DISH Network Corp DISH under CEO W. Erik Carlson

DISH Network Corp DISH under CEO W. Erik Carlson

 

HEXAGRAM 03 – Chun – Difficulty at the Beginning

Above    K’AN    THE ABYSMAL, WATER

Below    CHEN    THE AROUSING, THUNDER

The name of the hexagram, Chun, really connotes

a blade of grass pushing against an obstacle

as it sprouts out of the earth hence the meaning, “difficulty at the beginning.”

The hexagram indicates the way in which heaven and earth bring forth individual beings.

It is their first meeting, which is beset with difficulties.

The lower trigram Chen is the Arousing;

• its motion is upward and
  
• its image is thunder.
  

The upper trigram K’an stands for the Abysmal, the dangerous.

• Its motion is downward and
  
• its image is rain.
  

The situation points to teeming, chaotic profusion;

thunder and rain fill the air.

But the chaos clears up.

• While the Abysmal sinks,
  
• the upward movement eventually passes beyond the danger.
  
• A thunderstorm brings release from tension, and
  
• all things breathe freely again.
  

 

THE JUDGMENT

DIFFICULTY AT THE BEGINNING works supreme success,

Furthering through perseverance.

Nothing should be undertaken.

It furthers one to appoint helpers.

Times of growth are beset with difficulties.

They resemble a first birth.

But these difficulties arise from the very profusion of all that is struggling to attain form.

Everything is in motion:

therefore if one perseveres there is a prospect of great success, in spite of the existing danger.

When it is a man’s fate to undertake such new beginnings, everything is still unformed, dark.

Hence he must hold back, because any premature move might bring disaster.

Likewise, it is very important not to remain alone;

in order to overcome the chaos he needs helpers.

This is not to say, however, that he himself should look on passively at what is happening.

He must lend his hand and participate with inspiration and guidance.

 

THE IMAGE

Clouds and thunder: The image Of DIFFICULTY AT THE BEGINNING.

Thus the superior man

Brings order out of confusion.

Clouds and thunder are represented by definite decorative lines;

this means that in the chaos of difficulty at the beginning, order is already implicit.

So too the superior man has to arrange and organize the inchoate profusion of such times of beginning, just as one sorts out silk threads from a knotted tangle and binds them into skeins.

In order to find one’s place in the infinity of being,

one must be able both

• to separate and
  
• to unite.
  

 

THE LINES

 

0 Nine at the beginning means:

Hesitation and hindrance.

• It furthers one to remain persevering.
  
• It furthers one to appoint helpers.
  

If a person encounters a hindrance at the beginning of an enterprise,

he must not try to force advance but

• must pause and
  
• take thought.
  

However, nothing should put him off his course;

he must persevere and constantly keep the goal in sight.

It is important to seek out the right assistants,

but he can find them only if he

• avoids arrogance and
  
• associates with his fellows in a spirit of humility.
  

Only then will he attract those with whose help he can combat the difficulties.

 

Six in the second place means:

Difficulties pile up.

Horse and wagon part.

He is not a robber.

He wants to woo when the time comes.

The maiden is chaste.

She does not pledge herself.

Ten years-then she pledges herself.

We find ourselves beset by difficulties and hindrances.

Suddenly there is a turn of affairs,

as if someone were coming up with a horse and wagon and unhitching them.

This event comes so unexpectedly that we assume the newcomer to be a robber.

Gradually it becomes clear that he

• has no evil intentions but
  
• seeks to be friendly and to offer help.
  

But this offer is not to be accepted, because it does not come from the right quarter.

We must wait until the time is fulfilled; ten years is a fulfilled cycle of time.

Then

• normal conditions return of themselves, and
  
• we can join forces with the friend intended for us.
  

Using the image of a betrothed girl who remains true to her lover in face of grave conflicts,

the hexagram gives counsel for a special situation.

When in times of difficulty a hindrance is encountered and unexpected relief is offered from a source unrelated to us,

we must be careful and not take upon ourselves any obligations entailed by such help;

otherwise our freedom of decision is impaired.

If we bide our time,

• things Will quiet down again, and
  
• we shall attain what we have hoped for. 1
  

 

0 Nine in the fifth place means:

Difficulties in blessing.

A little perseverance brings good fortune.

Great perseverance brings misfortune.

An individual is in a position in which

he cannot so express his good intentions

that they will actually take shape and be understood.

Other people interpose and distort everything he does.

He should then be cautious and proceed step by step.

He must not try to force the consummation of a great undertaking,

because success is possible only when general confidence already prevails.

It is only through faithful and conscientious work, unobtrusively carried on,

• that the situation gradually clears up and
  
• the hindrance disappears.
  

 

 

MOVING HEXAGRAM

 

 

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.

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