Hexagram 8 - Grouping

Grouping.

Significant.

Retracing the oracle-consulting:  spiritual influence pervading,

Righteous and firm.

Without fault.

                                   Dangers of the world approach.

                       Afterwards the managing and overcoming dangers.

 Structure:  All the yielding lines mutually hold together and follow the strong line, the ruler.

Ideogram:  Two men following each other.

All life flows toward the spirit, the center of union.  The spirit holds together with life as life manifests the spirit within nature and the world.[1]  All life flows together wherever it can toward the spirit because the laws of Tao regulate life in the same way that waters flowing over the land come together into rivers and then into the ocean.

Sages devotedly obey the spirit because of its goodness and benevolence.  The spirit opens to those who approach because of their virtues and willingness to benefit all.  Sages and the spirit mutually hold together in a joyful union and attain power to manifest the spirit within the world. 

Desire for community, for family, is a deeply felt need.  The union of those on the path fulfill that need as it is through relationships that we honor the spirit.  The wise unite with the spirit first, and then all their other relationships follow.

The Way of humanity requires sages who act within the world to unite with others to mutually benefit from the complementary talents and resources of others.  The wise seek others for security and aid so that they can cooperate and overcome difficulties within the world.  The partners hold together with the shared truth of the Way of humanity[2] and its way of life.

We need to be diligent in finding closeness with other wise partners as nobody can bring about on their own the new era that benefits. Partners willingly seek each other out; otherwise, the seeking is one-sided.  Sages choose the upright and steadfast, those who have demonstrated virtues, persistence, maturity, and humanity.

Closeness within a group develops over time through friendly mutual support in cultivating the Way of humanity.  Aware of our need for each other to fulfill a great purpose, we as a group learn the wisest way forward and act for the benefit of all.  What holds a group together is its common devotion to the Ways of humanity, the basis of mutual understanding and practice.

The wise perfect the way of closeness with others.  They interact affectionately with others within the Way of humanity.  Through caring for the group’s welfare and spiritual maturation, the wise serve each other. Members of a wise group always put the other first.  People incorrectly associate when they are harsh to those they perceive lower than they or feel they in some way own the group. 

What nurtures a group are the mutual feelings of shared responsibility for the well-being of the group.  Everyone within the group feels they are leaders and are unwilling to impose their will upon others.  Members willingly seek the wisdom of others to discern the path forward, seeking the will of the spirit. 

The wise group has the confidence that their commitment to shared common principles and resolve to manifest the Way of humanity within the world is strong enough and equal to the undertaking.  All yield to the unifying devotion to the spirit and benefit from the mutually supportive relationships that leads to moving through the danger.

In holding together, the group must hit upon the right time. Relationships form and establish themselves according to definite inner laws, and common experiences strengthen these ties.  Those who come too late miss the time when the group forged its bonds.  Those who resist holding together with others have the freedom to go their way.   The receptive come and the rebellious go.  Inside and outside are one energy.

We need to be part of a group that reflects our spiritual principles.  If we find that kind of support and encouragement from a group lacking, then we must leave.  Staying with a group that no longer nourishes our spiritual practice wastes our time.

The wise group accords with other groups that manifest the changes that will benefit all, the changes they all want to see in the world.  Following other groups wisely means the willingness to discern with other groups the way forward and then to jointly work to benefit all.  When groups within a network of groups give little and withhold much, they do not succeed in achieving their aim.  Bringing together ever larger numbers of groups and networks harnesses the power of ever larger number of people to cooperate and achieve a shared purpose. 

All trust in the process and power of group relationships to benefit all.  Members resist the doubts and fear, despair and anger rising from the challenges within all relationships caused by self-cherishing.  Everyone treats others gently and with respect.  To allow the group to develop, it uncovers the needs of the group and meets them.  Occasionally, the group retreats to discern whether they persist in love.  We may never find the perfect group that reaches the full potential of mutual support, yet we can persist in seeking it within the group.

Those who join such a group take on a great responsibility for the integrity of the group, a responsibility that requires greatness of spirit, consistency, and strength. Only those who manifest the Way of humanity within their lives have mastered their self-cherishing and have developed virtues.  We must consider whether we are equal to the task of gathering with other wise partners to bring the spirit’s ways into the world.  The I Ching encourage us to divine whether we actually have the capacity to transform the dangers of the world in partnership with others.

The blessings of the group are extended to others and credit for the group’s successes are given to the many who made the group’s efforts successful, acts which continually broaden support for the group.  The wise group stands as a model for others to follow.

 

Line 1:  The group follows the spiritual path without fault within itself and in the world. Through its adherence to the path, the group continues to receive many blessings.

Line 2:  The holding together of the group depends upon its affinity with the spirit and its principles.  Group which lack this relationship do not endure.  Group members have intrinsic relations with each other, but they do not lose themselves within relationships because they respond perseveringly and in the right way to the calls for beneficial action. 

Line 3:  The weak line, unbalanced and restless, finds itself in a group with members who are not wise and trustworthy.  The ignorant and foolish line associates with the foolish and ignorant, yet it is strong enough to avoid injuring others.

Line 4:  The group has firmly established its relationship with the wise who follow the Way of humanity, the center of union, and rightly shows its attachment openly.  It does not stray from the path but remains constant.  Free from entanglements, it can follow with undivided allegiance.  Those who follow the wise have the correct way of holding together. 

Those who seek wisdom have discussion of mutual interest from time to time with the wise.  In this way, even the ignorant will learn the way, even the weak becomes strong.  This is correct external accord.

Line 5:  The group attracts others, accepting those who accord with the spiritual path.  The group does not chase after those who runaway but takes in only those who freely come.  Thus a voluntary dependence develops among those holding together.  Everyone feels free to openly express their opinion and not to be constantly on guard.

Groups that cultivate the inner purity and strength needed to act to benefit all attract others.  The group comes together spontaneously on its own accord as if destined for the association.  The group, having perfected the Way of closeness with others, manifests the spirit within and in the world. 

Line 6:  The group does not hold with the spirit nor follow its ways.  It acts arbitrarily on its own, not knowing how to accord with the path or others.  The group, without a direction or purpose, has nothing to steady it, which leads to accomplishing nothing.

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[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. 

[2] The Way of humanity embodies the laws of Tao that govern the human beings, both in relationship to the spirit and with each other. It is 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 human virtues of caring for all, morality, justice, and wisdom, harnessing the creative energies of the spirit so that they manifest the spirit within the world, materializing the invisible.  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 the self and other are the same and arise from the sacred mystery.