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HEXAGRAM 04 – Meng – Youthful Folly
Above KEN KEEPING STILL, MOUNTAIN
Below K’AN THE ABYSMAL, WATER
In this hexagram we are reminded of
· youth and
· folly,
in two different ways.
The image
· of the upper trigram, Ken, is the mountain, that
· of the lower, K’an, is water;
the spring rising at the foot of the mountain is the image of inexperienced youth.
· Keeping still is the attribute of the upper trigram;
· that of the lower is the abyss, danger.
Stopping in perplexity on the brink of a dangerous abyss is a symbol of the folly of youth.
However, the two trigrams also show the way of overcoming the follies of youth.
Water is something that of necessity flows on.
When the spring gushes forth, it does not know at first where it will go.
· But its steady flow fills up the deep place blocking its progress, and
· success is attained.
THE JUDGMENT
YOUTHFUL FOLLY has success.
It is not I who seek the young fool;
The young fool seeks me.
At the first oracle I inform him.
· If he asks two or three times, it is importunity.
· If he importunes, I give him no information.
Perseverance furthers.
In the time of youth, folly is not an evil.
One may succeed in spite of it,
provided one
· finds an experienced teacher and
· has the right attitude toward him.
This means, first of all, that
the youth himself
· must be conscious of his lack of experience and
· must seek out the teacher.
Without
· this modesty and
· this interest
there is no guarantee that he has the necessary receptivity,
which should express itself in respectful acceptance of the teacher.
This is the reason why the teacher must
· wait to be sought out
· instead of offering himself.
Only thus can the instruction take place
· at the right time and
· in the right way.
A teacher’s answer to the question of a pupil ought to be
clear and
definite
like that expected from an oracle;
thereupon
it ought to be accepted as
· a key for resolution of doubts and
· a basis for decision.
If
· mistrustful or
· unintelligent
questioning is kept up,
it serves only to annoy the teacher.
· He does well to ignore it in silence,
just as
· the oracle
o gives one answer only and
o refuses to be tempted by questions implying doubt.
Given in addition
a perseverance that never slackens until the points are mastered one by one,
real success is sure to follow.
Thus the hexagram counsels
· the teacher as well as
· the pupil.
THE IMAGE
A spring wells up at the foot of the mountain: The image of YOUTH.
Thus the superior man fosters his character
By thoroughness in all that he does.
· A spring
o succeeds in flowing on and
o escapes stagnation by filling up all the hollow places in its path.
In the same way
· character is developed by thoroughness that skips nothing
· but, like water,
o gradually and steadily fills up all gaps and
o so flows onward.
