Hexagram 6 - Conflict

Conflict.

Possessing accord between inner and outer.

Blocking caution, respect for other.

The center significant.  Bringing to an end, loss of path.

                                    Harvesting: viewing the inner spirit, wisdom.

                                    Not harvesting:  completing one’s larger purpose.

Ideogram:  Words and public. Public disputation.

Structure

·          Strength 1 over danger 3.  The Creative is strong.  Water is dangerous. 

·          The Creative above moves upward.  Water below moves downward. The two trigrams move apart.

·          Relying on strength when endangered. When excessive strength is used in a dangerous situation, there will be conflict.

Conflict develops within the realm of right and wrong, when we feel we are in the right but others oppose us who believe we are wrong:  I am right and you are wrong.  When opposing forces frame their difference within the realm of right versus wrong, people move away from each other and into conflict, seeking victory and relying on their strength, which only deepens the conflict. (Note:  a conflict differs from resisting those who know they are in the wrong but persist in harming others and the Earth for self-benefit.)

Conflict violates harmony and marks the limits of our capacities to connect affectionately and beneficially with others.  The strong yield to their dangerous willingness to harm others to have their way, and the weak wish that harm might befall their contender.  Acting out of anger leads to greater danger as we tend to ignore the consequences of our behavior in the heat of the moment. To conflict means not to love.

Conflict provokes strong feelings of self-righteous anger and a sense of urgency to prove the other wrong.  We have the desire to condemn the other and force unwelcomed changes upon them or the situation.  Yet many of us know from experience that acting on these feelings severely complicates the situation and endangers the greater purpose.

 The grave mistake of conflict comes from letting a difference go too far.  When they cannot have their way, most people allow their poisonous negative side to act.  They get excited and contend for victory, plotting and scheming to deprive the other and to benefit themselves.  To pursue a conflict to its bitter end creates enemies and turns out badly for both sides.

We need to understand the dangers of our emotional reactions and to curb our anger.  If we seek to punish someone because we deem them wrong, we will lose what is important because of a little anger.  In conflict, the differences become more important than the path.  We become like the one who harmed us – outwardly aggressive and inwardly forceful in wanting to harm the other.  Such behavior has a bad end.  

When we first feel that another is in the wrong, at that moment we have a choice:  to conflict to determine right and wrong or to approach the differences as a problem to solve. We can avoid conflict if we have developed our capacities to mindfully experience whatever arises and to see difficult situations as knots that need undoing.  By staying in touch with our humanity and that of others, we can transcend individual differences through fellowship and subdue others by virtue.[1]

Once entangled in a conflict, we can still respond well if we recognize that we must exert ourselves to regain presence through clarity and to strengthen our willingness to come to terms by meeting the opponent halfway.  As long as the conflict has not gone too far and poisoned the relationship, we can smooth out the opposition and move through the danger by focusing on what underlies the differences that escalated into conflict. Those wanting to extricate themselves from a conflict must be willing to compromise or withdraw from the conflict. 

The only remedy to conflict is to first correct oneself.  Rather than seek victory within the world[2], sages contend with themselves inwardly.  We need to withdraw from the conflicted engagement with the other to give us some space to undo our inner knots and return to our vow to help all beings and spare them from every harm. 

First, know that the conflict is dangerous, a stressful and difficult situation that marks the limits of our capacity to respond well.  If the conflict is about something unimportant, we can simply drop the issue.  If we find ourselves struggling with reactive energies, then we need to withdraw from the situation immediately to avoid acting out of anger.  If we mirror the behavior of the contenders, they have won as we have lost ourselves. 

The wise focus on the disturbing emotions and concentrate all their spiritual practices to clear them away.  We can relax into the experience, just rest with it, enveloping all our feelings within a loving presence and resisting the urge to rationalize or analyze, push away the contender, or react.  Simply rest.  In presence, we deeply feel the angry, resentful mind that wants to punish those we blame for the conflict.  Eventually negative thoughts will stop and beneficial ones arise. 

Pondering and blaming others who oppose us are toxic and self-destructive.  We deny our path when we speculate about the wrongness of the other and plot to undermine them.  Instead, we can focus on the good qualities of the other and how they have benefitted us.  If possible, we see the contender as a teacher who tests our practice of staying in touch with our humanity.  As teachers, they deserve our gratitude, affection, and respect.  We might also reframe the experience as an opportunity to develop a loving heart, patience, and sameness. 

We return to resting within love for all and wait calmly with the spirit until the way to resolve the opposition reveals itself in ways that benefit all.  And then within presence, we can respond to the situation in gentle, compassionate ways that benefit all.

In some situations, moderation, caution, and self-struggle still do not resolve the conflict.  Then we should appeal to others who can help you transcend the realm of right and wrong.  It is important to gain the hearing of those trusted and respected by both sides to help end the conflict before it irretrievably damages relationships.

When conflict arises within a group, we should avoid a challenging effort within the world until the conflict resolves and heals.  A conflicted group has divided energies, which weakens its power to overcome external dangers.

If rights and duties have already been clearly defined, then many causes for conflict have already been removed. To avoid possible a conflict within an upcoming situation, the wise takes everything into consideration, guiding the group to a common understanding of underlying values and guiding principles before seeking resolution of a contentious problem. If we can agree on what we have to do to resolve our differences and the best way forward, then the problem becomes an opportunity for cooperation.  Often in the light of the greater purpose, the conflict becomes unimportant and is dropped.

We can promote justice within the world without entering conflict by staying in touch with the humanity within ourselves and the other.   If we approach the situation as a problem to be solved without moving into the frame of right and wrong, we can use the heightened energy of the situation to move forward.   

At every turn, we should avoid conflict.  By being conscientious and doing nothing to harm others, we avoid the conditions that lead to conflict and victory seeking.  By aligning our efforts with the Way, disputes will not interfere with our purpose to benefit all.  To clash openly is already failure. 

In a disagreeable situation, sages subdue others by their compassion and virtue.[3]  They remain inwardly firm and outwardly friendly, connecting and cooperating with others.  The situation may be dangerous, but the hearts of sages are not endangered as they have moved beyond the realm of right or wrong and victory seeking.  Those who practice the Way of humanity[4] contend with themselves and not the other.

The path does not lead to conflict.  The wise do not let anger and self-righteousness cause them to lose the path.

 Line 1:  The weak line in a low position does not persist in a conflict but drops it.  It receives some criticism but avoids much trouble. The line does not risk pushing a disagreement to a decision, especially with a stronger opponent.  It may come to a slight dispute, but it ends well. 

Line 2:  When contesting with someone of greater or equal strength, the line wisely retreats.  It avoids an unequal conflict, which only would draw down disaster upon it and its beloved community.  By withdrawing from a conflict, the line avoids the community from suffering.  The weak hardly ever win against the strong in a conflict.

Line 3:  The line has the satisfaction of completing the work and lets the credit go to those it serves, not contesting with others.  The line feels rewarded from learning ancient wisdom and practicing virtue, its inner treasures.  To obey the inner spirit brings benefit to all. 

Line 4:  When opposed by a weaker contender, the line does not conflict even if it could win.  Contending against the weak is unjust and leads to harming them for self-benefit.  The line turns away from conflict and moves toward the Way of humanity. 

The wise have the social duty not to press contentions.  They overcome their irate, contentious attitudes and find ways to overcome their faults.  The wise contend with themselves to reduce their victory-seeking.

Line 5:  The line represents the wise judge who makes a balanced and accurate judgment to settle a conflict.  This impartial judge does not entangle itself in the conflict.

Line 6:  The line has carried a conflict to the bitter end and has won, but its triumph does not last.  Others attack it again and again, and the conflict never ends.  What is won by force is taken back by force.

Eager for power, the line contends for power and does not know how to reverse itself.  When it reaches the end of the conflict, even though it has won, it has lost the spiritual path.  The line has gained little and lost much, the fate of those willing to harm others for self-benefit.

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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] 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. 

[3] Virtues shape our behavior, aligning 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 morality.  The Tao transforms life so that each attains its true nature, the power of justice as each achieves its potential according to its being.  The Tao transforms life so that each accords with the great harmony, which we call wisdom, separating what endures from what perishes. 

[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 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.

ry.