Unilever under CEO Alan Jope

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.
  

THE LINES

Nine in the third place means:

A good horse that follows others.

• Awareness of danger,
  
• With perseverance,
  

furthers.

Practice

• chariot driving and
  
• armed defense daily.
  

It furthers one to have somewhere to go.

The way opens; the hindrance has been cleared away.

A man

• is in contact with a strong will acting in the same direction as his own, and
  
• goes forward like one good horse following another.
  

But danger still threatens, and

• he must remain aware of it, or
  
• he will be robbed of his firmness.
  

Thus

he must acquire skill

• on the one hand in what will take him forward, and
  
• on the other in what will protect him against unforeseen attacks.
  

It is good in such a pass to have a goal toward which to strive.

Six in the fourth Place means:

The headboard of a young bull.

Great good fortune.

• This line and
  
• the one following it
  

are the two that tame the forward-pushing lower lines.

Before a bull’s horns grow out,

a headboard is fastened to its forehead,

so that later when the horns appear

they cannot do harm.

A good way to restrain wild force is to forestall it.

By so doing

one achieves an easy and a great success.

MOVING HEXAGRAM

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.
  

Comments

comments