Avoiding cramming
One revises one's lessons without taking care of the subject that will be proposed. taoscopy.com
Splitting Apart23
Unraveling structures; necessary endings. Prepare for new beginnings. Embrace the change, allowing the old to fall away.
↓ Line 2
The situation is deteriorating, and continued effort will not prevent the collapse.
↓ Line 4
The damage is severe, affecting the core, leading to misfortune.
↓ Line 5
Support comes from unexpected quarters, leading to favorable outcomes.
↓ Line 6
Opportunities remain for the wise, while the unwise face disintegration.
↓ Oppression 47
Feeling trapped or constrained, yet resilience leads to inner growth. Embrace challenges to discover inner strength.
23 Splitting Apart
Other titles: Splitting Apart, The symbol of Falling or Flaying, Peeling Off, Decay, Flaying, Stripping Away, Intrigue, Deterioration, Collapse, Fracturing, Tearing, Disintegration, Ruin, Unraveling, "Can refer to a physical parting. Making a secure foundation." -- D.F. Hook
Judgment
Legge:Disintegration means that it is not advantageous to make a movement in any direction whatever.
Wilhelm/Baynes:Splitting Apart. It does not further one to go anywhere.
Blofeld: Peeling off. At present, there is no goal (or destination) which can be sought with advantage. [Peeling off in the sense of getting rid of hindrances (or hinderers) one after another. The first four lines of this hexagram symbolize a process of ridding ourselves progressively of all those upon whom we are accustomed to rely, for the powers of darkness are in the ascendant and no one can be trusted. However, in the long run, virtue triumphs, as indicated by line five, and ultimately we are all the more esteemed for our steadfastness, as can be seen from line six.]
Liu: Decay. It is unfavorable to undertake anything.
Ritsema/Karcher:Stripping not Harvesting: possessing directed going. [This hexagram describes your situation in terms of something outmoded or worn out. It emphasizes that eliminating what has become unusable is the adequate way to handle it...]
Shaughnessy: Flaying: Not beneficial to have someplace to go.
Cleary (1):Stripping away does not make it beneficial to go anywhere.
Cleary (2): … It is not beneficial, etc.
Wu: Tearing indicates that it is not advantageous to have any undertaking.
The Image
Legge: The image of a mountain adhering to the earth forms Disintegration. Superiors therefore strengthen their inferiors to secure the peace and stability of their own position.
Wilhelm/Baynes: The mountain rests on the earth: the image of Splitting Apart. Thus those above can ensure their position only by giving generously to those below.
Blofeld: This hexagram symbolizes a mountain resting upon the earth. The truly great shower generosity upon those under them to enable them to live in peace and comfort. [The upper and lower trigrams, mountain and Earth, symbolize the Superior Man and the people in his care.]
Liu: The mountain stands on the earth, symbolizing Decay. Those above should act with benevolence toward those below. Then there will be peace and security.
Ritsema/Karcher: Mountain adjoining with-respect-to earth. Stripping. Using munificence above to quiet the position below.
Cleary (1): Mountains are joined to the earth. Those above secure their homes by kindness to those below.
Wu: The mountain is subordinated to the earth; this is Tearing .Thus those above treat those below with liberal rewards to secure their own positions.
COMMENTARY
Confucius/Legge:Disintegration means overthrowing or being overthrown: the magnetic lines attack the dynamic line at the top in order to change it into one of themselves. It is unwise to move in any direction because inferior elements are now increasing in power. The superior man, observing this, stops all forward movement. He defers to the exigency of the time, realizing that increase and decrease, ripeness and decay are cyclic rhythms.
Legge:Disintegrationis the symbol of falling or causing to fall, and refers to the process of decay or overthrow in both the natural and political worlds. The figure consists of five yin lines below and one yang line on top. Decay has begun at the bottom and crept upward. The hexagram symbolizes the ninth month when summer has passed and the year is about to fall into the sterile arms of winter. In the political world, inferior men have gradually displaced good men until only one remains. The lesson for him is to wait because the power operating against him is too strong. Eventually a change for the better will appear. The specific image is that of a bed and its occupant, and the symbolism describes the attempts made to overthrow him. The lower trigram of Docility and the upper trigram of Keeping Still suggest to the superior man of line six how he can best deal with the prevailing circumstances. The situation is not hopeless -- winter is followed by spring, night by day, and the waning moon soon grows full again. So will it be in the course of human affairs.
The idea behind the Image is that a mountain has the earth for its foundation. If the earth is thick, the mountain preserves its height. So it is with the sovereign and people.
NOTES AND PARAPHRASES
Judgment:Disintegration means do not act.
The Superior Man stabilizes his responses and seeks tranquility.
The twenty-third hexagram is the inverse ofReturn, the hexagram immediately following it. Each figure depicts an opposite pole in a cyclic progression. Here the old cycle has disintegrated to the point of dissolution. The following hexagram depicts theReturnto the beginning of a new cycle.
The first four lines of Disintegration show the gradual erosion of a position or frame of reference, symbolized by a bed or couch. The inferior forces creep up from below like termites to undermine a solid foundation. The fifth line shows a gathering of forces for a potentially positive transformation, and the top line suggests the first stages of this transformation. The implication is that times of disintegration needn't always be regarded as negative, or a foregone conclusion. We still have the choice to alter conditions in our favor.
That the superior man "strengthens his inferiors" to insure the stability of his position, means that one stabilizes one's psychological situation by defusing the causes of rebellion -- safeguard the foundation where it is weak. Hexagram number forty-three, Resoluteness, is a negative picture of this figure, and the message in the Image is very similar: "The superior man does not hoard his wealth, but shares it with his subordinates." The idea is subtle -- it doesn't mean to indulge your weaknesses, but to monitor them encouragingly so that they may become transformed into positive forces.
Whenever we go deep enough toward the core of a sub- personality, we find that the core -- which is some basic urge, or need -- is good. For practical purposes, this can be considered an absolute. No matter how many layers of distortion may surround it, the basic need, the basic motivation, is a good one -- and if it becomes twisted, it was because of not being able to express itself directly. The real core -- not what the sub- personality wants, but what it needs -- is good. A basic purpose of the coordination phase is to discover this central urge or need, to make it conscious, and to find acceptable ways in which it can be satisfied and fulfilled. And, provided we have sufficient understanding and skill, it can be satisfied -- if not fully, at least enough to maintain the process of growth. James Vargiu -- Subpersonalities
Line 2
Legge: The second line, magnetic, shows one overthrowing the couch by injuring its frame. The injury will go on to the destruction of all firm correctness, and there will be evil.
Wilhelm/Baynes: The bed is split at the edge. Those who persevere are destroyed. Misfortune.
Blofeld: He continues peeling off at the edge of the bed. There is no steadfastness -- misfortune!
Liu: The frame of the bed is rotting. If one continues despite this, misfortune.
Ritsema/Karcher: Stripping the bed, using marking-off. Discarding the Trial: pitfall.
Shaughnessy: Flaying the good together with the dividers; determination about the military is inauspicious.
Cleary (1): Stripping a bed of its frame, destroying rectitude brings misfortune.
Cleary (2): … Destroying uprightness, etc.
Wu: He strips away the panels of the bed. Without regard to what is correct, it will be foreboding.
COMMENTARY
Confucius/Legge: The superior man has as yet no associates. Wilhelm/ Baynes: One has no comrade. Blofeld: This implies being left without friends. Ritsema/Karcher: Not-yet possessing associating indeed. Cleary (2): There is nothing to work with. Wu: He does not have a responsive correlate.
Legge: line two has the same effect as line one, except that the foe has advanced from the legs to the frame of the couch.
NOTES AND PARAPHRASES
Siu: The inferior men grow stronger. No help is in sight. Great caution and stubborn adherence to personal convictions are required.
Wing: The time requires the utmost caution. You are without allies in a compromising situation. Adapt as best you can to the circumstances. Do not take a self-righteous position or you could be badly hurt.
Editor: The legs are what the bed stands upon; the frame is what defines its perimeter. Line two therefore suggests the destruction of a definition which is essential to a doctrine, belief or discipline. For example, a basic tenet of Alcoholics Anonymous is the idea that each member must abstain entirely from alcohol. To expand the rules to permit the consumption of one ounce of alcohol per day would be to "overthrow the couch" -- the entire concept of what Alcoholics Anonymous is would be destroyed by including such an idea in its framework. Sometimes receiving this line is a simple acknowledgment that an old viewpoint or belief was inadequate -- in which case it needed to be destroyed.
As long as soul stays true to itself, it loves the divinity and desires to be at one with it, as a daughter loves with noble love a noble father. When, however, the soul has come down here to human birth, it exchanges (as if deceived by the false promises of an adulterous lover) its divine love for one that is mortal. And then, far from its begetter, the soul yields to all manner of excess. Plotinus
A. Suggests a situation with weak or disintegrating boundaries.
B. Conclusions based on faulty premises are worthless. Rationalization may be a factor.
Line 4
Legge: The fourth line, magnetic, shows its subject having overthrown the couch, and going on to injure the skin of him who lies on it. There will be evil.
Wilhelm/Baynes: The bed is split up to the skin . Misfortune.
Blofeld: He continues the peeling off at the mattress of his bed -- misfortune!
Liu: The entire bed rots, reaching the body. Misfortune.
Ritsema/Karcher: Stripping the bed, using flesh . Pitfall.
Shaughnessy: Flaying the good together with the skin; inauspicious.
Cleary (1): Stripping away even the skin on the bed , misfortune.
Cleary (2): Stripping a bed to the skin brings misfortune.
Wu: He rips off the matting in the bed . There will be foreboding.
COMMENTARY
Confucius/Legge: Calamity is very near at hand. Wilhelm/Baynes: This is a serious and immediate misfortune. Blofeld: This presages our being very close to a terrible misfortune. Ritsema/Karcher: Slicing close-to calamity indeed. Cleary (2): Getting very close to disaster. Wu: The danger is imminent.
Legge: Danger is imminent. The bed has been overthrown. The person of the occupant is at the mercy of the destroyers.
NOTES AND PARAPHRASES
Siu: Calamity is imminent. Neither warning nor protection is forthcoming. The man is at the mercy of destroyers.
Wing: You are exposed to danger. Calamity is imminent and you are unable to hold it back. Without warning, you are on the threshold of defeat.
Editor: This is one of the most negative lines in the I Ching-- an image of maximum destruction. Legge’s translation suggests that the dynamic sixth line may be regarded as the bed’s symbolic occupant -- i.e., it's his skin which is being flayed. Psychologically interpreted, this can suggest the Self which is in some sense em-bed-ed in its satellite complexes.
Even at the height of [Hitler's] power there was for him no Germany, there were no German troops for whom he felt himself responsible; for him there was -- at first sub-consciously, but in his last years fully consciously -- only one greatness, a greatness which dominated his life and to which his evil genius sacrificed everything -- his own ego. Colonel-General Franz Halder
A. You are destroying the Work.
Line 5
Legge: The fifth line, magnetic, shows its subject leading on the others like a string of fishes, and obtaining for them the favor that lights on the inmates of the palace. There will be advantage in every way.
Wilhelm/Baynes: A shoal of fishes. Favor comes through the court ladies. Everything acts to further.
Blofeld: A string of fishes symbolizing the high favor enjoyed by maids in the palace -- everything is favorable. [This line seems somewhat to contradict the omen provided by this unlucky hexagram. In such cases, what is said in the moving line must be regarded as specially apt for our particular circumstances; i.e. in spite of the wretched conditions prevailing, those who receive this moving line can pursue their goals without fear of failure.]
Liu: A string of fish. Favor comes through women of the palace. Everything is good fortune.
Ritsema/Karcher: Threading fish. Using housing people, favor. Without not Harvesting.
Shaughnessy: Strung fish; eating the palace men's steamer; there is nothing not beneficial.
Cleary (1): Leading fish, gaining favor through court ladies; beneficial in every respect.
Cleary (2): Leading fish with the favor shown to court ladies, there is all-around benefit.
Wu: Like a school of fish, the court ladies are led in to gain the royal favor. Everything will be fine.
COMMENTARY
Confucius/Legge: In the end there will be no grudge against her. Wilhelm/ Baynes: In the end this is not a mistake. Blofeld: This implies that ultimately we shall be entirely free from blame. Ritsema/Karcher: Completing without surpassing indeed. Cleary (2): In the end there is no grudge. Wu: There will be no resentment in the end.
Legge: With line five the symbolism changes. She is the ruler of all the other magnetic lines who are at her disposal. They are imaged as fishes (which come under the category of yin), following each other as if strung together. The ruler of these yin lines is loyal to the yang sixth line, the rightful sovereign in his palace, and she leads the others to him to enjoy his favors. The K'ang-hsi editors say: "The magnetic fifth line occupies the most honorable place in the figure. She is a queen who leads her subjects to obtain the favors given to the inmates of the palace. She has no jealousy or other vice which seeks to overthrow the ruler."
NOTES AND PARAPHRASES
Siu: The dark forces undergo change, yielding to the strong influence of the basic goodness of men.
Wing: An inferior situation is beginning to change for the better. Through co-operation, opposing forces can come together for mutual benefit. There is now a possibility for success in your endeavors.
Editor: This is an image of an intermediate power organizing inferior powers to lend support to (or obtain favors from) a superior power. Psychologically interpreted, one can think of ego, archetypal complexes and Self, respectively.
The governor of a circle is of course its center, around which everything revolves. In the psyche likewise, the center is ruler of the entire man. In the conscious realm the ego is master, but in this larger sphere the ego is only one voice among many. The ruler here must transcend the ego. It must be a suprapersonal value that can command the allegiance and obedience of the ego, just as the ego, through the development of consciousness, comes to transcend the [archetypal complexes]. This ruler Jung has called the Self. M.E. Harding -- Psychic Energy
A. An approaching synthesis. Disparate forces are brought under control.
B. Insights present themselves for contemplation.
C. Contemplate what is wrong in the situation and integrate your forces.
Line 6
Legge: The sixth line, dynamic, shows its subject as a great fruit which has not been eaten. The superior man finds the people again as a chariot carrying him. The inferior men by their course overthrow their own dwellings.
Wilhelm/Baynes: There is a large fruit still uneaten. The superior man receives a carriage. The house of the inferior man is split apart.
Blofeld: The ripe fruit remains uneaten. [Few care to accept advice or help, although the Superior Man will gladly give it them.] The Superior Man will acquire a carriage, whereas the mean man will lose his own house. [This line presages great good fortune for the truly virtuous; for, in the end, their virtue is widely recognized and men rally to their support. On the other hand, those who hitherto have managed to obtain good fortune through dishonest methods pursued at a time when virtue as under an eclipse will lose everything they have.]
Liu: A large fruit not eaten. The superior man acquires a carriage. The inferior man's house falls apart.
Ritsema/Karcher: The ripe fruit not taken in. A chun tzu acquiring a cart. Small People Stripping the hut.
Shaughnessy: The stone fruit is not eaten: the gentleman obtains a chariot the little man flays a gourd.
Cleary (1): A hard fruit is not eaten. The superior person gets a vehicle. The inferior person is stripped of a house.
Cleary (2): … The leader gets a vehicle. The petty person, etc.
Wu: The grand fruit is not picked for eating. The jun zi gains a carriage. The little men tear down their shelters. [This is the lone yang line in the hexagram, like a big fruit not yet picked. Translation: the only remaining yang not stripped off by the yin. Here is the jun zi [chun tzu, superior man] who has the support of the people. Despite temporary setbacks, goodness prevails in the end.]
COMMENTARY
Confucius/Legge: The superior man finds himself in a carriage: he is carried along by the people. The inferior men have over-thrown their own dwellings, which can never again be of use to them. Wilhelm/Baynes: He is carried by the people. "The house of the inferior man is split apart": he ends up as useless. Blofeld: The carriage symbolizes the support of the people. The mean wretch who loses his house is ultimately found useless for anything. Ritsema/ Karcher: Commoners: the place to carry indeed. Completing, not permitting availing-of indeed. Cleary (2): The leader (is) carried by the people. The small person is after all unsuitable for employment. Wu: Because the people support him. Because they have destroyed their own usefulness.
Legge: The dynamic sixth line, notwithstanding the attempts against him, survives and acquires fresh vigor. The people again cherish their sovereign, and the plotters have wrought to their own destruction.
NOTES AND PARAPHRASES
Siu: The evil finally brings about its own demise, and good times return.
The man acquires fresh vigor, and the sovereign is strengthened by public support.
Wing: The forces of Deterioration have ended. The power will return to persons of worthwhile vision, who will again win the support of others. Inferior persons are destroyed by their own evil, for without power, negativity is self-consuming.
Editor: Fruit: Generally, the results of any action, either good or bad: An accrual of Karma. "By their fruits ye shall know them." (The context here being favorable.) Chariot: A vehicle, means of progress, way of going. It can symbolize the psyche as the vehicle of evolution. Here, the superior man (or Self) has a "new way of going." People:"(Symbolic of) the lower mental and emotional qualities; the natural undeveloped instincts and activities which are to be disciplined and used as a means to the end of the manifestation of the Self." [Gaskell --Dictionary of Scriptures and Myths]. Dwelling:in the symbolism of this line, the dwellings of the inferior men are the focal points of autonomous, unregenerate forces within the psyche: desires, appetites, etc. But now these foci are overthrown, so the inferior forces no longer "have a home." Generally speaking, this line tells us that the time of disintegration has passed or will soon change for the better. As Legge points out in his commentary on the hexagram: "The situation is not hopeless -- winter is followed by spring, night by day, and the waning moon soon grows full again. So will it be in the course of human affairs."
Happy is the virtuous man, for he will feed on the fruit of his deeds; Woe to the wicked, evil is on him, he will be treated as his actions deserve. Isaiah 3: 10-11
A. The consequences of past actions have yet to manifest themselves, or you have yet to assimilate an insight concerning a natural separation of positive and negative elements within the situation. However, a reorganization and new synthesis of forces is imaged and stability is being re-established.
47 Oppression
Other titles: Exhaustion, The Symbol of Repression and Confinement, Adversity, Weariness, Confining, Entangled, Hardship, Depression, Tiresome Restriction, Dried Up, "Actions speak louder than words." -- D.F. Hook
Judgment
Legge: Oppression means that successful progress is still possible. The perseverance of the truly great man brings good fortune without error; but if he relies on words, no one will believe them.
Wilhelm/Baynes: Oppression . Success. Perseverance. The great man brings about good fortune. No blame. When one has something to say, it is not believed.
Blofeld:Adversity leading to success thanks to persistence in a righteous course; good fortune for the truly great and freedom from error! Though words be spoken, they will not inspire confidence. [`Great' refers to high moral qualities. This hexagram is of evil omen for most people, but success can be won through tremendous persistence in doing what is right.]
Liu: Oppression. Success. Persistence. Good fortune for the great man. No blame. If one indicates with words only, no one will believe.
Ritsema/Karcher:Confining, Growing. Trial: Great People significant. Without fault. Possessing words not trustworthy. [This hexagram describes your situation in terms of restriction and distress. It emphasizes that turning inward through accepting enclosure is the adequate way to handle it...]
Shaughnessy: Entangled: Receipt; determination for the great man is auspicious; there is no trouble. There are words that are not trustworthy.
Cleary (1): Exhaustion develops the righteous. Great people are fortunate and blameless. If one complains, one will not be trusted.
Cleary (2): Exhausted but coming through successfully, upright great people are fortunate and impeccable. Mere words are not believed.
Wu: Hardship indicates pervasion and perseverance. There will be good fortune for the great men. No error. But their words do not make impressions on people.
The Image
Legge: An abyss beneath the marsh that drains its water -- the image ofOppression. Thus the superior man will sacrifice his life to attain his purpose.
Wilhelm/Baynes: There is no water in the lake: the image of Exhaustion. Thus the superior man stakes his life on following his will.
Blofeld: This hexagram symbolizes a marsh in which no water (appears). The Superior Man risks his life to carry out his will.
Liu: The lake with no water symbolizesOppression.The superior man would give up his life to achieve his purpose.
Ritsema/Karcher: Marsh without stream. Confining. A chun tzu uses involving fate to release purpose.
Cleary (1): A lake with no water is exhausted. Therefore superior people use life to the full and achieve their aim. [When people lack purpose their path is at an end. Therefore they use life to the full to achieve their aim… Using life to the full means to get to the end of conditioned life; achieving one’s aim means to achieve the primordial life… Using the temporal to restore the primordial, ending false life and establishing real life, producing being in the midst of nothingness, seeking life within death, getting through an exhausting impasse, is like a lake without water again being filled with water.]
Cleary (2): …Developed people accomplish their will by living out their destiny. [Developed people only live out their destiny; they do not willingly try to avoid following and accepting it. Being strong and balanced, they are able to be joyful even in danger; this is the will that is up to oneself. Developed people intend to accomplish their will and do not vacillate just because they run into problems.]
Wu: The marsh has no water; this is Hardship. Thus the jun zi is prepared to dedicate his life to fulfill his commitments. [A marsh devoid of water is like a man deprived of his intellectual pursuits. This is unacceptable to a jun zi. He would rather fight to the end than surrender to idiocy.]
COMMENTARY
Confucius/Legge: In Oppressionwe see the dynamic lines covered and obscured by the magnetic. We see the attribute of Perilousness in the lower trigram going on to Cheerfulness in the upper. Who but the superior man is still able to advance although straitened by circumstances? The central position of the dynamic lines explains the good fortune of the great man who is firm and correct. As regards speech making, to be fond of argument or persuasion is the way to be reduced to extremity.
Legge: The written Chinese character of Oppression presents us with the picture of a tree within an enclosure. "A plant," according to Williams, "fading for want of room." "A tree," according to T'ai Tung, "not allowed to spread its branches." The image conveys the idea of being straitened and distressed, and the hexagram indicates how skilful management may relieve it.
The two central places in the figure are occupied by dynamic lines, but line two is confined between one and three, which are magnetic; and line five (the ruler), as well as four (his minister), are covered by the magnetic sixth line. These conditions indicate the repression of good men by adversity. The K'ang-hsi editors imply that "actions and not words" are what are required in the case.
Perilousness is the attribute of the lower trigram, and Cheerfulness that of the upper. The superior man, no matter how straitened, remains master of himself, and pursues his principled intent. The idea of speech making is found in the upper trigram, one of the attributes of which is the mouth, or speech, as well as Pleased Satisfaction. The pleading of the oppressed party still tries to make others pleased with him.
Literally translated, the first sentence of the Image reads: "A marsh with no water is Oppression." Chu Hsi says: "The water descending and leaking away, the marsh above will become dry."
Anthony: Our belief in the ruling power as beneficial is shaken by doubt. This lack of steadfastness is a problem because it obstructs acceptance and its corrective power. We often receive this hexagram when we feel tired. The oppressiveness of doubt exhausts our inner resources.
NOTES AND PARAPHRASES
Judgment: With enough will, success can be won. "Actions speak louder than words.” (i.e., The answer lies beyond the realm of reason and logic -- intuition furthers.)
The Superior Man stakes everything he's got on his will to succeed.
In Oppressionwe have the image of a dry lake bed. Anyone who has ever seen alkali flats in the desert can easily understand this metaphor for Oppression -- almost nothing can live in such an environment. The following hexagram, The Well, is an upside-down image of Oppression depicting the opposite case of an unending source of nourishment flowing from deep beneath the surface of the earth. (A comparison of these two figures will reveal a great deal about the meaning of each.)
To be under Oppression then, is to be cut off from all sustenance -- although there is water down below, it is presently inaccessible, and there is no nourishing flow of inner forces to the surface. This is a common, inevitable and potentially defeating experience for anyone doing serious inner work:
People who try to practice the Tao can all keep steadfast when they are in easy circumstances, but many of them waver in determination when they are in difficult or perilous situations. They may change their minds because of the pressures of making a living, or they may slack in determination due to illness; their spirits may flag because of old age, or they may stop work because of obstruction by some obsession. All these are cases in which people do not exert the mind of Tao and are hindered by exhaustion, so they ultimately do not attain the Tao. T. Cleary – The Taoist I Ching
Obviously, this is a dangerous situation, and we are told how to cope with it in the Confucian commentary, where it is observed that the lower trigram of Peril goes on to the upper trigram of Cheerfulness. These two trigrams are found in reversed sequence in hexagram number sixty, Restrictive Regulations, where a cheerful attitude is described as absolutely essential for the furtherance of the Work. The observations made there also apply here, and we see the superior man thereby enabled to advance under conditions that would utterly defeat lesser individuals.
This Cheerfulness cannot be underestimated. When it comes naturally and isn't forced, it is a gift of grace. Suddenly one is enabled to face the most incredible hardships with a light heart. It isn't that you no longer care -- you still do the best you can to further the Work, but you do it with bemused detachment.
The one thing the Jewish mystics never lost sight of was the suffering experienced in the arena of the profane. They did not retreat from this suffering, but sought instead to find meaning in it by living it. This is the core of mysticism. The temple in which the sacred marriage takes place is the world. C. Ponce -- Kabbalah
Lines 2 and 5 specifically mention sacrifice: an important concept in theI Ching. Sacrifice is mentioned in lines 17:6, 45:2, 46:2, 46:4, 47:2, 47:5, 63:5, and in the Judgment of hexagram 20. Note that in each case sincerity is specifically cited as essential to success.
Sincere 1: marked by genuineness: as a: free of dissimulation: not hypocritical: REAL, TRUE, HONEST...
Very often, the “sincerity” of our sacrifices involves following the dictates of the Work whether we fully understand them or not. Much that takes place in the Work is incomprehensible to ego consciousness; for example, changes often occur within the psyche which we only experience as strange dreams. Yet somehow, perhaps months later, we suddenly realize that we no longer act in a certain way or have lost interest in something that used to be of compelling importance. Our sacrifices are necessary for these changes to take place, even if they don't immediately make sense to us.
"With sacrifice shall you nourish the gods; and may the gods nourish you. Thus nourishing one another, you will obtain the Highest Good. "The gods, nourished by sacrifice, will bestow on you the enjoyments you desire." He is verily a thief who enjoys the things that they give without offering to them anything in return. The Bhagavad-Gita
Each of Cleary’s Taoist (1) and Buddhist (2) commentaries provides valuable insights into how much courage is required to follow the dictates of the Work at its more advanced levels. Take comfort that others before you have persevered and survived: “Developed people accomplish their will by living out their destiny.”