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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.
    

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.

THE LINES

Six at the beginning means:

Keeping his toes still.

No blame.

Continued perseverance furthers.

Keeping the toes still means halting before one has even begun to move.

The beginning is the time of few mistakes.

At that time

one is still in harmony with primal innocence.

Not yet influenced by obscuring interests and desires,

one sees things intuitively as they really are.

A man who halts at the beginning,

so long as he has not yet abandoned truth,

finds the right way.

But

persisting firmness is needed to keep one from drifting irresolutely.

Six in the second place means:

Keeping his calves still.

He cannot rescue him whom he follows.

His heart is not glad.

The leg cannot move independently;

it depends on the movement of the body.

If a leg is suddenly stopped while the whole body is in vigorous motion,

the continuing body movement will make one fall.

The same is true of

a man who serves a master stronger than himself.

• He is swept along,
  

and even though he may himself halt on the path of wrongdoing,

• he can no longer check the other in his powerful movement.
  

Where

• the master presses forward,
  
• the servant, no matter how good his intentions cannot save him.
  

MOVING HEXAGRAM

HEXAGRAM 26 – Ta Ch’u – The Taming Power of the Great

Above    KEN        KEEPING STILL, MOUNTAIN

Below    CH’IEN    THE CREATIVE, HEAVEN

The Creative is tamed by Ken, Keeping Still.

This produces great power,

a situation in contrast to that of the ninth hexagram, Hsiao Ch’u, THE TAMING POWER OF THE SMALL,

in which the Creative is tamed by the Gentle alone.

• There
  
• one weak line must tame five strong lines, but
  
• here
  
• four strong lines are restrained by two weak lines;
  
• in addition to a minister,
  

  there is a prince, and
  

• the restraining power
  

  therefore is far stronger.
  

The hexagram has a threefold meaning, expressing different aspects of the concept Holding firm.

1. Heaven within the mountain
   

   gives the idea of holding firm in the sense of holding together;
   

2. the trigram Ken, which holds the trigram Ch’ien still,
   

   gives the idea of holding firm in the sense of holding back;
   

3. the third idea is
   

   that of holding firm in the sense of caring for and nourishing.
   

• This last is suggested by the fact that
  

  a strong line at the top, which is the ruler of the hexagram,
  

  is honored and tended as a sage.
  

• The third of these meanings also
  

  attaches specifically to this strong line at the top,
  

  which represents the sage.
  

THE JUDGMENT

THE TAMING POWER OF THE GREAT.

Perseverance furthers.

Not eating at home brings good fortune.

It furthers one to cross the great water.

To

• hold firmly to great creative powers and
  
• store them up, as set forth in this hexagram,
  

there is need of

a strong, clearheaded man who is honored by the ruler.

• The trigram Ch’ien points to strong creative power;
  
• Ken indicates firmness and truth.
  

Both point

• to light and clarity and
  
• to the daily renewal of character.
  

Only through such daily self-renewal

can a man continue at the height of his powers.

• Force of habit helps to keep order in quiet times; but
  

  in periods when there is a great storing up of energy,
  

• everything depends on the power of the personality.
  

However, since the worthy are honored,

as in the case of the strong personality entrusted with leadership by the ruler,

it is an advantage

• not to eat at home but rather
  
• to earn one’s bread by entering upon public office.
  

Such a man is in harmony with heaven;

therefore even great and difficult undertakings,

such as crossing the great water,

succeed.

THE IMAGE

Heaven within the mountain:

The image of THE TAMING POWER OF THE GREAT.

Thus the superior man acquaints himself with

• many sayings of antiquity And
  
• many deeds of the past,
  

In order to strengthen his character thereby.

Heaven within the mountain points to hidden treasures.

In the words and deeds of the past there lies hidden a treasure that men may use to

strengthen and elevate their own characters.

The way to study the past is

• not to confine oneself to mere knowledge of history
  

  but, through application of this knowledge,
  

• to give actuality to the past.
  

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