Continuing in the same way.
Spiritual influence nourishing all.
Without fault.
Benefit from a virtuous actions.
Benefit from moving toward a worthy goal.
Structure: Movement 2 without, gentleness and devotion 6 within. Outward movement
supported by inner devotion are the conditions of duration.
The I Ching recognizes three forms of change: cause and effect, sequential, and
cyclic. Cause and effect describe the conditioned
changes of things, the interaction of objects. The evolution and succession of
generations example linear change, an onward moving process that never returns
to its starting point.
The I Ching focuses on the dynamics of cyclic changes,
opposites becoming the other. Wherever we look, we see increase and decrease, inhalation
and exhalation, stimulus and response, empty and full. Every end transforms into a beginning. The
seasons of the year follow a fixed law of change and transformation, producing
effects that endure. We see blossoms,
then fruit that ripens and falls to the ground. The fallen seeds rest and then
germinate to repeat the cycle. Constant
cyclic change underlies duration, that which always is.
Often these changes occur so gradually that we cannot
perceive the change itself. Change of the
smallest parts is the nature of change.
To perceive change, we need a non-changing frame of reference, which the
innate laws of Tao provide, laws that regulate and determine all that
happens.
Duration is that which lasts long. The two conditions for duration —adhering to
the laws of Tao and continuity in change – cause the universe to endure. By
seeing what gives things their duration, we come to understand the nature of
all beings and Earth.
Within the spiritual path, duration arises when love for the
spirit supports virtuous actions[1]. Actions that benefit all renew our capacity
to rest within the spirit, which renews our strength to act to benefit
all. Devotion and action empower and
renew the other: active devotion and
devoted action.
Enduring devotion to the ways of the spirit marks the great constancy. To persistently choose and act to benefit all
requires us to single-mindedly apply our devotion. The more we apply our
resolve, the stronger our love for the spirit grows. The sage endures by
abiding with the spiritual path.
Constantly persevering in a beneficial course of action
leads to the goal of benefiting all. Yet
persistence by itself does not make it a virtue. Some may seek enduring love in the wrong
places, searching forever without finding what they seek. Others are constant
in their busyness with their unceasing activity, clinging to inconstancy as a
constant. Such movement may endure but
accomplishes nothing. We will not find
what we seek if we do it in the wrong way.
Enduring does not mean sticking to one’s corner and not
knowing how to change. Change never stands still as that would lead to
regression. Whatever does not change
comes to an end. The duration of life
and natural systems implies constant change.
Sages constantly adapt to changing situations in enduring
ways that benefit all. The sage remains constant through changing times by
staying focused on its duty as it presents itself in experience. Any fixation, knowing the constant but not
the change, does not last.
The power of change persisting over time does not get worn
down by hindrances. Generally speaking,
a great harm that has endured long requires careful reflection and gradual work
over a long period of time to transform it. The sage embodies the conditions
necessary for duration by perseverance in the ways of the spirit. Through continuity
in change, the sage thereby transforms the world.
Through all the changes, the mutually reinforcing union of
the spirit and being endures. By keeping inner strength greater than external
circumstances, sages transform the world.
Only by having a beneficial goal makes great constancy possible in the
same way as a constantly dripping water sculpts rock.
Duration is the self-contained and, therefore, self-renewing movement of an organized, firmly integrated whole, taking place in accordance with immutable laws and beginning anew at every ending. The end is reached by an inward movement, by inhalation, systole, contraction and the movement turns into a new beginning in which the movement is directed outward, in exhalation, diastole, and expansion.
Richard Wilhelm, Book of Changes
Line 1: Beginners who attempt too much at once succeed
in nothing. Creating something that
endures takes gradual, persistent work and careful consideration.
Line 2: The line endures and avoids all regret by abiding
at the stable point, resting within the spirit. In this way it faces and
responds in a beneficial way to all change.
Line 3: The line does not persevere in following the spiritual
path and cannot accept and tolerate what arises in experience. It remains at
the mercy of hopes and fears aroused by the outer world, which leads to
distressing experiences. These
humiliations often come from an unforeseen quarter, the logical consequences
evoked by the line’s unbalanced views and behavior.
Line 4: We must pursue in the right way what we
seek. The line represents constancy in
goal-seeking without considering attitude, beliefs, and behaviors, which hinder
its efforts. Persistence in searching is not enough. The line wastes its life and
achieves nothing. Those who do devote
themselves to the spiritual path and put the spiritual path into practice find
what they seek.
Line 5: The line perseveres in its spiritual path to
cultivate quietude. However, this does not lead to understanding the other nor
fulfill the spiritual path: to benefit all and the Earth.
Line 6: The restless line is constant in busyness and
does not attain an inner calm. It moves restlessly from one thing to the next and
accomplishes nothing.
[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.
