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I Ching: Book 1 PART II

(hexagrams #42–52)

Richard Wilhelm's and Cary F. Baynes translation "I Ching: Or, Book of Changes"

3rd. ed., Bollingen Series XIX, (Princeton NJ: Princeton University Press, 1967, 1st ed. 1950)

42.  I / Increase

☴above SUN  /  THE GENTLE, WIND
☳below CHÊN  /  THE AROUSING, THUNDER

The idea of increase is expressed in the fact that the strong lowest line of the upper trigram has sunk down and taken its place under the lower trigram.  This conception also expresses the fundamental idea on which the Book of Changes is based.  To rule truly is to serve.

A sacrifice of the higher element that produces an increase of the lower is called an out–and–out increase: it indicates the spirit that alone has power to help the world.

THE JUDGMENT

INCREASE.  It furthers one
To undertake something.
It furthers one to cross the great water.

Sacrifice on the part of those above for the increase of those below fills the people with a sense of joy and gratitude that is extremely valuable for the flowering of the commonwealth.  When people are thus devoted to their leaders, undertakings are possible, and even difficult and dangerous enterprises will succeed.  Therefore in such times of progress and successful development it is necessary to work and make the best use of time.  This time resembles that of the marriage of heaven and earth, when the earth partakes of the creative power of heaven, forming and bringing forth living beings.  The time of INCREASE does not endure, therefore it must be utilized while it lasts.

THE IMAGE

Wind and thunder: the image of INCREASE.
Thus the superior man:
If he sees good, he imitates it;
If he has faults, he rids himself of them.

While observing how thunder and wind increase and strengthen each other, a man can note the way to self–increase and self–improvement.  When he discovers good in others, he should imitate it and thus make everything on earth his own.  If he perceives something bad in himself, let him rid himself of it.  In this way he becomes free of evil.  This ethical change represents the most important increase of personality.

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43.  Kuai / Break-through (Resoluteness)

☱above TUI  /  THE JOYOUS, LAKE
☰below CH’IEN  /  THE CREATIVE, HEAVEN

This hexagram signifies on the one hand a break–through after a long accumulation of tension, as a swollen river breaks through its dikes, or in the manner of a cloudburst.  On the other hand, applied to human conditions, it refers to the time when inferior people gradually begin to disappear.  Their influence is on the wane; as a result of resolute action, a change in conditions occurs, a break–through.  The hexagram is linked with the third month [April–May].

THE JUDGMENT

BREAK–THROUGH.  One must resolutely make the matter known
At the court of the king.
It must be announced truthfully.  Danger.
It is necessary to notify one’s own city.
It does not further to resort to arms.
It furthers one to undertake something.

Even if only one inferior man is occupying a ruling position in a city, he is able to oppress superior men.  Even a single passion still lurking in the heart has power to obscure reason.  Passion and reason cannot exist side by side—therefore fight without quarter is necessary if the good is to prevail.

In a resolute struggle of the good against evil, there are, however, definite rules that must not be disregarded, if it is to succeed.  First, resolution must be based on a union of strength and friendliness.  Second, a compromise with evil is not possible; evil must under all circumstances be openly discredited.  Nor must our own passions and shortcomings be glossed over.  Third, the struggle must not be carried on directly by force.  If evil is branded, it thinks of weapons, and if we do it the favor of fighting against it blow for blow, we lose in the end because thus we ourselves get entangled in hatred and passion.  Therefore it is important to begin at home, to be on guard in our own persons against the faults we have branded.  In this way, finding no opponent, the sharp edges of the weapons of evil becomes dulled.  For the same reasons we should not combat our own faults directly.  As long as we wrestle with them, they continue victorious.  Finally, the best way to fight evil is to make energetic progress in the good.

THE IMAGE

The lake has risen up to heaven:
The image of BREAK–THROUGH.
Thus the superior man
Dispenses riches downward
And refrains from resting on his virtue.

When the water of a lake has risen up to heaven, there is reason to fear a cloudburst.  Taking this as a warning, the superior man forestalls a violent collapse.  If a man were to pile up riches for himself alone, without considering others, he would certainly experience a collapse.  For all gathering is followed by dispersion.  Therefore the superior man begins to distribute while he is accumulating.  In the same way, in developing his character he takes care not to become hardened in obstinacy but to remain receptive to impressions by help of strict and continuous self–examination.

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44.  Kou / Coming to Meet

☰above CH’IEN  /  THE CREATIVE, HEAVEN
☴below SUN  /  THE GENTLE, WIND

This hexagram indicates a situation in which the principle of darkness, after having been eliminated, furtively and unexpectedly obtrudes again from within and below.  Of its own accord the female principle comes to meet the male.  It is an unfavorable and dangerous situation, and we must understand and promptly prevent the possible consequences.

The hexagram is linked with the fifth month [June–July], because at the summer solstice the principle of darkness gradually becomes ascendant again.

THE JUDGMENT

COMING TO MEET.  The maiden is powerful.
One should not marry such a maiden.

The rise of the inferior element is pictured here in the image of a bold girl who lightly surrenders herself and thus seizes power.  This would not be possible if the strong and light–giving element had not in turn come halfway.  The inferior thing seems so harmless and inviting that a man delights in it; it looks so small and weak that he imagines he may dally with it and come to no harm.

The inferior man rises only because the superior man does not regard him as dangerous and so lends him power.  If he were resisted from the first, he could never gain influence.

The time of COMING TO MEET is important in still another way.  Although as a general rule the weak should not come to meet the strong, there are times when this has great significance.  When heaven and earth come to meet each other, all creatures prosper; when a prince and his official come to meet each other, the world is put in order.  It is necessary for elements predestined to be joined and mutually dependent to come to meet one another halfway.  But the coming together must be free of dishonest ulterior motives, otherwise harm will result.

THE IMAGE

Under heaven, wind:
The image of COMING TO MEET.
Thus does the prince act when disseminating his commands
And proclaiming them to the four quarters of heaven.

The situation here resembles that in hexagram 20, Kuan, CONTEMPLATION (VIEW).  In the latter the wind blows over the earth, here it blows under heaven; in both cases it goes everywhere.  There the wind is on the earth and symbolizes the ruler taking note of the conditions in his kingdom; here the wind blows from above and symbolizes the influence exercised by the ruler through his commands.  Heaven is far from the things of earth, but it sets them in motion by means of the wind.  The ruler is far from his people, but he sets them in motion by means of his commands and decrees.

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45.  Ts’ui / Gathering Together [Massing]

☱above TUI  /  THE JOYOUS, LAKE
☷below K’UN  /  THE RECEPTIVE, EARTH

This hexagram is related in form and meaning to Pi, HOLDING TOGETHER (8).  In the latter, water is over the earth; here a lake is over the earth.  But since the lake is a place where water collects, the idea of gathering together is even more strongly expressed here than in the other hexagram.  The same idea also arises from the fact that in the present case it is two strong lines (the fourth and the fifth) that bring about the gathering together, whereas in the former case one strong line (the fifth) stands in the midst of weak lines.

THE JUDGMENT

GATHERING TOGETHER.  Success.
The king approaches his temple.
It furthers one to see the great man.
This brings success.  Perseverance furthers.
To bring great offerings creates good fortune.
It furthers one to undertake something.

The gathering together of people in large communities is either a natural occurrence, as in the case of the family, or an artificial one, as in the case of the state.  The family gathers about the father as its head.  The perpetuation of this gathering in groups is achieved through the sacrifice to the ancestors, at which the whole clan is gathered together.  Through the collective piety of the living members of the family, the ancestors become so integrated in the spiritual life of the family that it cannot be dispersed or dissolved.

Where men are to be gathered together, religious forces are needed.  But there must also be a human leader to serve as the center of the group.  In order to be able to bring others together, this leader must first of all be collected within himself.  Only collective moral force can unite the world.  Such great times of unification will leave great achievements behind them.  This is the significance of the great offerings that are made.  In the secular sphere likewise there is need of great deeds in the time of GATHERING TOGETHER.

THE IMAGE

Over the earth, the lake:
The image of GATHERING TOGETHER.
Thus the superior man renews his weapons
In order to meet the unforeseen.

If the water in the lake gathers until it rises above the earth, there is danger of a break–through.  Precautions must be taken to prevent this.  Similarly where men gather together in great numbers, strife is likely to arise; where possessions are collected, robbery is likely to occur.  Thus in the time of GATHERING TOGETHER we must arm promptly to ward off the unexpected.  Human woes usually come as a result of unexpected events against which we are not forearmed.  If we are prepared, they can be prevented.

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46.  Shêng / 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.

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47.  K’un / Oppression (Exhaustion)

☱above TUI  /  THE JOYOUS, LAKE
☵below K’AN  /  THE ABYSMAL, WATER

The lake is above, water below; the lake is empty, dried up.  Exhaustion is expressed in yet another way: at the top, a dark line is holding down two light lines; below, a light line is hemmed in between two dark ones.  The upper trigram belongs to the principle of darkness, the lower to the principle of light.  Thus everywhere superior men are oppressed and held in restraint by inferior men.

THE JUDGMENT

OPPRESSION.  Success.  Perseverance.
The great man brings about good fortune.
No blame.
When one has something to say,
It is not believed.

Times of adversity are the reverse of times of success, but they can lead to success if they befall the right man.  When a strong man meets with adversity, he remains cheerful despite all danger, and this cheerfulness is the source of later successes; it is that stability which is stronger than fate.  He who lets his spirit be broken by exhaustion certainly has no success.  But if adversity only bends a man, it creates in him a power to react that is bound in time to manifest itself.  No inferior man is capable of this.  Only the great man brings about good fortune and remains blameless.  It is true that for the time being outward influence is denied him, because his words have no effect.  Therefore in times of adversity it is important to be strong within and sparing of words.

THE IMAGE

There is no water in the lake:
The image of EXHAUSTION.
Thus the superior man stakes his life
On following his will.

When the water has flowed out below, the lake must dry up and become exhausted.  That is fate.  This symbolizes an adverse fate in human life.  In such times there is nothing a man can do but acquiesce in his fate and remain true to himself.  This concerns the deepest stratum of his being, for this alone is superior to all external fate.

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48.  Ching / The Well

☵above K’AN  /  THE ABYSMAL, WATER
☴below SUN  /  THE GENTLE, WIND, WOOD

Wood is below, water above.  The wood goes down into the earth to bring up water.  The image derives from the pole–and–bucket well of ancient China.  The wood represents not the buckets, which in ancient times were made of clay, but rather the wooden poles by which the water is hauled up from the well.  The image also refers to the world of plants, which lift water out of the earth by means of their fibers.

The well from which water is drawn conveys the further idea of an inexhaustible dispensing of nourishment.

THE JUDGMENT

THE WELL.  The town may be changed,
But the well cannot be changed.
It neither decreases nor increases.
They come and go and draw from the well.
If one gets down almost to the water
And the rope does not go all the way,
Or the jug breaks, it brings misfortune.

In ancient China the capital cities were sometimes moved, partly for the sake of more favorable location, partly because of a change in dynasties.  The style of architecture changed in the course of centuries, but the shape of the well has remained the same from ancient times to this day.  Thus the well is the symbol of that social structure which, evolved by mankind in meeting its most primitive needs, is independent of all political forms.  Political structures change, as do nations, but the life of man with its needs remains eternally the same—this cannot be changed.  Life is also inexhaustible.  It grows neither less nor more; it exists for one and for all.  The generations come and go, and all enjoy life in its inexhaustible abundance.

However, there are two prerequisites for a satisfactory political or social organization of mankind.  We must go down to the very foundations of life.  For any merely superficial ordering of life that leaves its deepest needs unsatisfied is as ineffectual as if no attempt at order had ever been made.  Carelessness—by which the jug is broken—is also disastrous.  If for instance the military defense of a state is carried to such excess that it provokes wars by which the power of the state is annihilated, this is a breaking of the jug.

This hexagram applies also to the individual.  However men may differ in disposition and in education, the foundations of human nature are the same in everyone.  And every human being can draw in the course of his education from the inexhaustible wellspring of the divine in man’s nature.  But here likewise two dangers threaten: a man may fail in his education to penetrate to the real roots of humanity and remain fixed in convention—a partial education of this sort is as bad as none—or he may suddenly collapse and neglect his self–development.

THE IMAGE

Water over wood: the image of THE WELL.
Thus the superior man encourages the people at their work,
And exhorts them to help one another.

The trigram Sun, wood, is below, and the trigram K’an, water, is above it.  Wood sucks water upward.  Just as wood as an organism imitates the action of the well, which benefits all parts of the plant, the superior man organizes human society, so that, as in a plant organism, its parts co–operate for the benefit of the whole.

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49.  Ko / Revolution (Molting)

☱above TUI  /  THE JOYOUS, LAKE
☲below LI  /  THE CLINGING, FIRE

The Chinese character for this hexagram means in its original sense an animal’s pelt, which is changed in the course of the year by molting.  From this the word is carried over to apply to the “moltings” in political life, the great revolutions connected with changes of governments.

The two trigrams making up the hexagram are the same two that appear in K’uei, OPPOSITION (38), that is, the two younger daughters, Li and Tui.  But while there the elder of the two daughters is above, and what results is essentially only an opposition of tendencies, here the younger daughter is above.  The influences are in actual conflict, and the forces combat each other like fire and water (lake), each trying to destroy the other.  Hence the idea of revolution.

THE JUDGMENT

REVOLUTION.  On your own day
You are believed.
Supreme success,
Furthering through perseverance.
Remorse disappears.

Political revolutions are extremely grave matters.  They should be undertaken only under stress of direst necessity, when there is no other way out.  Not everyone is called to this task, but only the man who has the confidence of the people, and even he only when the time is ripe.  He must then proceed in the right way, so that he gladdens the people and, by enlightening them, prevents excesses.  Furthermore, he must be quite free of selfish aims and must really relieve the need of the people.  Only then does he have nothing to regret.

Times change, and with them their demands.  Thus the seasons change in the course of the year.  In the world cycle also there are spring and autumn in the life of peoples and nations, and these call for social transformations.

THE IMAGE

Fire in the lake: the image of REVOLUTION.
Thus the superior man
Sets the calendar in order
And makes the seasons clear.

Fire below and the lake above combat and destroy each other.  So too in the course of the year a combat takes place between the forces of light and the forces of darkness, eventuating in the revolution of the seasons.  Man masters these changes in nature by noting their regularity and marking off the passage of time accordingly.  In this way order and clarity appear in the apparently chaotic changes of the seasons, and man is able to adjust himself in advance to the demands of the different times.

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50.  Ting / The Caldron

☲above LI  /  THE CLINGING, FIRE
☴below SUN  /  THE GENTLE, WIND, WOOD

The six lines construct the image of Ting, THE CALDRON; at the bottom are the legs, over them the belly, then come the ears (handles), and at the top the carrying rings.  At the same time, the image suggests the idea of nourishment.  The ting, cast of bronze, was the vessel that held the cooked viands in the temple of the ancestors and at banquets.  The heads of the family served the food from the ting into the bowls of the guests.

THE WELL (48) likewise has the secondary meaning of giving nourishment, but rather more in relation to the people.  The ting, as a utensil pertaining to a refined civilization, suggests the fostering and nourishing of able men, which redounded to the benefit of the state.

This hexagram and THE WELL are the only two in the Book of Changes that represent concrete, man–made objects.  Yet here too the thought has its abstract connotation.

Sun, below, is wood and wind; Li, above, is flame.  Thus together they stand for the flame kindled by wood and wind, which likewise suggests the idea of preparing food.

THE JUDGMENT

THE CALDRON.  Supreme good fortune.
Success.

While THE WELL relates to the social foundation of our life, and this foundation is likened to the water that serves to nourish growing wood, the present hexagram refers to the cultural superstructure of society.  Here it is the wood that serves as nourishment for the flame, the spirit.  All that is visible must grow beyond itself, extend into the realm of the invisible.  Thereby it receives its true consecration and clarity and takes firm root in the cosmic order.

Here we see civilization as it reaches its culmination in religion.  The ting serves in offering sacrifice to God.  The highest earthly values must be sacrificed to the divine.  But the truly divine does not manifest itself apart from man.  The supreme revelation of God appears in prophets and holy men.  To venerate them is true veneration of God.  The will of God, as revealed through them, should be accepted in humility; this brings inner enlightenment and true understanding of the world, and this leads to great good fortune and success.

THE IMAGE

Fire over wood:
The image of THE CALDRON.
Thus the superior man consolidates his fate
By making his position correct.

The fate of fire depends on wood; as long as there is wood below, the fire burns above.  It is the same in human life; there is in man likewise a fate that lends power to his life.  And if he succeeds in assigning the right place to life and to fate, thus bringing the two into harmony, he puts his fate on a firm footing.  These words contain hints about fostering of life as handed on by oral tradition in the secret teachings of Chinese yoga.

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51.  Chên / The Arousing (Shock, Thunder)

☳above CHÊN  /  THE AROUSING, THUNDER
☳below CHÊN  /  THE AROUSING, THUNDER

The hexagram Chên represents the eldest son, who seizes rule with energy and power.  A yang line develops below two yin lines and presses upward forcibly.  This movement is so violent that it arouses terror.  It is symbolized by thunder, which bursts forth from the earth and by its shock causes fear and trembling.

THE JUDGMENT

SHOCK brings success.
Shock comes—oh, oh!
Laughing words—ha, ha!
The shock terrifies for a hundred miles,
And he does not let fall the sacrificial spoon and chalice.

The shock that comes from the manifestation of God within the depths of the earth makes man afraid, but this fear of God is good, for joy and merriment can follow upon it.

When a man has learned within his heart what fear and trembling mean, he is safeguarded against any terror produced by outside influences.  Let the thunder roll and spread terror a hundred miles around: he remains so composed and reverent in spirit that the sacrificial rite is not interrupted.  This is the spirit that must animate leaders and rulers of men—a profound inner seriousness from which all terrors glance off harmlessly.

THE IMAGE

Thunder repeated: the image of SHOCK.
Thus in fear and trembling
The superior man sets his life in order
And examines himself.

The shock of continuing thunder brings fear and trembling.  The superior man is always filled with reverence at the manifestation of God; he sets his life in order and searches his heart, lest it harbor any secret opposition to the will of God.  Thus reverence is the foundation of true culture.

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52.  Kên / Keeping Still, Mountain

☶above KÊN  /  KEEPING STILL, MOUNTAIN
☶below KÊN  /  KEEPING STILL, MOUNTAIN

The image of this hexagram is the mountain, the youngest son of heaven and earth.  The male principle is at the top because it strives upward by nature; the female principle is below, since the direction of its movement is downward.  Thus there is rest because the movement has come to its normal end.

In its application to man, the hexagram turns upon the problem of achieving a quiet heart.  It is very difficult to bring quiet to the heart.  While Buddhism strives for rest through an ebbing away of all movement in nirvana, the Book of Changes holds that rest is merely a state of polarity that always posits movement as its complement.  Possibly the words of the text embody directions for the practice of yoga.

THE JUDGMENT

KEEPING STILL.  Keeping his back still
So that he no longer feels his body.
He goes into his courtyard
And does not see his people.
No blame.

True quiet means keeping still when the time has come to keep still, and going forward when the time has come to go forward.  In this way rest and movement are in agreement with the demands of the time, and thus there is light in life.

The hexagram signifies the end and the beginning of all movement.  The back is named because in the back are located all the nerve fibers that mediate movement.  If the movement of these spinal nerves is brought to a standstill, the ego, with its restlessness, disappears as it were.  When a man has thus become calm, he may turn to the outside world.  He no longer sees in it the struggle and tumult of individual beings, and therefore he has that true peace of mind which is needed for understanding the great laws of the universe and for acting in harmony with them.  Whoever acts from these deep levels makes no mistakes.

THE IMAGE

Mountains standing close together:
The image of KEEPING STILL.
Thus the superior man
Does not permit his thoughts
To go beyond his situation.

The heart thinks constantly.  This cannot be changed, but the movements of the heart—that is, a man’s thoughts—should restrict themselves to the immediate situation.  All thinking that goes beyond this only makes the heart sore.

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