Alpine Immune Sciences ALPN under CEO Mitchell Gold

Alpine Immune Sciences ALPN under CEO Mitchell Gold

 

HEXAGRAM 52 – Ken – Keeping Still, Mountain

Above    KEN    KEEPING STILL, MOUNTAIN

Below    KEN    KEEPING STILL, MOUNTAIN

The image of this hexagram is the mountain,

the youngest son of

• heaven and
  
• earth.
  

The male principle is at the top,

• because it strives upward by nature;
  

the female principle is below,

• since the direction of its movement is downward.
  

Thus

there is rest

• because the movement has come to its normal end.
  

In its application to man, the hexagram turns upon

the problem of achieving a quiet heart.

It is very difficult to bring quiet to the heart.

While Buddhism strives for

• rest through an ebbing away of all movement in nirvana,
  

the Book of Changes holds that

• rest is merely a state of polarity that always posits
  

  movement as its complement.
  

Possibly the words of the text embody directions for the practice of yoga.

 

THE JUDGMENT

KEEPING STILL.

Keeping his back still

So that he no longer feels his body.

He

• goes into his courtyard And
  
• does not see his people.
  

No blame.

True quiet means

• keeping still when the time has come to keep still, and
  
• going forward when the time has come to go forward.
  

In this way

• rest and movement are in agreement with the demands of the time,
  

and thus

• there is light in life.
  

The hexagram signifies the end and the beginning of all movement.

The back is named because in the back are located

all the nerve fibers that mediate movement.

If

• the movement of those spinal nerves is brought to a standstill,
  
• the ego, with its restlessness, disappears as it were.
  

When

a man has thus become calm,

he may turn to the outside world.

• He no longer sees in it the struggle and tumult of individual beings,
  

and therefore

• he has that true peace of mind which is needed
  
  • for understanding the great laws of the universe and
    
  • for action, in harmony with them.
    

Whoever

• acts from these deep levels
  
• makes no mistakes.
  

 

THE IMAGE

Mountains standing close together: The image of KEEPING STILL.

Thus the superior man

Does not permit his thoughts To go beyond his situation.

1The heart thinks constantly.

This cannot be changed,

but the movements of the heart – that is,

a man’s thoughts –

should restrict themselves to the immediate situation.

All thinking that goes beyond this only makes the heart sore.

 

THE LINES

 

Six in the fourth place means:

Keeping his trunk still.

No blame.

As has been pointed out above in the comment on the Judgment,

keeping the back at rest means forgetting the ego.

This is the highest stage of rest.

Here

this stage has not yet been reached:

the individual in this instance,

though able to keep the ego, with its thoughts and impulses, in a state of rest,

is not yet quite liberated from its dominance.

Nonetheless,

keeping the heart at rest

is an important function,

leading in the end to the complete elimination of egotistic drives.

Even though at this point

one does not yet remain free from all the dangers of doubt and unrest,

this frame of mind is not a mistake,

as it leads ultimately to that other, higher level.

 

Six in the fifth place means:

Keeping his jaws still.

The words have order.

Remorse disappears.

A man in a dangerous situation,

especially when

he

• is not adequate to it,
  
• is inclined to be very free with talk and presumptuous jokes.
  

But injudicious speech easily

leads to situations that subsequently

give much cause for regret.

However, if

a man is reserved in speech,

his words take ever more definite form, and

every occasion for regret vanishes.

 

MOVING HEXAGRAM

 

HEXAGRAM 33 – Tun – Retreat

Above    CHIEN     THE CREATIVE, HEAVEN

Below    KEN     KEEPING STILL, MOUNTAIN

The power of the dark is ascending.

The light retreats to security, so that

the dark cannot encroach upon it.

This retreat is a matter

• not of man’s will
  
• but of natural law.
  

Therefore in this case withdrawal is proper;

it is the correct way to behave

in order not to exhaust one’s forces. 1

In the calendar this hexagram is linked with the sixth month (July-August), in which

the forces of winter are already showing their influence.

 

THE JUDGMENT

RETREAT. Success.

In what is small, perseverance furthers.

Conditions are such that the hostile forces favored by the time are advancing.

In this case

• retreat is the right course, and
  
• it is through retreat that success is achieved.
  

But success consists in being able to carry out the retreat correctly.

Retreat is not to be confused with flight.

• Flight means saving oneself under any circumstances whereas
  
• retreat is a sign of strength.
  

We must be careful not to miss the right moment while

we are in full possession of power and position.

Then we shall be able

• to interpret the signs of the time
  
  • before it is too late and
    
• to prepare for provisional retreat
  
  • instead of being drawn into a desperate life-and-death struggle.
    

Thus

• we do not simply abandon the field to the opponent;
  
• we make it difficult for him to advance
  

  by showing perseverance in single acts of resistance.
  

In this way

we prepare, while retreating, for the counter – movement.

Understanding the laws of a constructive retreat of this sort is not easy.

The meaning that lies hidden in such a time is important.

 

THE IMAGE

Mountain under heaven: the image of RETREAT.

Thus the superior man

keeps the inferior man at a distance,

Not angrily but with reserve.

The mountain rises up under heaven, but owing to its nature

it finally comes to a stop.

Heaven on the other hand

• retreats upward before it into the distance and
  
• remains out of reach.
  

This symbolizes the behavior of the superior man toward a climbing inferior;

he retreats into his own thoughts as the inferior man comes forward.

He does not hate him,

for hatred is a form of subjective involvement

by which we are bound to the hated object.

The superior man shows strength (heaven) in that

he brings the inferior man to a standstill (mountain)

by his dignified reserve.

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