HEXAGRAM 27: ORIGINAL, INTERPRETATION AND CASES

 

 

 

HEXAGRAM 27 – I - The Corners of the Mouth (Providing Nourishment)

 

Above KEN   KEEPING STILL, MOUNTAIN

Below CHEN THE AROUSING, THUNDER

 

This hexagram is a picture of an open mouth;

·        above and below are the firm lines of the lips, and

·        between them the opening. 

Starting with the mouth,

through which we take food for nourishment,

the thought leads to nourishment itself. 

Nourishment

·        of oneself, specifically of the body, is represented in the three lower lines,

·        while the three upper lines represent nourishment and care of others, in a higher, spiritual sense.

 

THE JUDGMENT

 

THE CORNERS OF THE MOUTH.

Perseverance brings good fortune.

Pay heed

·        to the providing of nourishment And

·        to what a man seeks To fill his own mouth with.

 

In bestowing care and nourishment, it is important

·        that the right people should be taken care of and

·        that we should attend to our own nourishment in the right way. 

If

·        we wish to know what anyone is like,

·        we have only to observe

·        on whom he bestows his care and

·        what sides of his own nature he cultivates and nourishes. 

Nature nourishes all creatures. 

The great man fosters and takes care of superior men,

in order to take care of all men through them. 

 

Mencius says about this:

If

·        we wish to know whether anyone is superior or not,

·        we need only observe what part of his being he regards as especially important. 

The body has

·        superior and inferior,

·        important and unimportant parts. 

We

·        must not injure important parts for the sake of the unimportant,

·        nor must we injure the superior parts for the sake of the inferior. 

·        He who cultivates the inferior parts of his nature is an inferior man. 

·        He who cultivates the superior parts of his nature is a superior man. 1

 

THE IMAGE

 

At the foot of the mountain, thunder:

The image of PROVIDING NOURISHMENT.

Thus the superior man is

·        careful of his words And

·        temperate in eating and drinking.

 

"God comes forth in the sign of the Arousing" 2:

when in the spring the life forces stir again,

all things come into being anew. 

 

"He brings to perfection in the sign of Keeping Still":

thus

in the early spring, when the seeds fall to earth,

all things are made ready. 

 

This is an image of providing nourishment through

·        movement and

·        tranquility. 

The superior man takes it as a pattern for the

·        nourishment and

·        cultivation of

his character. 

·        Words are a movement going from within outward. 

·        Eating and drinking are movements from without inward. 

Both kinds of movement can be modified by tranquility. 

For

tranquility

·        keeps the words that come out of the mouth from exceeding proper measure, and

·        keeps the food that goes into the mouth from exceeding its proper measure. 

Thus character is cultivated.

 

THE LINES

 

Nine at the beginning means:

·        You let your magic tortoise go,  And

·        look at me with the corners of your mouth drooping.

Misfortune.

 

The magic tortoise is a creature possessed of such supernatural powers that

it

·        lives on air and

·        needs no earthly nourishment.

The image means that

a man fitted by nature and position to live freely and independently

·        renounces this self-reliance and instead

·        looks with envy and discontent at others who are outwardly in better circumstances. 

But such base envy only arouses derision and contempt in those others. 

This has bad results.

 

Six in the second place means:

·        Turning to the summit for nourishment,

·        Deviating from the path To seek nourishment from the hill. 

Continuing to do this brings misfortune.

 

Normally a person

·        either provides his own means of nourishment

·        or is supported in a proper way by those whose duty and privilege it is to provide for him. 

If, owing to weakness of spirit,

a man cannot support himself,

a feeling of uneasiness comes over him;

this is because in shirking the proper way of obtaining a living,

he accepts support as a favor from those in higher place. 

This is unworthy, for

he is deviating from his true nature. 

Kept up indefinitely, this course leads to misfortune.

 

Six in the third place means: 

Turning away from nourishment,

Perseverance brings misfortune.

Do not act thus for ten years.

Nothing serves to further.

 

He who seeks nourishment that does not nourish

·        reels from desire to gratification and

·        in gratification craves desire. 

Mad pursuit of pleasure for the satisfaction of the senses

never brings one to the goal. 

One should never (ten years is a complete, cycle of time) follow this is path,

for nothing good can come of it.

 

Six in the fourth place means:

·        Turning to the summit For provision of nourishment

Brings good fortune.

·        Spying about with sharp eyes Like a tiger with insatiable craving. 

No blame.

 

·        In contrast to the six in the second place, which refers

o   to a man bent exclusively on his own advantage,

·        this line refers

o   to one occupying a high position and striving to let his light shine forth. 

To do this

·        he needs helpers ,

because

·        he cannot attain his lofty aim alone. 

With the greed of a hungry tiger

he is on the lookout for the right people. 

Since he

·        is not working for himself but for the good of all,

·        there is no wrong in such zeal.

 

0 Six in the fifth place means:

Turning away from the path.

To remain persevering brings good fortune. 

One should not cross the great water.

 

A man may be conscious of a deficiency in himself. 

·        He should be undertaking the nourishment of the people, but

·        he has not the strength to do it. 

Thus

he must

·        turn from his accustomed path and

·        beg counsel and help from a man who is spiritually his superior but undistinguished outwardly. 

If he maintains this attitude of mind perseveringly,

success and good fortune are his. 

But

·        he must remain aware of his dependence. 

·        He must not put his own person forward nor attempt great labors,

such as crossing the great water.

 

0 Nine at the top means:

The source of nourishment.

Awareness of danger brings good fortune.

It furthers one to cross the great water.

 

This describes a sage of the highest order,

from whom emanate all influences that provide nourishment for others. 

Such a position brings with it heavy responsibility. 

If

·        he remains conscious of this fact,

·        he

o   has good fortune and

o   may confidently undertake even great and difficult labors,

such as crossing the great water. 

These undertakings bring general happiness

·        for him and

·        for all others.

 

 

1. Book of Mencius, bk.  VI, sec.  A, i4. [Mencius lived from 389 to 305 B-C-]

2. [See p. 268, sec. 5.1

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

27 THE CORNERS OF THE MOUTH

(PROVIDING NOURISHMENT)

 

 

 

MANAGERIAL ISSUE:

 

The CEO - managing to nourish the corporation, its customers, employees and shareholders.

 

Hexagram 27 is a Time Space where the CEO must focus on providing the corporation and everyone related to it, with the necessary nourishment for their physical, mental and spiritual advancement.  In particular, he should provide sufficient knowledge to strengthen the corporation both economically and morally. 

 

The Superior CEO Nourishes the corporation by making sure:

 

1)   Suppliers of machinery, equipment, and raw materials provide the corporation only with what is necessary and that they deliver it just in time and at a fair price.  The Japanese are great at this.  They supply the corporation with only the right amount of raw material and spare parts rather than allow the corporation to become full of costly inventory.

 

2)   Employees are properly paid, educated and motivated. 

 

3)   Supervisors are paid well above the other employees to clearly distinguish them from the rest, and properly educated to prepare them for higher positions.

 

4)   Top management continuously reviews all supervisors and employees to pick those who might make it to the top if given education and greater responsibilities. 

 

 

 

MANAGERAL LESSON:

 

The I Ching distinguishes:

 

Between:

·        The Superior CEO who provides for the advancement of the corporation’s top priority projects and thereby builds a better corporation, and

·        The inferior CEO who provides for the corporation’s lower priority projects and thereby destroys the corporation. 

 

Between:

·        The Superior CEO who provides for the better spirits of the employees, and

·        The inferior CEO who robs the corporation of its winning spirit.

 

 

 

 

 

The Superior CEO:

 

1)   Provides for the right projects and employees and does it in the right way.  He does not waste resources investing in the wrong projects.  And he does it with a peaceful attitude.  He knows the proper attitude is needed when providing for the development of the corporation, for it would be most difficult to do so under a climate of fear.

 

2)   Studies and knows his competitors well.  For instance, by studying his competitors’ flow of funds, he finds out which of his competitors’ corporate divisions are getting the most funds (Nourishment) so as to know whether his competing CEOs care for the really important or for the superficial.

 

3)   Is careful of his words, and exercises an easy going in his attitude.

 

 

 

INVESTMENT ADVICE:

 

For the investor, the NOURISHMENT is in general a favorable Time-Space to invest.   This is springtime.  A time for investing, waiting patiently, persevering until the corporation becomes profitable.  This is also a time to keep all plans secret and make sure competitors cannot copy any of the corporation’s plans.

 

By itself (no lines) the Hexagram is positive because nourishment brings good fortune.

 

THE CORNERS OF THE MOUTH.

Perseverance brings good fortune.

Pay heed to the providing of nourishment

And to what a man seeks

To fill his own mouth with.

 

In bestowing care and nourishment, it is important that the right people should be taken care of and that we should attend to our own nourishment in the right way.  If we wish to know what anyone is like, we have only to observe on whom he bestows his care and what sides of his own nature he cultivates and nourishes.  Nature nourishes all creatures.  The great man fosters and takes care of superior men, in order to take care of all men through them. 

 

The lines present three good possibilities of investing in the 4th, 5th and 6th places.

 

 

 

THE LINES

 

 

 

NINE IN THE FIRST PLACE

 

Managerial Issue: The CEO - managing to nourish the corporation, its customers, employees and shareholders – failing at it because of envy.

 

Managerial Lesson: Be grateful. 

 

Managerial Warning: At the first stage of the Nourishment Time-Space, the CEO has all the resources to strengthen (nourish) the corporation but fails to do so miserably; instead, he spends his time complaining that the other corporations are better.  This in turn, makes the other CEOs of the competing corporations look upon him with contempt.

 

Managerial Advice: the Superior CEO is grateful to Heaven for giving him the capacity to be self-reliant and thereby live freely and independently.  He is content with his Heaven sent gifts as well as those gifts Heaven has given his competitors.  He knows the union of all the gifts of Heaven to men is added up for the benefit of all mankind.

 

Investment Advice: Do not invest.

 

 

 

SIX IN THE SECOND PLACE

 

Managerial Issue: The CEO - managing to nourish the corporation, its customers, employees and shareholders– failing by avoiding his responsibilities.

 

Managerial Lesson: Be responsible. 

 

Managerial Warning: At the second stage of the Nourishment Time-Space, the CEO who could access all the resources to strengthen his corporation, fails to do so.  His excuse is that he does not have the resources to do it.  He goes as far as to request the assistance of the suppliers and even of the competitors.  This is the behavior of an inferior CEO who can only bring shame to the corporation and its employees.  This cannot last for long.

 

Managerial Advice: The Superior CEO provides his own means of nourishment.  He does not cut corners when it comes to applying the proper way of obtaining a living.  He is not afraid to accept help provided this does not become a policy for obtaining the Nourishment for the corporation.

 

Investment Advice: Do not invest.

 

 

 

SIX IN THE THIRD PLACE

 

 

Managerial Issue: The CEO - managing to nourish the corporation, its customers, employees and shareholders– providing the corporation with the wrong nourishment. 

 

Managerial Lesson: Be proper. 

 

Managerial Warning: At the third stage of the Nourishment Time-Space, the CEO provides the corporation with the wrong nourishment, including the raw material, suppliers, education, and training and even moral standards.  The reason the nourishment is wrong is because the CEO’s aim is to pursue the trivial rather than the fundamental.  This reflects poorly on the CEO as a person.

Managerial Advice: the Superior CEO knows that the wrong business philosophy, like the wrong food, does not strengthen the corporation but rather weakens it.   

 

Investment Advice: Do not invest

 

 

 

SIX IN THE FOURTH PLACE

 

 

Managerial Issue: The CEO - managing to nourish the corporation, its customers, employees and shareholders– achieving it by humbly looking for the best executives.

 

Managerial Lesson: Be committed. 

 

Managerial Warning: At the fourth stage of the Nourishment Time-Space, the CEO succeeds in properly providing Nourishment to the corporation with the help of able executives as well as with his own tenacity.

 

Managerial Advice: the Superior CEO strives to let his light shine forth and knows this would require helpers because he cannot attain his lofty aim alone.  Therefore, he is relentless in his search for the right people, aggressively attracting the best executives by providing them with rewards and high positions..  Such obsessive search for talent is not bad because his aim is for the common good of all rather than for his own personal profit.

 

Investment Advice: Invest.

 

 

 

SIX IN THE FIFTH PLACE

 

Managerial Issue: The CEO - managing to nourish the corporation, its customers, employees and shareholders– succeeding by being aware of his limitations.

 

Managerial Lesson: Be aware. 

 

Managerial Warning: At the fifth stage of the Nourishment Time-Space, the CEO becomes very much aware of his limitations as a CEO. 

 

Managerial Advice: The Superior CEO is aware of his own inefficiencies, such as his lack of strength.  To correct them, he:

·        Seeks the help of an external advisor who is spiritually superior to him and who will assist him in finding the right type of Nourishment (provisions) for the corporation. 

·        Follows the recommendations of the external advisor, and finds the right answers. 

 

But, above all, the secret to his success will lie in accepting his limitations.  Such limitations will force the CEO to:

·        First (and always) depend on his advisors to avoid making serious mistakes, and

·        Second, avoid undertaking great projects, even if he counts with the help of bright external advisor.

Investment Advice: Invest.

 

 

 

NINE IN THE SIXTH PLACE

 

Managerial Issue: The CEO - managing to nourish the corporation, its customers, employees and shareholders– wisely achieving it because of his humility.

 

Managerial Lesson: Be humble. 

 

Managerial Warning: At the sixth stage of the Nourishment Time-Space, the CEO comes from outside the corporate culture.  He has lots of wisdom and knowledge and should easily provide for all the corporation’s needs - physical, mental and spiritual. 

 

Managerial Advice: The Superior CEO always keeps in mind the difficulty of his position as an outsider.  This keeps him humble.  His humility helps him to succeed and to undertake very profitable projects.

 

Investment Advice: Invest.