Ignoring provocations
One refuses to respond to an invitation issued in a flippant way. taoscopy.com
Following17
Flow with changes, adapt to circumstances, and align with others for mutual support.
↓ Line 1
Adaptability and willingness to follow the right path lead to success. Collaboration brings results.
↓ Line 2
Choosing to follow what is immature or insignificant leads to the loss of strength and support.
↓ Line 4
Success comes from following, but blind persistence can lead to trouble. Sincerity and clarity prevent blame.
↓ Line 6
Strong alliances and loyalty lead to recognition and honor.
↓ Dispersion59
Adapt to situations by letting go of rigidity; dissolve obstacles through openness and flexibility.
17 Following
Other titles: According With, Acquiring Followers, Adapting, Adjusting, To Accord With, To Accompany, Concordance, Conformance to The Work, "Learn to serve in order to rule. Quit the old ways." -- D.F. Hook
Judgment
Legge: Following indicates successful progress and no error through firm correctness.
Wilhelm/Baynes: Following has supreme success. Perseverance furthers. No blame.
Blofeld:Following. Sublime success! Righteous persistence brings reward -- no error! [This sublime success comes, of course, only to those who follow what is right, namely the will of heaven or of those whose own will embodies it.]
Liu:Following. Great success. It is of benefit to continue. No blame.
Ritsema/Karcher: Following. Spring Growing Harvesting Trial.
Without fault. [This hexagram describes your situation in terms of being impelled or drawn into moving forward. It emphasizes that yielding to the impulse by accepting guidance is the adequate way to handle it. To be in accord with the time, you are told to: follow!]
Shaughnessy:Following: Prime receipt; beneficial to determine; there is no trouble.
Cleary (1):Following is greatly developmental: it is beneficial if correct; then there is no fault.
Cleary (2): Following is very successful, etc.
Wu: Following is primordial, pervasive, prosperous, and persevering. There will be no blame.
The Image
Legge: Thunder in the marsh: the image of Following. The superior man, in accordance with this, at nightfall enters his house and rests.
Wilhelm/Baynes: Thunder in the middle of the lake: the image of Following. Thus the superior man at nightfall goes indoors for rest and recuperation.
Blofeld: This hexagram symbolizes thunder rumbling within a swamp! When darkness falls, the Superior Man goes within and rests peacefully. [The component trigrams can be read as thunder and marsh, but also as movement and joy. In the Book of Change, joy is frequently associated with willing obedience to and glad acceptance of what is right.]
Liu: Thunder in the lake symbolizesFollowing. In the evening, the superior man rests and relaxes in his home.
Ritsema/Karcher: Marsh center possessing thunder. Following. A chun tzu uses turning-to darkening to enter a reposing pause.
Cleary (1): There is thunder in the lake, Following. Thus do superior people go inside and rest when the sun goes down.
Cleary (2): … Leaders go in and rest at sundown.
Wu: Thunder in the marsh is the symbol of Following. Thus the jun zi retires toward the twilight of the day.
COMMENTARY
Confucius/Legge: In Followingthe dynamic trigram places itself under the magnetic. We see in them the attributes of Movement and Pleasure. Through firm correctness all under heaven will be found following at such a time.
Legge: Following comes after Enthusiasm, the symbol of harmony and satisfaction. When these conditions prevail men are sure to follow. The hexagram includes the ideas of both following others and being followed by others.(Emphasis mine, Ed.) The good auspice is due to this flexibility, but in either instance the following must be guided by a reference to what is correct. The lower trigram of Movement represents the eldest son, and the upper trigram of Pleasure represents the youngest daughter. The strong places itself under the weak -- esteeming others higher than himself, and giving the idea of following. The union of Movement with Pleasure suggests the same idea.
NOTES AND PARAPHRASES
Judgment: Following means advancement through willpower.
The Superior Man rests on his inner virtue.
In Following, the trigram of Movement "follows" the trigram of Cheerfulness: independent action subordinates itself and allows itself to be led by cheerful obedience. In terms of the Work, this symbolizes our willingness to "follow" or adhere to its principles. Psychologically interpreted, Followingmeans the compliant subordination of ego-autonomy to the Great Work of psychic integration.
Blofeld points out that the trigram of Joy, or Cheerfulness is often associated with "willing obedience to and glad acceptance of what is right." Hence the cheerful following of the intent of the Self. He explains the role of the superior man in the Image as: "It is not hard to see the connection between following and resting peacefully; for, once we have given our allegiance to others [the Self], we no longer have to worry about what should be done."
At seventy ... Confucius allowed his mind to follow whatever it desired, yet everything he did was naturally right of itself. His actions no longer needed a conscious guide. He was acting without effort. This represents the last stage in the development of the sage. Fung Yu-Lan -- A Short History of Chinese Philosophy
When received without changing lines this hexagram often takes the meaning of: "To accord with" -- in such instances the answer is an affirmation to your query.
Line 1
Legge: The first line, dynamic, shows us one changing the object of his pursuit; if he is firmly correct there will be good fortune. Going beyond his own gate to find associates, he will achieve merit.
Wilhelm/Baynes: The standard is changing. Perseverance brings good fortune. To go out of the door in company produces deeds.
Blofeld: Those in power undergo a change -- righteous determination brings good fortune! Going forth from home and mingling with those outside will produce tangible results.
Liu: One's position is changing. To continue brings good fortune. Both friends and business are gained by going out. Success.
Ritsema/Karcher: An office: possessing denial. Trial: significant. Issuing-forth from the gate, mingling possesses achievement.
Shaughnessy: The office perhaps notifies; determination is auspicious; going out of the gate to interact has results.
Cleary (1): Standards change; it is good to be correct. Going outside and mixing is effective.
Cleary (2): … Interaction outside the gate is successful.
Wu: The way of conducting public affairs is subject to change. Perseverance will bring good fortune. Success can be had by communicating with people from without.
COMMENTARY
Confucius/Legg e: He will not fail in the method he pursues. Wilhelm/
Baynes: To follow what is correct brings good fortune. One does not lose oneself. Blofeld: The first sentence presages the good fortune derived from officials undergoing a change of heart and following what is right. The tangible results mentioned at the end of the passage imply that we shall not fail. Ritsema/Karcher: Adhering-to correcting significant indeed. Not letting-go indeed. Cleary (2): It is good to follow what is right …In the sense of not losing. Wu: Because following what is correct is auspicious … Because his position is not compromised.
Legge: The dynamic first line is the lord of the lower trigram. The magnetic lines ought to follow him, but he is beneath them in the lowest place in the figure. This suggests that he should change his pursuit. Because of his strength and correct position, he will be fortunate in this. Going beyond his gate for associates shows public spirit and an absence of selfish motivation.
NOTES AND PARAPHRASES
Siu: At the outset, the man changes his objectives. He will succeed if he remains firm in principle and goes beyond selfish considerations to mingle freely with those who do not share his feelings, as well as those who do.
Wing: A change is occurring, whether in your own objectives or in the situation around you. In order to accomplish something you should now communicate with persons of all persuasions and opinions. Yet remain internally principled and discerning.
Editor: Psychologically, an inner transformation is taking place. If this is the only moving line, hexagram number forty-five, Contraction, is created, so a (possibly unconscious) re-arrangement of attitudes and perceptions is suggested. To "go beyond one's own gate" implies a need to expand your horizons during a shift in the balance of forces.
When I reached thirty I looked back on my past. The previous victories were not due to my having mastered strategy. Perhaps it was natural ability, or the order of heaven, or that other schools' strategy was inferior. After that I studied morning and evening searching for the principle, and came to realize the Way of Strategy when I was fifty. Miyamoto Musashi -- A Book of Five Rings
A. Change your focus, marshal your forces, and seek wider horizons.
Line 2
Legge: The second line, magnetic, shows us one who cleaves to the little boy, and lets go the man of age and experience.
Wilhelm/Baynes: If one clings to the little boy, one loses the strong man.
Blofeld: He belongs to (i.e. puts himself at the service of) the boy and thereby loses the adult. [The implied meaning is that he rejects what is superior and follows what is inferior.]
Liu: By staying with the boy, you lose the strong man.
Ritsema/Karcher: Tied-to the small son. Letting-go the respectable husband.
Shaughnessy: Tying the little son, losing the senior fellow.
Cleary (1): Involved with the child, one loses the adult.
Wu: She clings to her child, but loses her husband.
COMMENTARY
Confucius/Legge: He cannot be with the two at the same time. Wilhelm/ Baynes: One cannot be with both at once. Blofeld: He cannot be of service to both of them. Ritsema/Karcher: Nowhere joining associating indeed. Cleary (2): One is not with both at once. Wu: Because she cannot have both.
Legge: Line two is magnetic. His proper correlate is the dynamic fifth line, but he prefers to cling to the line below him, instead of waiting to follow line five.
NOTES AND PARAPHRASES
Siu: The man surrounds himself with the incompetent and dismisses the experienced.
Wing: Examine your goals and the standards you have set for yourself. If they are unworthy, inferior, weak, or nonexistent, you will remain low, and you will lose contact with productive, competent, worthwhile influences. You are forced to make a choice.
Editor: The content of this line prevents using the usual gender symbolism. Nevertheless, the message is unambiguous.
Most people learn how to think as very young children, and throughout their adult lives, they do not think any differently than they did as children. That is to say, most people use their minds in a manner not essentially different from the way they did when they were six years old ... It is significant that in Kabbalah, one's normal mode of thinking is referred to as the "mentality of childhood." ... More advanced modes of thought and states of consciousness, on the other hand, are referred to as the "mentality of adulthood." Aryeh Kaplan -- Jewish Meditation
A. Immature attitudes preclude growth.
Line 4
Legge: The fourth line, dynamic, shows us one followed and obtaining adherents. Though he is firm and correct, there will be evil. If he is sincere however in his course, and make that evident, into what error will he fall?
Wilhelm/Baynes: Following creates success. Perseverance brings misfortune. To go one's way with sincerity brings clarity. How could there be blame in this?
Blofeld: Following someone with an ulterior motive -- persisting in this course would bring misfortune. But, if as he goes his way he makes sincerity his beacon, what harm can come to him?
Liu: Success is gained by following. But to continue brings misfortune. Going the correct way leads to glory (brightness). How can there be blame?
Ritsema/Karcher: Following possessing catching. Trial: pitfall. Possessing conformity, locating-in tao uses brightening. Wherefore faulty? [Possessing conformity: "Inner and outer are in accord; confidence of the spirits has been captured..."]
Shaughnessy: In following there is a catch; determination is inauspicious. There is a return on the way; at the end of brightness, what trouble is there?
Cleary (1): Following has gain. Even if right, it is inauspicious. Truthfully remaining on the path, using understanding, what blame is there?
Cleary (2): Following gains, but it bodes ill even if right. Having faith in the way, thereby understanding, what fault is there?
Wu: To have a following may be advantageous. Despite perseverance, it will be foreboding. With confidence in his course, he can explain his intention. What blame can there be?
COMMENTARY
Confucius/Legge: "He is followed and obtains adherents" -- according to the idea of the hexagram, this is evil. "He is sincere in his course" -- showing his intelligence, and leading to achievement. Wilhelm/Baynes: This bodes misfortune...This brings clear-sighted deeds. Blofeld: Following others with ulterior motives is surely evil; whereas sincerity along the way produces brilliant results. Ritsema/Karcher: One's righteousness: pitfall indeed... Brightening achieving indeed. Cleary (2): When following gains, the meaning is inauspicious. Having faith in the way, the understanding is successful. Wu: With confidence in his course, he can be successful.
Legge: Line four is dynamic, and in the place of a minister next to the ruler in line five. His having adherents will be injurious to the authority of the supreme ruler, and only sincere loyalty will save him from error and misfortune.
NOTES AND PARAPHRASES
Siu: The man acquires followers who flatter, scheme, and act subservient to seek personal gains. There is a chance that he will become dependent on them because of gratifying associations, which will detract from his authority in his position of influence. He must see through such adherents and free himself from egotistical encumbrances.
Wing: Those whom you appear to influence actually have ulterior motives in their allegiance to you. Look beyond the current flattering situation into your original principled aim. Strive to act independently.
Editor: The line is a clear warning about being corrupted by the projections of others. Viewed objectively, the ego is only a temporary personality created for the purpose of transforming psychic energy – a transitional tool or vessel emanated into matter by the Self for one brief lifetime. It is only a servant--never a master. Long dedication to the Work can concentrate power which the ego may be tempted to use for its own benefit--a dangerous seduction which can only harm the Work.
By permitting credulous and vulgar admirers to congregate about thee, there is liability of falling into the error of becoming puffed up with worldly pride. Guru Gampopa --Precepts of the Gurus
A. Don't let power go to your head. Sincerity prevents ego-trips.
B. Beware of elements which would distract you from the Work. That which seems "reasonable" is often just the voice of a demon: a temptation for the misuse of power.
C. What worked previously is now obsolete. A new strategy is now appropriate.
Line 6
Legge: The sixth line, magnetic, shows us that sincerity held and clung to, yea, and bound fast. We see the king with it presenting his offerings on the Western Mountain.
Wilhelm/Baynes: He meets with firm allegiance and is still further bound. The king introduces him to the Western Mountain.
Blofeld: He obtained people's allegiance and his followers clung to him. During the time he spent on the Western Mountain, the King made sacrifice.
Liu: Deeply involved with one's fellows, one tries to continue. The King offers the Western Mountain.
Ritsema/Karcher: Grappling, tying-to it. Thereupon adhering holding-fast-to it. The king availing-of Growing tending- towards the Western mountain.
Shaughnessy: Grabbing and tying him, and thereafter binding him; the king uses aromatic grass on the western mountain.
Cleary (1): Binding and tying up; the king sacrifices on west mountain.
Cleary (2): In a binding involvement, the king sacrifices on the western mountain.
Wu: He is constrained and bound in order to follow. May a king make offerings to the gods of the western mountain.
COMMENTARY
Confucius/Legge: The idea of the hexagram has reached its extreme development. Wilhelm/Baynes: At the top it ends. Blofeld: Those above us have exhausted their merit. Ritsema/Karcher: Exhausting the above indeed.
Cleary (2): This is the upper impasse of involvement. Wu: Because he has reached the upper limit.
Legge: The concept of Followingreaches its highest representation in the topmost line. The action, directed by the most sincere devotion to what is right, influences both men and spiritual beings. The Western Mountain is Mt. Khi, at the foot of which was the original settlement of the house of Kau in 1325 B.C.
NOTES AND PARAPHRASES
Siu: The sage, who is retired, is recalled by the king because of his unique qualifications. The faithful and effective subject is rewarded.
Wing: You are called upon, by virtue of your wisdom and expertise, to lead another. You will unquestionably become involved, but you will be rewarded for your unselfish commitment.
Editor: Psychologically, Legge's commentary suggests the idea of devotion and sacrifice uniting forces in both conscious and unconscious realms of the psyche. The Confucian commentary suggests that the principle of Followingcomes to an end when ego and Self merge. To offer a sacrifice on the peak of the Western mountain: a high spiritual place where the sun sets (an image of the completed Work), implies this. Getting this line doesn't mean the Work is literally completed (it never is in this space-time dimension), but that you have probably integrated some significant inner complexes. Compare this line with 46:4.
The surrender of the limited purposes of the ego to the much larger goals of the Self -- goals within which the lesser egoic purposes are in fact meaningfully encompassed -- does not do away with the sense of freedom. On the contrary, only by subordinating the limitations of the ego to the Self do we truly justify our freedom and do we meaningfully validate our responsibility for our actions and decisions. S.A. Hoeller -- The Gnostic Jung
A. Devotion to the Work brings unity to the psyche.
59 Dispersion
Other titles: Dispersion, Dissolution, Disintegration, Dispersal, Overcoming Dissension, Scattering,Dispersing, Unintegrated, Reuniting, Evaporation, Reorganization, New Deal, Re-Shuffle, Course Correction, Catharsis
Judgment
Legge: Expansion intimates that there will be progress and success. The king goes to his ancestral temple. It will be advantageous to cross the great stream. It will be advantageous to be firm and correct.
Wilhelm/Baynes:Dispersion. Success. The king approaches his temple. It furthers one to cross the great water. Perseverance furthers.
Blofeld:Scattering -- success! The King has approached his temple. [An omen of safety.] It is advantageous to cross the great river (or sea). [I.e., to go on a long journey.] Persistence in a righteous course brings reward.
Liu: Dispersion. Success. The king approaches the temple. It is of benefit to cross the great water. It benefits to continue.
Ritsema/Karcher: Dispersing , Growing. The king imagines possessing a temple. Harvesting: wading the Great River. Harvesting Trial. [This hexagram describes your situation in terms of confronting obstacles, illusions and misunderstandings. It emphasizes that clearing away what is blocking the light is the adequate way to handle it. To be in accord with the time, you are told to: disperse what obstructs awareness!]
Shaughnessy: Dispersal: Receipt; the king approaches into the temple; beneficial to ford the great river; beneficial to determine.
Cleary (1): In Dispersal there is development. The king comes to have a shrine. It is beneficial to cross great rivers . It is beneficial to be correct.
Cleary (2):Dispersal is successful. The king goes to his ancestral temple. The benefit crosses great rivers. It is beneficial if correct.
Wu: Dispersion indicates pervasiveness. The king does homage to his ancestral temple. It will be advantageous to cross the big river, but only with perseverance.
The Image
Legge: The image of wind moving over water forms Expansion. The ancient kings, in accordance with this, presented offerings to God and established the ancestral temple.
Wilhelm/Baynes: The wind drives over the water: the image of Dispersion. Thus the kings of old sacrificed to the Lord and built temples.
Blofeld: This hexagram symbolizes wind blowing across the face of the waters. The kings of old built temples in which to sacrifice to the Supreme Lord of Heaven. [A temple is a place of safety from the ills of the world. The symbolism here is that the upper trigram forms a temple in which people are safe from the pit (the lower trigram); its middle line (five) signifies the King. The implication is that we should employ spiritual or moral means to preserve ourselves from the danger threatened by the lower trigram.]
Liu: Wind blowing over water symbolizes Dispersion. The ancient kings offered sacrifices to the Deity, then built temples.
Ritsema/Karcher: Wind moves above stream. Dispersing. The Earlier Kings used presenting tending-towards the supreme to establish the temples.
Cleary (1): Wind blows above water, Unintegrated. Thus ancient kings honored god and set up shrines.
Cleary (2): Wind travels over the water, dispersing. Ancient kings honored God and set up shrines.
Wu: The wind moves above water; this is Dispersion. Thus, the ancient kings made offerings to the Supreme Being and consecrated their ancestral temple.
COMMENTARY
Confucius/Legge: The dynamic line is central in the lower trigram, and the magnetic fourth line is correct in the upper trigram, uniting with the dynamic ruler above her. The king's mind is without any deflection as he goes to his ancestral temple. He rides over water in a vessel of wood, and will cross the great stream with success.
Legge: The hexagram of Expansion denotes a state of dissipation or dispersion. It shows men's minds alienated from correctness and sure to go on to disorder. Here an attempt is made to show how the situation should be remedied.
The lower trigram represents Water, and the upper, Wind. Wind moving over water evaporates it, and suggests the idea of dispersion. Success is intimated because there are dynamic lines occupying the central places in the trigrams. The king's piety moves the spirits by its sincerity -- when the religious spirit rules men's minds, there will be no alienation from what is right and good. Under such conditions even hazardous enterprises may be undertaken.
The second sentence of the Confucian commentary literally begins: "The king is indeed in the middle..." This means that his heart and mind are set on the central truth of what is right and good. The ancestral temple signifies the recognition that sincere religious practices counteracted the tendency to mutual alienation and selfishness among men. The wooden vessel refers to one of the attributes of the upper trigram, which is Wood. It suggests a boat riding on water (the lower trigram), hence: crossing the great water.
NOTES AND PARAPHRASES
Judgment: Focus on the ideals of the Work and maintain your will. A major synthesis is possible.
The Superior Man subdues his ego to attain his latent potential.
Because of the intimate relationship between this figure and hexagram number 45, Contraction, I have chosen the title of Expansionto best emphasize their polarity.
The "ancient kings and sages" are more mythical than historical, so we can assume that they symbolize archetypal forces ("gods") within the psyche -- of whom the ego is only the current spacetime representative (i.e., servant- facilitator). The Self is the focal point, the center of this multidimensional awareness complex.
In both timeless and spaceless experiences, the mundane world is virtually excluded. Of course, the converse is true of the mundane state of daily routine, in which the oceanic unity with the universe, in ecstasy and Samadhi, is virtually absent. Thus, the mutual exclusiveness of the "normal" and the exalted states, both ecstasy and Samadhi, allows us to postulate that man, the self- referential system, exists on two levels: as "Self" in the mental dimension of exalted states; and as "I" in the objective world, where he is able and willing to change the physical dimension "out there.” R. Fischer -- "A Cartography of the Ecstatic and Meditative States," Science:174, 1971
The symbol of a temple, where one worships one's ancestors may be taken as the perfect gestalt of the Work as it exists outside of spacetime, as well as the karmic repository of all previous incarnations. It represents both the completed Work and the Work in progress. That the family temple was regarded in China as symbolic of an ideal standard of perfection such as this, is implied in the following passage:
Diplomatic negotiations were carried on in the ancestral temple, in the veritable presence, it was believed, of the ancestors; diplomatic banquets were given there, also. Even a proposal of marriage was received by the father of the prospective bride in his ancestral temple, in the presence of the spirits ... (The world of Confucius), we must remember, was one in which there was a nearly complete breakdown of moral standards ... Only in the performance of religious ceremonies could there still be found, consistently, a type of conduct regulated by a socially accepted norm of behavior, in which men's actions were motivated by a pattern of cooperative action, rather than swayed by the greed and passions of the moment. H.G. Creel -- Confucius and the Chinese Way
Psychologically, Expansion depicts a state of inner pressure capable of fruitful resolution if it can be properly guided. The king in the Image (in this case, the ego) sacrifices for a high ideal: the good of the Work. Legge's commentary tells us that the "second sentence of the Confucian commentary literally begins: `The king is indeed in the middle...'" This suggests a combination of his second and third sentences into the paraphrase: "The king steers a middle course when crossing the water to the ancestral temple." This gives the image of a vessel and the proper way to guide it toward a destination. Anyone who has ever steered a boat with a rudder knows that to over-correct on either side is a mark of poor seamanship: the goal is to maintain a dynamic balance in our guidance of the Work. Lines two and five represent proper course-correction because they are both in the middle of their respective trigrams.
Expansionis the inverse of the following hexagram of Restrictive Regulations. What is there confined and hoarded is here dispensed -- but this dispensation must conform with the ultimate good of the Work. Not just any release of tension will do -- it must recombine itself into a new and better organization, as imaged in the fourth line. If this new order is a proper one, the released tension precipitates a catharsis, as imaged in line five.
The form, then, in which our complexes confront us is the form in which the fundamental materials of our human structure come into our here-and-now existence. Like crystals they are always imperfect to some extent and often unrecognizable or grossly disfigured in comparison with the “ideal” shape, the shape that would represent the “pure” incorporation of the crystal scheme. But we have to meet them in this more or less imperfect or distorted form and out of this form we have to transform them into something that may be more akin to the aboriginal “intent” inherent in their archetypal cores. This undertaking, this process, is what Jung calls individuation. E.C. Whitmont -- The Symbolic Quest
SUGGESTIONS FOR MEDITATION
The Judgment of hexagram number forty-five, Contraction, also mentions the king going to his ancestral temple. A close comparison of this figure with Expansion will reveal much about the dynamics of the Work.