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HEXAGRAM 22 – Pi – Grace
Above KEN KEEPING STILL, MOUNTAIN
Below Li THE CLINGING, FIRE
This hexagram shows a fire that
- breaks out of the secret depths of the earth and, blazing up,
- illuminates and beautifies the mountain, the heavenly heights.
- Grace – beauty of form – is necessary in any union
if
-
it is to be
- well ordered and pleasing
- well ordered and pleasing
-
rather than
- disordered and chaotic.
- disordered and chaotic.
THE JUDGMENT
GRACE has success.
In small matters
It is favorable to undertake something.
Grace brings success.
However,
- it is not the essential or fundamental thing;
-
it is only the ornament and must therefore be used
- sparingly and
- only in little things.
- sparingly and
-
In the lower trigram of fire
a yielding line
- comes
between two strong lines and
- makes them beautiful,
but
- the strong lines are the essential content and
- the weak line is the beautifying form.
-
In the upper trigram of the mountain,
the strong line
- takes the lead, so that here again
- the strong element must be regarded as the decisive factor.
-
In nature we see in the sky the strong light of the sun;
the life of the world depends on it.
But this strong, essential thing is
- changed and
- given pleasing variety by the moon and the stars.
-
In human affairs,
aesthetic form comes into being when
traditions exist that, strong and abiding like mountains, are made pleasing
by a lucid beauty.
-
By contemplating the forms existing in the heavens
we come to understand time and its changing demands.
-
Through contemplation of the forms existing in human society
it becomes possible to shape the world. 1
THE IMAGE
Fire at the foot of the mountain: The image of GRACE.
Thus does
- the superior man proceed When clearing up current affairs.
But
- he dare not decide controversial issues in this way.
-
The fire, whose light illuminates the mountain and makes it pleasing,
- does not shine far;
- does not shine far;
in the same way,
-
beautiful form suffices to brighten and to throw light upon matters of lesser moment,
- but important questions cannot be decided in this way.
- but important questions cannot be decided in this way.
They require greater earnestness.
THE LINES
Nine at the beginning means:
He
- lends grace to his toes,
- leaves the carriage, and
- walks.
A beginner in a subordinate place must take upon himself the labor of advancing.
-
There might be an opportunity of surreptitiously easing the way – symbolized by the carriage – but
- a self-contained man scorns help gained in a dubious fashion.
- a self-contained man scorns help gained in a dubious fashion.
-
He thinks it more graceful
- to go on foot than
- to drive in a carriage under false pretenses.
- to go on foot than
MOVING HEXAGRAM
HEXAGRAM 52 – Ken – Keeping Still, Mountain
Above KEN KEEPING STILL, MOUNTAIN
Below KEN KEEPING STILL, MOUNTAIN
The image of this hexagram is the mountain,
the youngest son of
- heaven and
- earth.
The male principle is at the top,
- because it strives upward by nature;
the female principle is below,
- since the direction of its movement is downward.
Thus
there is rest
- because the movement has come to its normal end.
In its application to man, the hexagram turns upon
the problem of achieving a quiet heart.
It is very difficult to bring quiet to the heart.
While Buddhism strives for
- rest through an ebbing away of all movement in nirvana,
the Book of Changes holds that
-
rest is merely a state of polarity that always posits
movement as its complement.
Possibly the words of the text embody directions for the practice of yoga.
THE JUDGMENT
KEEPING STILL.
Keeping his back still
So that he no longer feels his body.
He
- goes into his courtyard And
- does not see his people.
No blame.
True quiet means
- keeping still when the time has come to keep still, and
- going forward when the time has come to go forward.
In this way
- rest and movement are in agreement with the demands of the time,
and thus
- there is light in life.
The hexagram signifies the end and the beginning of all movement.
The back is named because in the back are located
all the nerve fibers that mediate movement.
If
- the movement of those spinal nerves is brought to a standstill,
- the ego, with its restlessness, disappears as it were.
When
a man has thus become calm,
he may turn to the outside world.
- He no longer sees in it the struggle and tumult of individual beings,
and therefore
-
he has that true peace of mind which is needed
- for understanding the great laws of the universe and
- for action, in harmony with them.
- for understanding the great laws of the universe and
Whoever
- acts from these deep levels
- makes no mistakes.
THE IMAGE
Mountains standing close together: The image of KEEPING STILL.
Thus the superior man
Does not permit his thoughts To go beyond his situation.
1The heart thinks constantly.
This cannot be changed,
but the movements of the heart – that is,
a man’s thoughts –
should restrict themselves to the immediate situation.
All thinking that goes beyond this only makes the heart sore.