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.
  8. Grouping (bǐ). Holding TogetherAdvise
If people want to agree and unite, gods take their side the.
Inital text of I ChingThe Judgement
Holding Together brings good fortune. Inquire of the oracle once again whether you possess sublimity, constancy, and perseverance; Then there is no blame. Those who are uncertain gradually join. Whoever comes too late meets with misfortune.
The Image
On the earth is water: The image of Holding Together. Thus the kings of antiquity bestowed the different states as fiefs and cultivated friendly relations with the feudal lords.
- Hold to him in truth and loyalty; This is without blame. Truth, like a full earthen bowl: thus in the end good fortune comes from without.
- Hold to him inwardly. Perseverance brings good fortune.
- You hold together with the wrong people.
- Hold to him outwardly also. Perseverance brings good fortune.
- Manifestation of holding together. In the hunt the king uses beaters on three sides only and foregoes game that runs off in front. The citizens need no warning. Good fortune.
- He finds no head for holding together. Misfortune.
Prediction
The sign is positive. Do not resist one who seeks to get closer to you. Be careful not to be late – hurry up! Delay is equal to denial. The path of convergence can be difficult and time consuming. Do not be afraid of bad luck. Follow the rules and arrangements, and avoid omissions and misunderstanding. Rely on help and support of trusted people. Do not seek to occupy a dominant position. But when it is necessary, you can show firmness. Use experience; do not let knowledge become useless.
The waters on the surface of the earth flow together wherever they can, as for
example in the ocean, where all the rivers come together. Symbolically this
connotes holding together and the laws that regulate it. The same idea is
suggested by the fact that all the lines of the hexagram except the fifth, the
place of the ruler, are yielding. The yielding lines hold together because they
are influenced by a man of strong will in the leading position, a man who is
their center of union. Moreover, this strong and guiding personality in turn
holds together with the others, finding in them the complement of his own
nature.
THE JUDGMENT
What is required is that we unite with others, in order that all may
complement and aid one another through holding together. But such
holding together calls for a central figure around whom other persons may
unite. To become a center of influence holding people together is a grave
matter and fraught with great responsibility. It requires greatness of spirit,
consistency, and strength. Therefore let him who wishes to gather others
about him ask himself whether he is equal to the undertaking, for anyone
attempting the task without a real calling for it only makes confusion worse
than if no union at all had taken place.
But when there is a real rallying point, those who at first are hesitant or
uncertain gradually come in of their own accord. Late-comers must suffer the
consequences, for in holding together the question of the right time is also
important. Relationships are formed and firmly established according to
definite inner laws. Common experiences strengthen these ties, and he who
comes too late to share in these basic experiences must suffer for it if, as a
straggler, he finds the door locked.
If a man has recognized the necessity for union and does not feel strong
enough to function as the center, it is his duty to become a member of some
other organic fellowship.
THE IMAGE
Water fills up all the empty places on the earth and clings fast to it. The social
organization of ancient China was based on this principle of the holding
together of dependents and rulers. Water flows to unite with water, because
all parts of it are subject to the same laws. So too should human society hold
together through a community of interests that allows each individual to feel
himself a member of a whole. The central power of a social organization
must see to it that every member finds that his true interest lies in holding
together with it, as was the case in the paternal relationship between king and
vassals in ancient China.
1
Fundamental sincerity is the only proper basis for forming relationships.
This attitude, symbolized by a full earthen bowl, in which the content is
everything and the empty form nothing, shows itself not in clever words but
through the strength of what lies within the speaker. This strength is so great
that it has power to attract good fortune to itself from without.
2
If a person responds perseveringly and in the right way to the behests from
above that summon him to action, his relations with others are intrinsic and
he does not lose himself. But if a man seeks association with others as if he
were an obsequious office hunter, he throws himself away. He does not
follow the path of the superior man, who never loses his dignity.
3
We are often among people who do not belong to our own sphere. In that
case we must beware of being drawn into false intimacy through force of
habit. Needless to say, this would have evil consequences. Maintaining
sociability without intimacy is the only right attitude toward people, because
otherwise we should not be free to enter into relationship with people of our
own kind later on.
4
Here the relations with a man who is the center of union are well established.
Then we may, and indeed we should, show our attachment openly. But we
must remain constant and not allow ourselves to be led astray.
5
In the royal hunts of ancient China it was customary to drive up the game
from three sides, but on the fourth the animals had a chance to run off. If
they failed to do this they had to pass through a gate behind which the king
stood ready to shoot. Only animals that entered here were shot; those that
ran off in front were permitted to escape. This custom accorded with a kingly
attitude; the royal hunter did not wish to turn the chase into a slaughter, but
held that the kill should consist only of those animals which had so to speak
voluntarily exposed themselves.
There is depicted here a ruler, or influential man, to whom people are
attracted. Those who come to him he accepts, those who do not come are
allowed to go their own way. He invited none, flatters none--all come of
their own free will. In this way there develops a voluntary dependence
among those who hold him. They do not have to be constantly on their
guard but may express their opinions openly. Police measures are not
necessary, and they cleave to their ruler of their own volition. The same
principle of freedom is valid for life in general. We should not woo favor
from people. If a man cultivates within himself the purity and the strength
that are necessary for one who is the center of a fellowship, those who are
meant for him come of their own accord.
6
The head is the beginning. If the beginning is not right, there is no hope of a
right ending. If we have missed the right moment for union and go on
hesitating to give complete and full devotion, we shall regret the error when
it is too late.
Barbara Hejslip interpretationNow all worst already behind. But unresolved there were still some difficult problems. The success will accompany you, only if you will operate in cooperation with other people that is why do not avoid common causes, try to participate in them. It is not necessary to neglect and the duties. Be true to itself, in fact mutual understanding and respect as is necessary in relations between people loving each other, as well as between the teacher and the pupil. Listen to advice of the friends, and the heads; performance of your desires depends on this in many respects. Absolutely improper time for gamblings.
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Richard Wilhelm's commentary