Lowe’ LOW under CEO Marvin Ellison

 

 

 

HEXAGRAM 27 – I – The Corners of the Mouth (Providing Nourishment)

Above    KEN    KEEPING STILL, MOUNTAIN

Below    CHEN    THE AROUSING, THUNDER

This hexagram is a picture of an open mouth;

• above and below are the firm lines of the lips, and
  
• between them the opening.
  

Starting with the mouth,

through which we take food for nourishment,

the thought leads to nourishment itself.

Nourishment

• of oneself, specifically of the body, is represented in the three lower lines,
  
• while the three upper lines represent nourishment and care of others, in a higher, spiritual sense.
  

 

THE JUDGMENT

THE CORNERS OF THE MOUTH.

Perseverance brings good fortune.

Pay heed

• to the providing of nourishment And
  
• to what a man seeks To fill his own mouth with.
  

In bestowing care and nourishment, it is important

• that the right people should be taken care of and
  
• that we should attend to our own nourishment in the right way.
  

If

• we wish to know what anyone is like,
  
• we have only to observe
  
  • on whom he bestows his care and
    
  • what sides of his own nature he cultivates and nourishes.
    

Nature nourishes all creatures.

The great man fosters and takes care of superior men,

in order to take care of all men through them.

Mencius says about this:

If

• we wish to know whether anyone is superior or not,
  
• we need only observe what part of his being he regards as especially important.
  

The body has

• superior and inferior,
  
• important and unimportant parts.
  

We

• must not injure important parts for the sake of the unimportant,
  
• nor must we injure the superior parts for the sake of the inferior.
  

• He who cultivates the inferior parts of his nature is an inferior man.
  
• He who cultivates the superior parts of his nature is a superior man. 1
  

 

THE IMAGE

At the foot of the mountain, thunder:

The image of PROVIDING NOURISHMENT.

Thus the superior man is

• careful of his words And
  
• temperate in eating and drinking.
  

“God comes forth in the sign of the Arousing” 2:

when in the spring the life forces stir again,

all things come into being anew.

“He brings to perfection in the sign of Keeping Still”:

thus

in the early spring, when the seeds fall to earth,

all things are made ready.

This is an image of providing nourishment through

• movement and
  
• tranquility.
  

The superior man takes it as a pattern for the

• nourishment and
  
• cultivation of
  

his character.

• Words are a movement going from within outward.
  
• Eating and drinking are movements from without inward.
  

Both kinds of movement can be modified by tranquility.

For

tranquility

• keeps the words that come out of the mouth from exceeding proper measure, and
  
• keeps the food that goes into the mouth from exceeding its proper measure.
  

Thus character is cultivated.

 

THE LINES

Nine at the beginning means:

• You let your magic tortoise go, And
  
• look at me with the corners of your mouth drooping.
  

Misfortune.

The magic tortoise is a creature possessed of such supernatural powers that

it

• lives on air and
  
• needs no earthly nourishment.
  

The image means that

a man fitted by nature and position to live freely and independently

• renounces this self-reliance and instead
  
• looks with envy and discontent at others who are outwardly in better circumstances.
  

But such base envy only arouses derision and contempt in those others.

This has bad results.

Six in the second place means:

• Turning to the summit for nourishment,
  
• Deviating from the path To seek nourishment from the hill.
  

Continuing to do this brings misfortune.

Normally a person

• either provides his own means of nourishment
  
• or is supported in a proper way by those whose duty and privilege it is to provide for him.
  

If, owing to weakness of spirit,

a man cannot support himself,

a feeling of uneasiness comes over him;

this is because in shirking the proper way of obtaining a living,

he accepts support as a favor from those in higher place.

This is unworthy, for

he is deviating from his true nature.

Kept up indefinitely, this course leads to misfortune.

0 Six in the fifth place means:

Turning away from the path.

To remain persevering brings good fortune.

One should not cross the great water.

A man may be conscious of a deficiency in himself.

• He should be undertaking the nourishment of the people, but
  
• he has not the strength to do it.
  

Thus

he must

• turn from his accustomed path and
  
• beg counsel and help from a man who is spiritually his superior but undistinguished outwardly.
  

If he maintains this attitude of mind perseveringly,

success and good fortune are his.

But

• he must remain aware of his dependence.
  
• He must not put his own person forward nor attempt great labors,
  

  such as crossing the great water.
  

0 Nine at the top means:

The source of nourishment.

Awareness of danger brings good fortune.

It furthers one to cross the great water.

This describes a sage of the highest order,

from whom emanate all influences that provide nourishment for others.

Such a position brings with it heavy responsibility.

If

• he remains conscious of this fact,
  
• he
  
  • has good fortune and
    
  • may confidently undertake even great and difficult labors,
    

    such as crossing the great water.
    

These undertakings bring general happiness

• for him and
  
• for all others.
  

 

MOVING HEXAGRAM

 

HEXAGRAM 29 – K’an – The Abysmal (Water)

Above    K’AN    THE ABYSMAL, WATER

Below    K’AN    THE ABYSMAL, WATER

This hexagram consists of a doubling of the trigram K’an.

It is one of the eight hexagrams in which doubling occurs.

The trigram K’an means a plunging in.

A yang line

• has plunged in between two yin lines
  

and

• is closed in by them like water in a ravine.
  

The trigram K’an is also the middle son.

The Receptive

• has obtained the middle line of the Creative,
  

and thus

• K’an develops.
  

As an image it represents water,

the water that

• comes from above
  

and

• is in motion on earth in streams and rivers,
  

  giving rise to all life on earth.
  

In man’s world K’an represents

• the heart,
  
• the soul locked up within the body,
  
• the principle of light inclosed in the dark – that is, reason.
  

The name of the hexagram, because the trigram is doubled,

has the additional meaning,

“repetition of danger.”

Thus the hexagram is intended to designate

• an objective situation to which one must become accustomed,
  
• not a subjective attitude.
  

For danger due to a subjective attitude means

either

• foolhardiness
  

or

• guile.
  

Hence too a ravine is used to symbolize danger;

it is a situation in which

a man is in the same pass as

the water in a ravine,

and,

like the water,

• he can escape
  

if

• he behaves correctly.
  

 

THE JUDGMENT

The Abysmal repeated.

If you are sincere,

• you have success in your heart,
  

And

• whatever you do succeeds.
  

Through repetition of danger

we grow accustomed to it.

Water sets the example for the right conduct under such circumstances.

• It
  
  • flows on and on,
    

  and
  

  • merely fills up all the places through which it flows;
    
• it
  
  • does not shrink from any dangerous spot nor from any plunge,
    

  and
  

  • nothing can make it lose its own essential nature.
    
• It
  
  • remains true to itself under all conditions.
    

Thus likewise,

• if one is sincere when confronted with difficulties,
  
  • the heart can penetrate the meaning of the situation.
    

And

• once we have gained inner mastery of a problem,
  
  • it will come about naturally that the action we take will succeed.
    

In danger all that counts is really

• carrying out all that has to be done – thoroughness –
  

and

• going forward, in order not to perish through tarrying in the danger.
  

Properly used,

danger can have an important meaning as a protective measure.

Thus

• heaven has its perilous height protecting it
  
  • against every attempt at invasion, and
    
• earth has its mountains and bodies of water,
  
  • separating countries by their dangers.
    

Thus also

rulers make use of danger to protect themselves

• against attacks from without
  

and

• against turmoil within.
  

 

THE IMAGE

Water

• flows on uninterruptedly
  

and

• reaches its goal:
  

The image of the Abysmal repeated.

Thus the superior man

• walks in lasting virtue
  

And

• carries on the business of teaching.
  

Water reaches its goal by flowing continually.

It fills up every depression before it flows on.

The superior man follows its example;

he is concerned that goodness should be

• an established attribute of character
  

rather than

• an accidental and isolated occurrence.
  

So likewise in teaching others everything depends on consistency,

for

it is only through repetition

that

the pupil makes the material his own.

 

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