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.