Hub Group HUBG under David P. Yeager

Hub Group HUBG under David P. Yeager

 

HEXAGRAM 32 – Heng – Duration

Above    CHEN    THE AROUSING, THUNDER

Below    SUN    THE GENTLE, WIND

• The strong trigram Chen is above,
  
• the weak trigram Sun below.
  

This hexagram is the inverse of the preceding one.

• In the latter we have influence,
  
• here we have union as an enduring condition.
  

The two images are thunder and wind,

which are likewise constantly paired phenomena.

• The lower trigram indicates gentleness within;
  
• the upper, movement without.
  

In the sphere of social relationships,

the hexagram represents the institution of marriage

as the enduring union of the sexes.

• During courtship
  
  • the young man subordinates himself to the girl,
    
• but in marriage, which is represented by the coming together of
  

  the eldest son and the eldest daughter,
  

  • the husband is the directing and moving force outside,
    
  • while the wife, inside, is gentle and submissive.
    

 

THE JUDGMENT

DURATION. Success. No blame.

Perseverance furthers.

It furthers one to have somewhere to go.

Duration

• is a state whose movement is not worn down by hindrances.
  
• It is not a state of rest, for mere standstill is regression.
  

  Duration
  

• is rather the self-contained and therefore self-renewing movement of
  

  an organized, firmly integrated whole,
  

  • taking place in accordance with immutable laws and
    
  • beginning anew at every ending.
    

The end is reached by an inward movement,

by inhalation, systole, contraction, and

this movement turns into a new beginning, in which

the movement is directed outward,

in exhalation, diastole, expansion.

Heavenly bodies exemplify duration.

They move in their fixed orbits, and

because of this their light-giving power endures.

The seasons of the year

• follow a fixed law of change and transformation, hence
  
• can produce effects that endure.
  

So likewise

the dedicated man

• embodies an enduring meaning in his way of life, and thereby
  
• the world is formed.
  

In that which gives things their duration,

we can come to understand the nature of all beings

• in heaven and
  
• on earth.
  

 

THE IMAGE

Thunder and wind: the image of DURATION.

Thus the superior man

• stands firm And
  
• does not change his direction.
  

• Thunder rolls, and
  
• the wind blows;
  

both

• are examples of extreme mobility and so
  
• are seemingly the very opposite of duration,
  

but the laws governing their appearance and subsidence,

their coming and going, endure.

In the same way

the independence of the superior man is not based on

• rigidity and
  
• immobility of character.
  

He always

• keeps abreast of the time and
  
• changes with it.
  

What endures is

• the unswerving directive,
  
• the inner law of his being,
  

  which determines all his actions.
  

 

THE LINES

Six at the top means:

Restlessness as an enduring condition brings misfortune.

There are people who live in a state of perpetual hurry

without ever attaining inner composure.

Restlessness

• not only prevents all thoroughness
  
• but actually becomes a danger if it is dominant in places of authority.
  

 

MOVING HEXAGRAM

 

HEXAGRAM 50 – Ting – The Caldron

Above    LI    THE CLINGING, FIRE

Below    SUN    THE GENTLE, WIND, WOOD

1. The six lines construct the image of Ting, THE CALDRON;
   

• at the bottom are the legs,
  
• over them the belly,
  
• then come the ears (handles), and
  
• at the top the carrying rings.
  

At the same time,

1. the image suggests the idea of nourishment.
   

The Ting, cast of bronze, was the vessel that

held the cooked viands

• in the temple of the ancestors and
  
• at banquets.
  

The head of the family served the food

• from the Ting
  
• into the bowls of the guests.1
  

THE WELL (48) likewise has the secondary meaning of

giving nourishment, but rather more in relation to the people.

The Ting, as a utensil pertaining to a refined civilization, suggests the

• fostering and nourishing of able men, which
  
• redounded to the benefit of the state. (2)
  

• This hexagram and
  
• THE WELL
  

are the only two in the Book of Changes that represent

• concrete,
  
• man-made objects.
  

Yet here too the thought has its abstract connotation.

• Sun, below, is wood and wind;
  
• Li, above, is flame.
  

Thus together they stand for the flame kindled by wood and wind,

which likewise suggests the idea of preparing food.

 

THE JUDGMENT

THE CALDRON.

Supreme good fortune.

Success.

While

THE WELL relates to

• the social foundation of our life, and
  
• this foundation is likened to
  
• the water that serves to nourish growing wood,
  

the present hexagram refers to

• the cultural superstructure of society.
  

Here

• it is the wood that serves as nourishment for the flame, the spirit.
  

All that is visible must

• grow beyond itself,
  
• extend into the realm of the invisible.
  

Thereby

it

• receives its true consecration and clarity and
  
• takes firm root in the cosmic order.
  

Here

we see civilization as it reaches its culmination in religion.

The Ting serves in offering sacrifice to God.

The highest earthly values must be sacrificed to the divine.

But

the truly divine does not manifest itself apart from man.

The supreme revelation of God appears in

• prophets and
  
• holy men.
  

To venerate them is true veneration of God.

The will of God, as revealed through them, should be accepted in humility;

• this brings inner enlightenment and true understanding of the world, and
  
• this leads to great good fortune and success.
  

 

THE IMAGE

Fire over wood: The image of THE CALDRON.

Thus

the superior man

consolidates his fate

By making his position correct.

The fate of fire depends on wood;

• as long as there is wood below,
  
• the fire burns above.
  

It is the same in human life;

• there is in man likewise a fate that
  
• lends power to his life.
  

And if

• he succeeds in assigning the right place
  
  • to life and
    
  • to fate,
    

thus bringing the two into harmony,

• he puts his fate on a firm footing.
  

These words contain hints about the fostering of life

as handed on by oral tradition in the secret teachings of Chinese yoga,

 

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