I-Ching
Current
Changing
Transformed
Current
33 - TUN / Retreat
Above: CH`IEN THE CREATIVE, HEAVEN
Below: KÊN KEEPING STILL, MOUNTAIN
The power of the dark is ascending. The light retreats to security, so that the dark cannot encroach upon it. This retreat is a matter not of mans will but of natural law. Therefore, in this case withdrawal is proper. It is the correct way to behave in order not to exhaust ones forces.
In the calendar, this hexagram is linked with the sixth month (July-August), in which the forces of winter are already showing their influence.
Conditions are such that the hostile forces favored by the time are advancing. In this case retreat is the right course, and it is not to be confused with flight. Flight means saving oneself under any circumstances, whereas retreat is a sign of strength. We must be careful not to miss the right moment while we are in full possession of power and position. Then we shall be able to interpret the signs of the time before it is too late and to prepare for provisional retreat instead of being drawn into a desperate life-and-death struggle. Thus, we do not simply abandon the field to the opponent, but we make it difficult for him to advance by showing perseverance in single acts of resistance. In this way we prepare, while retreating, for the counter-movement. Understanding the laws of a constructive retreat of this sort is not easy. The meaning that lies hidden in such a time is important.
The mountain rises up under heaven, but owing to its nature it finally comes to a stop. Heaven on the other hand retreats upward before it into the distance and remains out of reach. This symbolizes the behavior of the superior man toward a climbing inferior. He retreats into his own thoughts as the inferior man comes forward. He does not hate him, for hatred is a form of subjective involvement by which we are bound to the hated object. The superior man shows strength (heaven) in that he brings the inferior man to a standstill (mountain) by his dignified reserve.
Above: CH`IEN THE CREATIVE, HEAVEN
Below: KÊN KEEPING STILL, MOUNTAIN
The power of the dark is ascending. The light retreats to security, so that the dark cannot encroach upon it. This retreat is a matter not of mans will but of natural law. Therefore, in this case withdrawal is proper. It is the correct way to behave in order not to exhaust ones forces.
In the calendar, this hexagram is linked with the sixth month (July-August), in which the forces of winter are already showing their influence.
The Judgement
RETREAT. Success in what is small, perseverance furthers.Conditions are such that the hostile forces favored by the time are advancing. In this case retreat is the right course, and it is not to be confused with flight. Flight means saving oneself under any circumstances, whereas retreat is a sign of strength. We must be careful not to miss the right moment while we are in full possession of power and position. Then we shall be able to interpret the signs of the time before it is too late and to prepare for provisional retreat instead of being drawn into a desperate life-and-death struggle. Thus, we do not simply abandon the field to the opponent, but we make it difficult for him to advance by showing perseverance in single acts of resistance. In this way we prepare, while retreating, for the counter-movement. Understanding the laws of a constructive retreat of this sort is not easy. The meaning that lies hidden in such a time is important.
The Image
Mountain under heaven: the image of RETREAT. Thus, the superior man keeps the inferior man at a distance, not angrily but with reserve.The mountain rises up under heaven, but owing to its nature it finally comes to a stop. Heaven on the other hand retreats upward before it into the distance and remains out of reach. This symbolizes the behavior of the superior man toward a climbing inferior. He retreats into his own thoughts as the inferior man comes forward. He does not hate him, for hatred is a form of subjective involvement by which we are bound to the hated object. The superior man shows strength (heaven) in that he brings the inferior man to a standstill (mountain) by his dignified reserve.
Changing
Nine in the second place means:
One meets his lord in a narrow street. No blame.
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.
One meets his lord in a narrow street. No blame.
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.
Nine in the fourth place means:
Isolated through opposition, one meets a like-minded man with whom one can associate in good faith. Despite the danger, no blame.
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.
Isolated through opposition, one meets a like-minded man with whom one can associate in good faith. Despite the danger, no blame.
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.
Six in the fifth place means:
Remorse disappears. The companion bites his way through the wrappings. If one goes to him, how could it be a mistake?
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 ones duty to go to meet him and to work with him.
Remorse disappears. The companion bites his way through the wrappings. If one goes to him, how could it be a mistake?
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 ones duty to go to meet him and to work with him.
Nine at the top means:
Isolated through opposition, one sees ones companion as a pig covered with dirt, or 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, and then good fortune comes.
Here the isolation is due to misunderstanding, as 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.
Isolated through opposition, one sees ones companion as a pig covered with dirt, or 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, and then good fortune comes.
Here the isolation is due to misunderstanding, as 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.
Transformed
38 - K`uei / Opposition
Above: LI THE CLINGING, FLAME
Below: TUI THE JOYOUS, LAKE
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 in direct 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.
When people live in opposition and estrangement they cannot carry out a great undertaking in common, as 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 agreements.
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 two elements, fire and water, never mingle but even when in contact retain their own natures. So too, the cultured man is never led into baseness or vulgarity through intercourse or community of interests with persons of any other sort, regardless of all commingling, he will always preserve his individuality.
Above: LI THE CLINGING, FLAME
Below: TUI THE JOYOUS, LAKE
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 in direct 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 Judgement
OPPOSITION. In small matters, good fortune.When people live in opposition and estrangement they cannot carry out a great undertaking in common, as 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 agreements.
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
Above, fire. Below, The lake: The image of OPPOSITION. Thus, amid all fellowship, the superior man retains his individuality.The two elements, fire and water, never mingle but even when in contact retain their own natures. So too, the cultured man is never led into baseness or vulgarity through intercourse or community of interests with persons of any other sort, regardless of all commingling, he will always preserve his individuality.