The Well - Hexagram 48

The well.

Reforming the government, not reforming the well.

Not losing, not gaining.

Going, coming:  waters of life welling.

Muddy water.  The well-rope not reaching the water.

Breaking the well-jug. Flow of life and spirit blocked and their meaning lost.

 Structure:  Wood 6 is below, water 6 above.  The wood goes down into the Earth to bring up water.

Ideogram:  Two vertical lines cross two horizontal ones, representing eight fields with equal access to a central well.

Images

·          A well dispenses the source of nourishment.

·          A tree draws water out of the earth to benefit all its parts.

The Tao brings forth the good and great, which we experience as love. The Tao causes all life to develop and flow within natural limits, regulating and organizing love, which we call moral discipline.  The Tao transforms life so that each attains its potential according to its being, which we call justice.  The Tao transforms life so that each accords with the great harmony, which we call wisdom.  These immutable virtues[1] of the Tao create enduring conditions. 

All experience life as a vivid arising experience; a process of growth, maturation and decline; the giving and taking of life.  Generation after generation, life comes and goes, neither growing more nor less, abundantly the same for all.  Life simply is an ever upwelling, inexhaustible experience available to all.  The situation and times may change, but life endures, the unchangeable within change.

In traditional rural communities, the central well provides the life necessity of water.  Anyone can come to the well and bring the water up from its source.  Likewise, anyone can draw from the wellspring of the sacred through the depths of their being.  Just as stone cases a well, deeply established virtues provide the means to a lasting connection with the spirit.  Our virtues develop as we move on the path away from worldly concerns[2] and toward benefitting all. 

Completing the spiritual path

All life has a spiritual potential, the innate capacity to fathom the Tao and to manifest it within the world[3].  People have the choice to develop the spiritual path or to ignore it.  Everyone has access to inner spiritual energies, but only a few have the insatiable diligence and persistence needed to break through the barriers of selfishness and ill-will to fathom their spiritual depths and to bring forth the sacred into life.

Just as people cannot survive without a dependable source of clear water, humanity cannot survive without a reliable source of spiritual nourishment.  Not making a spiritual quest leaves life unfulfilled and of no benefit to others. Some may fail in their spiritual path to penetrate to the real roots of humanity and remain fixed in convention, a failure that is as complete as not having a spiritual path. Others may suddenly collapse and neglect their path or do not go all the way, achieving nothing. Many wander in a muddy life without meaning or purpose, ignorant about how to develop themselves or even disparaging such an effort.

The wise do not permit the difficulties of the Path to vex them. They learn how to persistently align their lives with the Way of humanity.[4]  No matter how often we feel disappointed by what happens, we must start again.  We must try again and again to break through our willingness to harm others for self-benefit, to learn from our mistakes, and to move through the many dangers that separate us from others and the spirit. 

For the rope to reach the bottom of the well and the waters of the spirit, we must penetrate that which is apparently so and only be satisfied with the actual source of life.  This divine yearning for the springs of life remains alive, always in motion, always striving forward. Then hardship, even misfortune, becomes a source of strength in this quest. 

Dispersing blessings

When sages finally reach the sacred and can bring what they have experienced to life, they become the inexhaustible source from which others might quench their spiritual thirst. Those who have deepened their virtues and live a spiritual life have the responsibility to nurture others and to manifest the spiritual path within the world. 

Just as the well’s purpose is fulfilled when others draw its water, so should we benefit from what sages offer and translate their wisdom into our lives.  One must not only draw from the well, but also drink it.  Wisdom not put into practice has no value.

Sages take in the waters of life that well up from the depths, keeping a clear access to the central meaning of life and ever holding fast to the good.  The more others take from the sage, the more the sage has. A clear overflowing spring nourishes all without hindrance.  In this way, sages fulfill their lives.  The spiritual life transforms the sage who then transforms the world by bringing the spiritual path into the world.

Wise government

The well refers to providing the necessities of life. Access to basic needs is as important as the necessity itself. A community cannot survive without a dependable source of water. Different forms of government and social structures come and go, but every government has to provide the basic needs of all the people or suffer the consequences.

Life is neither less for some nor more for others.  Life comes and goes, and all life experiences its inexhaustible abundance. Those of greater privilege and wealth experience life the same as others despite their claims of superior sensitivity and merit, delusions which they use to justify their hoarding of resources and controlling access to them.  When water, food, shelter, and other basic needs become accessible only to those who can afford them, great suffering becomes institutionalized.  When government is corrupted by those seeking self-benefit and no longer provides what is necessary to all, a government no longer fulfill its purpose.

Government is the center of a society and the foundation of community life. As such it needs to wisely balance society so that all parts can satisfy their basic needs and cooperate for the benefit of the whole. A good government that nourishes all its people has firm, never failing foundational values that connect everyone with life’s necessities. 

The Book of Changes

Humanity cannot survive without a reliable source of spiritual nourishment.  The Book of Changes has proved itself a reliable and inexhaustible source of spiritual nourishment for all who seek to draw from its wisdom. The I Ching has remained in its place for thousands of years with a firm, never-failing foundation that enduringly connects people with the spirit. 

Spiritual seekers need a teacher as a source of guidance. Those who approach a great spiritual teacher with faith and deference will receive wise guidance on how to move through adverse situations, finding the wisdom needed to move forward. Those who muddy the well by doubting the I Ching or its guidance block their own spiritual progress. 

We need to develop our virtues to reach the spirit. The Book of Changes teaches us what is important in life.  It gives us insights into the fundamental issues of our lives and instructs us on how we can nourish the virtues necessary to reach the spirit and to manifest it within our lives and in the world.

The I Ching guides us to know the sameness of all life and our common need to live in harmony with the spirit.  The sage works with others to create opportunities to bring the spirit to life in the world for the benefit of all.  The Book of Changes builds our capacities to respond to life in ways that benefit all.

The waters of life surge up from the spiritual depths.  The sage persistently maintains a clear access to this central life source for fulfillment and for the well-being of all.

Line 1:  The weak line depicts an abandoned well with mud at the bottom.  As it has no water, it cannot benefit others.  Nobody comes to the well; thus, it remains outside the flow of life, and time passes it by.  The line loses all significance for others.  Others do not seek out those who throw themselves away.   

Line 2:  The clear water within the well seeps downward into a gap, losing the upward spiritual direction of the Way.  Because the line does not seek wisdom to further it on the spiritual path, its positive strength does not benefit others.   

The line possesses good qualities but neglects them.  No one draws from it.  As a result, its good qualities deteriorate.  The line associates with the undeveloped and can no longer accomplish anything worthwhile. 

Line 3:  A sage is available to resolve collective problems but it is not called upon to serve, making its heart to ache as it is ready to benefit others. Instead, the sage seeks wise partners within the community to create opportunities to extend its blessings to all.   

Line 4:  While workers line the well with stone, others cannot use it to draw water.  The effort results in water that stays clear.

In certain times of life, each of us must further develop our spiritual path.  During this time, we can do nothing for others, but the effort has value as it enhances our capacities so that we can accomplish all the more later on to benefit others.

Line 5:  The clear, cold spring water of the well has risen to the well’s rim, and others come to its refreshing water to quench their thirst.  The line represents the supreme goodness of the Way.  The sage has completed its spiritual development and now has the responsibility to further others in their development.  The wise draw from the teachings of sages and follow their example of how to live in the world in ways that benefit all.

Line 6:  The well is there for all without restriction.  No matter how many come, all find what they need.  The dependable well has a spring that never runs dry, and it serves as a blessing to the whole community. 

Sages have an inexhaustible inner wealth as they draw from the Creative.  The more people draw from the sage, the greater its inner treasure.  The rising of the water to the top of the well makes spiritual blessings available to all, fulfilling its function and purpose.

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[1] Virtues shape our behavior and align us with the spirit.  The Tao brings forth the good and great, which we experience as love. The Tao causes all life to develop and flow within natural limits, regulating and organizing love, which we call a moral discipline that benefits all.  The Tao transforms life so that each attains its true nature, a power that we call justice that ensures that all life has the means to achieve its potential according to its being.  The Tao harmonizes all life within interbeing, which we call wisdom, and separates what endures from what perishes.  The completed sage uses these virtues to shape the world.

[2] Worldly concerns are the ways in which the selfish willingly harm others for self-benefit and then ignore the suffering they cause.  Selfish individuals seek power and domination over others and willingly use violence to do so.  The selfish accumulate wealth through the unlimited exploitation and ultimate destruction of people, other life forms, and the Earth.  The selfish believe themselves superior to others and express their self-cherishing through patriarchy, discrimination, and subjugation, willing to use violence to protect their rung within the hierarchy and support the powerful.  The selfish consume as much as they can and seek constant distractions for the pleasures they derive from their addictions, enriching the exploiters.  

[3] 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. 

[4] The Way of humanity: The path of love that creatively responds to the experiences of life in ways that benefit all.  Sages shape the energies of Creation through the virtues of love, morality, justice, and wisdom.  The sage finds happiness by obeying the command of heaven to reduce inner faults and manifest the sacred within the world.  Suffering ends when we have the lived experience that our being and the other are the same and arise from the sacred mystery.