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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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  38. Polarising (kuí). OppositionAdvise
Strife is always connected with the community. Loneliness is more dangerous than hatred.
Inital text of I ChingThe Judgement
Opposition. In small matters, good fortune.
The Image
Above, fire; below, the lake: The image of Opposition. Thus amid all fellowship the superior man retains his individuality.
- Remorse disappears. If you lose your horse, do not run after it; It will come back of its own accord. When you see evil people, Guard yourself against mistakes.
- One meets his lord in a narrow street. No blame.
- One sees the wagon dragged back, the oxen halted, a man's hair and nose cut off. Not a good beginning, but a good end.
- Isolated through opposition, one meets a like-minded man with whom one can associate in good faith. Despite the danger, no blame.
- Remorse disappears. The companion bites his way through the wrappings. If one goes to him, how could it be a mistake?
- Isolated through opposition, one sees one's companion as a pig covered with dirt, as a wagon full of devils. First one draws a bow against him, then one lays the bow aside. He is not a robber; he will woo at the right time. As one goes, rain falls; then good fortune comes.
Prediction
There is no clear understanding of what the good is and what harm? Until you understand, you will stagnate or fail. The differences are everywhere: there is no coordinated work; the initial idea contradicts the ultimate goal. There is misunderstanding among the relatives. Junior need advice of senior, otherwise there may be dangerous errors. Intervention of a wise man, head is necessary. Success is possible only in small and insignificant things.
This hexagram is composed of the trigram Li above, i.e., flame, which burns
upward, and Tui below, i.e., the lake, which seeps downward. These two
movements are indirect contrast. Furthermore, LI is the second daughter and
Tui the youngest daughter, and although they live in the same house they
belong to different men; hence their wills are not the same but are
divergently directed.
THE JUDGMENT
When people live in opposition and estrangement they cannot carry out a
great undertaking in common; their points of view diverge too widely. In
such circumstances one should above all not proceed brusquely, for that
would only increase the existing opposition; instead, one should limit oneself
to producing gradual effects in small matters. Here success can still be
expected, because the situation is such that the opposition does not preclude
all agreement.
In general, opposition appears as an obstruction, but when it represents
polarity within a comprehensive whole, it has also its useful and important
functions. The oppositions of heaven and earth, spirit and nature, man and
woman, when reconciled, bring about the creation and reproduction of life.
In the world of visible things, the principle of opposites makes possible the
differentiation by categories through which order is brought into the world.
THE IMAGE.
The two elements, fire and water, never mingle but even when in contact
retain their own natures. So the sutured man is never led into baseness or
vulgarity through intercourse or community of interests with persons of
another sort; regardless of all commingling, he will always preserve his
individuality.
1
Even in times when oppositions prevail, mistakes can be avoided, so that
remorse disappears. When opposition begins to manifest itself, a man must
not try to bring about unity by force, for by so doing he would only achieve
the contrary, just as a horse goes farther and farther away if one runs after it.
It it is one's won horse, one can safely let it go; it will come back of its own
accord. So too when someone who belongs with us is momentarily estranged
because of a misunderstanding, he will return of his own accord if we leave
matters to him. One the other hand, it is well to be cautious when evil men
who do not belong with us force themselves upon us, again as the result of a
misunderstanding. Here the important thing is to avoid mistakes. We must
not try to shake off these evil men by force; this would give rise to real
hostility. We must simply endure them. They will eventually withdraw of
their own accord.
2
As a result of misunderstandings, it has become impossible for people who by
nature belong together to meet in the correct way. This being so, an accidental
meeting under informal circumstances may serve the purpose, provided
there is an inner affinity between them.
3
Often it seems tot a man as though everything were conspiring against him.
He sees himself checked and hindered in his progress, insulted and
dishonored. However, he must not let himself be misled; despite this
opposition, he must cleave to the man with whom he knows he belongs.
Thus, notwithstanding the bad beginning, the matter will end well.
4
If a man finds himself in a company of people from whom he is separated by
an inner opposition, he becomes isolated. But if in such a situation a man
meets someone who fundamentally by the very law of his being, is kin to
him, and whom he can trust completely, he overcomes all the dangers of
isolation. His will achieves its aim, and he becomes free of faults.
5
Coming upon a sincere man, one fails to recognize him at first because of the
general estrangement. However, he bites his way through the wrappings that
are causing the separation. When such a companion thus reveals himself in
his true character, it is one's duty to go to meet him and to work with him.
6
Here the isolation is due to misunderstanding; it is brought about not by
outer circumstances but by inner conditions. A man misjudges his best
friends, taking them to be as unclean as a dirty pig in and as dangerous as a
wagon full of devils. He adopts an attitude of defense. But in the end,
realizing his mistake, he lays aside the bow, perceiving that the other is
approaching with the best intentions for the purpose of close union. Thus the
tension is relieved. The union resolves the tension, just as falling rain
relieves the sultriness preceding a thunderstorm. All goes well, for just when
opposition reaches its climax it changes over to its antithesis.
Barbara Hejslip interpretationThis hexagram speaks, that now your life is deprived harmony. It seems to you, as if all around carp at you, are set up aggressively. You are deduced from themselves even with the most insignificant events. Take itself in hands, be not nervous, position will soon change. Sympathizing people to you now to find difficultly. A certain woman gets on to you nerves. Supervise the words, acts, and be not accepted for what new. Those events, things which are now in a field of your interests, in practice at all does not correspond to your true desires.
  30. Radiance (lí). The ClingingAdvise
Use time of joy to feel the unity with the world. Everything is interrelated.
Inital text of I ChingThe Judgement
The Clinging. Perseverance furthers. It brings success. Care of the cow brings good fortune.
The Image
That which is bright rises twice: The image of Fire. Thus the great man, by perpetuating this brightness, illumines the four quarters of the world.
- The footprints run crisscross. If one is seriously intent, no blame.
- Yellow light. Supreme good fortune.
- In the light of the setting sun, men either beat the pot and sing or loudly bewail the approach of old age. Misfortune.
- Its coming is sudden; It flames up, dies down, is thrown away.
- Tears in floods, sighing and lamenting. Good fortune.
- The king uses him to march forth and chastise. Then it is best to kill the leaders and take captive the followers. No blame.
Prediction
The sun illuminates the world from four sides. Clarity in deeds and actions comes. There will be a favorable outcome. Accept help from friends and relatives. Do not regret that lost. Work hard – you have energy for it. Look for support in the wisdom and fortitude. Let your inner truth lead. No isolation - the world is open to you entirety. It is good time to clarify personal relationships.
This hexagram is another double sign. The trigram Li means "to cling to
something," and also "brightness." A dark line clings to two light lines, one
above and one below--the image of an empty space between two strong lines,
whereby the two strong lines are made bright. The trigram represents the
middle daughter. The Creative has incorporated the central line of the
Receptive, and thus Li develops. As an image, it is fire. Fire has no definite
form but clings to the burning object and thus is bright. As water pours down
from heaven, so fire flames up from the earth. While K'an means the soul
shut within the body, Li stands for nature in its radiance.
THE JUDGMENT
What is dark clings to what is light and so enhances the brightness of the
latter. A luminous thing giving out light must have within itself something
that perseveres; otherwise it will in time burn itself out. Everything that gives
light is dependent on something to which it clings, in order that it may
continue to shine.
Thus the sun and moon cling to heaven, and grain, grass, and trees cling to
the earth. So too the twofold clarity of the dedicated man clings to what is
right and thereby can shape the world. Human life on earth is conditioned
and unfree, and when man recognizes this limitation and makes himself
dependent upon the harmonious and beneficent forces of the cosmos, he
achieves success. The cow is the symbol of extreme docility. By cultivating in
himself an attitude of compliance and voluntary dependence, man acquires
clarity without sharpness and finds his place in the world.
THE IMAGE
Each of the two trigrams represents the sun in the course of a day. The two
together represent the repeated movement of the sun, the function of light
with respect to time. The great man continues the work of nature in the
human world. Through the clarity of his nature he causes the light to spread
farther and farther and to penetrate the nature of man ever more deeply.
1
It is early morning and work begins. The mind has been closed to the outside
world in sleep; now its connections with the world begin again. The traces of
one's impressions run crisscross. Activity and haste prevail. It is important
then to preserve inner composure and not to allow oneself to be swept along
by the bustle of life. If one is serious and composed, he can acquire the clarity
of mind needed for coming to terms with the innumerable impressions that
pour in. It is precisely at the beginning that serious concentration is
important, because the beginning holds the seed of all that is to follow.
2
Midday has come; the sun shines with a yellow light. Yellow is the color of
measure and mean. Yellow light is therefore a symbol of the highest culture
and art, whose consummate harmony consists in holding to the mean.
3
Here the end of the day has come. The light of the setting sun calls to mind
the fact that life is transitory and conditional. Caught in this external
bondage, men are usually robbed of their inner freedom as well. The sense of
the transitoriness of life impels them to uninhibited revelry in order to enjoy
life while it lasts, or else they yield to melancholy and spoil the precious time
by lamenting the approach of old age. Both attitudes are wrong. To the
superior man it makes no difference whether death comes early or late. He
cultivates himself, awaits his allotted time, and in this way secures his fate.
4
Clarity of mind has the same relation to life that fire has to wood. Fire clings
to wood, but also consumes it. Clarity of mind is rooted in life but can also
consume it. Everything depends upon how the clarity functions. Here the
image used is that of a meteor or a straw fire. A man who is excitable and
restless may rise quickly to prominence but produces no lasting effects. Thus
matters end badly when a man spends himself too rapidly and consumes
himself like a meteor.
5
Here the zenith of life has been reached. Were there no warning, one would
at this point consume oneself like a flame. Instead, understanding the vanity
of all things, one may put aside both hope and fear, and sigh and lament: if
one is intent on retaining his clarity of mind, good fortune will come from
this grief. For here we are dealing not with a passing mood, as in the nine in
the third place, but with a real change of heart.
6
It is not the purpose of chastisement to impose punishment blindly but to
create discipline. Evil must be cured at its roots. To eradicate evil in political
life, it is best to kill the ringleaders and spare the followers. In educating
oneself it is best to root out bad habits and tolerate those that are harmless.
For asceticism that is too strict, like sentences of undue severity, fails in its
purpose.
Barbara Hejslip interpretationIt seems to you, that all is perfectly, though actually it not so. More likely, you now meaningly deceive yourselves, being in a captivity of illusions. Listen to advice of the friend. You are inclined to entirely to rely on fate as the destiny at present has a kind feeling for you. This impression is deceptive, it can lead into error and cause to you serious damage. Your desires will be executed owing to intervention of the person is more senior than you. Probably, you are expected with large successes in the affairs connected with writing and intermediary. It is necessary to listen to that people speak.
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Richard Wilhelm's commentary