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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.
  46. Ascending (shēng). Pushing UpwardAdvise
When a person moves forward, the soul can not remain on its place. Let accumulation of treasures of the soul is outstripping the growth of material profit.
Inital text of I ChingThe Judgement
Pushing Upward has supreme success. One must see the great man. Fear not. Departure toward 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.
- Pushing upward that meets with confidence brings great good fortune.
- If one is sincere, it furthers one to bring even a small offering. No blame.
- One pushes upward into an empty city.
- The king offers him Mount Ch'i. Good fortune. No blame.
- Perseverance brings good fortune. One pushes upward by steps.
- Pushing upward in darkness. It furthers one to be unremittingly persevering.
Prediction
It is time of development and progress. The direction is correct. Learn how to properly dispose of the results of your work, and do not regret the inevitable losses. All difficulties are temporary. Beware satiety. Pay more attention to spiritual growth.
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
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
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.
1
This situation at the beginning of ascent. Just as wood draws strength for its
upward push from the root, which in itself is in the lowest place, so the
power to rise comes from this low and obscure station. But there is a spiritual
affinity with the rulers above, and this solidarity creates the confidence
needed to accomplish something.
2
Here a strong man is presupposed. It is true that he does not fit in with his
environment, inasmuch as he is too brusque and pays too little attention to
form. But as he is upright in character, he meets with response, and his lack
of outward form does no harm. Here uprightness is the outcome of sound
qualities of character, whereas in the corresponding line of the preceding
hexagram it is the result of innate humility.
3
All obstructions that generally block progress fall away here. Things proceed
with remarkable ease. Unhesitatingly one follows this road, in order to profit
by one's success. Seen from without, everything seems to be in the best of
order. However, no promise of good fortune is added. It is a question how
long such unobstructed success can last. But it is wise not to yield to such
misgivings, because they only inhibit one's power. Instead, the point is to
profit by the propitiousness of time.
4
Mount Ch'i is in the western China, the homeland of King Wên, whose son,
the Duke of Chou, added the words to the individual lines. The
pronouncement takes us back to a time when the Chou dynasty was coming
into power. At that time King Wên introduced his illustrious helpers to the
god of his native mountain, and they received their places in the halls of the
ancestors by the side of the ruler. This indicates a stage in which pushing
upward attains its goal. One acquires fame in the sight of gods and men, is
received into the circle of those who foster the spiritual life of the nation, and
thereby attains a significance that endures beyond time.
5
When a man is advancing farther and farther, it is important for him not to
become intoxicated by success. Precisely when he experiences great success it
is necessary to remain sober and not to try to skip any stages; he must go on
slowly, step by step, as though hesitant. Only such calm, steady progress,
overleaping nothing, leads to the goal.
6
He who pushes upward blindly deludes himself. He knows only advance,
not retreat. But this means exhaustion. In such a case it is important to be
constantly mindful that one must be conscientious and consistent and must
remain so. Only thus does one become free of blind impulse, which is always
harmful.
Barbara Hejslip interpretationTo what you so aspired also to that have given so many forces and energy, soon at last it will be executed, will give positive result. Remains very little, gather with forces and work it is a little more, as persistently and honesty, as before. Now to you is better to operate resolutely and safely, rather than to be hidden and passively to wait. Rely on intuition and common sense, and your desire then it will for certain be executed. Those ideas and ideas which now come to to you mind, most likely will bring to you success and in your financial affairs.
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Richard Wilhelm's commentary