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HEXAGRAM 22 – Pi – Grace
Above KEN KEEPING STILL, MOUNTAIN
Below Li THE CLINGING, FIRE
This hexagram shows a fire that
· breaks out of the secret depths of the earth
and, blazing up,
· illuminates and beautifies the mountain, the heavenly heights.
Grace – beauty of form – is necessary in
any union
if
it is to be
· Well ordered and
· pleasing
rather than
· disordered and
· chaotic.
THE JUDGMENT
GRACE has success.
In small matters
It is favorable to undertake something.
Grace brings success.
However,
· it is not the essential or fundamental thing;
· it
o is only the ornament and
o must therefore be used
§ sparingly and
§ only in little things.
In the lower trigram of fire a yielding line
· comes between two strong lines and
· makes them beautiful,
but
· the strong lines are the essential content and
· the weak line is the beautifying form.
· In the upper trigram of the mountain,
o the strong line takes the lead,
· so that here again
o the strong element must be regarded as the decisive factor.
In nature
we see in the sky the strong light of the sun;
the life of the world depends on it.
But this strong, essential thing is
· changed and
· given pleasing variety by
o the moon and
o the stars.
In human affairs,
aesthetic form comes into being when
traditions exist that,
· strong and
· abiding like mountains,
are made pleasing by a lucid beauty.
· By contemplating the forms existing in the heavens
o we come to understand
§ time and
§ its changing demands.
· Through contemplation of the forms existing in human society
o it becomes possible to shape the world. 1
THE IMAGE
Fire at the foot of the mountain: The image of GRACE.
Thus
· does the superior man proceed When clearing up current affairs. But
· he dare not decide controversial issues in this way.
The fire, whose light
· illuminates the mountain and
· makes it pleasing,
does not shine far;
in the same way,
· beautiful form suffices
o to brighten and
o to throw light upon matters of lesser moment,
but
· important questions cannot be decided in this way.
· They require greater earnestness.
THE LINES
0 Six in the second place means:
He lends grace to the beard on his chin.
· The beard is not an independent thing;
· it moves only with the chin.
The image therefore means that
form is to be considered only as a result and attribute of content.
The beard is a superfluous ornament.
To devote care to it for its own sake,
without regard for the inner content of which it is an ornament,
would bespeak a certain vanity.
……………..
However,
· contemplation alone will not put the will to rest absolutely.
· It will awaken again, and then all the beauty of form will appear to have been only a brief moment of exaltation.
Hence this is still not the true way of redemption.
For this reason Confucius felt very uncomfortable when once, on consulting the oracle, he obtained the hexagram of GRACE.
MOVING HEXAGRAM
HEXAGRAM 26 – Ta Ch’u – The Taming Power of the Great
Above KEN KEEPING STILL, MOUNTAIN
Below CH’IEN THE CREATIVE, HEAVEN
· The Creative is tamed by Ken, Keeping Still.
o This produces great power,
a situation in contrast to that of
o the ninth hexagram, Hsiao Ch’u, THE TAMING POWER OF THE SMALL, in which
· the Creative is tamed by the Gentle alone.
· There one weak line must tame five strong lines, but
· here four strong lines are restrained by two weak lines;
o in addition to a minister, there is a prince, and
o the restraining power therefore is far stronger.
The hexagram has a threefold meaning, expressing different aspects of the concept Holding firm.
1. Heaven within the mountain
gives the idea of holding firm in the sense of holding together;
2. the trigram Ken, which holds the trigram Ch’ien still,
gives the idea of holding firm in the sense of holding back;
3. the third idea is that of holding firm in the sense of caring for and nourishing.
This last is suggested by the fact that a strong line at the top, which is the ruler of the hexagram, is honored and tended as a sage. The third of these meanings also attaches specifically to this strong line at the top, which represents the sage.
THE JUDGMENT
THE TAMING POWER OF THE GREAT.
Perseverance furthers.
Not eating at home brings good fortune.
It furthers one to cross the great water.
To
· hold firmly to great creative powers and
· store them up,
as set forth in this hexagram,
there is need of a
· strong,
· clearheaded man
who is honored by the ruler.
The trigram Ch’ien points to strong creative power;
Ken indicates
· firmness and
· truth.
Both point
· to
o light and
o clarity and
· to the daily renewal of character.
Only through such daily self-renewal can a man
continue at the height of his powers.
Force of habit helps to keep order in quiet times;
but in periods when there is a great storing up of energy,
everything depends on the power of the personality.
However,
since the worthy are honored,
as in the case of the strong personality entrusted with leadership by the ruler,
it is an advantage
· not to eat at home
· but rather to earn one’s bread by entering upon public office.
Such a man is in harmony with heaven;
therefore even
· great and
· difficult undertakings,
such as crossing the great water,
succeed.
THE IMAGE
Heaven within the mountain:
The image of THE TAMING POWER OF THE GREAT.
Thus the superior man
· acquaints himself with many sayings of antiquity And
· many deeds of the past,
In order to strengthen his character thereby.
Heaven within the mountain points to hidden treasures.
In the
· words and
· deeds
of the past
there lies hidden a treasure that
men may use to
· strengthen and
· elevate
their own characters.
The way to study the past is
· not to confine oneself to mere knowledge of history
but, through application of this knowledge,
· to give actuality to the past.
