After settlement.
Blessings in the small.
Benefit from perseverance.
At the beginning: favorable.
At the end: disorder.
Structure:
· Above water 3, energy of being, vitality, danger. Below fire 7, clarity in awareness of the spirit.
· Using danger to nourish clarity. Using clarity to guard against danger. Danger and clarity balance each other.
Image: Water and
fire brought into a proper relationship produce benefits, but by nature they
conflict. Heating water over fire
produces steam. If water boils over, it
extinguishes the fire. Too much heat
causes water to evaporate. Only extreme caution avoids danger.
This is the only hexagram in which all the lines stand in
their proper place, strong lines in strong positions and yielding lines in
yielding positions. Because the hexagram
has this completely settled balance, no tension remains. Yet the slightest external influence or inner
movement will disrupt this balance and push it back into disorder
The hexagram describes a time when the sage has completed
the inner spiritual path by mastering its self-cherishing and hostility for
others, when the forces of firmly preserving presence balances with yielding to
the spirit. This perfect equilibrium of
completion causes the sage concern, because it knows that everything
changes.
Upon settlement of a situation, everything proceeds as if of
its own accord, tempting us to relax and let things take their course without
troubling over details. Indifference to details
and the neglect of our responsibilities to preserve what we have achieved cause
the unsettling of what was settled. This
happens when those who have learned how to overcome their self-cherishing but do
not know how to preserve this settlement. They delude themselves that they have
vanquished self-cherishing but, which like weeds always spring forth again. These harmful feelings and thoughts depend
upon an unguarded moment to advance and regain power. The loss of what has been gained by not
preserving settlement at the end marks a pattern found again and again in
history and in our lives.
The wise recognize in their hearts the moments that bode
danger and avoid an unsettling by timely precaution. When the wise know that they truly never rid
themselves of self-cherishing and hostility for others, they remain alert to
their arising so that they can meet them with loving care and presence. The wise use clarity to guard against danger
and nurture clarity by turning inward and resting within the spirit.
When no
further progress is possible, disorder naturally arises because the path cannot
go on. Once sages have released
themselves from the suffering of self-cherishing and hostility for others, they
find ways to extend the benefits of their practice in the world.[1] Accomplished sages have the responsibility to
nurture and encourage others and learn from the moment how to respond in ways
that benefit all. In this way the path
has no end.
Line 1: In a time of great transition, everything
presses to go beyond the peak of settlement.
This pressing forward at the beginning overshoots the mark and leads to
certain loss and collapse. The sage
checks its course in time to avoid the general intoxication. The disastrous consequences may touch the
sage but only minimally as the sage has acted correctly by stilling itself.
Line 2: The line wants to achieve but does not receive the needed confidence of its partners. Rather than seek attention or throw itself away on the world, the line calmly deepens its path and makes preparations on its own. Because times change of their own accord, the wise only has to wait for it. In this time of waiting, strength might turn into complacency, water and fire might conflict. Those who chase after things lose their self-control.
Line 3: The sage lives in a time dominated by the selfish and those hostile to others. It makes a great effort over many years to bring more to the path. The sage does this exhausting work itself rather than delegate the responsibility to the undependable, knowing that otherwise the effort would fail.
Line 4: In a time of settlement, an unexpected change
causes a disturbance. The foolish ignore
the threat to settlement and do not address it.
The line has responsibilities to remain alert to the reemergence of
self-cherishing and hostility for others and to respond effectively to them
Line 5: In times after completion, ever more
elaborate forms and outer display replace the original ways of revering the
sacred. Over time, human abuse of self-cherishing
takes the place of devotion to the sacred. True devotion does not depend on an
outward display but on how we live the spiritual path of benefiting others and
the Earth. The sage wants what it has
and lives within the flow of blessings, always receiving and giving them away.
Line 6: The culmination of settlement has many dangers and little stability. The line ruins the settlement by deluding itself that it has extinguished its willingness to harm for self-benefit. In an unguarded moment, self-cherishing can reemerge and unfold its harmful aspects.
[1] World does not refer to the Earth but to how people live on Earth. The world – civilization, culture, history, society, science, economy, education, technology – is embedded as a subsystem within the natural system. People create their world through the choices they make.
