The Small Exceeding - Hexagram 62

Small exceeding.

Growing. Harvesting. Trial.                                                      

Permitted the small in affairs.

Not permitted the great in affairs.

                                  To the flying bird abandoning belongs a sound.

                                  Not proper above, proper below.

 Structure: 

·          Thunder 2 above Mountain 4.  Action above stillness.  Acting with restraint. 

·          Stillness stable below, small action above.  One acts in the world while remaining still within.

·          Weak lines on the outside, strong lines within.

The structure of the hexagram suggests a flying bird.  With hunters nearby, the wise bird protectively stays near its nest and avoids capture.  The foolish bird abandons its nest, calling out as it flies higher, bringing to it the attention of hunters.  A bird should not try to surpass itself and fly into the sun.  The wise bird descends to the Earth and its nestlings. 

Xiao Guo describes a transitional state of extraordinary conditions between the old and the new when the small surpasses the great.  A variety of small concerns excessively predominate, a situation which might obscure the overall significance of small concerns. 

When we intentionally go a little bit further beyond the expected in virtuous[1], we exceed the norm. In this hexagram, small exceeding means going beyond what others consider correct to seek correctness.  In exceptional times, we need exceptional measures to reestablish the ways that benefit all.  Making a small excess in the right direction hits the transformational mark.

Yet to achieve the wanted correction, the sage does not greatly exceed the norm. The actions of sages reflect their exceptional conscientious.  They value living lightly without becoming miserly or obsessive.  Sages defer to others, but they avoid servility or throwing themselves away to do the bidding of others.  Selflessness and conscientiousness, combined with correct dignity in behavior, make it possible for the wise to achieve their aim.

When faced with great injustice, undisciplined yet strong people want to rashly act and put an end to all the wrongs.  They consider it petty to hold themselves on guard and go into a struggle self-righteously and proud.  But this self-confidence deludes them as they have not prepared themselves for lurking dangers. 

In such confusing times, with everything changing and clashing against the other, we cannot begin to understand the dynamics of the forces in play nor the consequences of our attempts to act on the big stage.  Attempting to soar above all obstacles to achieve great things rebels against the nature of the time.  We exhaust ourselves and achieve nothing. 

Danger lies in mounting too high and losing ground under our feet.  Those who overshoot the goal cannot reach it. A bird that flies higher and higher will fall into the hunter’s net.  Those who do not know how to call a halt in times of extraordinary smallness but seek to press on draw misfortune upon themselves because they deviate from what the time and situation demand. 

We begin the path of small exceeding by uprooting the dangers of self-cherishing, hostility for others, feeling dissatisfied with whatever arises.  Once free of what separates us from the spirit, we can partner with those of like-mind to seek justice and address the inequities within our sphere of influence within the world.  Sages daily reduce the conditioned self by living simply and through practice. 

The wise understands the demands of the time and escapes danger by paying careful attention to small and insignificant things.  They transform conditions without going too far by finding the necessary offsets deficiencies and dangers, acting in response to a situation by staying close to what they know and understand, as limited as those effects may be.  Lacking sufficient strength, they do not expect great success and thus restrain their ambition.

The time calls for the revolution of the small.  Sages focus more closely on duty than do others even when what they do seems unimportant to others. The essential significance of such an attitude lies in the fact that in external matters the sage sides with the powerless.  Through excessive care for the oppressed, the sage moves others and the world to the Way of humanity.

To stay below and achieve the small through caring for the most vulnerable shows devotion to the Way of humanity[2].  By lifting up the powerless, we become the transformational leadership we seek.  Sages achieve the great by benefiting those most harmed by social inequities.  The needs of those they serve guide their efforts.  Even though the small predominates, the sage’s actions benefit all.

 

Line 1:  The weak line should keep still, but it will not suffer restraint.  It seeks to soar like a flying bird.  Such an effort to advance will bring disaster upon line as the conditions of the time will overwhelm it.

The line represents the undeveloped, the self-cherishing.  It vainly imagines it can soar over all obstacles. When small impetuous people want to advance, they eventually go too far in the wrong direction.  When haste and speed predominate, a small excess goes too far beyond remedy.  The line wants to advance quickly, but it falls as quickly behind. 

Line 2:  The line stays with the small by conscientiously fulfilling its duty and adhering to its principles.  It does not exceed its limits but keeps to the path.

Line 3:  The wise understand that the time demands extraordinary caution.  They closely attend to small and insignificant things.  Yet even in such times, we find strong, self-righteous people who consider it petty to hold themselves on guard and willingly take risks.  They go their way proud and unconcerned, but this self-confidence deludes them.  Dangers lurk for the unprepared.

In times of excessive weakness, this strong line has exceeding strength.  It knows how to be great but not small and indulges in using its strength, thus losing what it has gained.  Strength predominates and does not know how to follow the small.

Line 4:  The line tempers its hardness of character by its yielding position and resists being drawn into excessive and dangerous movement; thus, it makes no mistakes.  The situation calls for extreme caution as the line must make no attempt on its own initiative to reach the desired end.  If it forced its way to the goal, the line would endanger itself.  Instead, the line remains on guard without acting but inwardly perseveres.

Line 5:  Dense clouds race across the sky but give no rain.  In exceptional times, the capable know they cannot on their own transform what needs to change in the world.  The line seeks out partners to carry out the great task, those who have already withdrawn into retirement and who must be sought out.  Their genuine achievements, not fame, qualifies them.  The line willingly humbles itself to seek out others rather than forge ahead on its own.  When the wise leader finds wise partners, they cooperate to complete the task despite all difficulties.

Line 6:  Movement at the extreme of excessive smallness does not accord with true reason.  The line’s excessive actions go too far beyond the norm, causing harm to itself and others. 

The bird abandons its nest and gets caught by the hunters.  The extremely ignorant line acts recklessly.  It knows how to advance but not withdraw.  The line’s arrogance and grandiosity make it unwilling to come back to the middle way.  It loses the Way, abandons those in its care, and draws down disaster on itself. 

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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] 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 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.