Affirm Holdings AFRM under CEO Max Roth Levchin

Affirm Holdings AFRM under CEO Max Roth Levchin

 

HEXAGRAM 48 – Ching – The Well

Above    K’AN    THE ABYSMAL, WATER

Below    SUN    THE GENTLE, WIND, WOOD

• Wood is below,
  
• water above.
  

The wood goes down into the earth to bring up water.

The image derives from the pole-and-bucket well of ancient China.

1. The wood represents
   

• not the buckets, which in ancient times were made of clay,
  
• but rather the wooden poles by which the water is hauled up from the well.
  

1. The image also refers to the world of plants,
   

• which lift water out of the earth by means of their fibers.
  

1. The well from which water is drawn conveys the further idea of
   

• an inexhaustible dispensing of nourishment.
  

 

THE JUDGMENT

THE WELL.

• The town may be changed,
  
• But the well cannot be changed.
  

It

• neither decreases
  
• nor increases.
  

They come and go and draw from the well.

If

• one gets down almost to the water And
  
• the rope does not go all the way, Or
  
• the jug breaks,
  

it brings misfortune.

In ancient China the capital cities were sometimes moved,

• partly for the sake of more favorable location,
  
• partly because of a change in dynasties.
  

• The style of architecture changed in the course of centuries,
  
• but the shape of the well has remained the same from ancient times to this day.
  

Thus the well is the symbol of that social structure which,

• evolved by mankind in meeting its most primitive needs,
  
• is independent of all political forms.
  

• Political structures change, as do nations,
  

but

• the life of man with its needs remains eternally the same –
  

  this cannot be changed.
  

• Life is also inexhaustible.
  
  • It grows neither less nor more;
    
  • it exists for one and for all.
    

• The generations come and go, and
  
• all enjoy life in its inexhaustible abundance.
  

However, there are

two prerequisites for a satisfactory political or social organization of mankind.

• We must go down to the very foundations of life.
  

  For any merely superficial ordering of life that leaves its deepest needs unsatisfied
  

  is as ineffectual as if no attempt at order had ever been made.
  

• Carelessness – by which the jug is broken – is also disastrous.
  

  If for instance
  

  the military defense of a state is carried to such excess that
  

  it provokes wars by which the power of the state is annihilated,
  

  this is a breaking of the jug.
  

This hexagram applies also to the individual.

However men may differ in disposition and in education,

• the foundations of human nature are the same in everyone. And
  
• every human being can draw in the course of his education from
  

  the inexhaustible wellspring of the divine in man’s nature.
  

But here likewise two dangers threaten:

a man

• may fail in his education to penetrate to the real roots of humanity and
  
• remain fixed in conventions partial education of this sort is as bad as none or
  

he

• may suddenly collapse and neglect his self-development.
  

 

THE IMAGE

Water over wood: the image of THE WELL.

Thus the superior man

• encourages the people at their work, And
  
• exhorts them to help one another.
  

• The trigram Sun, wood, is below, and
  
• the trigram K’an, water, is above it.
  

Wood sucks water upward.

Just as

• wood as an organism imitates the action of the well,
  

  which benefits all parts of the plant,
  

• the superior man organizes human society,
  

  so that, as in a plant organism,
  

  its parts cooperate for the benefit of the whole.
  

 

THE LINES

 

Nine in the third place means:

• The well is cleaned,
  
• but no one drinks from it.
  

This is my heart’s sorrow,

For one might draw from it.

If the king were clear-minded,

Good fortune might be enjoyed in common.

An able man is available.

He is like a purified well whose water is drinkable.

But no use is made of him.

This is the sorrow of those who know him.

One wishes that the prince might learn about it;

this would be good fortune for all concerned.

 

Six in the fourth place means:

The well is being lined.

No blame.

• True, if a well is being lined with stone,
  
  • it cannot be used while the work is going on.
    
• But the work is not in vain;
  
  • the result is that the water stays clear.
    

In life also there are times when

• a man must put himself in order.
  
  • During such a time he can do nothing for others,
    
• but his work is nonetheless valuable,
  
  • because by enhancing his powers and abilities through inner development,
    

    he can accomplish all the more later on.
    

 

Nine in the fifth place means:

In the well there is a clear, cold spring

From which one can drink.

A well that is fed by a spring of living water is a good well.

A man who has virtues like a well of this sort is born to be

• a leader and
  
• savior of men,
  

for he has the water of life.

Nevertheless, the character for “good fortune” is left out here.

The all-important thing about a well is that its water be drawn.

The best water is only a potentiality for refreshment as long as it is not brought up.

So too with leaders of mankind:

it is all-important that one should

• drink from the spring of their words and
  
• translate them into life.
  

 

MOVING HEXAGRAM

 

HEXAGRAM 40 – Hsieh – Deliverance

Above    CHEN    THE AROUSING, THUNDER

Below    K’AN    THE ABYSMAL, WATER

Here the movement goes out of the sphere of danger.

• The obstacle has been removed,
  
• the difficulties are being resolved.
  
• Deliverance is not yet achieved;
  
• it is just in its beginning, and
  
• the hexagram represents its various stages.
  

 

THE JUDGMENT

DELIVERANCE.

The southwest furthers.

• If there is no longer anything where one has to go,
  
  • Return brings good fortune.
    
• If there is still something where one has to go,
  
  • Hastening brings good fortune.
    

This refers to a time in which tensions and complications begin to be eased.

At such times

we ought to make our way back to ordinary conditions as soon as possible;

this is the meaning of “the southwest.”

These periods of sudden change have great importance.

Just as

rain relieves atmospheric tension, making all the buds burst open,

so

a time of deliverance from burdensome pressure has a

• liberating and
  
• stimulating
  

effect on life.

One thing is important, however: in such times

we must not overdo our triumph.

The point is not to push on farther than is necessary.

Returning to the regular order of life

as soon as deliverance is achieved

brings good fortune.

If there are any residual matters that ought to be attended to,

it should be done as quickly as possible,

so that

• a clean sweep is made and
  
• no retardation occur.
  

 

THE IMAGE

Thunder and rain set in: The image of DELIVERANCE.

Thus the superior man

• pardons mistakes And
  
• forgives misdeeds.
  

• A thunderstorm has the effect of clearing the air;
  
• the superior man produces a similar effect
  

  when dealing with mistakes and sins of men
  

  that induce a condition of tension.
  

Through clarity he brings deliverance.

However,

when failings come to light,

he does not dwell on them;

• he simply passes over mistakes, the unintentional transgressions,
  
  • just as thunder dies away.
    
• He forgives misdeeds, the intentional transgressions,
  
  • just as water washes everything clean.
    

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