Hexagram 22

 

Natural form 

We perceive natural forms as the most beautiful.  Any effort to add to how nature appears detracts from its beauty.  Nature does not conceal what is within but fully reveals the inner value. 

For the sage, form is never fundamental; what matters is the substance.  What we do manifests our being, not our appearance or possessions.  To devote care to form for its own sake without regard to inner content reflects foolishness. 

Those who contemplate the movement of the stars discern the changes through the year. Those who contemplate the forms of people’s behavior and understand what they value and how beliefs shape the world through their application.Sages govern their behavior through clearly defined (7) and firmly established (4) virtues.[1]  Those on the path of the Way of humanity[2] are moved by love (content), which their express in the world in ways that benefits all.

Simplicity

Efforts to beautify objects are shallow.  The display of wealth does not approach the beauty and value of a simple life.  Our most perfect form depends not on external ornamentation but in allowing our being[3] to stand forth. Sages model their lives upon nature.  At the highest stages of development, sages discard all ornamentation.  Persistence in fulfilling the great purpose of caring for the Earth and all life reveals all that matters.   

Within daily life, sages firmly keep to what benefits all.  They avoid going beyond meeting their basic needs as excessive consumption leads away from the Path.  They do for themselves rather than cause harm for others and the Earth even if it takes more effort to live simply.  At first we may struggle with renouncing conveniences, yet we find peace of mind in taking more responsibilities and reducing the harm we inflict upon life and the Earth by the way we live.  We must make the effort of doing for ourselves.  Sages want what they have.

The world[4] does not value the self-discipline and righteousness of the wise.  Thus, the I Ching encourages withdrawal from contact with those who seek nothing but magnificence and luxury.  Yet within this retreat, the wise find others who they can emulate and who can support their path.  Faithfulness to what benefits all creates a mutual attraction among those on the path of simplicity.  Such spiritual friends may have even lived in ages past, but because of their sincerity to the good, such sages transcend all limits of space-time.

Cultural forms

Every object holds two things:  the substance and the form.  However, the form needs to be transparent to the content and must not distract but promote it. The content always speaks for itself and communicates its own value independent of cultural embellishments.

The language of cultural forms of behavior and appearance make us comprehensible to others.  A decorated object translates its function into a cultural message.  Sages express themselves through cultural forms to manifest the spirit. 

The way we form ourselves into groups and community reflects the ways of our culture and the group’s purpose.  When beings associate with one another, they do so through forms of conduct ordered and organized by their species and culture.  What people actually do as a group reveal their true substance, what they consider most important. 

The highest form is transparent to the substance.  The form of the Way of humanity manifests the universal virtues of love, morality, justice, and wisdom expressed through firmly established rules of conduct in culturally dependent ways. 

Upon the achievement of selflessness, the being’s connection with the spirit naturally becomes visible.  Those who value plain simplicity do not lose the Way.  The wise nourish the arising experience with love, calm, and gratitude, devoting themselves to the sacred within the moment by caring for all and the Earth, the temple in which we live.