Kan: gorge, precipice, dangerous place; hole, cavity, pit, snare, trap, grave; critical time, test; risky.
Ideogram: earth and cavity.
Structure:
· Water above 3. Danger below 3. Weak lines enclose strong lines.
· Doubling of the trigram 3: repetition of danger. Going from one danger to another.
Image: Water, the symbol of the vital life forces, flows through a dangerous ravine.
Action: venture and fall.
The trigram 3 represents the heart, the spirit enclosed within our being. The conditioned self[1], urges, desires, and aversion eclipse and imprison the spirit. Those who hold firmly to their spirit and to what benefits all can get through this danger.
The hexagram depicts a perilous objective situation, not a self-created subjective attitude. At times, our lives very much resemble water cascading through a deep gorge filled with dangers. We can get through if we behave like water, always flowing and filling up all the spaces that it comes upon in ways that benefit all. The way to overcome danger is to hold firmly to the spirit and act to benefit all.
First know the danger: We first develop the capacity to recognize the dangers within the world[2] that condition our beliefs and attitudes and lead us, all life, and the Earth into peril. Knowing these dangers as dangerous motivates us to find a way through them. The wise dare not complacently gloss over their harmful beliefs and biases nor do they ignore how they harm others. The dangers of the conditioned self and worldly concerns[3] have their complete and total attention.
Social conditioning causes people to fall into a state of ignorant obstinacy, and they do not know how to stop. Those who do not question their conditioned beliefs and behaviors harm others and the Earth when they act. The more inhumane their conditioning, the greater the suffering people inflict upon themselves, others, and the Earth. Routinely practicing harmful socially conditioned behavior reinforces it and makes it feel normal.
When dangers of harm arise, the wise heart penetrates the meaning of the situation to understand how the conditioned self and the selfish have shaped the danger. If we focus on the symptoms of a problem without understanding the underlying causal forces, we live in increasing peril. The sage clearly understands the inner and external forces in play from a selfless perspective. Once we understand, we know what to do.
Those who know the harm they create but persist in their harmful behavior ignore what they know to be true. Once we know the dangers of the conditioned self and live in ways that benefit all, without hypocrisy or deception, only then can we move out of danger. We become the change we want to see in the world.
Mastering fear: We have fear because we do not believe we have the capacity and power to endure, let along manage, a challenging situation. Fear keeps us from taking the necessary steps to get out of danger as it distorts our perception of the situation. When feelings of fear have free rein, we focus on whatever it takes to get rid of our intense emotional suffering. Our conditioning tells us that the only tools we have to react to our fears are to lash out in anger, to run away, or to fall into depression, the expression of powerlessness. Fear-driven reactions do not address the underlying roots of the danger and only worsen them.
Because our culture uses fear to condition and train us how to live within a selfish and violent society, we must first break free of these chains. The path teaches us to stay present within our fears without acting on them. The wise persist in returning to the breath time and time again. Gradually they develop the capacity to endure fear and to penetrate it with understanding without collapsing into confusion. They breathe through their fears more and more deeply, accepting them as simply part of experience.
Those who master their fears can clearly face and move through the challenges of our dangerous time. Fear no longer stops them from doing what they know must be done to benefit all.
The wise abide in constant virtue and remain present to whatever arises within their experience. They understand the danger and then respond to overcome it by moving toward what benefits all. Their actions rise naturally out of clarity.
Partners: We may feel overwhelmed by the urge to do something about a great injustice by acting on our own to right the wrong, but acting this way makes the situation even more dangerous. The wise first confer and then act with trusted others to address injustices within the world.
Injustice within the world has deep roots and requires the cooperation of many partners working together to overcome it. Those working together at this level of mutual assistance experience the joy of true fellowship.
Act: Actions that benefit all strengthen our capacities to resist the dangers of the conditioned self and open our being to further virtuous actions. The process reinforces itself. In this way, we can manage dangers as we experience them.
The wise act once they understand the situation and discern a path forward. They keep their resolve to adhere to the path and nurture their partnership with the wise. The wise collectively practice what will overcome the danger in ways that benefit all.
If we do not act, negative energies carry us into even deeper danger. By practicing good, one gets out of the danger. Believing in the danger without practicing the good is like not believing.
We must do what must be done and go forward so not to perish through tarrying in the danger. Water reaches its goal by flowing continuously. Water flows on when it has filled a given place. We get through the danger by seeking to move in harmony with what arises and interacting with others in a gentle and friendly manner. The wise remain firm but gentle, always moving toward what benefits others and away from what harm.
When in danger, our first priority is not let the danger overwhelm us. The wise calmly weigh the conditions of the time and feel satisfied with the small gains that they can make by following along the lines of least resistance, knowing that they cannot attain great success in such times. A spring flows sparingly at first and tarries for a while before it makes its way out into the open. We can adapt to circumstances without losing sight of the larger picture of what must be done to reduce suffering and increase the well-being of all.
All of our strategies and methods need to keep to the Way of humanity. The entire outcome of the challenges we face depends upon how firmly we keep this resolve. We hold fast to the good despite all the fear and temptations that surround us and remain vigilant for the arising of the conditioned self and its sly ways of gaining power over us.
In danger, the wise carry out all that needs doing and then go forward so not to perish in the danger. They behave like water, dependable and fearless. Water flows through dangerous places, never avoiding them nor losing its dependability. Water reaches its goal by flowing continuously. It fills every depression before it flows on. It flows on without piling up anywhere and never avoids its next challenge. Even in dangerous places it does not lose its virtuous character. In this way water overcomes danger.
We must keep on flowing toward the good, using our total talents and resources and good hearts to find ways to benefit all in this time. Despite the difficulties, we remain true to our dedication to care for the Earth and all.
Water does not shrink from any dangerous spot or from a plunge. Nothing can make it lose its essential nature. It remains true to itself in all conditions. The flow of life on Earth has brought us to the brink of a dangerous plunge, which we can only overcome by risking, venturing, and falling until we reach the bottom.
Line 1: The weak divided line, the bottom of the abyss, falls into yet another pit. The weak line cannot get out of the danger but only falls deeper into it. The line falls offm the path at the very start.
The weak line does not possess the inner strength to withstand its conditioned fear and reacts in harmful ways, making the situation even more dangerous. Those who grow used to danger make it a part of them and lose the way.
Repetition of danger leads to habituation to the danger. The line lacks the inner strength to overcome the patterned behavior. The ignorant daily repeat their ignorance and become more degenerate. They dig themselves ever deeper into debasement, not knowing when to stop and causing much harm.
Line 2: The strong and balanced line has fallen into a dangerous situation. Although it perhaps cannot escape the danger, it avoids even greater danger as its actions do not lose harmony.
When in danger, the line does not try to get out of it right away regardless of the circumstances. It refrains from rashly acting to avoid falling deeper into the danger. The line weighs the situation and is satisfied with small gains as the time precludes a great success. A spring flows only sparingly at first and tarries for some time before it makes its way into the open.
The strong central line could accomplish something great, but danger hems it in on all sides so that it can do nothing. Its strength lies in its ability to understand the situation and to not seek the impossible. It knows how to adapt itself to its situation.
The line associates with the petty and does not know how to approach the wise but avoids the influence of the debased. The line believes in the danger that threatens it, yet it does not know how to get out of it as it cannot clarify the good. This is being strong but not knowing how to cultivate the good.
Line 3: Every step forward or backward leads into more danger. The line cannot escape. Action would move the line into deeper danger. The line stays in a disagreeable situation and waits until a way out shows itself.
The weak line in a dangerous place wants to act, but its incapacity to act further frustrates it. Surrounded by danger and inner restlessness, its anxiety pushes it to intervene in the situation immediately.
The unbalanced line does not manage itself or the difficult situation well. Foolish and insecure, the line rashly acts and falls into greater danger as it believed it had the support of others.
The line does not believe in the danger of the situation. By acting out of habitual patterns of behavior, it increases the danger. Long habituation to danger causes profound decadence. Worldly concerns and conditioning enslave such people all their lives. The weak line only knows how to repeat what causes harm.
The line warns not to act or rely on imagined support in an extremely insecure situation. The wise do not act until they understand the situation and know what to do.
Line 4: The line trusts the wise and capable partners in time of danger and difficulty. The line can enlighten the understanding of the group. Those who have faith in the good believe in the power of the good and defer to the wise with open minds. They learn from others to penetrate their own ignorance, using simplicity, sincerity, and openness to the wisdom of others.
Light enters a room through a window. If in difficult times we want to enlighten another, we should begin with what the other already understand and experienced and proceed simply from that point. People trust what is clear to them.
Teachers should address people’s strengths, what they clearly understand. Then they can extend this understanding to other underlying fundamentals.
The line dispenses with embellished ceremonious forms in times of danger. Within close relationships, the substance matters more than the form.
Our conditioned preferences keep us in the dark and harm us. Criticism or bias creates resistance. The wise approach the teaching of wisdom indirectly through something for which people have no preference or bias. People will listen to the tactful and those who give clear explanations but not to those who criticize or use force.
Line 5: The strong line is in the middle of a not yet filled pit. If the pit were filled, the line could get out, but the line still remains in danger, not yet free from error. It cannot rescue others, a blameworthy situation.
The strong and balanced line has the capacity to get out of danger but it does not cooperate with others. Even the strongest and most capable need help from others to get out of danger. One person alone cannot rescue the world. The wise partner with others to assist in the rescue.
The ambitious line exceeds its capacity to overcome the dangerous situation on its own. The wise do not try to accomplish the great in such times. To get out of the danger, the wise move along the lines of least resistance.
The line is satisfied to simply extricate itself from the danger. Water flows on and piles up nowhere. The line remains different from others because external influences do not move it. However, it does not indulge in self-importance but adheres to the Way of humanity.
Line 6: The weak line rests upon a hard line and has fallen into extreme danger and does not know how to escape from it. It harms others and the Earth and receives an extreme punishment.
Those who lose the right way in the extremity of danger entangle themselves irremediably in their faults and have no prospect of escape. They become like criminals shackled behind thorn-hedged prison walls.
The weak in spirit cannot escape from their habituated patterns. The base, foolish, and obstinate never cultivate themselves and end up badly. They, like everyone, have an innate connection with the spirit, but they do not know to develop and practice this potential. They bind and restrict themselves, entangling themselves in what harms, abandoning and ruining themselves, living in peril. This is base foolishness. The obstinate never cultivate themselves and end up badly.
Water: The Example of Natural Virtue by Hua Ching Ni
The following are eights ways in which people of universal virtue can learn from Water.
1. Be content with a “low” position. By remaining low, one may be safe and free from competition.
2. Remain profound. A profound mind is as quiet as the deep ocean. Therefore, it is undisturbed by the waves on the surface.
3. Give generously. Water constantly gives without asking to be repaid.
4. Remain faithful to the Way. The flow of water always faithfully goes toward the sea.
5. Act gently. Water, the most yielding of substances, can overcome even the hardest obstacle under heaven.
6. Work capably and adapt to the situation. Water can fit what is square or what is round. It keeps its true nature in any containment or circumstance.
7. Take action opportunely. Water freezes in winter and melts in spring. Its inflexibility in the winter is like death. Its softness in the spring generates new life.
8. Never fight. Water does not fight for itself; thus, it is beyond blame.
Conditioned self: Adverse early childhood experiences disrupt the development of emerging being. We become habituated to coping with a hostile environment that has failed to nurture our being and has forced us to live reactively. We make futile efforts to change the threatening environment. Cultural conditioning uses fear and anticipation of pleasure to shape our beliefs, values, expectations, feelings about ourselves and others, and experience itself. Conditioning aligns us to the cultural imperatives of hierarchy, inequality, gender relations, defining who belongs, the willingness to harm for self-benefit, and ignoring the suffering of others.
[2] World does not refer to nature but to how people live within nature. The world – civilization, culture, history, society, beliefs, worldly influences – is embedded as a subsystem within the natural system.
[3] Worldly concerns: praise becomes blame, pleasure becomes pain, power becomes obscurity, gain becomes loss. We seek praise, pleasure, power, and gain, but experience blame, pain, obscurity, and loss.
