Outcome of Microsoft MSFT buyout of GitHub for $7.5 billions

Outcome of Microsoft MSFT buyout of GitHub for $7.5 billions

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

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)
  

Six at the top means:

• The superior man changes like a panther.
  
• The inferior man molts in the face.
  

Starting brings misfortune.

To remain persevering brings good fortune.

After the large and fundamental problems are settled,

• certain minor reforms, and
  
• elaborations of these,
  

are necessary.

These detailed reforms may be likened to

the equally distinct but relatively small marks of the panther’s coat.

As a consequence,

a change also takes place among the inferior people.

In conformity with the new order, they likewise “molt.”

This molting, it is true, does not go very deep, but that is not to be expected.

We must be satisfied with the attainable.

If we should go too far and try to achieve too much,

it would lead to unrest and misfortune.

For the object of a great revolution is the

• attainment of clarified, secure conditions
  
• ensuring a general stabilization
  
• on the basis of what is possible at the moment.
  

MOVING HEXAGRAM

HEXAGRAM 25 – Wu Wang – Innocence (The Unexpected)

Above    CH’IEN    THE CREATIVE, HEAVEN

Below    CHEN        THE AROUSING, THUNDER

• Ch’ien, heaven, is above;
  
• Chen, movement, is below.
  

The lower trigram Chen is under the influence of the strong line

it has received from above, from heaven.

When, in accord with this,

• movement follows the law of heaven,
  
• man is
  
  • innocent and
    
  • without guile.
    

His mind is

• natural and true,
  
• unshadowed by reflection or ulterior designs.
  

For

• wherever conscious purpose is to be seen,
  
• there the truth and innocence of nature have been lost.
  

Nature that is not directed by the spirit is

• not true
  
• but degenerate nature.
  

Starting out with the idea of the natural,

• the train of thought in part goes somewhat further and thus
  
• the hexagram includes also the idea of the unintentional or unexpected.
  

THE JUDGMENT

INNOCENCE. Supreme success.

Perseverance furthers.

If someone is not as he should be,

• He has misfortune,
  

And

• it does not further him To undertake anything.
  

Man has received from heaven a nature innately good,

to guide him in all his movements.

By devotion to this divine spirit within himself,

he attains an unsullied innocence that leads him to do right

• with instinctive sureness and
  
• without any ulterior thought of reward and personal advantage.
  

This instinctive certainty

• brings about supreme success and
  
• “furthers through perseverance.”
  

However,

• not everything instinctive is nature in this higher sense of the word,
  
• but only that which is right and in accord with the will of heaven.
  

Without this quality of rightness,

an unreflecting, instinctive way of acting brings only misfortune.

Confucius says about this:

• “He who departs from innocence,
  
  • what does he come to?
    
• Heaven’s will and blessing
  
  • do not go with his deeds.”
    

THE IMAGE

Under heaven thunder rolls: All things attain the natural state of innocence.

Thus the kings of old,

• rich in virtue, and
  
• in harmony with the time,
  

Fostered and nourished all beings.

In springtime

when thunder, life energy, begins to move again under the heavens,

• everything sprouts and grows, and
  
• all beings receive from the creative activity of nature
  

  the childlike innocence of their original state.
  

So it is with the good rulers of mankind:

drawing on the spiritual wealth at their command,

they

• take care of all forms of life and all forms of culture and
  
• do everything to further them, and at the proper time.
  

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