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6 |
H | T | T |
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2 |
7 |
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H | H | T |
3 |
3 |
2 |
8 |
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4 |
H | T | T |
3 |
2 |
2 |
7 |
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3 |
T | T | T |
2 |
2 |
2 |
6 |
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2 |
H | H | H |
3 |
3 |
3 |
9 |
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1 |
H | H | H |
3 |
3 |
3 |
9 |
HEXAGRAM 38 – K’uei – Opposition
Above LI THE CLINGING, FLAME
Below TUI THE JOYOUS, LAKE
This hexagram is composed of the trigram
- Li above, i.e., flame, which burns upward, and
- Tui below, i.e., the lake, which seeps downward.
These two movements are in direct contrast.
Furthermore,
- Li is the second daughter and
- Tui the youngest daughter, and
although
they live in the same house
they belong, to different men;
hence their wills
- are not the same
- but are divergently directed.
THE JUDGMENT
OPPOSITION.
In small matters, good fortune.
When people live in
- opposition and
- estrangement
they cannot carry out a great undertaking in common;
their points of view diverge too widely.
In such circumstances
-
one should above all not proceed brusquely,
for that would only increase the existing opposition;
instead,
- one should limit oneself to producing gradual effects in small matters.
Here success can still be expected,
because
the situation is such that
the opposition does not preclude all agreement.
In general,
opposition appears as an obstruction, but when
- it represents polarity within a comprehensive whole,
- it has also its useful and important functions.
The oppositions of
- heaven and earth,
- spirit and nature,
- man and woman,
when reconciled,
bring about the creation and reproduction of life.
In the world of visible things,
the principle of opposites makes possible
the differentiation by categories
through which order is brought into the world.
THE IMAGE
Above, fire,
below, the lake:
The image of OPPOSITION.
Thus amid all fellowship
The superior man retains his individuality.
The two elements, fire and water,
never mingle
but even when in contact
retain their own natures.
So
-
the cultured man is never led into baseness or vulgarity
through intercourse or community of interests with persons of another sort;
regardless of all commingling,
- he will always preserve his individuality.
THE LINES
Nine at the beginning means:
Remorse disappears.
-
If you lose your horse,
- do not run after it; It will come back of its own accord.
- do not run after it; It will come back of its own accord.
-
When you see evil people,
- Guard yourself against mistakes.
- Guard yourself against mistakes.
Even in times when oppositions prevail,
- mistakes can be avoided, so that
- remorse disappears.
When opposition begins to manifest itself,
- a man must not try to bring about unity by force, for by so doing
- he would only achieve the contrary,
just as
-
a horse goes farther and farther away
- if one runs after it.
- if one runs after it.
-
it is one’s own horse, one can safely let it go;
- it will come back of its own accord.
- it will come back of its own accord.
So too
-
when someone who belongs with us is momentarily estranged
because of a misunderstanding,
-
he will return of his own accord
if we leave matters to him.
On the other hand,
it is well to be cautious when
evil men who do not belong with us force themselves upon us,
again as the result of a misunderstanding.
Here the important thing is to avoid mistakes.
-
We must not try to shake off these evil men by force;
- this would give rise to real hostility.
- this would give rise to real hostility.
-
We must simply endure them.
- They will eventually withdraw of their own accord.
- They will eventually withdraw of their own accord.
0 Nine in the second place means:
One meets his lord in a narrow street.
No blame.
As a result of misunderstandings,
it has become impossible for people who by nature belong together
to meet in the correct way.
This being so,
an accidental meeting under informal circumstances
may serve the purpose,
provided there is an inner affinity between them.
Six in the third place means:
One sees the wagon dragged back,
The oxen halted.
A man’s hair and nose cut off.
- Not a good beginning,
- but a good end.
Often it seems to a man as though everything were conspiring against him.
He sees himself
- checked and hindered in his progress,
- insulted and
- dishonored.1
However,
- he must not let himself be misled; despite this opposition,
- he must cleave to the man with whom he knows he belongs.
Thus, notwithstanding the bad beginning,
the matter will end well.
MOVING HEXAGRAM
HEXAGRAM 56 – Lu – The Wanderer
Above LI THE CLINGING, FIRE
Below KEN KEEPING STILL, MOUNTAIN
- The mountain, Ken, stands still;
above it
- fire, Li, flames up and does not tarry.
Therefore
the two trigrams do not stay together.
Strange lands and separation are the wanderer’s lot.
THE JUDGMENT
THE WANDERER.
Success through smallness.
Perseverance brings good fortune
To the wanderer.
When
-
a man is a wanderer and stranger,
- he should not be gruff nor overbearing.
- he should not be gruff nor overbearing.
- He has no large circle of acquaintances
therefore
- he should not give himself airs.
- He must be cautious and reserved;
in this way
- he protects himself from evil.
If
-
he is obliging toward others,
- he wins success.
- he wins success.
A wanderer has no fixed abode;
his home is the road.
Therefore
he must take care to remain upright and steadfast,
so that
he
- sojourns only in the proper places,
- associating only with good people.
Then
he
- has good fortune and
- can go his way unmolested.
THE IMAGE
Fire on the mountain: The image of THE WANDERER.
Thus
the superior man
- Is clear-minded and cautious In imposing penalties, And
- protracts no lawsuits.
When grass on a mountain takes fire, there is bright light.
However,
the fire
- does not linger in one place, but
- travels on to new fuel.
It is a phenomenon of short duration.
This is what penalties and lawsuits should be like.
They
- should be a quickly passing matter, and
- must not be dragged out indefinitely.
- Prisons ought to be places where people are lodged only temporarily,
as guests are.
- They must not become dwelling places.