Innate devotion to the ways of the spirit.
Move all to bring forth the world that benefits all.
Structure:
· Thunder 2 above Earth 5.
· Active above, yielding and devotion within. Movement that meets with devotion.
Ancient Chinese believed that devoted movement underlay all natural and
human law. All beings and nature follow
the ways of the Tao and its laws because we are innately devoted to moving in
harmony with the Tao to fulfill our being. The inviolability of devoted
movement does not depend upon forces external to things.
Devoted movement explains why celestial bodies do not deviate from their
orbits and why all natural events occur with fixed regularity. The Earth naturally manifests this law. Life depends upon nature’s devotion to the
laws of the Tao and find fulfillment in following them as well.
This hexagram focuses on the emotions of love, awe, and joy that
arise naturally from devotion to the spirit and moves us to follow it. The sensing of the sacred underlying
experience fills us with these strong, powerful emotions and move us to express
and act upon them in ways that benefit all.
Movement that inspires such loving devotion causes joy and carries all
with it.
Emotions move people to act. They can make us lash out in a fury, isolate
ourselves in a terrible despair, or betray our principles by yielding to
passions. We know the dangers of
unleashing powerful emotions within our own lives. In history, charismatic individuals repeatedly
appear who emotionally manipulate others and cause enormous harm. Some leaders may ride the crest of emotional
waves and gain popular support, but as the winds change, the wave falls back
into the sea of uncertainty, and another rises out of the ensuing calm.
Feelings fixed on self-cherishing and hostility for others
obscures our spiritual presence. As long
as we value worldly concerns more than the spiritual path, we blindly follow
our emotions to obtain what we want and avoid what we do not want. This path causes hostility for others and the
willingness to harm others for self-benefit.
The wise calmly investigate what their emotions move them to do.
They know that the real challenge is to create something of enduring value in
the world. While emotions may draw us
together to act, they cannot of themselves manifest the spirit within the
world.
When our feelings remain fixed on the spiritual path, we anchor ourselves
within the enduring spirit. The wise do not resist
what arises in experience, wanting it to be something it is not. Instead of reacting
blindly to what arises, they first learn from the moment how to benefit it and then
follow the natural course of serving the moment. The spirit only commands us to live in ways
that benefit all and the Earth. We answer the sacred through our virtuous
actions.
Just as the sun and stars adhere to their celestial orbits, the sage devotedly follows the spirit to overcome its self-cherishing and hostility for others so to manifest the spirit within the world.[1]
Before moving toward what we want, we need to consider what it is that we
want. The wise choose what benefits all and
devotedly move toward it. Such devoted
movement has the support of the cosmos, the sacred universe, and moves all with
it, which is the path of least resistance.
Moving toward the spirit fills us with joy as our actions harmonize with
what benefits all.
Devotion
Sacred feelings alone make it possible for people to unite. The universal language of love breaks down
the barriers between individuals and transcends what separates the self from
the other and the whole, uniting all.
When strongly aroused feeling of devotion draws us to the spirit, all resonate and are moved by it. When inwardly attuned to a shared love for the spirit, people rise above the barriers of individuality.
We transcend the separation of one from the other and unite
through what we have in common, the spirit.
Sacred love, the universal emotion, pulls us into its way. The
individual rises to encompass humanity and universality, experiencing humanity
as a whole. Love for all penetrates our
awareness and expands it.
Devoted movement within the world
Water flowing down a mountainside follows the path of least
resistance. We learn from this natural
principle that efforts to reform the world are not imposed from the outside but
flow from what others already have prepared themselves to do. The sage understands the needs of people
and acts in accord with them.
Sages adjust to the character, culture, and capacities of those they
benefit. They know everyone shares the
same understanding of what benefits all but have different expressions of
it. Sages move others because their
goals and means are considered just by the people, igniting the latent
aspirations of the many into an enduring force of change.
The willingness of the wise to follow what benefits all moves others to cooperate
with them in manifesting the spirit within the world. Such cooperation emerges out of general
feelings that unite one with others, the sense of having the same direction.
Complete sincerity stands as the only way to gain the trust and partnership
of others. Sage awaken devoted movement
through certainty and freedom from hesitation, drawing others together by the
support they give them. The inner
quality of such leadership determines whether we will have the social
transformation we want or reap only more harm.
Thus, we must hold our leaders to the highest standards, and they also need
to hold themselves to such standards.
The sage manifests the spirit through its actions and release the
spirit within others and the world.
Devoted movement is the secret of all natural occurrences. Sages have a
deep emotional attachment to the sacred. They express their love through each
word and movement, appearing like a dance of stars. Everyone who experiences such a sage feels
drawn to the sacred.
Line
1: The weak and isolated line boasts
about its connections with the strong 4th line to move others, an
arrogance that invites humiliation. Emotions
should unite one with the other, not enhance oneself.
Line 2: If consequences of an action threaten
danger, the line takes immediate action, not waiting even a whole day before a
miscommunication hardens into a conflict.
It holds fast to what benefits all.
It willingly withdraws if necessary at any time, especially in the time
of heightened emotions.
Line 3: The line has doubts about the path and
procrastinates in committing to it, for which the line comes later to
regret. The line does not have the
proper view of life. When time for action has come, the moment must be seized
quickly. Once obstacles to action have
been removed, anxious hesitation is a mistake that brings disaster as the
opportunity is lost. The time has come to
go forth and not hold back selfishly with hoarded provisions.
Line 4: The strong line awakens feelings for the
spirit and meets with the innate response to benefit all. Partners join together suddenly. This line manifests
the secret of all natural and human law:
movement that meets with the devotion to the path that benefits all.
Line 5: The weak line feels deprived of its power as it
is the 4th line that unites all around it. The 4th line, its subordinate, has
all the authority and allegiance. Even
though the line suffers from being controlled by its subordinate, it adheres to
the spiritual path and eventually moves through its wrong view.
Line 6: The line’s self-cherishing obscures the spiritual
path and acts to benefit itself. The line may get what it wants from the world,
but what it accomplishes does not last.
However, blame does not attach to those who can correct their selfishness
and yield to the ways of the spirit
[1] 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.
