45 – Ts’ui / Gathering Together (Massing)

I Ching explorations - Part 45 of 64

Tui (Lake) over K’un (Earth)

Lake Superior

A couple interesting coincidences have occurred in association with the preparation of this post.  The first is simply that I started to compose it on Thanksgiving, a time when family and friends come together, especially in North America.  Had I desired to select a hexagram that would be most appropriate to write about at this time of year, it would probably have been Ts’ui, which as you’ll see is all about bringing people together.

The second coincidence concerns a sister hexagram to Ts’ui called Pi (#8 – Holding Together) that also depicts liquid over earth.  In Pi, it is Water instead of Lake over Earth, but both refer to people being drawn together.  Coincidentally, I have just started reading the novel, The Life of Pi, by Yann Martel.  I don’t know if the protagonist Pi will draw people together, which would be another coincidence, but he was named after a body of water, the Parisian Piscine Molitor swimming pool.

Piscine Molitor

Situation

A lake symbolizes the result of collecting something into one place.  This is not a random consequence but the conscious outcome of strong leadership as represented by the solid lines in the fourth and fifth places.  They represent people who are able to gather others together.  But, if the water rises above the earth, there is danger that it may spill out.  Similarly, strife may arise where people and their possessions are collected together.

Response

“People desire to gather around a leader to whom they look up” (W/B).  But when they are in a large group, individuals are influenced by collective behavior.  A strong focal point provides a center around which the group can turn.  At times that focal point may be a lieutenant who effectively rallies and organizes people.  But when the true leader emerges, great deeds should be accomplished.  Still, precautions should be taken to prevent the water from spilling out.  Such gathering can be strengthened by instilling reverence for the unknown and for our ancestors through offerings and thanksgiving. 

Outcome

Positive and negative outcomes are likely when people are gathered together.  Through collective moral forces, people can be united and achieve great achievements.  Americans chose to go to the moon, as JFK put it “…because that goal will serve to organize and measure the best of our energies and skills…”  Americans were united around a strong leader and great things were achieved.

However, we are warned that whenever people and their possessions are massed together, unscrupulous types will take advantage of opportunities for personal gain.  By anticipating these negative consequences, we’re better able to prevent them:  “forewarned is forearmed.”

Lines

1. Sincerely seek the help of a leader to turn away distress when confused by the masses.

2. Trust in sincerity - let yourself be drawn together by inner relationships

3. When groups have formed, align yourself with one near the center and start anew

4. One who selflessly seeks unity for a higher purpose is crowned with success

5. Position when combined with sublime perseverance enables one to lead without regret

6. Lamenting an absent alliance demonstrates one’s desire and may produce results

Recap

Whether we have been misled by the masses and seek direction; are moved to join with others who have been motivated by a strong leader; are on the outside of a group looking in; are helping to bring people together in a common cause; happen to be that dynamic individual around whom others coalesce; or grieve over being left out – all are aspects of bringing people together - of clustering, massing, assembling, and organizing around a common feeling or goal.

46 - Shêng (Pushing Upward)

I Ching explorations - Part 46 of 64

K’un - Earth (Receptive) over Sun – The Gentle (Wind/Wood)

Shêng / Pushing Upward is the image of wood pushing its way through earth.

Situation

The upper trigram, Earth, is devoted and moves downward.  The lower trigram, Wood, is gentle and pushes upward.  That upward motion requires hard and consistent effort – it will not happen without energy.  Still – the omens are good and the invisible world produces favorable conditions.  In this case, one must take advantage of auspicious timing and push ahead.

Response

Like a ceaselessly growing sprout, a superior person is devoted in character and never pauses in progressive effort.  Consistent effort of the will is required to push one’s position from lower to middle to highest.  But in this situation, pushing is to be accomplished gently and with modesty.  One should “cultivate virtue, build up character, accumulate knowledge and experience, and work hard to establish credibility” (AH).  Through such personal development, one can rise to achieve one’s goals.

Outcome

Through gradual, steady, and sincere effort one can establish strong roots, develop a firm and upright character, and rise to the heights.  Rapidly growing weeds are neither firm nor strong and are easily uprooted.    

The Lines

1.  Beginning at the bottom with the support of those above lends confidence.

2.  One who lacks class but is sound in character furthers through small offerings

3.  Don’t hesitate to profit from easy progress while it lasts

4.  One achieves a goal that endures beyond time

5.  Be not intoxicated by success – slow steady progress leads to good fortune

6.  When pushing blindly beyond the goal remain steadfast and upright to avoid loss.

Like a seedling reaching for the surface, pushing upwards requires consistent and focused effort combined with gentleness and modesty.  Sometimes there are obstructions that we need to work around and other times the soil is loose and receptive to our advances making us think the gods are shining on us.  At those times, it’s important to seize the day and make progress while the conditions last.  Why the planets align for us sometimes is a mystery.  Is it just randomness (luck) or is there a pattern (a plan)?  Does it matter?  Some would say that we should give thanks when things go well and pray when things don’t.  I see no harm in either, but we must choose which path to take and accept responsibility for the consequences of our actions.

47 – K’un / Oppression (Exhaustion)

I Ching explorations:  Part 47 of 64

Tui – The Joyous (Lake) over K’an – The Abysmal (Water)

Situation:

The water is below the lake and the lake bed is dry.  This represents exhaustion.  The nuclear trigrams wind/wood and fire dry any remnants of remaining water and leave a parched and cracked lakebed.  The querent is faced with oppressive exhaustion.

This exhaustion is not the result of one’s hard work, the lack of nourishment, too much partying, or too little preparation.  Instead, this exhaustion is oppressive and has been caused by a chance encounter, an unexpected situation, an exceptional circumstance, an uncontrollable negative force.  As such, we have been thrust into a dire situation that is full of danger:  we’re unable to prevent the water from dissipating from the lake into the abyss.  Our energies are consumed by dire unexpected circumstances.  Our objective is to endure.

A. Huang states that this is one of the most difficult situations described by the 64 hexagrams of the I Ching.  Situations such as this are a test of character.  Hopefully we survive the test, but that depends on our ability to be stronger than fate.

Response:

A strong person remains cheerful in the face of adversity and danger.  That cheerfulness and an ability to follow one’s own will are said to be stronger than fate.  We are encouraged to not let our spirits be broken by exhaustion and oppression.  “But if adversity only bends…it creates…a power to react that is bound in time to manifest itself” (W/B).  As F. Nietzsche would echo some 4,000 years later:  “what does not kill us makes us stronger...”

In this case though, the I Ching characterizes the situation as dire enough to kill us if appropriate measures aren’t taken.  We’re talking about situations that are beyond our control that we’re swept up into and must find a way to survive.  In such circumstances, the I Ching advises that we must remain true to our selves because when adversity strikes – this alone is superior to all external fate.

Outcome

By accepting the situation with faith and ease we enable ourselves to have the clarity of mind to discover the cause and seek a solution.  When we are hemmed in by powerful forces, we stay strong within but sparing of words.  By not complaining or being resentful, we hide our capacities, bide our time, and conserve our energy.  We remain steadfast in our convictions and have faith that this too will pass. 

Individual Lines

All six lines in this hexagram are unfavorable:

1.  Adversity comes and rather than move on he lets it overwhelm him and draw him further into gloom.

2.  Externally all is well, but not internally.  Make offerings to overcome invisible obstructions.

3.  One is confined, humiliated, and oblivious to one’s spouse.  Misfortune.

4.  Finding oneself in an awkward situation, the mistakes are offset in time by one's inner strength.

5.  One has good intentions but is oppressed from above and below – remain calm, make offerings, and pray for well-being.

6.  Distress is nearing its end – don’t fear to be decisive by moving ahead and thereby mastering your oppression.

This hexagram is the inverse of the following – Ching #48 (TheWell).  While the situation portrayed by Ching presents limitless spiritual or physical nourishment, K’un portrays a period of devastating oppression.  Where Ching represents an opportunity to be fed by the spring of life, here the situation is one of uncontrollable extraction into the bottomless abyss.  Despite the severity of the situation, even periods of extreme distress bears within them the seeds of great regeneration if we’re able to endure.

48 – Ching (The Well)

I Ching explorations:  Part 48 of 64

The Abysmal (Water) over The Gentle (Wood/Wind)

In ancient China, the water well was at the center of society.  Traditionally, eight serf families worked eight equally-sized plots that were arranged around a center area with the well at its center (represented by the dot in the middle of the pictogram).  The fields in the center area were tended by the eight families for the benefit of the central government or lord.  The people cooperated to cultivate the central acreage first and then tended to their individual affairs.  When they tired, all partook of the replenishing waters of the central well.  Similarly, all fields benefited from the irrigation originating from the central well, all families enjoyed the protection of the lord, and all benefited from the commerce that occurred in the settlement.  The well remained fixed in space but its influence was far-reaching.  It continued to provide the waters needed for  the growth and prosperity of the surrounding community as long as it was protected.

The well is an ancient and elegant design that has remained virtually unchanged for millennia.  A bucket or jug, often made of clay, is lowered by wooden pole or rope into a stone-lined hole that’s deep enough to reach an aquifer.

If the well lining is sound, the rope or pole is long enough, and the jug does not break, anyone can retrieve fresh clean water and the well will provide for all.  Thus, the wooden pole is dipped below the water and water is raised above:  Water over Wood.  But, sometimes the well is muddy, the rope not long enough, or the jug cracks and the people are not sustained.

The well is representative of social structures that have been developed by humankind to serve a fundamental need that is independent of political forms.  Political forms change as do national boundaries, but certain human needs, like water, are basic and unchanging.  Recognizing this truth, the I Ching advises that there are two prerequisites for a sustainable political or social organization:

1.       It must be based on the foundations of life so as to satisfy the deepest needs not just the superficial, just as water from the well replenishes all, and

2.       Care must be taken to ensure that the benefits of the structure are freely and widely dispersed and shared for the benefit of all by not breaking the jug.

I think it’s fair to say that American participatory democracy with its foundation on life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness is based on fundamental needs of people that all can enjoy equally.  Combined with the three branches of government:  executive, legislative, and judicial; it would seem that the benefits are freely and widely dispersed (although certainly not equally shared for the benefit of all – well no human system is perfect).  Whether or not it’s truly sustainable is a relative question although it’s held up pretty well for 236 years so far.

What about the internet as a social organization?  It’s based on the fundamental human quest for knowledge so I suppose it passes the first test (although I’d argue that it’s less about acquiring knowledge and more about entertainment and commerce – but hey, aren’t they fundamental too?)  But, is it freely and widely distributed?  Yes, for a fee and if you have the correct device.  But, does that meet the I Ching’s criteria for a sustainable system?  Somehow I think not – especially in light of what this hexagram says about the individual:

            “However [people] 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 [one’s] education from the inexhaustible wellspring of the divine in [human] nature.”

But, two dangers threaten:

1.       One may fail to understand the roots of humanity and remain fixed in convention, and

2.       One may collapse and neglect one’s self-development

To find the “divine” we need to dive beneath the surface noise of YouTube, Wikipedia, podcasts, iMessage, and omg! celebrity “news.”  Otherwise we run the risk of assigning meaning to the minutiae of daily Facebook updates, minute-to-minute 140-character tweets, and the latest sensational E-news.  Heck, even in 18^th century Germany Goethe commented on what a waste of time it was to read the newspaper – he said to check back in a month or so to see what was of any importance.  Now we have so many inputs and outputs competing for our attention that we’re considered to be anti-social if we refrain from the collective narcissism.

To reconnect with the “divine” in our human natures, we need to dig deeper and allow our own ideas to bubble up from the springs our own carefully-lined wells.  We’ll then be better able to partake of that cool clear water with the clarity of mind and receptivity needed to develop physically, mentally, and spiritually.  And with that insight, perhaps we’ll create political and social systems that, like wood drawing water through its roots to all its tissues, cooperate for the benefit of the whole.

Each of the six lines of this hexagram represent an aspect of drawing from the well.

1. Muddy Well.  This individual has neglected the well and offers no nourishment to others.  Consequently, he is disregarded by society.
2. Broken Jar.  Here someone possesses good qualities in that the water is clear, but they are unable to hold onto them and fail to achieve their potential.
3. Clean Water Not Drunk.  In this case a worthy person is overlooked by being in the wrong place at the wrong time.
4. Well Being Lined.  Even though it can’t be used now, it will be when the work is done.  One must put his life in order, physically and mentally, before one can make a contribution.
5. Well Contains A Spring.  Such a person has the water of life, but the water must be drawn.  To have effect, the words and actions of leaders must be drunk by the people for them to translate into life.
6. Water Is Drawn.  All may draw from the well, there is plenty for all, it will never run dry.  As with great people, the more that is drawn from them, the more they have to give.

One may be tempted, as I was, to look for linkages between this hexagram and the “Ching” in the name of the Book of Changes.  As best I can tell, there is no such literal linkage.  While the words are spelled the same in some translations, another variant on Ching (The Well), is Jing.  My sources indicate that while Ching/Jing refers to a well or the nucleus of a city, “Ching” as in I Ching refers to a classic book or fundamental text through which something passes.  Thus the I Ching is the classic text of possible responses to adversity and the challenges that confront us in life.  In that the I Ching offers an inexhaustible wellspring of wisdom that taps into fundamental needs of mankind that is freely and widely distributed, I will give in to temptation and contend that there is indeed clear linkage.