Fortinet Inc FTNT under CEO Ken Xie

Fortinet Inc FTNT under CEO Ken Xie

 

Hexagram 46 – Sheng – Pushing Upward

Above    K’UN    THE RECEPTIVE, EARTH

Below    SUN    THE GENTLE, WIND, WOOD

• The lower trigram, Sun, represents wood, and
  
• the upper, K’un, means the earth.
  

Linked with this is the idea that wood in the earth grows upward.

In contrast to the meaning of Chin, PROGRESS (35),

this pushing upward is associated with effort,

just as a plant needs energy for pushing upward through the earth.

That is why this hexagram, although it is connected with success, is associated with effort of the will.

• In PROGRESS the emphasis is on expansion;
  
• PUSHING UPWARD indicates rather a vertical ascent – direct rise
  
  • from obscurity and lowliness
    
  • to power and influence.
    

 

THE JUDGMENT

PUSHING UPWARD

has supreme success.

One must see the great man.

Fear not.

Departure toward the south

Brings good fortune.

The pushing upward of the good elements

• encounters no obstruction and
  
• is therefore accompanied by great success.
  

The pushing upward is made possible

• not by violence
  
• but by modesty and adaptability.
  

Since the individual is borne along by the propitiousness of the time,

he advances.

He must go to see authoritative people.

He need not be afraid to do this, because success is assured.

But

he must set to work, for activity (this is the meaning of “the south”) brings good fortune.

 

THE IMAGE

Within the earth, wood grows: The image of PUSHING UPWARD.

Thus the superior man of devoted character

Heaps up small things

In order to achieve something high and great.

• Adapting itself to obstacles and bending around them,
  

  wood in the earth grows upward without haste and without rest.
  

Thus too

• the superior man
  
  • is devoted in character and
    
  • never pauses in his progress.
    

 

THE LINES

 

Nine in the second place means:

If one is sincere,

It furthers one to bring even a small offering.

No blame.

Here a strong man is presupposed.

It is true that

• he does not fit in with his environment, inasmuch as
  
• he is too brusque and pays too little attention to form.
  

But as

he is upright in character,

• he meets with response, and
  
• his lack of outward form does no harm.
  

Here

• uprightness is the outcome of sound qualities of character,
  

whereas in the corresponding line of the preceding hexagram

• it is the result of innate humility.
  

 

Nine in the third place means:

One pushes upward into an empty city,

All obstructions that generally block progress fall away here.

Things proceed with remarkable ease.

Unhesitatingly one follows this road, in order to profit by one’s success.

Seen from without, everything seems to be in the best of order.

However, no promise of good fortune is added.

It is a question how long such unobstructed success can last.

But it is wise not to yield to such misgivings,

because they only inhibit one’s power.

Instead,

the point is to profit by the propitiousness of the time.

 

Six in the fifth place means:

Perseverance brings good fortune.

One pushes upward by steps.

When a man is advancing farther and farther,

• it is important for him not to become intoxicated by success.
  

Precisely when he experiences great success it is necessary

• to remain sober and
  
• not to try to skip any stages;
  

• he must go on slowly, step by step, as though hesitant.
  

Only such calm, steady progress, overleaping nothing, leads to the goal.

 

 

MOVING HEXAGRAM

 

 

HEXAGRAM 08 – Pi – Holding Together [Union]

Above    K’AN    THE ABYSMAL, WATER

Below    K’UN    THE RECEPTIVE, EARTH

The waters on the surface of the earth flow together wherever they can,

as for example in the ocean,

where all the rivers come together.

Symbolically this connotes

• holding together and
  
• the laws that regulate it.
  

The same idea is suggested by the fact that

all the lines of the hexagram except the fifth, the place of the ruler, are yielding.

The yielding lines hold together because they are influenced by

• a man of strong will in the leading position,
  
• a man who is their center of union.
  

Moreover, this strong and guiding personality in turn holds together with the others,

finding in them the complement of his own nature.

 

THE JUDGMENT

HOLDING TOGETHER brings good fortune.

Inquire of the oracle once again

Whether you possess sublimity, constancy, and perseverance;

Then there is no blame.

Those who are uncertain gradually join.

Whoever comes too late

Meets with misfortune.

What is required is that we unite with others, in order that

all may complement and aid one another through holding together.

But such holding together calls for a central figure around whom other persons may unite.

To become a center of influence holding people together is a

• grave matter and
  
• fraught with great responsibility.
  

It requires

• greatness of spirit,
  
• consistency, and
  
• strength.
  

Therefore let him who wishes to gather others about him ask himself whether he is equal to the undertaking,

for anyone attempting the task without a real calling for it

only makes confusion worse than if no union at all had taken place.

But when there is a real rallying point,

those who at first are hesitant or uncertain gradually come in of their own accord.

Late-comers must suffer the consequences, for in holding together the question of the right time is also important.

Relationships are formed and firmly established according to definite inner laws.

Common experiences strengthen these ties, and he who comes too late to share in these basic experiences must suffer for it if, as a straggler, he finds the door locked.

If a man

• has recognized the necessity for union and
  
• does not feel strong enough to function as the center,
  

it is his duty to become a member of some other organic fellowship.

 

THE IMAGE

On the earth is water: The image Of HOLDING TOGETHER.

Thus the kings of antiquity

• Bestowed the different states as fiefs And
  
• cultivated friendly relations With the feudal lords.
  

Water

• fills up all the empty places on the earth and
  
• clings fast to it.
  

The social organization of ancient China was based on this principle of the holding together of

• dependents and
  
• rulers.
  

Water flows to unite with water, because all parts of it are subject to the same laws.

So too should human society hold together through a community of interests that

allows each individual to feel himself a member of a whole.

The central power of a social organization must see to it that

every member finds that his true interest lies in holding together with it,

as was the case in the paternal relationship between king and vassals in ancient China.

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