American Airlines Group AAL under CEO William Douglas Parker

 

 

HEXAGRAM 49 – Ko – Revolution (Molting)

Above    TUI    THE JOYOUS, LAKE

Below    LI    THE CLINGING, FIRE

The Chinese character for this hexagram means in its original sense

an animal’s pelt, which is changed in the course of the year by molting.

From this the word is carried over to apply to

• the “molting” in political life,
  
• the great revolutions connected with changes of governments.
  

The two trigram making up the hexagram are

the same two that appear in K’uei, OPPOSITION (38), that is,

the two younger daughters, Li and Tui.

But while

there

• the elder of the two daughters is above, and
  
  • what results is essentially only an opposition of tendencies,
    

here

• the younger daughter is above.
  
  • The influences are in actual conflict, and
    
  • the forces combat each other like fire and water (lake), each trying to destroy the other.
    

Hence the idea of revolution.

THE JUDGMENT

REVOLUTION

On your own day

You are believed.

Supreme success,

Furthering through perseverance.

Remorse disappears.

Political revolutions are extremely grave matters.

They should be undertaken

• only under stress of direst necessity,
  
• when there is no way out.
  

• Not everyone is called to this task,
  
• but only the man who has the confidence of the people, and
  

  even he only when the time is ripe.
  

• He must then proceed in the right way, so that
  
• he
  
  • gladdens the people and, by enlightening them,
    
  • prevents excesses.
    

Furthermore,

he

• must be quite free of selfish aims and
  
• must really relieve the need of the people.
  

Only then does he have nothing to regret.

Times change, and with them their demands.

• Thus the seasons change in the course of the year.
  

In the world cycle also

• there are spring and autumn in the life of peoples and nations, and
  
• these call for social transformations.
  

 

THE IMAGE

Fire in the lake: the image of REVOLUTION.

Thus the superior man

• Sets the calendar in order And
  
• makes the seasons clear.
  

Fire below and the lake above combat and destroy each other.

So too in the course of the year a combat takes place between

• the forces of light and
  
• the forces of darkness,
  
  • eventuating in the revolution of the seasons.
    

Man masters these changes in nature by

• noting their regularity and
  
• marking off the passage of time accordingly.
  

In this way

• order and clarity appear in the apparently chaotic changes of the seasons, and
  
• man is able to adjust himself in advance to the demands of the different times.
  

 

THE LINES

Six in the second place means:

When

• one’s own day comes,
  
• one may create revolution.
  

Starting brings good fortune.

No blame,

When

• we have tried in every way to bring about reforms, but without success,
  
• revolution becomes necessary.
  

But such a thoroughgoing upheaval must be carefully prepared.

There must be available a man

• who has the requisite abilities and
  
• who possesses public confidence.
  

To such a man we may well turn.

This

• brings good fortune and
  
• is not a mistake.
  

The first thing to be considered is

our inner attitude toward the new condition that will inevitably come.

We have to go out to meet it, as it were.

Only in this way can it be prepared for.

Nine in the third place means:

• Starting brings misfortune.
  
• Perseverance brings danger.
  

When talk of revolution has gone the rounds three times,

• One may commit himself, And
  
• men will believe him.
  

When change is necessary, there are two mistakes to be avoided.

• One lies in excessive haste and ruthlessness,
  
  • which bring disaster.
    
• The other lies in excessive hesitation and conservatism,
  
  • which are also dangerous.
    

• Not every demand for change in the existing order should be heeded.
  

On the other hand,

• repeated and well-founded complaints should not fail of a hearing.
  

When talk of change

• has come to one’s ears three times, and
  
• has been pondered well,
  

he may believe and acquiesce in it.

Then he

• will meet with belief and
  
• will accomplish something- (1)
  

Nine in the fourth place means:

Remorse disappears.

Men believe him.

Changing the form of government brings good fortune.

Radical changes require adequate authority.

A man must have

• inner strength as well as
  
• influential position.
  

What he does

• must correspond with a higher truth and
  
• must not spring from arbitrary or petty motives;
  

then it brings great good fortune.

If a revolution is not founded on such inner truth,

• the results are bad, and
  
• it has no success.
  

For in the end

• men will support only those undertakings which
  
• they feel instinctively to be just.
  

 

MOVING HEXAGRAM

 

HEXAGRAM 60 – Chieh – Limitation

Above    K’AN    THE ABYSMAL, WATER

Below    TUI    THE JOYOUS, LAKE

• A lake occupies a limited space.
  

When more water comes into it,

• it overflows.
  

Therefore

limits must be set for the water.

The image shows

• water below and
  
• water above,
  
• with the firmament between them as a limit.
  

The Chinese word for limitation really

denotes the joints that divide a bamboo stalk.

• In relation to ordinary life
  
  • it means the thrift that sets fixed limits upon expenditures.
    
• In relation to the moral sphere
  
  • it means the fixed limits that the superior man sets upon his actions –
    

    the limits of loyalty and disinterestedness.
    

 

THE JUDGMENT

LIMITATION.

Success.

Galling limitation must not be persevered in.

• Limitations are troublesome,
  

but

• they are effective.
  

If

• we live economically in normal times,
  
• we are prepared for times of want.
  

To be sparing saves us from humiliation.

Limitations are also indispensable in the regulation of world conditions.

In nature there are fixed limits for

• summer and winter,
  
• day and night, and
  

these limits give the year its meaning.

In the same way,

economy,

by setting fixed limits upon expenditures,

acts to

• preserve property and
  
• prevent injury to the people.
  

But in limitation

we must observe due measure.

• If a man should seek to impose galling limitations upon his own nature,
  
  • it would be injurious.
    

And

• if he should go too far in imposing limitations on others,
  
  • they would rebel.
    

Therefore

it is necessary to set limits even upon limitations

 

THE IMAGE

Water over lake: the image of LIMITATION.

Thus

the superior man

• Creates number and measure, And
  
• examines the nature of virtue and correct conduct.
  

• A lake is something limited.
  
• Water is inexhaustible.
  

A lake

• can contain only a definite amount of the infinite quantity of water;
  
• this is its peculiarity.
  

In human life too

the individual achieves significance through

• discrimination and
  
• the setting of limits.
  

Therefore

what concerns us here is

the problem of clearly defining these discriminations,

which are, so to speak,

• the backbone of morality.
  

• Unlimited possibilities are not suited to man;
  
• if
  
• they existed,
  
• his life would only dissolve in the boundless.
  

To become strong,

a man’s life needs the limitations

• ordained by duty and
  
• voluntarily accepted.
  

The individual attains significance as a free spirit only

• by surrounding himself with these limitations and
  
• by determining for himself what his duty is.
  

 

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