Wiki I Ching

Duration 32.2.4 → 15 Modesty

From
32
Duration
To
15
Modesty

Repairing on time
If one is absent at the beginning, they won't be able to continue.
 taoscopy.com


Duration 32
Consistency brings endurance.
Stay true to your path, create lasting habits, and cultivate patience for sustainable success.

↓
Line 2
Balance and harmony in relationships or endeavors lead to the disappearance of regret.

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Line 4
Efforts may be fruitless if not aligned with the right time or place.

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Modesty 15
Embrace humility and balance; let modesty guide your actions for harmonious progress.



32
Duration


Other titles: Duration, The Symbol of Constancy, The Long Enduring, Constant, Persevering, Standing Fast, Continuity, Constancy in the Midst of Change, Holding Firm, "Get yourself into a fixed routine like the orbiting planets." -- D.F. Hook

 

Judgment

Legge:Consistency means successful progress without error through firm correctness. Movement in any direction is advantageous.

Wilhelm/Baynes: Duration. Success. No blame. Perseverance furthers. It furthers one to have somewhere to go.

Blofeld: The Long Enduring. Success and freedom from error! Righteous persistence brings reward. It is favorable to have in view some goal or destination.

Liu:Duration. Success. No blame. It benefits to continue. Going anywhere is advantageous.

Ritsema/Karcher:Persevering, Growing. Without fault. Harvesting Trial. Harvesting: possessing directed going. [This hexagram describes your situation in terms of continuity and endurance. It emphasizes that continuing on and renewing the way you are following is the adequate way to handle the situation. To be in accord with the time, you are told to persevere!]

Shaughnessy: Constancy: Receipt; there is no trouble; beneficial to determine; beneficial to have someplace to go.

Cleary (1):Constancy is developmental. Impeccable. It is beneficial to be correct. It is beneficial to have a place to go.

Cleary (2):Constancy comes through without fault, beneficial insofar as it is correct. It is beneficial to have a place to go.

Wu: Constancy indicates pervasion. There will be no blame. It also indicates advantage of being persevering and having undertakings.


The Image

Legge: Thunder over wind -- the image of Consistency. The superior man stands firm and does not change his method of operation.

Wilhelm/Baynes: Thunder and wind: the image of Duration. Thus the superior man stands firm and does not change his direction.

Blofeld: This hexagram symbolizes thunder accompanied by wind. The Superior Man stands so firmly that he cannot be uprooted.

Liu: Thunder and wind symbolize Duration. The superior man stands firm without changing direction.

Ritsema/Karcher: Thunder, wind, Persevering. A Chun tzu uses establishing, not versatility on-all-sides.

Cleary (1): Thunder and wind are perpetual. Thus does the superior person stand without changing places.

Cleary (2): Thunder and wind are constant; so do developed people stand without changing place.

Wu: A combination of thunder and wind forms Constancy. Thus the jun zi establishes himself by not changing his post.

 

COMMENTARY

Confucius/Legge: Consistency means long continuance. The dynamic trigram of Thunder is above, and the magnetic trigram of Wind is below. Docility and Motive Force are in sympathetic communication because their dynamic and magnetic lines all correspond. When the motive power is spent it will begin again -- hence movement in any direction is advantageous. The sun and moon are consistent in their illumination, and the four sequential seasons are consistent in their cycles of growth. The sages are consistent in their work and all under heaven are transformed. When we examine this consistent perseverance the natural tendencies of heaven and earth are revealed.

Legge: The subject of the hexagram is perseverance in what is right, or in continuously acting out the law of one's being. It is seen as a sequel to the previous hexagram,Initiative. As that figure deals with the correct relations

between husband and wife, so this figure treats of the continuous observance of their respective duties. Initiativeconsists of the trigrams symbolizing the youngest son and youngest daughter and shows how the attraction and influence between the sexes is strongest in youth. Consistency on the other hand, consists of the trigrams symbolizing the oldest son and oldest daughter. This couple is more staid. The wife occupies the lower place, and their relationship is characterized by her submission. Given two parties, a magnetic and a dynamic in correlation, if both consistently observe what is correct and natural (i.e., the magnetic submissive and the dynamic firm), then good fortune and progress may be predicted for their course.

 

NOTES AND PARAPHRASES

Judgment: The will to maintain the consistency of the Work assures progress in whatever direction it may take.

The Superior Man holds fast to the principles of the Work.

Wilhelm's title for this hexagram is Duration. I feel that the word Consistency best evokes the meaning of the figure. In an existence consisting of continuous change the only things that have duration are the principles upon which change is based. To adhere to these principles is to maintain consistency. Implicit here is a consistent balance of forces. Consistency in the Work means neither consistent action nor inaction, but an appropriate combination of the two principles as required by changing circumstances. The Confucian commentary alludes to this characteristic of the Work when it mentions the sun, moon and changing seasons as examples of forces which maintain their consistency within a context of continuous change.

Just as the moon at night reflects the light of the hidden sun, so in the Work the ego is always magnetic in relation to the dynamic Self. A moon that thought that it was the source of its light would be egregiously deluded, despite superficial appearances to the contrary; so too the ego that thinks that its powers come from anywhere but the Self.

Motives and standards of choice are not invented by the ego but are structured by the actualization of archetypal predispositions through personally acquired value standards.
E. C. Whitmont -- The Symbolic Quest

 

SUGGESTIONS FOR MEDITATION

Note that all of the lines in the hexagram are generally unfavorable except two and five, and that when they both change places the hexagram becomes number thirty-one, Initiative. There is a profound lesson here which is best appreciated by meditating on the associations implied. The fact that each hexagram is the inverse of the other should not be forgotten.


Line 2

Legge: The second line, dynamic, shows all occasion for repentance disappearing.

Wilhelm/Baynes: Remorse disappears.

Blofeld: Regret vanishes.

Liu: Remorse vanishes. [A stable situation is now possible.]

Ritsema/Karcher: Repenting extinguished.

Shaughnessy: Regret is gone.

Cleary (1): Regret disappears.

Wu: Regret disappears.

 

COMMENTARY

Confucius/Legge: He can abide long in the due mean. Wilhelm/Baynes: It is permanently central. Blofeld: The line implies ability to remain upon the middle path. [I.e. To avoid extremes and cleave to the golden mean. This is suggested by the position of the line which is central to the lower trigram.] Ritsema/Karcher: Ability lasting, centering indeed. [The ideogram: field divided in two equal parts. Image of hexagram 61.]Cleary (2): One can remain balanced. Wu: (He) can remain in the central position for a long time.

Legge: Line two is dynamic, but in the place of a magnetic line. However, because of his central position he holds fast to the due mean.

 

NOTES AND PARAPHRASES

Siu: The man endures by keeping his force of character within the bounds of available power.

Wing: Apply just enough consistent force to effect the situation. Too much energy, or too little, will create chaos. Avoid extremes in your actions.

Editor: Line two is the dynamic correlate of the magnetic fifth line, and thus becomes the ruler of the hexagram. The meanings of both lines are derived from this switch of positions. (Ordinarily the fifth place is the seat of the ruler.) If both lines change, the hexagram becomes number thirty-one, Initiative, with which the figure is intimately connected, as Legge's notes point out. This suggests that consistency in the World of the Senses (domain of the ego) allows the initiative to originate from the World of Thought (the domain of the Self – the Causal Plane of Theosophy); which is to say that the ego's consistent perseverance is essential for the transformation of the psyche. The attitude which is often necessary to accomplish this is symbolized in the IX of Wands in the Tarot:

This card symbolizes those qualities that cause one to defend principles which may not be fully understood. And whether or not he understands what he is doing in its every aspect, he will do it as best he is able.
F.D. Graves -- The Windows of Tarot

A. Your position is correct. Stand fast and preserve the Work.

B. Emanation from inner planes is facilitated by the ego’s skill in managing the Work.

Line 4

Legge: The fourth line, dynamic, shows a field where there is no game.

Wilhelm/Baynes: No game in the field.

Blofeld: No game in the field.

Liu: No birds in the field. For a long time one is out of place. How can one get birds. [If you receive this line, you should not expect success, even with heightened efforts. Rather, be wary of losing your present position.]

Ritsema/Karcher: The fields without wildfowl.

Shaughnessy: In the fields there is no game.

Cleary(1): Fields, no game.

Wu: He hunts, but his bag is empty.

 

COMMENTARY

Confucius/Legge: Going for long to what is not his proper place, how can he get game? Wilhelm/Baynes: When one is forever absent from one's place, how can one find game? Blofeld: How can one who remains long out of place hope to gain his quarry? [ A reference to the unsuitable position of this line. An example of what is implied is furnished by people whose talents and interests incline them towards a profession quite different from the one in which they are employed; with the best will in the world, they cannot do justice to themselves.]Ritsema/Karcher: No lasting whatever: one's situation. Quietly acquiring the wildfowl indeed. Cleary(2): This is not the place for persistence. How can one catch game? Wu: He has not been in the right place for a long period of time. How can he have bagged any game?

Legge: Line four is dynamic in a magnetic place, thus suggesting the symbolism.

 

NOTES AND PARAPHRASES

Siu: Perseverance alone does not assure success. No amount of stalking will lead to game in a field that has none.

Wing: Be certain your goals are realistic. If you try to achieve things that are unlikely, no matter how vigorously, you will still accomplish absolutely nothing. Perhaps you should re-evaluate your desires.

Editor: There is sometimes an implication in this line that if you would just sit still maybe the game would come to you.

The dead came back from Jerusalem, where they did not find what they were seeking.
Jung -- VII Sermones ad Mortuos

A. You can't find what you seek where it doesn't exist.

B. Your present course of action is fruitless, or your speculation is incorrect.

15
Modesty


Other titles: Modesty, The Symbol of Humility, Moderation, Humbling, Respectful/Humble, Yielding/Retiring. 1. Obtaining this hexagram implies that modesty is needed in our attitude, meaning, to allow ourself to be led without resistance. – C.K. Anthony. 2. A Humble or modest person is thought of as having an “empty or unoccupied” mind, meaning a mind without prejudice. – Chung Wu. 3. Only superior people who practice Tao know where to stop, disregard what they have and appear to have nothing. – T. Cleary.

 

Judgment

Legge:Temperance indicates successful progress. Temperancebrings a good issue to the superior man's undertakings.

Wilhelm/Baynes: Modesty creates success. The superior man carries things through.

Blofeld:Modesty brings success. The Superior Man is able to carry affairs through to completion.

Liu: Modesty: success. The superior man can continue to work to the end.

Ritsema/Karcher: Humbling, Growing. A chun tzu possesses completing. [This hexagram describes your situation in terms of the necessity to cut through pride and complication. It emphasizes that keeping your words unpretentious is the adequate way to handle it...]

Shaughnessy: Modesty: Receipt; the gentleman has an end.

Cleary (1):Humility is developmental. The superior person has a conclusion.

Cleary (2):Humility gets through. A leader has a conclusion.

Wu:Humility is pervasive. The jun zi will have grace in death.

 

The Image

Legge: A mountain hidden within the earth -- the image of Temperance. The superior man, in accordance with this, diminishes his excesses to augment his insufficiencies, thus creating a just balance.

Wilhelm/Baynes: Within the earth, a mountain: the image of Modesty. Thus the superior man reduces that which is too much, and augments that which is too little. He weighs things and makes them equal.

Blofeld: This hexagram symbolizes a mountain in the centre of the earth. The Superior Man takes from where there is too much in order to augment what is too little. He weighs things and apportions them fairly. [The component trigrams symbolize a mountain surrounded by flat earth, thus suggesting too much in one place and too little in others.]

Liu: The mountain within the earth symbolizes modesty. The superior man reduces the excess and increases the lacking; he weighs and then equalizes all things.

Ritsema/Karcher: Earth center possessing mountain. Humbling. A chun tzu uses reducing the numerous to augment the few. A chun tzu uses evaluating beings to even spreading-out.

Cleary (1): There are mountains in the earth; modesty. Thus does the superior person decrease the abundant and add to the scarce, assessing things and dealing impartially.

Cleary (2): … Leaders assess people and give impartially, by taking from the abundant and adding to the scarce.

Wu: There is a mountain inside earth; this is Humility. Thus the jun zi takes excess from the more to enrich the less and measures goods to ensure fair distribution. [To prepare oneself to accept what is fair among all his fellow men is the essence of humility.]

 

COMMENTARY

Confucius/Legge: It is the way of heaven to dispense its blessings downwards, and the way of earth to radiate its influence upwards. Both heaven and earth diminish the full to augment the lowly. Spiritual beings inflict calamity on the proud and bless the meek, and men resent ostentation and love temperance. Temperanceenlightens an honorable office, and neither will men ignore it in lowly positions. Thus does the superior man attain his ends. [Emphasis editor's -- Ritsema/Karcher translate "spiritual beings" [Kuei Shen] as: "The whole range of imaginal beings both inside and outside the individual; spiritual powers, gods, demons, ghosts, powers, fetishes.”]

Legge: An essay on temperance rightly follows that on abundant possessions. The third line, dynamic among five magnetic lines, in the topmost place of the trigram of Keeping Still, is the ruler of the hexagram. He is the representative of Temperance -- strong, but self-effacing. The idea is that temperance is the way to permanent success.

The Confucian commentary deals generally with the subject of temperance, showing how it is valued by heaven and earth, by spirits and by men. The descent of the heavenly influences, and the low position of the earth are both symbolic of temperance. The heavenly influences are seen in the daily fluctuations of the sun and moon, and the fertility of the earth correspondingly waxes and wanes with the seasons.

The Daily Lecture says:"The five yin lines above and below symbolize the earth; the one yang line in the center is the mountain in the midst of the earth. The many yin lines represent men's desires; the one yang line represents the heavenly principle. The superior man, looking at this symbolism, diminishes the multitude of human desires within him, and increases the single shoot of the heavenly principle; so does he become grandly just, and can deal with all things evenly according to the nature of each. In whatever circumstances or place he is, he will do what is right.”

 

NOTES AND PARAPHRASES

Judgment:Temperance means maintaining a dynamic/magnetic balance of forces to attain success.

The Superior Man maintains equilibrium in all that he does.

The most common translation of the title for this hexagram is Modesty, but I have chosen Temperance as a title more expressive of the ideas in the Image and Confucian commentary. The words “modesty” and “humility” often carry a connotation of weakness in western usage, and “temperance,” meaning to temper or regulate, is more expressive of the dynamic strength of will required to restrain and modulate the drive to dominate every situation.

The Image shows a mountain hidden beneath the earth--the quiet, invincible power of sheer will is hidden from view, yet it influences everything. Who observing such a level surface would know that the bulk of Mt. Everest was buried beneath it? Temperance means that one's power is hidden, that the fluctuations of heaven and earth are kept in such dynamic/magnetic balance as to be invisible to ordinary vision. The temperate person is strong enough to bear the weight of the world when that is necessary for the Work.

Marcus Aurelius, the Stoic Roman Emperor, was arguably the most powerful man of his time, yet his temperance and modesty showed him to fulfill the ideal of the superior man. Only the truly strong can be truly modest.

And let this truth be present to thee in the excitement of anger, that to be moved by passion is not manly, but that mildness and gentleness, as they are more agreeable to human nature, so also are they more manly; and he who possesses these qualities possesses strength, nerves and courage, and not the man who is subject to fits of passion and discontent. For in the same degree in which a man's mind is nearer to freedom from all passion, in the same degree also is it nearer to strength.
Marcus Aurelius