HEXAGRAM 36: ORIGINAL, INTERPRETATION
AND CASES
HEXAGRAM 36 - Ming I -
Darkening of the Light
Above K'UN THE RECEPTIVE, EARTH
Below LI THE CLINGING, FIRE
Here the sun
· has sunk under the earth and
· is therefore darkened.
The name of the hexagram means literally "wounding of the bright"; hence
the individual lines contain frequent references to wounding.
The situation is the exact opposite of that in the foregoing hexagram.
In the latter
· a wise man at the head of affairs
o has able helpers, and in company with them
o makes progress;
here
· a man of dark nature
o is in a position of authority and
o brings harm to the wise and able man.
THE JUDGMENT
DARKENING OF THE LIGHT.
In
adversity
It furthers one to be persevering.
One
·
must not unresistingly let himself be swept along
by unfavorable circumstances,
·
nor permit his steadfastness to be shaken.
He can
avoid this by
·
maintaining his inner light, while
·
remaining outwardly yielding and tractable.
With this
attitude
he can overcome even the greatest adversities.
In some
situations indeed a man
·
must hide his light, in order to
·
make his will prevail in spite of difficulties
in his immediate environment.
Perseverance
·
must dwell in inmost consciousness and
·
should not be discernible from without.
Only thus
is
a man able to maintain his will in the face of difficulties.
THE IMAGE
The light has sunk into the earth: The image of DARKENING OF THE LIGHT.
Thus does
·
the superior man live with the great mass:
·
He
o veils his light,
o yet still shines.
In a time
of darkness it is essential to be
·
cautious and
·
reserved.
One should
not needlessly awaken overwhelming enmity
by
inconsiderate behavior.
In such
times
·
one ought not to fall in with the practices of others;
·
neither should one drag them censoriously into the light.
In social
intercourse
·
one should not try to be all-knowing.
· One should let many things pass, without being duped.
THE LINES
Nine at the beginning means:
Darkening of the light during flight.
He lowers his wings.
The superior man
· does not eat for three days On his wanderings.
But he
· has somewhere to go.
The host has occasion to gossip about him
With
grandiose resolve
a man
·
endeavors to soar above all obstacles, but thus
·
encounters a hostile fate.
He
·
retreats and
·
evades the issue.
The time
is difficult.
Without
rest, he must hurry along,
with no
permanent abiding place.
If he
·
does not want to make compromises within himself,
·
but insists on remaining true to his principles,
he suffers
deprivation.
Nevertheless
he has a
fixed goal to strive for,
even
though the people with whom he lives
·
do not understand him and
· speak ill of him.
0 Six in the second place means:
Darkening of the light injures him in the left thigh.
He gives aid with the strength of a horse.
Good fortune.
Here the Lord of Light
· is in a subordinate place and
· is wounded by the Lord of Darkness.
But the injury is not fatal;
it is only a hindrance.
Rescue is still possible.
· The wounded man gives no thought to himself;
· he thinks only of saving the others who are also in danger.
Therefore
he tries with all his strength to save all that can be saved.
There is good fortune in thus acting according to duty.
Nine in the third place means:
Darkening of the light during the hunt in the south.
Their great leader is captured.
One must not expect perseverance too soon.
It seems as if chance were at work.
· While the strong, loyal man
o is striving eagerly and in good faith to create order,
· he
o meets the ringleader of the disorder, as if by accident, and
o seizes him.
Thus victory is achieved.
But in
abolishing abuses one must not be too hasty.
This would
turn out badly
because the abuses have been in existence so long.
Six in the fourth place means:
He penetrates the left side of the belly.
One
· gets at the very heart of the darkening of the light, And
· leaves gate and courtyard.
We
find ourselves close to the commander of darkness and so
discover his most secret thoughts.
In this way
· we realize that there is no longer any hope of improvement, and thus
· we are enabled to leave the scene of disaster before the storm breaks.
Six in the fifth place means:
Darkening of the light as with Prince Chi.
Perseverance furthers.
Prince Chi
lived at the court of the evil tyrant Chou Hsin, who,
although not mentioned by name,
furnishes the historical example on which this whole situation is based.
Prince Chi
was a relative of the tyrant and
could not withdraw from court;
therefore
he
·
concealed his true sentiments and
·
feigned insanity.
Although
·
he was held a slave,
·
he did not allow external misery to deflect him from his convictions.
This
provides a teaching for those who cannot leave their posts in times of
darkness.
In order
to escape danger,
they need
·
invincible perseverance of spirit and
· redoubled caution in their dealings with the world.
Six at the top means:
Not light but darkness.
· First he climbed up to heaven,
· Then he plunged into the depths of the earth.
Here the
climax of the darkening is reached.
·
The dark power at first held so high a place that
·
it could wound all who were on the side of good and of the light.
But in the
end
·
it perishes of its own darkness,
·
for evil
o must itself fall at the very
moment when
·
it
o has wholly overcome the good,
and thus
o consumed the energy to which it owed its duration.
36 DARKENING OF THE LIGHT
MANAGERIAL
ISSUE:
The CEO – managing the Darkening of the
Light – betrayed by his closest associates.
Hexagram 36 (The Darkening of the Light) is
the opposite of the previous Hexagram (35 Progress).
MANAGERIAL
LESSON:
The Superior CEO is patient and forgiving
and therefore does not allow betrayal to change his demeanor. When he becomes aware that his most trusted
and loyal advisor betrays him, he knows there is nothing for him to do but to:
·
Be patient,
·
Withstand all the humiliations,
·
Do what is right,
·
Keep flexible.
The Superior CEO knows the Law of Cycles
and therefore is certain the time of reckoning for his disloyal assistant will
surely come.
Lincoln’s example represents the classic
behavior for managing under the Darkening of the Light. After barely arriving at the White House, he
found himself at the start of a Civil War not of his making. His lack of military training forced him to
rely on the counsel of a Prima Donna. To
his dismay, Lincoln learned that his most trusted general betrayed him. Regardless of the honors Lincoln bestowed
upon McClellan, the Little Napoleon took every opportunity to humiliate
Lincoln, to speak evil of him and to bring harm to his Presidency as well as
his cause.
Always the wiser, Lincoln:
·
Kept his own counsel.
·
Never spoke ill of McClellan, lest he would bring more enemies upon himself.
·
Knew that in the end McClelland would prove to be
his own worst enemy.
·
Knew that all he had to do was:
to keep an eye on the ultimate outcome (winning the war), to bide his time, and
to turn a deaf ear while at the same time being very much aware of the evil
surrounding him.
That same trait which had brought Lincoln
to the Highest Office would also bring him to the inevitable victory - that
trait, that element which has made so many men successful, is a combination of
humility with tenacity (humacity?).
Lincoln’s attitude should be an example to
all CEOs. There will be times when the
elements point to a Dark time, to difficulties ahead. The wise CEO must do as Lincoln did: be humble,
avoid criticism, keep an eye on the ultimate outcome and let his own tenacity
do the rest.
INVESTMENT ADVICE:
For the investor, the Darkening of the
Light Time-Space is obviously not favorable at all. How could anyone invest in a corporation
where the able assistant betrays the CEO?.
By itself (no lines) it points the way for
the CEO to persevere in the midst of adversity. However, this cannot be a good opportunity to
invest.
DARKENING OF THE LIGHT.
In adversity
It furthers one to be persevering.
One must not unresistingly let himself be
swept along by unfavorable circumstances, nor permit his steadfastness to be
shaken. He can avoid this by maintaining
his inner light, while remaining outwardly yielding and tractable. With this attitude he can overcome even the
greatest adversities.
In some situations
indeed a man must hide his light, in order to make his will prevail in spite of
difficulties in his immediate environment.
Perseverance must dwell in inmost consciousness and should not be
discernible from without. Only thus is a
man able to maintain his will in the face of difficulties.
There is only one possibility to invest and
that is in the second line when the CEO barely manages to save his corporation
thanks to his selflessness. But even
then, it might not be worth it.
The following case is that of corporations
under the Darkening of the Light Time-Space:
·
News
Corp. NWS under CEO Keith Rupert Murdoch
(Read at end of the Hexagram).
·
Sun Microsystems
under CEO Scott McNealy
(Read On Management).
THE LINES
NINE IN THE FIRST PLACE
Managerial Issue: The CEO –
managing the Darkening of the Light - the beginning.
Managerial Lesson: Be true.
Managerial Warning: At the first stage of the Darkening of the Light Time-Space, the CEO
faces the beginning of the difficult times that will not allow him to achieve
his goals - his own people not only fail to understand him but speak evil of
him.
Managerial Advice: The Superior CEO is true to his own self. He keeps the ultimate outcome in mind, even
if it means he will be misunderstood and humiliated. He knows his ideas, his
vision and his capacity are great but he recognizes
there is little he can do because he is in the downside of the cycle.
Investment Advice: Do not
invest.
NINE IN THE SECOND PLACE
Managerial Issue: The CEO –
managing the Darkening of the Light - saving himself and his corporation from
the onslaught of the Darkness.
Managerial Lesson: Be selfless.
Managerial Warning: At the second stage of the Darkening of the Light Time-Space, the CEO’s
most trusted advisor harms him. However,
such harm is not fatal. The CEO still
can survive and thrive.
Managerial Advice: The Superior
CEO is selfless and therefore betrayal cannot harm him. He can still turn the corporation around
provided his only thoughts are to save his corporation and the employees. Fate will surely reward such selflessness.
Investment Advice: Invest. Be aware of the risk and be patient.
NINE IN THE THIRD PLACE
Managerial Issue: The CEO –
managing the Darkening of the Light - moving slowly when fixing wrongs.
Managerial Lesson: Be patient (particularly in the face of evil).
Managerial Warning: At the third stage of the Darkening of the Light Time-Space, fate
intervenes and , almost by accident, the CEO catches
his disloyal assistant in wrong doings and brings him to justice.
Managerial Advice: The Superior
CEO moves patiently when correcting wrongs.
He never tries to correct all wrongs at once, particularly when these
wrongs have been present for a long time.
He knows such action would only create more enemies at a time when he
needs all the friends he can get.
Investment Advice: Do not
invest.
SIX IN THE FOURTH PLACE
Managerial Issue: The CEO –
managing the Darkening of the Light - avoiding utter destruction.
Managerial Lesson: Be cautious.
Managerial Warning: At the fourth stage of the Darkening of the Light Time-Space, the CEO is able to get close to his disloyal assistant (“keep your
friends close, but your enemies even closer”) and learns about his evil
plans. Such plans are so far advanced
there is no longer any hope for improvements and so he finds himself trapped.
Managerial Advice: The Superior
CEO picks his fights well. He knows when
to fight and when not to fight. He knows
the best policy is to avoid the fight before it evens begin. Experience has taught him that most traitors
are unrepentant and will want to carry out their evil plans to completion. If the Superior CEO suspects well ahead of
time that he will lose the fight, he will wisely keep away from such evil.
Investment Advice: Do not
invest.
SIX IN THE FIFTH PLACE
Managerial Issue: The CEO –
managing the Darkening of the Light – avoiding destruction by deceiving his
enemies.
Managerial Lesson: Be unassuming.
Managerial Warning: At the fifth stage of the Darkening of the Light Time-Space, the CEO is tied to his position and cannot
escape (or may be does not want to escape).
Probably his love for his corporation is greater than his concern for
his own reputation.
Managerial Advice: The Superior CEO puts the well-being of the corporation above his concern
for his own personal reputation. He
knows that sometimes, when there is no way out, it is strategic for him to appear
as a fool and to make his enemies think of him as a fool. This is a good recourse for the CEO to
deceive his enemies. He knows that to be
prudent and tenacious is his only way out.
Investment Advice: Do not
invest.
SIX IN THE SIXTH PLACE
Managerial Issue: The CEO –
managing the Darkening of the Light – the end of darkness.
Managerial Lesson: Be watchful.
Managerial Warning: At the sixth stage of the Darkening of the Light Time-Space, the CEO must
prepare for the end of the dark cycle.
The same circumstances, which created the dark environment, are now
dissipating.
Managerial Advice: The Superior CEO knows that absolute power corrupts absolutely because
it undermines even its own evil foundations.
The symbol of the TAO symbolizes it.
Neither the YANG nor the YIN can have the absolute power over the
other. They can neither completely destroy nor completely cancel each other
out. Even at its strongest position, the
opposite is still there to eventually take its place. Just as stability creates instability,
instability creates stability.
Investment Advice: Do not
invest.
MANAGERIAL CASES
News Corp.
NWS under CEO Keith Rupert Murdoch
Rupert Murdochs Performance: ROI= 551.63% Annualized
Return= 8.24%
Rupert Murdochs Performance: ROI= 153.19% Annualized
Return= 5.31%
SPY’s Performance: ROI= 165.62% Annualized
Return= 5.40%
Rupert Murdoch has been CEO of News Corp
since its inception. His performance
since January of 1988 has been of 551.63%.
But compared with the SPY’s
since February of 1993 his performance has not been much better than the SPY’s.
What is worrisome is that going forward
from 2011 on, he faces the Darkening of the Light which is an extremely
difficult Time-Space to manage. Perhaps
the Moving Hexagram Enthusiasm might give him a hint as to how to proceed. To create Enthusiasm:
It
furthers
one
to
install helpers And
to
set armies marching.
Points the investor should consider:
1) THE HEXAGRAM
HEXAGRAM 36 - Ming I - Darkening of the
Light
Here the sun has sunk under the earth and
is therefore darkened. The name of the
hexagram means literally "wounding of the bright"; hence the
individual lines contain frequent references to wounding. The situation is the exact opposite of that
in the foregoing hexagram. In the latter
a wise man at the head of affairs has able helpers, and in company with them
makes progress; here a man of dark nature is in a position of authority and
brings harm to the wise and able man.
THE JUDGMENT
DARKENING OF THE LIGHT.
In adversity
It furthers one to be persevering.
One must not unresistingly let himself be
swept along by unfavorable circumstances, nor permit his steadfastness to be
shaken. He can avoid this by maintaining
his inner light, while remaining outwardly yielding and tractable. With this attitude he can overcome even the
greatest adversities.
In some situations
indeed a man must hide his light, in order to make his will prevail in spite of
difficulties in his immediate environment.
Perseverance must dwell in inmost consciousness and should not be
discernible from without. Only thus is a
man able to maintain his will in the face of difficulties.
2) THE ADVICE
The light has sunk into the earth: The image of DARKENING OF THE LIGHT.
Thus does the superior man live with the
great mass:
He veils his light, yet still shines.
In a time of darkness
it is essential to be cautious and reserved.
One should not needlessly awaken overwhelming enmity by inconsiderate
behavior. In such times one ought not to
fall in with the practices of others; neither should one drag them censoriously
into the light. In social intercourse
one should not try to be all-knowing.
One should let many things pass, without being duped.
3) THE LINES:
Nine at the beginning means:
Darkening of the light during flight.
He lowers his wings.
The superior man does not eat for three
days
On his wanderings.
But he has somewhere to go.
The host has occasion to gossip about him
With grandiose resolve a man endeavors to
soar above all obstacles, but thus encounters a hostile fate. He retreats and evades the issue. The time is difficult. Without rest, he must hurry along, with no
permanent abiding place. If he does not
want to make compromises within himself, but insists on remaining true to his
principles, he suffers deprivation. Nevertheless he has a fixed goal to strive for, even though
the people with whom he lives do not understand him and speak ill of him.
Nine in the third place
means:
Darkening of the light during the hunt in
the south.
Their great leader is captured.
One must not expect perseverance too soon.
It seems as if chance were at work. While the strong, loyal man is striving
eagerly and in good faith to create order, he meets the ringleader of the
disorder, as if by accident, and seizes him.
Thus victory is achieved. But in abolishing abuses one must not be too
hasty. This would turn out badly because
the abuses have been in existence so long.
Six in the fourth place
means:
He penetrates the left side of the
belly.
One gets at the very heart of the darkening
of the light,
And leaves gate and courtyard.
We find ourselves close to the commander of
darkness and so discover his most secret thoughts. In this way we realize that there is no
longer any hope of improvement, and thus we are enabled to leave the scene of
disaster before the storm breaks.
4) THE MOVING HEXAGRAM
HEXAGRAM 16 – Yu - Enthusiasm
The strong line in the fourth place, that
of the leading official, meets with response and obedience from all the other
lines, which are all weak. The attribute
of the upper trigram, Chen, is movement; the attributes of K'un,
the lower, are obedience and devotion.
This begins a movement that meets with devotion and therefore inspires
enthusiasm, carrying all with it. Of
great importance, furthermore, is the law of movement along the line of least
resistance, which in this hexagram is enunciated as the law for natural events
and for human life.
THE JUDGMENT
ENTHUSIASM.
It furthers one to install helpers
And to set armies marching.
The time of ENTHUSIASM derives from the
fact that there is at hand an eminent man who is in sympathy with the spirit of
the people and acts in accord with it. Hence he finds universal and willing obedience. To arouse enthusiasm
it is necessary for a man to adjust himself and his ordinances to the character
of those whom he has to lead. The
inviolability of natural laws rests on this principle of movement along the
line of least resistance. These laws are
not forces external to things but represent the harmony of movement immanent in
them. That is why the celestial bodies
do not deviate from their orbits and why all events in nature occur with fixed
regularity. It is the same with human
society: only such laws as are rooted in popular sentiment can be enforced,
while laws violating this sentiment merely arouse resentment.
Again, it is enthusiasm that enables us to
install helpers for the completion of an undertaking without fear of secret
opposition. It is enthusiasm too that
can unify mass movements, as in war, so that they achieve victory.
THE IMAGE
Thunder comes resounding out of the
earth: The image of ENTHUSIASM.
Thus the ancient
kings made music In order to honor merit,
And offered it with splendor
To the Supreme Deity,
Inviting their ancestors to be present.
When, at the beginning of summer, thunder -
electrical energy - comes rushing forth from the earth again, and the first
thunderstorm refreshes nature, a prolonged state of tension is resolved. Joy and relief make themselves felt. So too, music has power to ease tension
within the heart and to loosen the grip of obscure emotions. The enthusiasm of the heart expresses itself
involuntarily in a burst of song, in dance and rhythmic movement of the
body. From immemorial times the
inspiring effect of the invisible sound that moves all hearts, and draws them
together, has mystified mankind.
Rulers have made use of this natural taste
for music; they elevated and regulated it.
Music was looked upon as something serious and holy, designed to purify
the feelings of men. It fell to music to
glorify the virtues of heroes and thus to construct a bridge to the world of
the unseen. In the temple men drew near
to God with music and pantomimes (out of this later the theater developed). Religious feeling for the Creator of the
world was united with the most sacred of human feelings, that of reverence for
the ancestors. The ancestors were
invited to these divine services as guests of the Ruler of Heaven and as
representatives of humanity in the higher regions. This uniting of the human past with the
Divinity in solemn moments of religious inspiration established the bond
between God and man. The ruler who
revered the Divinity in revering his ancestors became thereby the Son of
Heaven, in whom the heavenly and the earthly world met in mystical
contact. These ideas are the final
summation of Chinese culture.
Confucius has said of the great sacrifice
at which these rites were performed:
"He who could wholly comprehend this
sacrifice could rule the world as though it were spinning on his hand."