The Hershey Company HSY under CEO Michele Gross Buck

HEXAGRAM 60 – Chieh – Limitation

Above    K’AN    THE ABYSMAL, WATER

Below    TUI    THE JOYOUS, LAKE

• A lake occupies a limited space.
  

When more water comes into it,

• it overflows.
  

Therefore

limits must be set for the water.

The image shows

• water below and
  
• water above,
  
• with the firmament between them as a limit.
  

The Chinese word for limitation really

denotes the joints that divide a bamboo stalk.

• In relation to ordinary life
  
  • it means the thrift that sets fixed limits upon expenditures.
    
• In relation to the moral sphere
  
  • it means the fixed limits that the superior man sets upon his actions –
    

    the limits of loyalty and disinterestedness.
    

THE JUDGMENT

LIMITATION.

Success.

Galling limitation must not be persevered in.

• Limitations are troublesome,
  

but

• they are effective.
  

If

• we live economically in normal times,
  
• we are prepared for times of want.
  

To be sparing saves us from humiliation.

Limitations are also indispensable in the regulation of world conditions.

In nature there are fixed limits for

• summer and winter,
  
• day and night, and
  

these limits give the year its meaning.

In the same way,

economy,

by setting fixed limits upon expenditures,

acts to

• preserve property and
  
• prevent injury to the people.
  

But in limitation

we must observe due measure.

• If a man should seek to impose galling limitations upon his own nature,
  
  • it would be injurious.
    

And

• if he should go too far in imposing limitations on others,
  
  • they would rebel.
    

Therefore

it is necessary to set limits even upon limitations

THE IMAGE

Water over lake: the image of LIMITATION.

Thus

the superior man

• Creates number and measure, And
  
• examines the nature of virtue and correct conduct.
  

• A lake is something limited.
  
• Water is inexhaustible.
  

A lake

• can contain only a definite amount of the infinite quantity of water;
  
• this is its peculiarity.
  

In human life too

the individual achieves significance through

• discrimination and
  
• the setting of limits.
  

Therefore

what concerns us here is

the problem of clearly defining these discriminations,

which are, so to speak,

• the backbone of morality.
  

• Unlimited possibilities are not suited to man;
  
• if
  
• they existed,
  
• his life would only dissolve in the boundless.
  

To become strong,

a man’s life needs the limitations

• ordained by duty and
  
• voluntarily accepted.
  

The individual attains significance as a free spirit only

• by surrounding himself with these limitations and
  
• by determining for himself what his duty is.
  

THE LINES

Nine at the beginning means:

Not going out of the door and the courtyard

Is without blame.

Often a man who

• would like to undertake something
  
• finds himself confronted by insurmountable limitations.
  

Then he must know where to stop.

If

he

• rightly understands this and
  
• does not go beyond the limits set for him,
  

he

• accumulates an energy that enables him,
  

  when the proper time comes,
  

• to act with great force.
  

Discretion is of prime importance in preparing the way for momentous things.

Concerning this, Confucius says:

• Where disorder develops,
  
  • words are the first steps.
    
• If the prince is not discreet,
  
  • he loses his servant.
    
• If the servant is not discreet,
  
  • he loses his life.
    
• If germinating things are not handled with discretion,
  
  • the perfecting of them is impeded.
    

Therefore

• the superior man
  
  • is careful to maintain silence and
    
  • does not go forth.
    

Six in the third place means:

He who knows no limitation

Will have cause to lament.

No blame.

If

• an individual is bent only on pleasures and enjoyment,
  
• it is easy for him to lose his sense of the limits that are necessary.
  

If

• he gives himself over to extravagance,
  
• he will have to suffer the consequences,
  

  with accompanying regret.
  

He must not seek to lay the blame on others.

Only when

• we realize that our mistakes are of our own making
  
• will such disagreeable experiences free us of errors.
  

Six in the fourth place means:

Contented limitation.

Success.

• Every limitation has its value,
  

but

• a limitation that requires persistent effort entails a cost of too much energy.
  

When, however,

• the limitation is a natural one
  
• (as for example, the limitation by which water flows only downhill),
  
• it necessarily leads to success,
  

for then

• it means a saving of energy.
  

The energy that otherwise

would be consumed in a vain struggle with the object,

• is applied wholly to the benefit of the matter in hand, and
  
• success is assured.
  

Six at the top means:

Galling limitation.

Perseverance brings misfortune.

Remorse disappears.

If

• one is too severe in setting up restrictions,
  
• people will not endure them.
  

• The more consistent such severity,
  
• the worse it is,
  

for in the long run

• a reaction is unavoidable.
  

In the same way,

• the tormented body will rebel against excessive asceticism.
  

On the other hand, although

• ruthless severity is not to be applied persistently and systematically,
  

there may be times when

• it is the only means of safeguarding against guilt and remorse.
  

In such situations

• ruthlessness toward oneself
  
• is the only means of saving one’s soul,
  

which otherwise

• would succumb to irresolution and temptation.
  

MOVING HEXAGRAM

EXAGRAM 44 – Kou – Coming to Meet

Above    CH’IEN    THE CREATIVE, HEAVEN

Below    SUN    THE GENTLE, WIND

This hexagram indicates a situation in which the principle of darkness,

after having been eliminated,

furtively and unexpectedly obtrudes again from within and below.

Of its own accord the female principle comes to meet the male.

• It is an unfavorable and dangerous situation, and
  
• we must understand and promptly prevent the possible consequences.
  

The hexagram is linked with the fifth month [June-July],

because at the summer solstice

the principle of darkness gradually becomes ascendant again.

THE JUDGMENT

COMING TO MEET.

The maiden is powerful.

One should not marry such a maiden.

The rise of the inferior element is pictured here in the image of

a bold girl who

• lightly surrenders herself and
  
• thus seizes power.
  

This would not be possible if the strong and light-giving element had not in turn come halfway.

• The inferior thing seems so harmless and inviting that
  
  • a man delights in it;
    
• it looks so small and weak that
  
  • he imagines he may dally with it and come to no harm.
    

The inferior man rises only because the superior man

• does not regard him as dangerous and so
  
• lends him power.
  

If

• he were resisted from the first,
  
• he could never gain influence.
  

The time of COMING TO MEET is important in still another way.

Although as a general rule the weak should not come to meet the strong,

there are times when this has great significance.

• When heaven and earth come to meet each other, all creatures prosper;
  
• when a prince and his official come to meet each other, the world is put in order.
  

It is necessary for elements predestined to be joined and mutually dependent

to come to meet one another halfway.

But the coming together must be free of dishonest ulterior motives,

otherwise harm will result.

THE IMAGE

Under heaven, wind: The image Of COMING TO MEET.

Thus does the prince act when

• disseminating his commands And
  
• proclaiming them to the four quarters of heaven.
  

The situation here resembles that in hexagram 20, Kuan, CONTEMPLATION (VIEW).

• In the latter the wind blows over the earth,
  
• here it blows under heaven;
  

in both cases it goes everywhere.

There the wind

• is on the earth and
  
• symbolizes the ruler taking note of the conditions in his kingdom;
  

here the wind

• blows from above and
  
• symbolizes the influence exercised by the ruler through his commands.
  

• Heaven is far from the things of earth, but
  
  • it sets them in motion by means of the wind.
    
• The ruler is far from his people, but
  
  • he sets them in motion by means of his commands and decrees.
    

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