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HEXAGRAM 24 – Fu – Return (The Turning Point)
Above K’UN THE RECEPTIVE, EARTH
Below CHEN THE AROUSING, THUNDER
The idea of a turning point arises from the fact that
· after the dark lines have pushed all of the light lines
o upward and
o out of the hexagram,
· another light line enters the hexagram from below.
The time of darkness is past.
The winter solstice brings the victory of light.
This hexagram is linked with the eleventh month,
the month of the solstice (December-January).
THE JUDGMENT
RETURN. Success.
· Going out and
· coming in without error.
Friends come without blame.
To and fro goes the way.
On the seventh day comes return.
It furthers one to have somewhere to go.
After a time of decay comes the turning point.
The powerful light that has been banished returns.
There is movement, but
it is not brought about by force.
The upper trigram K’un is characterized by devotion; thus
the movement
· is natural,
· arising spontaneously.
For this reason the transformation of the old becomes easy.
· The old is discarded and
· the new is introduced.
Both measures
· accord with the time; therefore
· no harm results.
Societies of people sharing the same views are formed.
But
since these groups
· come together in full public knowledge and
· are in harmony with the time,
· all selfish separatist tendencies are excluded, and
· no mistake is made.
The idea of RETURN is based on the course of nature.
· The movement is cyclic, and
· the course completes itself.
Therefore
· it is not necessary to hasten anything artificially.
· Everything comes of itself at the appointed time.
This is the meaning of heaven and earth.
All movements
· are accomplished in six stages, and
· the seventh brings return.
Thus
· the Winter solstice, with which the decline of the year begins,
o comes in the seventh month after the summer solstice;
so too
· sunrise
o comes in the seventh double hour after sunset.
Therefore
· seven is the number of the young light, and
· it arises when six, the number of the great darkness, is increased by one.
In this way
the state of rest gives place to movement.
THE IMAGE
Thunder within the earth: The image of THE TURNING POINT.
Thus the kings of antiquity closed the passes
At the time of solstice.
· Merchants and strangers did not go about, And
· the ruler Did not travel through the provinces.
The winter solstice has always been celebrated in China as
the resting time of the year –
a custom that survives in the time of rest observed at the new year.
In winter the life energy, symbolized by thunder,
the Arousing is still underground.
Movement is just at its beginning; therefore
· it must be strengthened by rest, so that
· it will not be dissipated by being used prematurely.
This principle, i.e.,
of allowing energy that is renewing itself to be reinforced by rest,
applies to all similar situations.
· The return of health after illness,
· the return of understanding after an estrangement:
everything must be treated
· tenderly and
· with care
at the beginning,
so that the return may lead to a flowering.
THE LINES
Six in the fifth place means:
Noblehearted return.
No remorse.
When the time for return has come, a man
· should not take shelter in trivial excuses, but
· should look within and examine himself.
And if
· he has done something wrong
· he should make a noblehearted resolve to confess his fault.
No one will regret having taken this road.
MOVING HEXAGRAM
HEXAGRAM 03 – Chun – Difficulty at the Beginning
Above K’AN THE ABYSMAL, WATER
Below CHEN THE AROUSING, THUNDER
The name of the hexagram, Chun, really connotes
· a blade of grass pushing against an obstacle
as
· it sprouts out of the earth
hence
the meaning, "difficulty at the beginning."
The hexagram indicates the way in which
· heaven and
· earth
bring forth individual beings.
It is their first meeting,
which is beset with difficulties.
· The lower trigram Chen is the Arousing;
o its motion is upward and
o its image is thunder.
· The upper trigram K’an stands for the Abysmal, the dangerous.
o Its motion is downward and
o its image is rain.
The situation points to teeming, chaotic profusion;
thunder and rain fill the air.
But the chaos clears up.
While
· the Abysmal sinks,
· the upward movement eventually passes beyond the danger.
· A thunderstorm brings release from tension, and
· all things breathe freely again.
THE JUDGMENT
DIFFICULTY AT THE BEGINNING works supreme success,
Furthering through perseverance.
Nothing should be undertaken.
It furthers one to appoint helpers.
Times of growth are beset with difficulties.
They resemble a first birth.
But
these difficulties arise from
the very profusion of all that is struggling to attain form.
Everything is in motion:
therefore
if one perseveres
there is a prospect of great success, in spite of the existing danger.
When it is
a man’s fate to undertake such new beginnings,
everything is still unformed, dark.
Hence
· he must hold back,
o because any premature move might bring disaster.
Likewise,
· it is very important not to remain alone;
o in order to overcome the chaos he needs helpers.
This is not to say, however, that
he himself should look on passively at what is happening.
He must
· lend his hand and
· participate with
o inspiration and
o guidance.
THE IMAGE
Clouds and thunder: The image Of DIFFICULTY AT THE BEGINNING.
Thus
the superior man
Brings order out of confusion.
Clouds and thunder are represented by definite decorative lines;
this means that
in the chaos of difficulty at the beginning,
order is already implicit.
So too the superior man has to
· arrange and
· organize
the inchoate profusion of such times of beginning,
just as
one
· sorts out silk threads from a knotted tangle and
· binds them into skeins.
In order to find one’s place in the infinity of being,
one must be able both
· to separate and
· to unite.
