Future of the Jeff Bezos – Lauren Sanchez relationship

HEXAGRAM 54 – Kuei Mei – The Marrying Maiden

Above    Chen    THE AROUSING, THUNDER

Below    TUI    THE JOYOUS, LAKE

Above we have

• Chen, the eldest son, and below,
  
• Tui, the youngest daughter.
  

• The man leads and
  
• the girl follows him in gladness.
  

The picture is that of the entrance of the girl into her husband’s house.

In all, there are four hexagrams depicting

the relationship between husband and wife.

1. Hsien, INFLUENCE (31), describes
   

   the attraction that a young couple has for each other;
   

2. Heng, DURATION (32),
   

   portrays the permanent relationships of marriage;
   

3. Chien, DEVELOPMENT (53),
   

   reflects the protracted, ceremonious procedures attending the arrangement of a proper marriage; finally,
   

4. Kuei Mei, THE MARRYING MAIDEN,
   

   shows a young girl under the guidance of an older man who marries her. (1)
   

THE JUDGMENT

THE MARRYING MAIDEN.

Undertakings bring misfortune.

Nothing that would further.

A girl who

• is taken into the family,
  
• but not as the chief wife,
  

must behave with special caution and reserve.

She must not take it upon herself to supplant the mistress of the house,

for that would

• mean disorder and
  
• lead to untenable relationships.
  

The same is true of all voluntary relationships between human beings.

While

legally regulated relationships

• evince a fixed connection between
  
  • duties and
    
  • rights,
    

relationships based on personal inclination

• depend in the long run entirely on tactful reserve.
  

Affection as the essential principle of relatedness

is of the greatest importance in all relationships in the world.

For

the union of heaven and earth is the origin of the whole of nature.

Among human beings likewise,

spontaneous affection is the all-inclusive principle of union.

THE IMAGE

Thunder over the lake: The image of THE MARRYING MAIDEN.

Thus

the superior man

Understands the transitory

In the light of the eternity of the end.

Thunder stirs the water of the lake,

which follows it in shimmering waves.

This symbolizes the girl who follows the man of her choice.

But

every relationship between individuals

• bears within it the danger that wrong turns may be taken,
  
• leading to endless misunderstandings and disagreements.
  

Therefore

it is necessary constantly to remain mindful of the end.

If

• we permit ourselves to drift along,
  
  • we come together and
    
  • are parted again as the day may determine.
    

If on the other hand

• a man fixes his mind on an end that endures,
  
  • he will succeed in avoiding the reefs
    

    that confront the closer relationships of people.
    

THE LINES

Nine at the beginning means:

The marrying maiden as a concubine.

A lame man who is able to tread.

Undertakings bring good fortune.

The princes of ancient China maintained

a fixed order of rank among the court ladies,

who were subordinated to the queen

as are younger sisters to the eldest.

Frequently

they came from the family of the queen,

who herself led them to her husband.

The meaning is that

a girl entering a family with the consent of the wife

• will not rank outwardly as the equal of the latter
  

but

• will withdraw modestly into the background.
  

However, if

she understands how to fit herself into the pattern of things,

• her position will be entirely satisfactory, and
  
• she will feel sheltered in the love of the husband to whom
  

  she bears children.
  

The same meaning is brought out in the relationships between officials.

A man

• may enjoy the personal friendship of a prince and
  
• be taken into his confidence.
  

Outwardly

this man must keep tactfully in the background

behind the official ministers of state,

but, although

• he is hampered by this status, as if he were lame,
  
• he can nevertheless accomplish something
  

  through the kindliness of his nature.
  

Nine in the fourth place means:

The marrying maiden draws out the allotted time.

A late marriage comes in due course.

The girl is virtuous.

She

• does not wish to throw herself away, and
  
• allows the customary time for marriage to slip by.
  

However, there is no harm in this;

she

• is rewarded for her purity and, even though belatedly,
  
• finds the husband intended for her.
  

MOVING HEXAGRAM

HEXAGRAM 07 – Shih – The Army

Above    K’UN    THE RECEPTIVE, EARTH

Below    K’AN    THE ABYSMAL, WATER

This hexagram is made up of the trigrams

• K’an, water, and
  
• K’un, earth, and thus,
  

it symbolizes the ground water stored up in the earth.

In the same way military strength is stored up in the mass of the people –

• invisible in times of peace but
  
• always ready for use as a source of power.
  

The attributes of the two trigrams are

• danger inside and
  
• obedience outside.
  

This points to the nature of an army,

which at the core is dangerous,

while discipline and obedience must prevail outside.

Of the individual lines,

the one that controls the hexagram is the strong nine in the second place

to which the other lines, all yielding, are subordinate.

This line indicates a commander,

because it stands in the middle of one of the two trigrams.

But since it is in the lower rather than the upper trigram,

it represents not the ruler

but the efficient general,

who maintains obedience in the army by his authority.

THE JUDGMENT

THE ARMY.

The army needs perseverance

And a strong man.

Good fortune without blame.

An army is a mass that needs organization in order to become a fighting force.

Without strict discipline nothing can be accomplished, but this discipline must not be achieved by force.

It requires a strong man who

• captures the hearts of the people and
  
• awakens their enthusiasm.
  

In order that he may develop his abilities

he needs the complete confidence of his ruler,

who must entrust him with full responsibility as long as the war lasts.

But war

• is always a dangerous thing and
  
• brings with it destruction and devastation.
  

Therefore it

• should not be resorted to rashly but, like a poisonous drug,
  
• should be used as a last recourse.
  

• The justifying cause of a war, and
  
• clear and intelligible war aims,
  

ought to be explained to the people by an experienced leader.

Unless there is a quite definite war aim to which the people can consciously pledge themselves,

the unity and strength of conviction that lead to victory will not be forth coming.

But the leader must also look to it that

• the passion of war and
  
• the delirium of victory
  

do not give rise to unjust acts that will not meet with general approval.

If justice and perseverance are the basis of action, all goes well.

THE IMAGE

In the middle of the earth is water: The image of THE ARMY.

Thus the superior man increases his masses

By generosity toward the people.

Ground water is invisibly present within the earth.

In the same way the military power of a people is invisibly present in the masses.

• When danger threatens, every peasant becomes a soldier;
  
• when the war ends, he goes back to his plow.
  

He who is generous toward the people wins their love, and

a people living under a mild rule becomes strong and powerful.

Only a people economically strong can be important in military power.

Such power must therefore be cultivated

• by improving the economic condition of the people and
  
• by humane government.
  

Only when there is this invisible bond between government and people,

so that the people are sheltered by their government as ground water is sheltered by the earth,

is it possible to wage a victorious war.

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