There were "old" features in your gua (hexagram). It means that you have two hexagrams. The first one — is something that the Book tells you at the moment, the second is something it warns you about. |
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  29. Gorge (kǎn). The Abysmal WaterAdvise
Once in the trap of looking out, do not leave attempts to escape, but act wisely, but then rise above the circumstances.
Inital text of I ChingThe Judgement
The Abysmal repeated. If you are sincere, you have success in your heart, and whatever you do succeeds.
The Image
Water flows on uninterruptedly and reaches its goal: The image of the Abysmal repeated. Thus the superior man walks in lasting virtue and carries on the business of teaching.
- Repetition of the Abysmal. In the abyss one falls into a pit. Misfortune.
- The abyss is dangerous. One should strive to attain small things only.
- Forward and backward, abyss on abyss. In danger like this, pause at first and wait, otherwise you will fall into a pit in the abyss. Do not act in this way.
- A jug of wine, a bowl of rice with it; Earthen vessels simply handed in through the window. There is certainly no blame in this.
- The abyss is not filled to overflowing, it is filled only to the rim. No blame.
- Bound with cords and ropes, shut in between thorn-hedged prison walls: For three years one does not find the way. Misfortune.
Prediction
Time of rest is over, time of truth search begins. Self-discipline, persistence, dedication and presence of mind are necessary. They will help to overcome the inertia, the inertia of views, and pressure of external circumstances. With the inner truth, you will overcome obstacles. Active action is inside; outside - only accept the circumstances.
This hexagram consists of a doubling of the trigram K'an. It is one of the
eight hexagrams in which doubling occurs. The trigram K'an means a
plunging in. A yang line has plunged in between two yin lines and is closed
in by them like water in a ravine. The trigram K'an is also the middle son.
The Receptive has obtained the middle line of the Creative, and thus K'an
develops. As an image it represents water, the water that comes from above
and is in motion on earth in streams and rivers, giving rise to all life on
earth.
In man's world K'an represents the heart, the soul locked up within the
body, the principle of light inclosed in the dark--that is, reason. The name of
the hexagram, because the trigram is doubled, has the additional meaning,
"repetition of danger." Thus the hexagram is intended to designate an
objective situation to which one must become accustomed, not a subjective
attitude. For danger due to a subjective attitude means either foolhardiness
or guile. Hence too a ravine is used to symbolize danger; it is a situation in
which a man is in the same pass as the water in a ravine, and, like the water,
he can escape if he behaves correctly.
THE JUDGMENT
Through repetition of danger we grow accustomed to it. Water sets the
example for the right conduct under such circumstances. It flows on and on,
and merely fills up all the places through which it flows; it does not shrink
from any dangerous spot nor from any plunge, and nothing can make it lose
its own essential nature. It remains true to itself under all conditions. Thus
likewise, if one is sincere when confronted with difficulties, the heart can
penetrate the meaning of the situation. And once we have gained inner
mastery of a problem, it will come about naturally that the action we take will
succeed. In danger all that counts is really carrying out all that has to be done-
-thoroughness--and going forward, in order not to perish through tarrying in
the danger.
Properly used, danger can have an important meaning as a protective
measure. Thus heaven has its perilous height protecting it against every
attempt at invasion, and earth has its mountains and bodies of water,
separating countries by their dangers. Thus also rulers make use of danger to
protect themselves against attacks from without and against turmoil within.
THE IMAGE
Water reaches its goal by flowing continually. It fills up every depression
before it flows on. The superior man follows its example; he is concerned
that goodness should be an established attribute of character rather than an
accidental and isolated occurrence. So likewise in teaching others everything
depends on consistency, for it is only through repetition that the pupil makes
the material his own.
1
By growing used to what is dangerous, a man can easily allow it to become
part of him. He is familiar with it and grows used to evil. With this he has
lost the right way, and misfortune is the natural result.
2
When we are in danger we ought not to attempt to get out of it immediately,
regardless of circumstances; at first we must content ourselves with not being
overcome by it. We must calmly weigh the conditions of the time and by
satisfied with small gains, because for the time being a great success cannot be
attained. A spring flows only sparingly at first, and tarries for some time
before it makes its way in to the open.
3
Here every step, forward or backward, leads into danger. Escape is out of the
question. Therefore we must not be misled into action, as a result of which
we should only bog down deeper in the danger; disagreeable as it may be to
remain in such a situation, we must wait until a way out shows itself.
4
In times of danger ceremonious forms are dropped. What matters most is
sincerity. Although as a rule it is customary for an official to present certain
introductory gifts and recommendations before he is appointed, here
everything is simplified to the utmost. The gifts are insignificant, there is no
one to sponsor him, he introduces himself; yet all this need not be
humiliating if only there is the honest intention of mutual help in danger.
Still another idea is suggested. The window is the place through which light
enters the room. If in difficult times we want to enlighten someone, we must
begin with that which is in itself lucid and proceed quite simply from that
point on.
5
Danger comes because one is too ambitious. In order to flow out of a ravine,
water does not rise higher than the lowest point of the rim. So likewise a
man when in danger has only to proceed along the line of least resistance;
thus he reaches the goal. Great labors cannot be accomplished in such times; it
is enough to get out of the danger.
6
A man who in the extremity of danger has lost the right way and is
irremediably entangled in his sins has no prospect of escape. He is like a
criminal who sits shackled behind thorn hedged prison walls.
Barbara Hejslip interpretationDo not lose courage, but it is one of four worst combinations. In your life there has come time of losses and defeats. The only thing that it is possible to make,-it to reduce up to a probable minimum number of strokes of bad luck. Have patience and wait, while the goddess of happiness again will award you of the sight. Through two, the greatest - in five months position will start to change for the better. For now you have enough time to occupy in scientific researches, reading, simply homework, which usually enough. Be not nervous, and keep calmness. It is the period when introspection and a sober estimation of position is much more important, than desperate struggle against destiny.
  59. Dispersing (huàn). DispersionAdvise
Never lose hope and faith in yourselves.
Inital text of I ChingThe Judgement
Dispersion. Success. The king approaches his temple. It furthers one to cross the great water. Perseverance furthers.
The Image
The wind drives over the water: The image of Dispersion. Thus the kings of old sacrificed to the Lord and built temples.
- He brings help with the strength of a horse. Good fortune.
- At the dissolution he hurries to that which supports him. Remorse disappears.
- He dissolves his self. No remorse.
- He dissolves his bond with his group. Supreme good fortune. Dispersion leads in turn to accumulation. This is something that ordinary men do not think of.
- His loud cries are as dissolving as sweat. Dissolution. A king abides without blame.
- He dissolves his blood. Departing, keeping at a distance, going out, is without blame.
Prediction
It is time to choose your own direction and move towards the goal. The main driving force right now is hope. Doubts will dispel. But try to share joy with others and do not envy other people's achievements. Do not hide your feelings and intentions.
Wind blowing over water disperses it, dissolving it into foam and mist. This
suggests that when a man's vital energy is dammed up within him (indicated
as a danger by the attribute of the lower trigram), gentleness serves to break
up and dissolve the blockage.
THE JUDGMENT
The text of this hexagram resembles that of Ts'ui, GATHERING TOGETHER
(45). In the latter, the subject is the bringing together of elements that have
been separated, as water collects in lakes upon the earth. Here the subject is
the dispersing and dissolving of divisive egotism. DISPERSION shows the
way, so to speak, that leads to gathering together. This explains the similarity
of the two texts.
Religious forces are needed to overcome the egotism that divides men. The
common celebration of the great sacrificial feasts and sacred rites, which gave
expression simultaneously to the interrelation and social articulation of the
family and state, was the means of employed by the great ruler to unite men.
The sacred music and the splendor of the ceremonies aroused a strong tide of
emotion that was shared by all hearts in unison, and that awakened a
consciousness of the common origin of all creatures. In this way disunity was
overcome and rigidity dissolved. A further means to the same end is co-
operation in great general undertakings that set a high goal for the will of the
people; in the common concentration on this goal, all barriers dissolve, just
as, when a boat is crossing a great stream, all hands must unite in a joint task.
But only a man who is himself free of all selfish ulterior considerations, and
who perseveres in justice and steadfastness, is capable of so dissolving the
hardness of egotism.
THE IMAGE
In the autumn and winter, water begins to freeze into ice. When the warm
breezes of spring come, the rigidity is dissolved, and the elements that have
been dispersed in ice floes are reunited. It is the same with the minds of the
people. Through hardness and selfishness the heart grows rigid, and this
rigidity leads to separation from all others. Egotism and cupidity isolate men.
Therefore the hearts of men must be seized by a devout emotion. They must
be shaken by a religious awe in face of eternity-stirred with an intuition of the
One Creator of all living beings, and united through the strong feeling of
fellowship experienced in the ritual of divine worship.
1
It is important that disunion should be overcome at the outset, before it has
become complete-that the clouds should be dispersed before they have
brought storm and rain. At such times when hidden divergences in temper
make themselves felt and lead to mutual misunderstandings we must take
quick and vigorous action to dissolve the misunderstandings and mutual
distrust.
2
When an individual discovers within himself the beginnings of alienation
from others, of misanthropy and ill humor, he must set about dissolving
these obstructions. He must rouse himself inwardly, hasten to that which
supports him. Such support is never found in hatred, but always in a
moderate and just judgment of men, linked with good will. If he regains this
unobstructed outlook on humanity, while at the same time all saturnine ill
humor is dissolved, all occasion for remorse disappears.
3
Under certain circumstances, a man's work may become so difficult that he
can no longer think of himself. He must set aside all personal desires and
disperse whatever the self gathers about it to serve as a barrier against others.
Only on the basis of great renunciation can he obtain the strength for great
achievements. By setting his goal in a great task outside himself, he can
attain this standpoint.
4
When we are working at a task that affects the general welfare, we must leave
all private friendships out of account. Only by rising above party interests can
we achieve something decisive. He who has the courage thus to forego what
is near wins what is afar. But in order to comprehend this standpoint, one
must have a wide view of the interrelationships of life, such as only unusual
men attain.
5
In times of general dispersion and separation, a great idea provides a focal
point for the organization of recovery. Just as an illness reaches its crisis in a
dissolving sweat, so a great stimulating idea is a true salvation in times of
general deadlock. It gives the people a rallying point-a man in a ruling
position who can dispel misunderstandings.
6
The idea of the dissolving of a man's blood means the dispersion of that
which might lead to bloodshed and wounds, i.e., avoidance of danger. But
here the thought is not that a man avoids difficulties for himself alone, but
rather that he rescues his kin-helps them to get away before danger comes, or
to keep at a distance from an existing danger, or to find a way out of a danger
that is already upon them. In this way he does what is right.
Barbara Hejslip interpretationThe bright sun of success again ascends after the long period of failures. Everything to what you aspired, becomes possible. Very much can be, that you are expected with long travel. Try to not spend many money. Your business in every respect will go perfectly, and in the near future you will have a unexpected chance to become the leader. Your desire is already executed. And if you will be persevering and purposeful in the efforts - it will be executed entirely.
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Richard Wilhelm's commentary