Outcome of Berkshire Hathaway BRK.B BuyOut of Alleghany Y ($11.6 billion)

Outcome of Berkshire Hathaway BRK.B BuyOut of Alleghany Y ($11.6 billion)

 

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.

 

THE LINES

 

0 Six in the fifth place means:

There is game in the field.

It furthers one to catch it.

Without blame.

Let the eldest lead the army.

The younger transports corpses;

Then perseverance brings misfortune.

Game is in the field – it has left its usual haunts in the forest and is devastating the fields.

This points to an enemy invasion.

Energetic combat and punishment are here thoroughly justified,

but they must not degenerate into a wild melee in which everyone fends for himself.

Despite the greatest degree of perseverance and bravery, this would lead to misfortune.

The army must be directed by an experienced leader.

It is a matter of waging war,

not of permitting the mob to slaughter all who fall into their hands;

if they do,

• defeat will be the result, and despite all perseverance
  
• there is danger of misfortune.
  

 

 

MOVING HEXAGRAM

 

 

HEXAGRAM 29 – K’an – The Abysmal (Water)

Above    K’AN    THE ABYSMAL, WATER

Below    K’AN    THE ABYSMAL, WATER

This hexagram consists of a doubling of the trigram K’an.

It is one of the eight hexagrams in which doubling occurs.

The trigram K’an means a plunging in.

A yang line

• has plunged in between two yin lines
  

and

• is closed in by them like water in a ravine.
  

The trigram K’an is also the middle son.

The Receptive

• has obtained the middle line of the Creative,
  

and thus

• K’an develops.
  

As an image it represents water,

the water that

• comes from above
  

and

• is in motion on earth in streams and rivers,
  

  giving rise to all life on earth.
  

In man’s world K’an represents

• the heart,
  
• the soul locked up within the body,
  
• the principle of light inclosed in the dark – that is, reason.
  

The name of the hexagram, because the trigram is doubled,

has the additional meaning,

“repetition of danger.”

Thus the hexagram is intended to designate

• an objective situation to which one must become accustomed,
  
• not a subjective attitude.
  

For danger due to a subjective attitude means

either

• foolhardiness
  

or

• guile.
  

Hence too a ravine is used to symbolize danger;

it is a situation in which

a man is in the same pass as

the water in a ravine,

and,

like the water,

• he can escape
  

if

• he behaves correctly.
  

 

THE JUDGMENT

The Abysmal repeated.

If you are sincere,

• you have success in your heart,
  

And

• whatever you do succeeds.
  

Through repetition of danger

we grow accustomed to it.

Water sets the example for the right conduct under such circumstances.

• It
  
  • flows on and on,
    

  and
  

  • merely fills up all the places through which it flows;
    
• it
  
  • does not shrink from any dangerous spot nor from any plunge,
    

  and
  

  • nothing can make it lose its own essential nature.
    
• It
  
  • remains true to itself under all conditions.
    

Thus likewise,

• if one is sincere when confronted with difficulties,
  
  • the heart can penetrate the meaning of the situation.
    

And

• once we have gained inner mastery of a problem,
  
  • it will come about naturally that the action we take will succeed.
    

In danger all that counts is really

• carrying out all that has to be done – thoroughness –
  

and

• going forward, in order not to perish through tarrying in the danger.
  

Properly used,

danger can have an important meaning as a protective measure.

Thus

• heaven has its perilous height protecting it
  
  • against every attempt at invasion, and
    
• earth has its mountains and bodies of water,
  
  • separating countries by their dangers.
    

Thus also

rulers make use of danger to protect themselves

• against attacks from without
  

and

• against turmoil within.
  

 

THE IMAGE

Water

• flows on uninterruptedly
  

and

• reaches its goal:
  

The image of the Abysmal repeated.

Thus the superior man

• walks in lasting virtue
  

And

• carries on the business of teaching.
  

Water reaches its goal by flowing continually.

It fills up every depression before it flows on.

The superior man follows its example;

he is concerned that goodness should be

• an established attribute of character
  

rather than

• an accidental and isolated occurrence.
  

So likewise in teaching others everything depends on consistency,

for

it is only through repetition

that

the pupil makes the material his own.

Comments

comments