Aaron’s Company AAN under CEO Douglas Lindsay

Aaron’s Company AAN under CEO Douglas Lindsay

 

HEXAGRAM 59 – Huan – Dispersion (Dissolution)

Above    SUN    THE GENTLE, WIND

Below    K’AN    THE ABYSMAL, WATER

Wind blowing over water

disperses it,

dissolving it into

• foam and
  
• mist.
  

This suggests that when a man’s vital energy is dammed up within him

(indicated as a danger by the attribute of the lower trigram),

gentleness serves to

• break up and
  
• dissolve
  

the blockage.

 

THE JUDGMENT

Dispersion,

Success.

The king approaches his temple.

It furthers one to cross the great water.

Perseverance furthers.

The text of this hexagram resembles that of Ts’ui, GATHERING TOGETHER (45).

In the latter,

the subject is the bringing together of elements that have been separated,

as water collects in lakes upon the earth.

Here

the subject is the dispersing and dissolving of divisive egotism.

DISPERSION shows the way, so to speak, that leads to gathering together.

This explains the similarity of the two texts.

Religious forces are needed to overcome the egotism that divides men.

1. The common celebration of the great
   

• sacrificial feasts and
  
• sacred rites,
  

which gave expression simultaneously to the

• interrelation and
  
• social articulation of
  
  • family and
    
  • state,
    

was the means employed by the great rulers to unite men.

• The sacred music and
  
• the splendor of the ceremonies
  

aroused a strong tide of emotion

• that was shared by all hearts in unison, and
  
• that awakened a consciousness of the common origin of all creatures.
  

In this way

• disunity was overcome and
  
• rigidity dissolved.
  

A further means to the same end is

1. cooperation in great general undertakings that
   

set a high goal for the will of the people;

in the common concentration on this goal,

all barriers dissolve,

just as,

• when a boat is crossing a great stream,
  
• all hands must unite in a joint task.
  

But only a man

• who is himself free of all selfish ulterior considerations, and
  
• who perseveres in justice and steadfastness,
  

is capable of so dissolving the hardness of egotism.

 

THE IMAGE

The wind drives over the water: The image of DISPERSION.

Thus

the kings of old

• sacrificed to the Lord And
  
• built temples.
  

In the autumn and winter,

water begins to freeze into ice.

When

the warm breezes of spring come,

• the rigidity is dissolved, and
  
• the elements that have been dispersed in ice floes are reunited.
  

It is the same with the minds of the people.

Through

• hardness and
  
• selfishness
  

the heart grows rigid, and

this rigidity leads to separation from all others.

• Egotism and
  
• Cupidity
  

isolate men.

Therefore

the hearts of men

• must be seized by a devout emotion.
  

They

• must be shaken by a religious awe in face of eternity –
  
• stirred with an intuition of the One Creator of all living beings, and
  
• united through the strong feeling of fellowship experienced in the ritual of divine worship.
  

 

THE LINES

 

Nine in the second place means:

At the dissolution

He hurries to that which supports him.

Remorse disappears.

When

an individual

discovers within himself the beginnings of alienation from others, of

• misanthropy and
  
• ill humor,
  

he

must set about dissolving these obstructions.

He must

• rouse himself inwardly,
  
• hasten to that which supports him.
  

Such support is

never found in hatred,

but

always in a

• moderate and
  
• just judgment of men,
  

linked with good will.

If he

• regains this unobstructed outlook on humanity,
  

while at the same time

• all saturnine ill humor is dissolved,
  

all occasion for remorse disappears.

 

Six in the third place means:

He dissolves his self.

No remorse.

Under certain circumstances,

a man’s work may become so difficult

that

he can no longer think of himself.

He must

• set aside all personal desires and
  
• disperse whatever the self gathers about it to serve as a barrier against others.
  

Only on the basis of a great renunciation can

he obtain the strength for great achievements.

By setting his goal in a great task outside himself,

he can attain this standpoint.

 

 

MOVING HEXAGRAM

 

 

HEXAGRAM 53 – Chien – Development (Gradual Progress)

Above    SUN    THE GENTLE, WIND, WOOD

Below    KEN    KEEPING STILL, MOUNTAIN

This hexagram is made up of

• Sun (wood, penetration) above, i.e., without, and
  
• Ken (mountain, stillness) below, i.e., within.
  

A tree on a mountain

• develops slowly according to the law of its being and consequently
  
• stands firmly rooted.
  

This gives the idea of

a development that proceeds gradually, step by step.

The attributes of the trigrams also point to this:

• within is tranquility,
  
  • which guards against precipitate actions, and
    
• without is penetration,
  
  • which makes development and progress possible.
    

 

THE JUDGMENT

DEVELOPMENT.

The maiden

Is given in marriage.

Good fortune.

Perseverance furthers.

1. The development of events that
   

leads to a girl’s following a man to his home proceeds slowly.

The various formalities must be disposed of before

the marriage takes place.

This principle of gradual development can be applied to other situations as well;

it is always applicable where

1. it is a matter of correct relationships of co-operation,
   

as for instance in

the appointment of an official.

The development must be allowed to take its proper course.

Hasty action would not be wise.

This is also true, finally, of

1. any effort to exert influence on others,
   

for here too

the essential factor is a correct way of development

through cultivation of one’s own personality.

No influence such as that exerted by agitators has a lasting effect.

Within the personality too,

development must follow the same course

if lasting results are to be achieved.

Gentleness

• that is adaptable,
  
• but at the same time penetrating,
  

is the outer form that should proceed from inner calm.

The very gradualness of the development

makes it necessary to have perseverance,

for perseverance alone prevents slow progress from dwindling to nothing.

 

THE IMAGE

On the mountain, a tree: The image of DEVELOPMENT.

Thus the superior man

abides in dignity and virtue,

In order to improve the mores.

The tree on the mountain

• is visible from afar, and
  
• its development influences the landscape of the entire region.
  

It does not shoot up like a swamp plant;

its growth proceeds gradually.

Thus also

the work of influencing people can be only gradual.

No sudden influence or awakening is of lasting effect.

Progress must be quite gradual, and

in order to obtain such progress

• in public opinion and
  
• in the mores of the people,
  

it is necessary for the personality to acquire

• influence and
  
• weight.
  

This comes about through careful and constant work

on one’s own moral development.

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