Wiki I Ching

Nourishment 27.2.3.4.6 → 34 Great Power

From
27
Nourishment
To
34
Great Power

Fattening one's future victims
One disembowels those one had fed.
 taoscopy.com


Nourishment 27
Focus on sustenance and nourishment, both physical and spiritual.
Evaluate the sources from which you draw energy and wisdom.
Guard against meaningless indulgence and seek genuine fulfillment.

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Line 2
Seeking nourishment from the wrong sources leads to trouble.
Stay true to your path.

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Line 3
Avoiding nourishment and neglecting needs leads to long-term misfortune.
Correct your course.

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Line 4
Seeking nourishment from a higher source brings good fortune.
Be vigilant and discerning.

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Line 6
Understanding the source of nourishment and being aware of potential dangers leads to success.
Take bold actions when necessary.

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Great Power 34
Harness inner strength wisely; true power comes from patience and understanding, not force.



27
Nourishment


Other titles: The Corners of the Mouth, Providing Nourishment, The Symbol of the Cheek and of Nourishment, Jaws, Lower Jaw, Nurturing, Swallowing, Sagacious Counsel, Nourishing, To Feed, "Can mean money, usually as the result of effort." -- D.F. Hook

 

Judgment

Legge:Nourishmentindicates good fortune through firm correctness. Make sure you know what you are feeding, and determine your proper diet.

Wilhelm/Baynes: The Corners of the Mouth . Perseverance brings good fortune. Pay heed to the providing of nourishment and to what a man seeks to fill his own mouth with.

Blofeld: Nourishing. (Nourishment -- literally Jaws) [The form of this hexagram readily brings to mind the concept of wide open jaws, but the word nourishment must not be taken only in a literal sense; for we are concerned here with all those things which men seek both for their own advantage and for giving succor or assistance to others.] Righteous persistence brings good fortune. Watch people nourishing others and observe with what manner of things they seek to nourish themselves. [For this will teach us a lot about their characters.]

Liu: Nourishment. Continuing leads to good fortune. Observe the providing of nourishment and the food someone seeks for himself.

Ritsema/Karcher: Jaws, Trial: significant. Viewing Jaws. Originating-from seeking mouth substance. [This hexagram describes your situation in terms of nourishing and being nourished. It emphasizes that opening in order to take things in as well as providing to others is the adequate way to handle it...]

Shaughnessy:Jaws: Determination is auspicious. View the jaw; oneself seeking the mouth's fullness.

Cleary (1): In nourishment, it is good to be correct. Observe nourishment, and seek fulfillment for the mouth by yourself.

Cleary (2): Nourishment is good if correct. Observe nourishment, and seek food by yourself.

Wu: Nurturing indicates that with perseverance there will be auspiciousness. People should observe the principle of nurturing and find proper foods for nourishment.

Hua-Ching Ni: In nourishment, one should seek the right nutrition and not be tempted by what others enjoy.

 

The Image

Legge: The image of thunder under a mountain forms Nourishment. The superior man, in accordance with this, controls his speech and regulates his eating and drinking.

Wilhelm/Baynes: At the foot of the mountain, thunder: the image of The Corners of the Mouth. Thus the superior man is careful in his words and temperate in eating and drinking.

Blofeld: This hexagram symbolizes thunder rumbling at the foot of a mountain. The Superior Man is thoughtful in speech and frugal in his eating and drinking. [The lower trigram, thunder, also represents the power of quickening growth; hence its place in a hexagram concerned with nourishment.]

Liu: Thunder rolling around the foot of the mountain is the symbol of Nourishment. The superior man is cautious in his speech; he restrains and regulates his eating and drinking.

Ritsema/Karcher: Below mountain possessing thunder. Jaws. A chun tzu uses considering words to inform. [A chun tzu uses] articulating to drink and take-in.

Cleary (1): There is thunder beneath the mountain. Superior people are careful about what they say, and moderate in eating and drinking.

Cleary (2): … Leaders are prudent in speech, moderate in consumption.

Wu: There is thunder below the mountain; this is Nurturing. Thus the jun zi speaks with caution and drinks and eats with moderation.

 

COMMENTARY

Confucius/Legge: When the nourishing is correct, there will be good fortune. We must examine those whom we wish to nourish, and we must also examine our own nourishing of ourselves. Heaven and earth nourish all things. The sages nourish men of talent and virtue in order to reach the masses. Great is the work intended in the time of nourishing.

Legge: The character ofNourishment is the symbol of the upper jaw, but the image of the hexagram suggests a whole mouth with undivided lines at top and bottom, and divided lines between them. The bottom line is in the trigram of Movement, and the top line is in the trigram of Keeping Still -- giving the image of a mobile lower jaw and a fixed upper jaw. The divided lines represent the mouth cavity. The hexagram denotes nourishing of body or mind, of one's self or others, and the proper nourishment in each case must necessarily vary according to circumstances. Thus, judgment must be exercised to determine which nourishment is in harmony with correctness and virtue.

 

NOTES AND PARAPHRASES

Judgment:Nourishment asks you to examine your motives in the allocation of your energy. Willpower creates a well- balanced apportionment.

The Superior Man controls his expression and monitors his appetites.

The lines in the lower trigram of Movement are all rendered unfavorably to one degree or another, while the lines of the upper trigram of Keeping Still are all generally correct. The implication is that non-action is almost always preferable to movement. This idea is fundamental to the philosophy of the I Ching, and in the hexagram of Nourishmentthe lesson is that non-action feeds and strengthens the psyche.

All actions are the expression of psychic energy through a physical body to create an effect in spacetime. Each effect creates consequences which usually demand further action. It is easy to see that action which is not initiated by the Self can only result in unexpected consequences, and that action which conforms to the will of the Self is motivated by and directed toward a transcendent goal. Although correct non-action generally creates no negative consequences in spacetime, it does have nourishing consequences in the psyche as autonomous forces are gathered, digested, assimilated and renewed in ascending configurations of growth.

As this Path represents the structure of the [ego], the attribution of the Mouth reminds us that the purpose of incarnation is the seeking of the food of experience in Form for the benefit of the [Self] and the Spirit.
Gareth Knight -- Qabalistic Symbolism

 

SUGGESTIONS FOR MEDITATION

Compare the Image of Nourishment in this hexagram with those in hexagram number five, Waiting; number forty-eight, The Well; and number fifty, The Sacrificial Vessel.


Line 2

Legge: The second line, magnetic, shows one looking downwards for nourishment, which is contrary to what is proper; or seeking it from the height above, advance towards which will lead to evil.

Wilhelm/Baynes: Turning to the summit for nourishment, deviating from the path to seek nourishment from the hill. Continuing to do this brings misfortune.

Blofeld: Nourishment on the mountain peak; he abandons normal ways to seek nourishment in the hills -- misfortune! [From ancient times, there has been a large body of opinion in China that Taoists and other mystics leading the life of a recluse are odd people who have abandoned their duties to family, state and mankind. However, the Book of Change, revered by both Taoists and Confucians, is not likely to be guilty of bias; indeed, in the fourth place, “nourishment on the mountain” brings good fortune. Perhaps the implication is that those who withdraw from ordinary life more on account of their oddity than because of any genuine desire for spiritual guidance waste their talents and their time.]

Liu: Seeking nourishment from the top, one strays from the path to the hill. To set forth leads to misfortune.

Ritsema/Karcher: Toppling jaws. Rejecting the canons, tending-toward the hill-top. Jaws chastising: pitfall.

Shaughnessy: Say upside-down jaw; threshing the warp at the northern jaw; to be upright is inauspicious.

Cleary (1): Perverting nourishment goes against the constant. Feeding on high ground – to go brings misfortune.

Cleary(2): Perverting nourishment brushes aside the constant. Feeding on high ground, an expedition bodes ill. [For those above to nourish those below is the rational constant. Here one in a higher position is recessive and weak, and relies on strength from below for nourishment; so this “brushes aside the constant.]

Wu: There is reversed nurturing. It violates the normal order of offering nurture to the one above. The action is foreboding. [The second (line) has the responsibility of offering nurture to its correlate, the fifth (line). On the contrary, it nurtures the one below, i.e., the first (line). Hence the judgment calls the action a misplaced reversed nurturing.]

Hua-Ching Ni: One neglects the constancy and stability which can benefit life and seeks nourishment from the wrong source. Misfortune.

 

COMMENTARY

Confucius/Legge: The evil of her advance is because her movements abandon her proper associates. Wilhelm/Baynes: In going it loses its place among its kind. Blofeld: The misfortune is due to his having separated himself from his own kind. Ritsema/Karcher: Movement letting-go sorting indeed. Cleary(2): The action loses companionship. Wu: It is out of order.

Legge: The magnetic second line, insufficient for herself, seeks nourishment first from the dynamic first line below, which is improper, and then from the dynamic sixth line above, which is too far removed and also not her proper correlate. In either case the thing is evil because neither of the dynamic lines is her proper associate.

 

NOTES AND PARAPHRASES

Siu: The man does not provide for his own support. He improperly takes what he needs from below and also cravenly begs for it from above. Such unworthiness leads to misfortune.

Wing: Although you are able to properly nourish yourself in this situation, you rely upon inappropriate methods or persons to fulfill your needs. If this continues, it will rob you of your independence and create an unhealthy state of mind. Difficulties will follow.

Editor: Thereseems to be disagreement among the translators about which “order of nourishment” (above or below), is appropriate. Legge’s commentary and Siu’s paraphrase offer the most coherent interpretations. The line usually symbolizes one who doesn't know her proper place, who tries to exceed her authority or go beyond herself. Issues pertaining to self-righteousness, spiritual materialism and “wannabe gurus” are sometimes addressed here. The line can also refer to shirking one's responsibility. For example, begging the oracle for information one can easily decide for oneself.

If a man sleeps in a damp place, his back aches and he ends up half paralyzed, but is this true of a loach? If he lives in a tree, he is terrified and shakes with fright, but is this true of a monkey? Of these three creatures, then, which one knows the proper place to live?
Chuang Tzu

A. You are seeking nourishment from inappropriate sources -- get back where you belong.

B. Seeking that which is beneath you is base; seeking that which is beyond your grasp is futile. Don’t strive above your proper station.

C. Take responsibility for yourself.

Line 3

Legge: The third line, magnetic, shows one acting contrary to the method of nourishing. However firm she may be, there will be evil. For ten years let her not take any action, for it will not be advantageous in any way.

Wilhelm/Baynes: Turning away from nourishment. Perseverance brings misfortune. Do not act thus for ten years. Nothing serves to further.

Blofeld: He is determined to relinquish nourishment -- misfortune! For ten years he performs no useful function and there is nowhere favorable for him to go. [Such extreme eccentricity can only end in barrenness. Those familiar with Buddhism will recollect that the Lord Buddha abandoned nourishment on the advice of his teachers and then came to regret this fruitless method of self-discipline.]

Liu: One turns away from nourishment. Continuing in this way brings misfortune: no action for ten years, no benefit or advantage. [Owing to misconduct there is a danger of encountering disaster, misfortune, or poor health.]

Ritsema/Karcher: Rejecting Jaws. Trial: pitfall. Ten years-revolved, no availing-of. Without direction: Harvesting.

Shaughnessy: Threshing the jaw; determination is inauspicious; for ten years do not use it; there is no place beneficial.

Cleary (1): Going against nourishment, even with rectitude this is inauspicious. Don’t act on this for ten years; there is no benefit.

Cleary (2): Going against nourishment is inauspicious even if there is rectitude. Do not act on this for ten years; there is nothing to be gained. [The weak cannot nourish themselves; if they are also not balanced correctly and dwell on the climax of action in this state, this is going against nourishment. Even though there is a correct correspondence with the top yang, this cannot save them, and they wind up useless . In Buddhism, it is like the senses deranging people so that they lose their standards.]

Wu: It violates the principle of nurturing. Even if correct it is foreboding. It loses its usefulness for ten years. There is nothing to be gained.

Hua-Ching Ni: The wrong kind of nourishment. This kind of nourishment may look good for ten years, but in the end has no real benefit. Misfortune.

 

COMMENTARY

Confucius/Legge: Her course is greatly opposed to what is right. Wilhelm/

Baynes: It is all too contrary to the right way. Blofeld: Ten years because his ways are utterly perverse. Ritsema/Karcher: Ten years-revolved, no availing-of. Tao, the great rebelling indeed. Cleary(2): For the way is greatly confused. Wu: Because it has violated the principle.

Legge: Line three is magnetic in a dynamic place, and because she is the last line in the trigram of Movement, that quality culminates in her. She considers herself self-sufficient, needing no help. The issue is bad.

Anthony: Only by firmly mastering our inferiors [i.e. our attitudes, complexes, limiting beliefs] do we nourish ourself correctly.

 

NOTES AND PARAPHRASES

Siu: Instead of solid accomplishments, the man pursues pleasures and self-gratification. He will never achieve anything so long as he is surrounded by dissipating temptations.

Wing: You cannot be fully nourished because you are too busy looking for nourishment in the wrong places. In doing this, you turn away from others who might help you, and therefore you achieve nothing. This is eccentric and dangerous behavior.

Editor: The idea here is one of ignoring or repudiating what is necessary for growth. Compare this line with the sixth line of hexagram 24: Return, which Wilhelm translates as: “Missing the return. Misfortune. Misfortune from within and without. If armies are set marching in this way, one will in the end suffer a great defeat, disastrous for the ruler of the country. For ten years it will not be possible to attack again.” Carefully examine the situation at hand to determine where the source of error lies. This line can sometimes refer to “attitude” problems – depression or pessimism that you cannot throw off despite knowing that the Work transcends such illusions.

The difficulty in realizing this permanence of the essential self is, of course, due to the fact that a person becomes so attached to the physical vehicle and so connected with its activities, that the divine self is seldom contacted.
G. Barborka -- The Pearl of the Orient

A. You have just made an egregious blunder.

B. Consider yourself reprimanded for getting off the path.

C. Your assumptions in the matter at hand are totally incorrect.

D. You have an attitude problem.

Line 4

Legge: The fourth line, magnetic, shows one looking downwards for the power to nourish. (Sic.) There will be good fortune. Looking with the downward unwavering glare of a tiger, and with her desire that impels her to spring after spring, she will fall into no error.

Wilhelm/Baynes: Turning to the summit for provision of nourishment brings good fortune. Spying about with sharp eyes like a tiger with insatiable craving. No blame.

Blofeld: Nourishment on the mountain peak -- good fortune! He glares like a tiger stalking its prey so ardent is his look -- no error! [This line, like the second line, suggests a recluse; but in this case he is well qualified for the spiritual life and obviously gains the fruit of his endeavor. His tigerish glance calls to mind a Master of Zen or, rather, a Taoist sage who has reached a similar stage of enlightenment.]

Liu: Seeking nourishment from the top of the mountain brings good fortune. One stares like a starving tiger stalking its prey. No blame.

Ritsema/Karcher: Toppling jaws. Significant. Tiger observing: glaring, glaring. His appetites: pursuing, pursuing. Without fault.

Shaughnessy: Upside-down jaw; auspicious. The tiger looks with eyes downcast, his appearance is so sad; there is no trouble.

Cleary (1): Reverse nourishment is auspicious. The tiger watches intently, about to give chase. No fault.

Wu: There is reversed nurture. Auspicious. Like the attentive gazing of a tiger, he chases after his desires. There will be no error.

 

COMMENTARY

Confucius/Legge: This shows how brilliant will be the diffusion of the power from her superior position. Wilhelm/Baynes: The one above spreads light. Blofeld: The good fortune is due to light shed from above. Ritsema/Karcher: Spreading-out shining above indeed. Cleary (2): Giving out light from above. Wu: The favors from above are illustrious.

Legge: With line four we pass into the upper trigram. She is next to the ruler's place in line five, and bent on nourishing and training all below. Her proper correlate is the dynamic first line, and although she is weak in herself, she looks with intense desire to the first line for help (Sic.), and there is no error.

 

NOTES AND PARAPHRASES

Siu: The man in a high position recognizes the need for able helpers to pursue his lofty aims for the good of the people. He looks for the required talent with the searching glare of a hungry tiger.

Wing: Any desire to energetically nourish others will meet with success. You are in a position to be supportive and influential, although you may need to enlist help. Look for clever people to aid you. There is no mistake in this.

Editor: Wilhelm, Blofeld and Liu all show this line turning upward to a summit or mountain peak for her source of nourishment, and the Confucian commentaries are rendered in terms of light shining down from above. Legge's translation and commentary are not in accordance with this, and hence misleading. The image is one of turning upward for the inspiration to nourish those below. It suggests an ego gaining its power from the Self in order to correctly nourish subordinate complexes within the psyche. The fourth line represents the minister: symbolically, the ego as facilitator of the Work in spacetime. The image of the tiger suggests the fervor of dedication to a higher idea.

Blessed are they who hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled.
Matthew 5: 6

A. A higher alliance creates the strength to manage inferior forces.

B. Turn toward your inner light, then reflect it into the world.

C. The ego follows higher principles to effect changes in subordinate entities.

Line 6

Legge: The sixth line, dynamic, shows him from whom comes the nourishing. His position is perilous, but there will be good fortune. It will be advantageous to cross the great stream.

Wilhelm/Baynes: The source of nourishment. Awareness of danger brings good fortune. It furthers one to cross the great water.

Blofeld: Nourishment gives rise both to trouble and good fortune. It is favorable to cross the great river (or sea). [Our quest for the necessities of mind and body brings mixed results.]

Liu: Seeking the source of nourishment. Danger, good fortune. It is of benefit to cross the great water.

Ritsema/Karcher: Antecedent Jaws. Adversity significant. Harvesting: wading the Great River.

Shaughnessy: From the jaw; danger; auspicious; beneficial to ford the great river.

Cleary (1): The source of nourishment; dangerous, but auspicious. It is beneficial to cross great rivers.

Cleary (2): At the source of nourishment, it is good to be diligent, etc.

Wu: He nurtures all below him. With fortitude comes auspiciousness, etc.

 

COMMENTARY

Confucius/Legge: His good fortune, notwithstanding the peril of his position, affords great cause for congratulation. Wilhelm/Baynes: It has great blessing. Blofeld: We shall enjoy great blessings. [`Blessings' means good fortune apparently unconnected with our merits or endeavors.] Ritsema/Karcher: The great possessing reward indeed. Cleary (2): There will be great celebration. Wu: There will be great joy.

Legge: The topmost line is dynamic, and line five relies on him. Being penetrated with the idea of the hexagram, he feels himself in the position of master or tutor to all under heaven. The task is hard and the responsibility great, but realizing these things, he will prove equal to them.

Anthony: The source of nourishment comes from the Sage to ourself and from ourself to others. Only by nourishing ourself correctly can we fulfill our responsibility to nourish others. We “cross the great water” when we tend to this inner nourishment, sorting out and resolutely discarding all the thoughts fantasies, false comforts and self-deceptions that are unworthy of our inner dignity. In this way we get past the dangers they create.

 

NOTES AND PARAPHRASES

Siu: The sage educates others. Heavy responsibilities accompany such a position. Awareness of the situation enables the man to accept great challenges with success to the benefit of the people.

Wing: The person in this position has a highly developed awareness of what

is required in order to properly educate, influence, and nourish others. Should he undertake this task, conscious of all the implications of his responsibilities, he will bring happiness to many.

Editor: The internal, eternal Self is the evolving entity of the psyche. The rewards of its cosmic adventure are worth all the perils involved. When action originates from the Self, one flows toward one's destiny.

The desire for this kind of inner experience and self- development arises from a psychic urge, a spiritual hunger -- akin to the need of satisfying the hunger of the body -- that is present in very different degrees in different persons. It is an expression of the instinctive drive to self-preservation on a psychic, not a biological level. Those in whom it has been aroused are compelled to strive for the satisfaction of its demands or endure the pangs of spiritual hunger and eventual starvation.
M.E. Harding -- Psychic Energy

A. The Self is the source of all sustenance within the psyche. Action in accordance with such a connection is always appropriate, regardless of difficulties.

B. Follow your best intuition in the matter at hand.

34
Great Power


Other titles: The Power of the Great, The Symbol of Great Vigor, Persons of Great Authority, Great Strength, Great Invigorating, Great Maturity, Accumulated Force, The Strength of the Mighty, Righteous Power, Excessive Force

 

Judgment

Legge:Great Power necessitates firm correctness.

Wilhelm/Baynes:The Power of the Great. Perseverance furthers.

Blofeld: The Power of the Great. Persistence in a righteous course brings reward. [This hexagram with a solid group of firm lines topped by a small number of yielding lines obviously signifies strength -- in this case the power to succeed in spite of difficulties. Much of what follows concerns goats -- a symbol presumably suggested by the form of the hexagram, namely a solid body distinguished by a pair of horns -- the yielding lines at the top.]

Liu: Great Power. It is of benefit to continue.

Ritsema/Karcher: Great Invigorating , Harvesting Trial. [This hexagram describes your situation in terms of the invigorating power of a central creative idea. It emphasizes that animating everything around you through this guiding motivation is the adequate way to handle it. To be in accord with the time, you are told to invigorate through the great!]

Shaughnessy: Great Maturity: Beneficial to determine.

Cleary(1):Great power is beneficial when correct.

Wu: Great Strength indicates that it is advantageous to be persevering.

 

The Image

Legge: The image of thunder over heaven forms the hexagram of Great Power. The superior man, in accordance with this, does not take one step that is not in accordance with propriety.

Wilhelm/Baynes: Thunder in heaven above: The image of The Power of the Great. Thus the superior man does not tread upon paths that do not accord with established order.

Blofeld: This hexagram symbolizes thunder in the sky. The Superior Man never takes a step involving impropriety. [Note: The combination of trigrams meaning thunder and sky suggests something of the awe-inspiring quality of the truly great.]

Liu: Thunder in the sky above symbolizes Great Power. The superior man's conduct does not oppose the rules.

Ritsema/Karcher: Thunder located above heaven. Great Invigorating. A chun tzu uses no codes whatever, nowhere treading.

Cleary (1): Thunder is up in the sky, with great power. Thus do superior people refrain from what is improper.

Cleary (2): … Developed people do not do what is improper.

Wu: There is thunder above heaven; this is Great Strength. Thus the jun zi does not practice what is not proper.

 

COMMENTARY

Confucius/Legge: In Great Powerwe see that which is great becoming strong. The trigram of Strength directs the trigram of Movement, and hence the whole is expressive of vigor. But that which is great necessitates firm correctness. The attributes of heaven and earth are displayed when firmness and correctness attain their ideal state.

Legge: Because the dynamic lines predominate in Great Power,the figure suggests a state in which there is an abundance of strength and vigor. Is strength alone enough for the conduct of affairs? Of course not! Strength must always be subordinated to the idea of right, and exerted only in harmony with it.

The lower trigram symbolizes Strength, the upper symbolizes Movement. In the Confucian commentary, "that which is great” denotes the group of four dynamic lines which strikes us on looking at the figure, and also the superior men in positions of power, of whom these are the representatives. That the attributes of heaven and earth are displayed means that the power of men should be a reflection of the great power which we see impartially working in nature.

Ch'eng-tzu says on the Image: "Thunder rolling in the sky and making all things shake is the symbol of Great Power." In relating its application to man, he quotes a beautiful saying of antiquity: "The strong man is he who overcomes himself."

 

NOTES AND PARAPHRASES

Judgment: Control yourself.

The Superior Man does nothing that is not in accordance with the principles of the Work.

Wilhelm and Blofeld translate this hexagram as The Power of the Great., but I prefer Liu's rendition of Great Power, because it has a more neutral connotation. The Power of the Great suggests the might of kings and emperors, and implies "superior" power wielded at one's own discretion. It is too easy to misinterpret this hexagram as a clear injunction to take unilateral action. Such is seldom the case -- the hexagram depicts a charge of latent energy which must be properly managed.

The figure is usually compared with the image of a ram or goat -- the four lower dynamic lines being the body, and the two upper magnetic lines representing the horns. Since this hexagram is the preceding figure of Retreat turned upside down, one can imagine the two together as a person retreating across a pasture pursued by a charging beast. The ram/goat is mentioned in four of the six lines of the hexagram. This is certainlyGreat Power, but in such a crude form it cannot be truthfully called The Power of the Great.

Truly Great Power, as the Judgment tells us, is derived from our will to restrain our emotions, instincts and appetites. Note that lines two and four are the most positively forceful lines in the hexagram and that both imply restraint of power as the proper way to attain one's goals. Without changing lines, the hexagram sometimes refers to provocations in which one is "legitimately” tempted to a self-righteous display of "power.” Remember that other people's ego-trips are none of your concern: the superior man does not respond to them with other than dignified reserve. Regard it as a test and be joyful if you pass it!

Everything found in later literature seems to indicate that these meditative schools required a strong discipline and faithful adherence to a strict regimen. The schools were extremely demanding, and were open only to those willing to devote themselves totally. Before even being admitted to one of these ancient meditative schools, a person had to be not only spiritually advanced but in complete control of all his emotions and feelings. Beyond that, the disciplines of the Torah and commandments were central to these schools, and these disciplines required a degree of self-mastery to which not everyone could aspire.
Aryeh Kaplan -- Jewish Meditation