I-Ching
Current
Changing
Transformed
Current
46 - Shêng / Pushing Upward
Above: K`UN THE RECEPTIVE, EARTH
Below: SUN THE GENTLE, WIND, WOOD
The lower trigram, Sun, represents wood, and the upper, K`un, means the earth. Linked with this is the idea that wood from 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, or direct rise from obscurity and lowliness to power and influence.
The pushing upward of the good elements encounter no obstructions and are 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 (the meaning of "the south") brings good fortune.
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.
Above: K`UN THE RECEPTIVE, EARTH
Below: SUN THE GENTLE, WIND, WOOD
The lower trigram, Sun, represents wood, and the upper, K`un, means the earth. Linked with this is the idea that wood from 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, or direct rise from obscurity and lowliness to power and influence.
The Judgement
PUSHING UPWARD has supreme success. One must see the great man. Fear not. Departure toward the south brings good fortune.The pushing upward of the good elements encounter no obstructions and are 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 (the meaning of "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.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.
Changing
Six in the fourth place means:
A tied-up sack. No blame, no praise.
The dark element opens when it moves and closes when at rest. The strictest reticence is indicated here. The time is dangerous, because any degree of prominence leads either to the enmity of irresistible antagonists if one challenges them or to misconceived recognition if one is complaisant. Therefore, a man ought to maintain reserve, be it in solitude or in the turmoil of the world, for there too he can hide himself so well that no one knows him.
A tied-up sack. No blame, no praise.
The dark element opens when it moves and closes when at rest. The strictest reticence is indicated here. The time is dangerous, because any degree of prominence leads either to the enmity of irresistible antagonists if one challenges them or to misconceived recognition if one is complaisant. Therefore, a man ought to maintain reserve, be it in solitude or in the turmoil of the world, for there too he can hide himself so well that no one knows him.
Six in the fifth place means:
A yellow lower garment brings supreme good fortune.
Yellow is the color of the earth and of the middle. It is the symbol of that which is reliable and genuine. The lower garment is inconspicuously decorated, which is the symbol of aristocratic reserve. When anyone is called upon to work in a prominent but not independent position, true success depends on the utmost discretion. A persons genuineness and refinement should not reveal themselves directly, they should express themselves only indirectly as an effect from within.
A yellow lower garment brings supreme good fortune.
Yellow is the color of the earth and of the middle. It is the symbol of that which is reliable and genuine. The lower garment is inconspicuously decorated, which is the symbol of aristocratic reserve. When anyone is called upon to work in a prominent but not independent position, true success depends on the utmost discretion. A persons genuineness and refinement should not reveal themselves directly, they should express themselves only indirectly as an effect from within.
Transformed
02 - K`un / The Receptive
Above: K`UN THE RECEPTIVE, EARTH
Below: K`UN THE RECEPTIVE, EARTH
This hexagram is made up of broken lines only. The broken lines represents the dark, yielding, receptive primal power of yin. The attribute of the hexagram is devotion; its image is the earth. It is the perfect complement of THE CREATIVE–the complement, not the opposite, for the Receptive does not combat the Creative but completes it. It represents nature in contrast to spirit, earth in contrast to heaven, space as against time, the female-maternal as against the male-paternal. However, as applied to human affairs, the principle of this complementary relationship is found not only in the relation between man and woman, but also in that between prince and minister and between father and son. Indeed, even in the individual this duality appears in the coexistence of the spiritual world and the world of the senses. But strictly speaking there is no real dualism here, because there is a clearly defined hierarchic relationship between the two principles. In itself of course the Receptive is just as important as the Creative, but the attribute of devotion defines the place occupied by this primal power in relation to the Creative. For the Receptive must be activated and led by the Creative; then it is productive of good. Only when it abandons this position and tries to stand as an equal side by side with the Creative, does it become evil. The result then is opposition to and struggle against the Creative, which is productive of evil to both.
Furthering through the perseverance of a mare.
If the superior man undertakes something and tries to lead, he goes astray. If he follows, he finds guidance.
It is favorable to find friends in the west and south, and to forego friends in the east and north.
Quiet perseverance brings good fortune.
The four fundamental aspects of the Creative – "sublime success, furthering through perseverance " are also attributed to the Receptive. Here however, the perseverance is more closely defined: it is that of a mare. The Receptive connotes spatial reality in contrast to the spiritual potentiality of the Creative. The potential becomes real and the spiritual becomes spatial through a specifically qualifying definition. Thus, the qualification, "of a mare" is here added to the idea of perseverance. The horse belongs to earth just as the dragon belongs to heaven. Its tireless roaming over the plains is taken as a symbol of the vast expanse of the earth. This is the symbol chosen because the mare combines the strength and swiftness of the horse with the gentleness and devotion of the cow.
Only because nature in its myriad forms corresponds with the myriad impulses of the Creative can it make these impulses real. Natures richness lies in its power to nourish all living things; its greatness lies in its power to give then beauty and splendor. Thus, it brings prosperity to all that live. It is the Creative that begets things, but they are brought to birth by the Receptive. Applied to human affairs, therefore, what the hexagram indicates is action in conformity with the situation. The person in questions is not in an independent position, but is acting as an assistant. This means that they must achieve something. It is not their task to try to lead, as that would only make him lose the way, but to let himself be led. If he knows how to meet fate with an attitude of acceptance, he is sure to find the right guidance. The superior man lets himself be guided. He does not go ahead blindly, but learns from the situation what is demanded of him and then follows this intimation from fate.
Since there is something to be accomplished, we need friends and helpers in the hour of toil and effort, once the ideas to be realized are firmly set. The time of toil and effort is indicated by the west and south, for west and south symbolize the place where the Receptive works for the Creative, as nature does in summer and autumn. If in that situation one does not mobilize all ones powers, the work to be accomplished will not be done. Hence, to find friends there means to find guidance. In addition to the time of toil and effort, there is also a time of planning, and for this we need this solitude. The east symbolized the place where a man receives orders from his master, and the north the place where he reports on what he has done. At that time he must be alone and objective. In this sacred hour he must do without companions, so that the purity of the moment may not be spoiled by fictional hates and favoritism.
Thus, the superior man who has breadth of character carries the outer world.
Just as there is only one heaven, so too there is only one earth. In the hexagram of heaven the doubling of the trigram implies duration in time, but in the hexagram of earth the doubling connotes the solidity and extension in space by virtue of which the earth is able to carry and preserve all things that live and move upon it. The earth in its devotion carries all things good and evil without exception. In the same way the superior man gives to his character breadth, purity, and sustaining power, so that he is able both to support and to bear with people and things.
Above: K`UN THE RECEPTIVE, EARTH
Below: K`UN THE RECEPTIVE, EARTH
This hexagram is made up of broken lines only. The broken lines represents the dark, yielding, receptive primal power of yin. The attribute of the hexagram is devotion; its image is the earth. It is the perfect complement of THE CREATIVE–the complement, not the opposite, for the Receptive does not combat the Creative but completes it. It represents nature in contrast to spirit, earth in contrast to heaven, space as against time, the female-maternal as against the male-paternal. However, as applied to human affairs, the principle of this complementary relationship is found not only in the relation between man and woman, but also in that between prince and minister and between father and son. Indeed, even in the individual this duality appears in the coexistence of the spiritual world and the world of the senses. But strictly speaking there is no real dualism here, because there is a clearly defined hierarchic relationship between the two principles. In itself of course the Receptive is just as important as the Creative, but the attribute of devotion defines the place occupied by this primal power in relation to the Creative. For the Receptive must be activated and led by the Creative; then it is productive of good. Only when it abandons this position and tries to stand as an equal side by side with the Creative, does it become evil. The result then is opposition to and struggle against the Creative, which is productive of evil to both.
The Judgement
THE RECEPTIVE brings about sublime success.Furthering through the perseverance of a mare.
If the superior man undertakes something and tries to lead, he goes astray. If he follows, he finds guidance.
It is favorable to find friends in the west and south, and to forego friends in the east and north.
Quiet perseverance brings good fortune.
The four fundamental aspects of the Creative – "sublime success, furthering through perseverance " are also attributed to the Receptive. Here however, the perseverance is more closely defined: it is that of a mare. The Receptive connotes spatial reality in contrast to the spiritual potentiality of the Creative. The potential becomes real and the spiritual becomes spatial through a specifically qualifying definition. Thus, the qualification, "of a mare" is here added to the idea of perseverance. The horse belongs to earth just as the dragon belongs to heaven. Its tireless roaming over the plains is taken as a symbol of the vast expanse of the earth. This is the symbol chosen because the mare combines the strength and swiftness of the horse with the gentleness and devotion of the cow.
Only because nature in its myriad forms corresponds with the myriad impulses of the Creative can it make these impulses real. Natures richness lies in its power to nourish all living things; its greatness lies in its power to give then beauty and splendor. Thus, it brings prosperity to all that live. It is the Creative that begets things, but they are brought to birth by the Receptive. Applied to human affairs, therefore, what the hexagram indicates is action in conformity with the situation. The person in questions is not in an independent position, but is acting as an assistant. This means that they must achieve something. It is not their task to try to lead, as that would only make him lose the way, but to let himself be led. If he knows how to meet fate with an attitude of acceptance, he is sure to find the right guidance. The superior man lets himself be guided. He does not go ahead blindly, but learns from the situation what is demanded of him and then follows this intimation from fate.
Since there is something to be accomplished, we need friends and helpers in the hour of toil and effort, once the ideas to be realized are firmly set. The time of toil and effort is indicated by the west and south, for west and south symbolize the place where the Receptive works for the Creative, as nature does in summer and autumn. If in that situation one does not mobilize all ones powers, the work to be accomplished will not be done. Hence, to find friends there means to find guidance. In addition to the time of toil and effort, there is also a time of planning, and for this we need this solitude. The east symbolized the place where a man receives orders from his master, and the north the place where he reports on what he has done. At that time he must be alone and objective. In this sacred hour he must do without companions, so that the purity of the moment may not be spoiled by fictional hates and favoritism.
The Image
The earths condition is receptive devotion.Thus, the superior man who has breadth of character carries the outer world.
Just as there is only one heaven, so too there is only one earth. In the hexagram of heaven the doubling of the trigram implies duration in time, but in the hexagram of earth the doubling connotes the solidity and extension in space by virtue of which the earth is able to carry and preserve all things that live and move upon it. The earth in its devotion carries all things good and evil without exception. In the same way the superior man gives to his character breadth, purity, and sustaining power, so that he is able both to support and to bear with people and things.