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HEXAGRAM 44 – Kou – Coming to Meet
Above CH’IEN THE CREATIVE, HEAVEN
Below SUN THE GENTLE, WIND
This hexagram indicates a situation in which
the principle of darkness, after having been eliminated,
· furtively and
· unexpectedly
obtrudes again from
· within and
· below.
Of its own accord the female principle comes to meet the male.
It is an
· unfavorable and
· dangerous
situation, and
we must
· understand and
· promptly prevent
the possible consequences.
The hexagram is linked with the fifth month [June-July],
because at the summer solstice
the principle of darkness gradually becomes ascendant again.
THE JUDGMENT
COMING TO MEET.
The maiden is powerful.
One should not marry such a maiden.
The rise of the inferior element is pictured here in the image of
· a bold girl who
· lightly surrenders herself
and thus
· seizes power.
This would not be possible if the
· strong and
· light-giving element
had not in turn come halfway.
The inferior thing seems so
· harmless and
· inviting
that a man delights in it;
it looks so
· small and
· weak
that he imagines he may
· dally with it and
· come to no harm.
The inferior man rises only because the superior man
· does not regard him as dangerous
and so
· lends him power.
If
· he were resisted from the first,
· he could never gain influence.
The time of COMING TO MEET is important in still another way.
Although as a general rule
the weak should not come to meet the strong,
there are times when
this has great significance.
· When heaven and earth come to meet each other,
o all creatures prosper;
· when a prince and his official come to meet each other,
o the world is put in order.
It is necessary for elements predestined to be
· joined and
· mutually dependent
to come to meet one another halfway.
· But the coming together
o must be free of dishonest ulterior motives,
· otherwise
o harm will result.
THE IMAGE
Under heaven, wind: The image Of COMING TO MEET.
Thus does the prince act when
· disseminating his commands And
· proclaiming them to the four quarters of heaven.
The situation here resembles that in hexagram 20, Kuan, CONTEMPLATION (VIEW).
· In the latter the wind blows over the earth,
· here it blows under heaven;
in both cases it goes everywhere.
· There the wind is on the earth and
o symbolizes the ruler taking note of the conditions in his kingdom;
· here the wind blows from above and
o symbolizes the influence exercised by the ruler through his commands.
· Heaven is far from the things of earth, but
o it sets them in motion by means of the wind.
· The ruler is far from his people,
but
· he sets them in motion by means of his
o commands and
o decrees.
THE LINES
Nine in the third place means:
· There is no skin on his thighs, And
· walking comes hard.
If one
· is mindful of the danger,
· No great mistake is made.
There is a temptation to fall in with the evil element offering itself –
a very dangerous situation.
Fortunately circumstances prevent this;
one
· would like to do it,
· but cannot.
This leads to painful indecision in behavior.
But if
· we gain clear insight into the danger of the situation,
· we shall at least avoid more serious mistakes.
Nine in the fourth place means:
No fish in the tank.
This leads to misfortune.
Insignificant people must be tolerated in order to keep them well disposed.
Then we can make use of them if we should need them.
If
· we become alienated from them and do not meet them halfway,
o they turn their backs on us and
o are not at our disposal when we need them.
But this is our own fault.
MOVING HEXAGRAM
HEXAGRAM 59 – Huan – Dispersion (Dissolution)
Above SUN THE GENTLE, WIND
Below K’AN THE ABYSMAL, WATER
Wind blowing over water
· disperses it,
· dissolving it into
o foam and
o mist.
This suggests that when a man’s vital energy is dammed up within him
(indicated as a danger by the attribute of the lower trigram),
· gentleness serves to
o break up and
o dissolve
the blockage.
THE JUDGMENT
Dispersion,
Success.
The king approaches his temple.
It furthers one to cross the great water.
Perseverance furthers.
The text of this hexagram resembles that of Ts’ui,
GATHERING TOGETHER (45).
In the latter,
· the subject is the bringing together of elements that have been separated,
as water collects in lakes upon the earth.
Here
· the subject is the
o dispersing and
o dissolving
of divisive egotism.
DISPERSION shows the way,
so to speak,
that leads to gathering together.
This explains the similarity of the two texts.
Religious forces are needed
to overcome the egotism that divides men.
The common celebration of the great
· sacrificial feasts and
· sacred rites,
which gave expression simultaneously to
the interrelation and social articulation of
· family and
· state,
was the means employed by the great rulers to unite men.
· The sacred music and
· the splendor of the ceremonies
aroused a strong tide of emotion
· that was shared by all hearts in unison, and
· that awakened a consciousness of the common origin of all creatures.
In this way
· disunity was overcome and
· rigidity dissolved.
A further means to the same end is
cooperation in great general undertakings
· that set a high goal for the will of the people;
· in the common concentration on this goal,
all barriers dissolve,
just as,
when a boat is crossing a great stream,
all hands must unite in a joint task.
But only
a man
· who is himself free of all selfish ulterior considerations, and
· who perseveres in justice and steadfastness,
is capable of so dissolving the hardness of egotism.
THE IMAGE
The wind drives over the water: The image of DISPERSION.
Thus the kings of old
· sacrificed to the Lord And
· built temples.
In the autumn and winter,
water begins to freeze into ice.
When
the warm breezes of spring come,
· the rigidity is dissolved, and
· the elements that have been dispersed in ice floes are reunited.
It is the same with the minds of the people.
Through hardness and selfishness
· the heart grows rigid,
and
· this rigidity leads to separation from all others.
Egotism and cupidity isolate men.
Therefore
the hearts of men must be seized by a devout emotion.
They must be
shaken by a religious awe in face of eternity –
· stirred with an intuition of the One Creator of all living beings, and
· united through the strong feeling of fellowship experienced in the ritual of divine worship.
