HEXAGRAM 20: ORIGINAL, INTERPRETATION AND CASES

HEXAGRAM 20 – Kuan - Contemplation (View)

Above SUN THE GENTLE, WIND

Below K'UN THE RECEPTIVE, EARTH

A slight variation of tonal stress gives the Chinese name for this hexagram a double meaning.

It means both

· contemplating and

· being seen, in the sense of being an example.

These ideas are suggested by the fact that the hexagram can be understood as picturing a type of tower characteristic of ancient China.

· A tower of this kind commanded a wide view of the country;

at the same time, when situated on a mountain,

· it became a landmark that could be seen for miles around.

Thus the hexagram shows a ruler

· who contemplates the law of heaven above him and the ways of the people below, and

· who, by means of good government, sets a lofty example to the masses.

This hexagram is linked with the eighth month (September - October).

· The light-giving power retreats and

· the dark power is again on the increase.

However, this aspect is not material in the interpretation of the hexagram as a whole.

THE JUDGMENT

CONTEMPLATION.

· The ablution has been made,

But

· not yet the offering.

Full of trust they look up to him.

The sacrificial ritual in China began with

· an ablution and

· a libation by which the Deity was invoked,

after which the sacrifice was offered.

The moment of time between these two ceremonies is the most sacred of all,

the moment of deepest inner concentration.

If piety is

· sincere and

· expressive of real faith,

the contemplation of it has a transforming and awe-inspiring effect

on those who witness it.

Thus also in nature

a holy seriousness is to be seen in the fact that

natural occurrences are uniformly subject to law.

Contemplation of the divine meaning underlying the workings of the universe gives

to the man who is called upon to influence others

the means of producing like effects.

This requires that power of inner concentration which religious contemplation

develops in great men strong in faith.

· It enables them to apprehend the mysterious and divine laws of life, and

by means of profoundest inner concentration

· they give expression to these laws in their own persons.

Thus

a hidden spiritual power emanates from them,

influencing and dominating others

without their being aware of how it happens.

THE IMAGE

The wind blows over the earth: The image of CONTEMPLATION.

Thus the kings of old

· visited the regions of the world,

· Contemplated the people, And

· gave them instruction.

When the wind blows over the earth it

· goes far and wide and

· the grass must bend to its power.

These two occurrences find confirmation in the hexagram.

The two images are used to symbolize a practice of the kings of old;

1. in making regular journeys the ruler could, in the first place,

survey his realm and

make certain that none of the existing usages of the people escaped notice;

2. in the second,

he could exert influence through which such customs as were unsuitable

could be changed.

All of this points to the power possessed by a superior personality.

· On the one hand, such a man

· will have a view of the real sentiments of the great mass of humanity and therefore

· cannot be deceived;

· on the other, he

· will impress the people so profoundly,

· by his mere existence and

· by the impact of his personality,

that they will be swayed by him as the grass by the wind.

THE LINES

Six at the beginning means:

Boy like contemplation.

For an inferior man, no blame.

For a superior man, humiliation.

This means contemplation from a distance, without comprehension.

A man of influence is at hand,

but his influence is not understood by the common people.

This matters little in the case of the masses,

for they benefit by the actions of the ruling sage

whether they understand them or not.

But for a superior man it is a disgrace.

· He must not content himself with a shallow, thoughtless view of prevailing forces;

· he must

o contemplate them as a connected whole and

o try to understand them.

Six in the second place means:

Contemplation through the crack of the door.

Furthering for the perseverance of a woman.

Through the crack of the door

· one has a limited outlook;

· one looks outward from within.

Contemplation is subjectively limited.

One

· tends to relate everything to oneself and

· cannot put oneself in another's place and understand his motives.

This is appropriate for a good housewife.

It is not necessary for her to be conversant with the affairs of the world.

But for a man who must take active part in public life,

such a narrow, egotistic way of contemplating things is of course harmful.

Six in the third place means:

Contemplation of my life

Decides the choice Between

· advance and

· retreat.

This is the place of transition.

· no longer look outward to receive pictures that are more or less limited and confused,

· but direct our contemplation upon ourselves in order to find a guideline for our decisions.

This self-contemplation means the overcoming of naive egotism

in the person who sees everything solely from his own standpoint.

He begins to reflect and in this way acquires objectivity.

However,

· self-knowledge does not mean preoccupation with one's own thoughts; rather,

· it means concern about the effects one creates.

It is only the effects our lives produce that give us the right to judge

whether what we have done means progress or regression.

Six in the fourth place means:

Contemplation of the light of the kingdom.

It furthers one to exert influence as the guest of a king.

This describes a man who understands the secrets

by which a kingdom can be made to flourish.

Such a man must be given an authoritative position, in which he can exert influence.

He should be, so to speak, a guest - that is,

· he should be honored and allowed to act independently, and

· should not be used as a tool.

0 Nine in the fifth place means:

Contemplation of my life.

The superior man is without blame.

A man in an authoritative position to whom others look up

must always be ready for self-examination.

The right sort of self-examination, however, consists

· not in idle brooding over oneself

· but in examining the effects one produces.

Only

· when these effects are good, and

· when one's influence on others is good,

will the contemplation of one's own life

bring the satisfaction of knowing oneself to be free of mistakes.

0 Nine at the top means:

Contemplation of his life.

The superior man is without blame.

· While the preceding line represents a man who contemplates himself,

· here in the highest place everything that is personal, related to the ego, is excluded.

The picture is that of a sage who stands outside the affairs of the world.

Liberated from his ego, he

· contemplates the laws of life and so

· realizes that knowing how to become free of blame is the highest good.

20 CONTEMPLATION –

THE VISION – how the CEO sees the corporation and how others see the CEO.

MANAGERIAL ISSUE:

The CEO – managing his corporate vision and his image.

Hexagram 20 focuses on the CEO’s need to manage both:

· His vision of the corporation - how he views the corporation, given he can see very far because of his high position (as the Tower or the image of the Hexagram, he can see from up high), and

· His image as a role model – how he can serve as an example to others who see him high up and would want to emulate him (as a Tower, others can see him because he is up high).

Once he obtains the Vision for his corporation, the CEO must be ready to:

· Be personally transformed by the vision.

· Transform the corporation with his vision.

When Lou Gerstner became CEO of IBM in April of 1993, the first question reporters asked him was about his vision for the future of IBM. The I Ching wanted him to meditate over the events which had placed the corporation in such a difficult position, mainly IBM’s arrogance and disdain for the smaller competitors. IBM could have been Cisco (they developed routers), could have been Oracle (they developed databases), could have been Microsoft, Intel, etc. Thanks to Gerstner’s proper meditation which included faith and humility, Heaven came to his aid. Lou Gerstner got both right: the vision and the way to execute it.

Lou Gerstner’s vision of IBM transformed the corporation and raised it from its low position to the high position where it used to be. His performance (from April 1993 to March 2003) was classic of a Superior CEO.

Lou Gerstner’s performance: ROI= 674.28% Annualized Return= 25.55%

SPY’s Performance: ROI= 157.94% Annualized Return= 11.11%

MANAGERIAL LESSON:

The Superior CEO works on a vision for the corporation. This is a very important managerial lesson.

The Superior CEO works on three basic issues:

1. The need to develop a vision for the corporation. The Superior CEO knows he must have a vision describing where he intends to take his corporation both in the short as well as in the long run. The CEO of SONY used to talk about his vision for SONY for the next 200 years with the same conviction most managers speak of their vision for next year. Any CEO, who can generate a clear vision for his corporation for the next decade, has a great chance of being successful. Even politicians must have a vision. President Bush Sr. lost the elections because he was perceived as a man without a vision.

2. The way to generate this vision. The Superior CEO:

· Contemplates or meditates over the external and internal events, which affect or could affect his corporation. This must be done with humility, honesty and lots of faith. If he meets these requirements, the vision will come to him and will transform him. This is an excellent exercise for all CEOs, especially the new ones.

contemplates

§ the law of heaven above him and

§ the ways of the people below,

· Gets to the truth within and gets his vision for the corporation - the CEO must look for the truth within as well as without.

· Develops an adequate attitude, which is similar to a religious reverence for the truth (the same obsession for the truth Ray Dalio has), to create the conditions for the vision to be revealed to him. This is indeed almost a mystical or a religious experience. In a way, the I Ching considers most leaders, whether they are CEOs or Presidents, as mystics. After all, they do share with the mystics the loneliness of being ultimately responsible for how their decisions affect the fate of many.

3. The CEO’s personal transformation by the vision. Once the CEO has received the vision from Heaven, he will personally be transformed through his humility, faith, and conviction. And it is his personal transformation that will help him transform the executives and other employees. All employees will automatically follow him because they will sense the strength of his conviction. One practical way for a CEO to get a vision of where he should be taking the corporation is to apply the well-known managerial technique of “management by walking around”. The more the CEO sees, listens and touches, the more in-depth and the more real his vision will be. Thus the CEO must visit all the branches of his company, all customers and providers, to become aware of any abnormal circumstance and fix it immediately according to his vision.

The actual way the I Ching recommends for the CEO to generate his Vision is a must read. If he is humble and wise, he should not be embarrassed by the religious connotations.

INVESTMENT ADVICE:

For the investor, the general environment is not positive, even though there are some exceptions. A CEO of a corporation under the CONTEMPLATION Time-Space has the destiny of the corporation in his hands. He must be capable of meditating over the needs of the corporation, of generating the proper vision for the corporation, and of transforming the employees of the corporation. And he must be able to successfully lead the employees because of the conviction of his vision. Few CEOs can achieve such high goals.

For the investor, the Contemplation is in general a not so favorable Time-Space to invest.

By itself (no lines), the Hexagram is not positive because there is no guarantee the CEO will generate the vision required to lead the corporation.

CONTEMPLATION.

The ablution has been made,

But not yet the offering.

Full of trust they look up to him.

The sacrificial ritual in China began with an ablution and a libation by which the Deity was invoked, after which the sacrifice was offered. The moment of time between these two ceremonies is the most sacred of all, the moment of deepest inner concentration. If piety is sincere and expressive of real faith, the contemplation of it has a transforming and awe-inspiring effect on those who witness it.

Thus also in nature a holy seriousness is to be seen in the fact that natural occurrences are uniformly subject to law. Contemplation of the divine meaning underlying the workings of the universe gives to the man who is called upon to influence others the means of producing like effects. This requires that power of inner concentration which religious contemplation develops in great men strong in faith. It enables them to apprehend the mysterious and divine laws of life, and by means of profoundest inner concentration they give expression to these laws in their own persons. Thus a hidden spiritual power emanates from them, influencing and dominating others without their being aware of how it happens.

The lines are not very favorable because there is no single instance of Good Fortune or success.

The following cases are those of corporations under the Contemplation Time-Space:

· The Travelers Companies, Inc. TRV under CEO Jay Fishman

· Cephalon Inc. CEPH under CEO J. Kevin Buchi

· CA Technologies CA under CEO William E. McCracken

THE LINES

SIX IN THE FIRST PLACE

Managerial Issue: The CEO – managing his corporate vision and his image - generating an incomplete vision because of his inexperience.

Managerial Lesson: Be certain.

Managerial Warning: At the first stage of the Contemplation Time-Space, the I Ching warns the inexperienced CEO he risks generating an incomplete vision because of his inexperience.

Managerial Advice: The Superior CEO knows:

The act of Contemplation (meditation) to obtain a real vision for his corporation requires maturity to focus the meditation on pertinent matters rather than trivial ones. Only then will he get the whole picture.

If he acts on his mistaken Contemplation (meditation), he will not really be transformed and no one will follow him because he will lack the necessary conviction; therefore, he will lead the corporation on the wrong path.

Investment Advice: Do not invest.

SIX IN THE SECOND PLACE

Managerial Issue: The CEO – managing his corporate vision and his image - generating an incomplete corporate vision because he fails to incorporate others.

Managerial Lesson: Be inclusive.

Managerial Warning: At the second stage of the Contemplation Time-Space, the CEO risks contemplating a limited one sided vision which will only include his point of view.

Managerial Advice: The Superior CEO knows the contemplation to obtain a corporate vision must be mature enough to include the opinions of others. He must walk in other men’s shoes. His corporate vision must include the employees as well as the customers’ point of view.

In this case, because his contemplation was not adequate, he will get the wrong vision, and the vision will not transform him.

Few CEOs can do what Steven Jobs did: generate a vision without taking into consideration the customers or anyone else’s opinion. This is unusual and an exception that works for only a few CEOs.

Investment Advice: Do not invest.

SIX IN THE THIRD PLACE

Managerial Issue: The CEO – managing his corporate vision and his image - changing from looking without to looking within for the vision.

Managerial Lesson: Be transcending.

Managerial Warning: At the third stage of the Contemplation Time-Space, the CEO might not get the proper corporate vision if he fails to transcend

From:

· looking without, which means generating a limited and confused corporate vision classic of a naïve and selfish CEO who perceives the corporate vision from his own point of view,

To:

· looking within, which means acquiring objectivity by reflecting upon the effects his corporate vision will create. This will give him guidance for his decisions.

Managerial Advice: The Superior CEO knows he must look upon the consequences of his actions. One way to obtain this vision from within is to meditate over the law of cause and effect, e.g. compensation - the proper compensation based on merit will lead to productive employees. He must not only look without, meaning doing the usual research to arrive at a vision, but he must also look within meaning visualizing the consequences of executing his vision. The CEO must have the capacity to contemplate within and generate an internal vision. This requires maturity and self-knowledge. His vision will in effect transform him and allow him to perceive the future and prepare for it.

In this case the vision is real because the CEO has looked at its effects including the point of view of everyone affected.

Investment Advice: Do not invest.

SIX IN THE FOURTH PLACE

Managerial Issue: The CEO – managing his corporate vision and his image – finding the brilliant executive to help him with his vision.

Managerial Lesson: Be appreciative.

Managerial Warning: At the fourth stage of the Contemplation Time-Space, the CEO risks offending a brilliant executive who can help him with the vision by using him as a tool.

Managerial Advice: The Superior CEO is appreciative: when he finds a brilliant executive who can generate the proper vision to turn the corporation into a profitable one, he follows the I Ching’s advice: The brilliant executive “should be given an authoritative position, in which he can exert influence. He should be, so to speak, a guest - that is he should be honored and allowed to act independently, and should not be used as a tool”.

Investment Advice: Invest.

NINE IN THE FIFTH PLACE

Managerial Issue: The CEO – managing his corporate vision and his image - pondering on the results of his vision.

Managerial Lesson: Be humble.

Managerial Warning: At the fifth stage of the Contemplation Time-Space, the I Ching warns the CEO he must always be ready for self-examination to determine the effects his vision has produced. The CEO must be mature enough to both: generate a winning vision, and contemplate its progress to make the necessary corrections.

Managerial Advice: The Superior CEO knows that it is not enough to generate a vision. He must also constantly review its results and make the necessary corrections with the view of helping the corporation’s customers and its employees. This should not be an exercise to stroke his ego for a job well done. This should be an exercise to constantly reinvent the corporation, much in the style of Apple and Steven Jobs. Only if the CEO’s vision adds value to his customers and wealth to his employees should he consider himself successful.

Investment Advice: Do not invest.

NINE IN THE SIXTH PLACE

Managerial Issue: The wisest of the CEOs – managing his corporate vision and his image -– no ego, sheer goodness and concern for the corporation’s customers and employees.

Managerial Lesson: Be blameless.

Managerial Warning: At the sixth stage of the Contemplation Time-Space, the I Ching describes a CEO who has found one of the highest points of managerial wisdom any CEO can find. He has so much knowledge, maturity and capacity, and his vision is so clear and precise that he requires little review of his actions because all his actions are for the good of humanity. There is no ego, only sheer goodness and concern for the corporation’s customers. He acts with the will of Heaven. All his actions are in harmony with the fundamental laws of management and of men so that all his actions will be successful in the future.

Managerial Advice: The Superior CEO studies the laws of life in such depth as to become one with the Universe.

Investment Advice: Invest.

MANAGERIAL CASES

The Travelers Companies, Inc. TRV under CEO Jay Fishman

Jay S. Fishman performance: ROI= 32.31% Annualized Return= 3.91%

SPY performance ROI= 14.20% Annualized Return= 1.84%

Jay S. Fishman became CEO of The Travelers on April 1, 2004. Since then, his performance has been better than the SPY’s. As the first line proves, his first year was terrible (humiliation) with a substantial drop on the price of the stock. However, he has improved with time.

Points the investor should consider:

1) THE HEXAGRAM

HEXAGRAM 20 – Kuan - Contemplation (View)

A slight variation of tonal stress gives the Chinese name for this hexagram a double meaning. It means both contemplating and being seen, in the sense of being an example. These ideas are suggested by the fact that the hexagram can be understood as picturing a type of tower characteristic of ancient China.

A tower of this kind commanded a wide view of the country; at the same time, when situated on a mountain, it became a landmark that could be seen for miles around. Thus the hexagram shows a ruler who contemplates the law of heaven above him and the ways of the people below, and who, by means of good government, sets a lofty example to the masses.

This hexagram is linked with the eighth month (September - October). The light-giving power retreats and the dark power is again on the increase. However, this aspect is not material in the interpretation of the hexagram as a whole.

THE JUDGMENT

CONTEMPLATION.

The ablution has been made,

But not yet the offering.

Full of trust they look up to him.

2) THE ADVICE

The wind blows over the earth: The image of CONTEMPLATION.

Thus the kings of old visited the regions of the world,

Contemplated the people,

And gave them instruction.

When the wind blows over the earth it goes far and wide and the grass must bend to its power. These two occurrences find confirmation in the hexagram. The two images are used to symbolize a practice of the kings of old; in making regular journeys the ruler could, in the first place, survey his realm and make certain that none of the existing usages of the people escaped notice; in the second, he could exert influence through which such customs as were unsuitable could be changed.

All of this points to the power possessed by a superior personality. On the one hand, such a man will have a view of the real sentiments of the great mass of humanity and therefore cannot be deceived; on the other, he will impress the people so profoundly, by his mere existence and by the impact of his personality, that they will be swayed by him as the grass by the wind.

3) THE LINES:

Six at the beginning means:

Boy like contemplation.

For an inferior man, no blame.

For a superior man, humiliation.

This means contemplation from a distance, without comprehension. A man of influence is at hand, but his influence is not understood by the common people. This matters little in the case of the masses, for they benefit by the actions of the ruling sage whether they understand them or not. But for a superior man it is a disgrace. He must not content himself with a shallow, thoughtless view of prevailing forces; he must contemplate them as a connected whole and try to understand them.

0 Nine at the top means:

Contemplation of his life.

The superior man is without blame.

While the preceding line represents a man who contemplates himself, here in the highest place everything that is personal, related to the ego, is excluded. The picture is that of a sage who stands outside the affairs of the world. Liberated from his ego, he contemplates the laws of life and so realizes that knowing how to become free of blame is the highest good.

4) THE MOVING HEXAGRAM

HEXAGRAM 03 – Chun - Difficulty at the Beginning

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.

1. A different translation is possible here, which would result in a different interpretation:

Difficulties pile up.

Horse and wagon turn about.

If the robber were not there,

The wooer would come.

The maiden is faithful, she does riot pledge herself.

Ten years-then she pledges herself.

THE JUDGMENT

CONTEMPLATION.

The ablution has been made,

But not yet the offering.

Full of trust they look up to him.

Cephalon Inc. CEPH under CEO J. Kevin Buchi

J. Kevin Buchi has been CEO of Cephalon since December 2010. It is still too early to evaluate his performance; however, the first line is pointing to the possibility he will struggle to get the proper vision for the corporation in the beginning.

Points the investor should consider:

1) THE HEXAGRAM

(Same as Above).

2) THE ADVICE

(Same as Above).

3) THE LINES:

Six at the beginning means:

Boy like contemplation.

For an inferior man, no blame.

For a superior man, humiliation.

Six in the fourth place means:

Contemplation of the light of the kingdom.

It furthers one to exert influence as the guest of a king.

This describes a man who understands the secrets by which a kingdom can be made to flourish. Such a man must be given an authoritative position, in which he can exert influence. He should be, so to speak, a guest - that is, he should be honored and allowed to act independently, and should not be used as a tool.

4) THE MOVING HEXAGRAM

HEXAGRAM 25 - Wu Wang - Innocence (The Unexpected)

Ch'ien, heaven, is above; Chen, movement, is below. The lower trigram Chen is under the influence of the strong line it has received from above, from heaven. When, in accord with this, movement follows the law of heaven, man is innocent and without guile. His mind is natural and true, unshadowed by reflection or ulterior designs. For wherever conscious purpose is to be seen, there the truth and innocence of nature have been lost. Nature that is not directed by the spirit is not true but degenerate nature. Starting out with the idea of the natural, the train of thought in part goes somewhat further and thus the hexagram includes also the idea of the unintentional or unexpected.

THE JUDGMENT

INNOCENCE. Supreme success.

Perseverance furthers.

If someone is not as he should be,

He has misfortune,

And it does not further him

To undertake anything.

Man has received from heaven a nature innately good, to guide him in all his movements. By devotion to this divine spirit within himself, he attains an unsullied innocence that leads him to do right with instinctive sureness and without any ulterior thought of reward and personal advantage. This instinctive certainty brings about supreme success and "furthers through perseverance." However, not everything instinctive is nature in this higher sense of the word, but only that which is right and in accord with the will of heaven. Without this quality of rightness, an unreflecting, instinctive way of acting brings only misfortune.

Confucius says about this:

"He who departs from innocence, what does he come to? Heaven's will and blessing do not go with his deeds."

THE IMAGE

Under heaven thunder rolls: All things attain the natural state of innocence.

Thus the kings of old, rich in virtue, and in harmony with the time,

Fostered and nourished all beings.

In springtime when thunder, life energy, begins to move again under the heavens, everything sprouts and grows, and all beings receive from the creative activity of nature the childlike innocence of their original state. So it is with the good rulers of mankind: drawing on the spiritual wealth at their command, they take care of all forms of life and all forms of culture and do everything to further them, and at the proper time.

CA Technologies CA under CEO William E. McCracken

William E. McCracken has been CEO of CA Technologies since January 2010. It is still too early to evaluate his performance. However, the Oracle warns him he is in a place of transition.

Points the investor should consider:

1) THE HEXAGRAM

(Same as Above).

2) THE ADVICE

(Same as Above).

3) THE LINES:

Six in the third place means:

Contemplation of my life

Decides the choice

Between advance and retreat.

This is the place of transition. We no longer look outward to receive pictures that are more or less limited and confused, but direct our contemplation upon ourselves in order to find a guideline for our decisions. This self-contemplation means the overcoming of naive egotism in the person who sees everything solely from his own standpoint. He begins to reflect and in this way acquires objectivity. However, self-knowledge does not mean preoccupation with one's own thoughts; rather, it means concern about the effects one creates. It is only the effects our lives produce that give us the right to judge whether what we have done means progress or regression.

4) THE MOVING HEXAGRAM

HEXAGRAM 53 – Chien - Development (Gradual Progress)

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.

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 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 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.