow lower garment brings supreme good fortune.
· Yellow is the color of the earth and of the middle;
· it is the symbol of that which is
o reliable and
o genuine.
The lower garment is inconspicuously decorated – the symbol of aristocratic reserve.
When anyone is called upon to work in a prominent but not independent position,
true success depends on the utmost discretion.
· A man’s genuineness and refinement
o should not reveal themselves directly;
· they
o should express themselves only indirectly as an effect from within.
MOVING HEXAGRAM
HEXAGRAM 39 – Chien – Obstruction
Above K’AN THE ABYSMAL, WATER
Below KEN KEEPING STILL, MOUNTAIN
The hexagram pictures
· a dangerous abyss lying before us and
· a steep, inaccessible mountain rising behind us.
· We are surrounded by obstacles;
at the same time, since the mountain has the attribute of keeping still, there is implicit
· a hint as to how we can extricate ourselves.
The hexagram represents
· obstructions that appear in the course of time
· but that
o can and
o should be
overcome.
Therefore
all the instruction given is directed to overcoming them.
THE JUDGMENT
OBSTRUCCION.
· The southwest furthers.
· The northeast does not further.
It furthers one to see the great man.
Perseverance brings good fortune.
· The southwest is the region of retreat,
· the northeast that of advance.
Here an individual is confronted
by obstacles that cannot be overcome directly.
In such a situation it is wise
· to pause in view of the danger and
· to retreat.
However,
this is merely a preparation for overcoming the obstructions.
One must
· join forces with friends of like mind and
· put himself under the leadership of a man equal to the situation:
then
one
· will succeed in removing the obstacles.
This requires the will to persevere
just when
one apparently must do something that leads away from his goal.
This unswerving inner purpose brings good fortune in the end.
An obstruction that lasts only for a time
is useful for self-development.
This is the value of adversity.
THE IMAGE
Water on the mountain:
The image of OBSTRUCTION.
Thus the superior man
· turns his attention to himself And
· molds his character.
· Difficulties and
· obstructions
throw a man back upon himself.
While
· the inferior man
o seeks to put the blame on other persons,
o bewailing his fate,
· the superior man
o seeks the error within himself, and through this introspection the external obstacle
o becomes for him an occasion for
§ inner enrichment and
§ education.
