Recovering one's potential
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Great Power34
Harness inner strength wisely; true power comes from patience and understanding, not force.
↓ Line 1
Acting with force prematurely leads to misfortune. One must be cautious and not rush into action.
↓ Line 2
Steadfastness and determination lead to success. One should remain committed to their path.
↓ Line 5
Letting go of stubbornness and rigidity brings freedom and relief. There is no regret in releasing what holds one back.
↓ Influence 31
Mutual attraction fosters influence and inspiration. Connect deeply to inspire change and strengthen bonds.
Original Readings
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
Line 1
Legge: The first line, dynamic, shows its subject manifesting his strength in his toes. But advance will lead to evil -- most certainly.
Wilhelm/Baynes: Power in the toes. Continuing brings misfortune. This is certainly true.
Blofeld: Power in the toes. [I.e. power of a rather low or limited kind.] To advance now would bring misfortune.
Liu: Power in the toes. Actions lead to misfortune. This is true.
Ritsema/Karcher: Invigorating tending-towards the feet. Chastising: pitfall, possessing conformity.
Shaughnessy: Mature in the foot; to be upright is inauspicious; there is a return.
Cleary (1): With power in the feet, it is inauspicious to go forth on an expedition – there is truth in this.
Cleary (2): With power in the feet, an expedition bodes ill, having certainty.
Wu: Having strength in the toes indicates foreboding to proceed, confidence notwithstanding.
COMMENTARY
Confucius/Legge: This will certainly lead to exhaustion. Wilhelm/Baynes: This certainly leads to failure. Blofeld: The confidence symbolized by power in the toes is soon exhausted. Ritsema/Karcher: One's conforming exhausted indeed. Cleary (2): With power in the feet, that certainty comes to an impasse. Wu: Confidence has been misplaced.
Legge: This line is dynamic, in its correct place, and is the first line of the lower trigram of Strength in the hexagram of Great Power. The essence of the hexagram might seem to be concentrated in it and hence we see it symbolized by "strength in the toes," or "advancing." But such action is
too bold to be undertaken by one in the lowest place, and in addition there is no proper correlate in line four. From exhaustion will follow distress and other evils.
NOTES AND PARAPHRASES
Siu: At the outset, the man in a lowly situation possesses great energy. Seeking advancement through force, however, will bring misfortune.
Wing: Even though you have the strength, proceeding with your plan would be a mistake. You must not force this issue because you are not in a position to do so successfully.
Editor: Compare this line with the definition of compulsion:
Compulsion:1a. an act of compelling: a driving by force, power, pressure, or necessity. 2. an irresistible impulse to perform an irrational act.
The power is in the toes, the lowest part of the body, and the very bottom of the hexagram. This suggests a compulsive, unconscious drive, or an ill-considered impulse to act. If it is the only changing line, the hexagram becomes number thirty-two, Consistency,Duration or Standing Fast, which is the implied proper response here. In its most neutral interpretation, this line images a strong urge or impetus to take action.
"Men are only apparently drawn from in front; in reality they are pushed from behind;" they think they are led on by what they see, when in truth they are driven on by what they feel, -- by instincts of whose operation they are half the time unconscious. W. Durant -- (Quoting Schopenhauer) The Story of Philosophy
A. An inner force seeks expression. Quell your impulse to act.
B. "Don't jump to conclusions."
Line 2
Legge: The second line, dynamic, shows that with firm correctness there will be good fortune.
Wilhelm/Baynes: Perseverance brings good fortune.
Blofeld: Persistence in a righteous course brings good fortune.
Liu: Persistence brings good fortune. It (the second line) is in the center (the middle way).
Ritsema/Karcher: Trial: significant.
Shaughnessy: Determination is auspicious.
Cleary (1): Rectitude is auspicious.
Cleary (2): Correctness is auspicious.
Wu: Perseverance will bring auspiciousness.
COMMENTARY
Confucius/Legge: Because he is in the center and exemplifies the due mean. Wilhelm/Baynes: Because it is in the central place. Blofeld: This is indicated by the line's central position in the lower trigram. Ritsema/ Karcher: Using centering indeed. Cleary (2): Because of balance. Wu: Because the second line is central.
Legge: The strength of line two is tempered by his being in a magnetic place which is also in the center. With firm correctness there will be good fortune. The central position and the due moral mean in line two are illustrative of the maxim: "The strong man is he who overcomes himself."
NOTES AND PARAPHRASES
Siu: The way begins to open for growth and progress. Exuberant self-confidence needs to be tempered by continued inner equilibrium in the use of power.
Wing: Moderation now is the key to lasting success. Do not allow yourself to become overconfident because you meet with such little resistance in your efforts. Use your power carefully.
Editor: The symbolism of the line, and Legge's commentary point out the fact that willpower is the cornerstone of the Work.
A man is, above all, his will. As is his will in this life, so does he become when he departs from it. Therefore should his will be fixed on attaining Brahman. Chandogya Upanishad
A. Willpower succeeds.
B. "Don't give up the ship."
Line 5
Legge: The fifth line, magnetic, shows one who loses her ram-like strength
in the ease of her position. There will be no occasion for repentance.
Wilhelm/Baynes: Loses the goat with ease. No remorse. [The place is strong, it is in fact the place of the prince, but the nature of the line is yielding, hence the outer place does not correspond with the inner nature. Therefore the line easily rids itself of its obstinate disposition.]
Blofeld: He sacrifices a goat too lightly -- no regret! [I.e. he resorts too easily to force, which is not advisable.]
Liu: He carelessly loses the goat. No remorse. [One is not able to achieve one's plans; no benefit.]
Ritsema/Karcher: Losing the goat, tending-toward versatility. Without repenting. [Versatility, I: sudden and unpredictable change; mental mobility and openness; easy and light, not difficult and heavy; occurs in name of the I Ching.]
Shaughnessy: Losing sheep at Yi; there is no regret.
Cleary (1): Losing the goat in ease, let there be no regret. [Even if people can’t be vigorous, it would be fortunate if they opened their minds with flexible receptivity and borrowed knowledge from others to break through their own obstructions.]
Cleary (2): Losing the ram in ease, etc. [When one is flexible and balanced, there is no attitude of rambunctious strength, so there is no regret.]
Wu: A sheep is lost in the field, etc.
COMMENTARY
Confucius/Legge: She loses her ram and hardly perceives it -- she is not in her proper place. Wilhelm/Baynes: Because the place is not the appropriate one. Blofeld: This is indicated by the line's unsuitable position. Ritsema/ Karcher: Situation not appropriate indeed. Cleary (2): “The position is not appropriate” means that one is as though master of the world but does not have anything to do with it. Wu: Because the position is not proper.
Legge: Line five is magnetic in a central place and will therefore refrain from exerting her strength. Although the hexagram does not forbid the use of strength, it does concern itself with how strength should be properly controlled and directed. All that is said about her is that she will give no occasion for repentance. Being "out of place" only means that the position properly requires a dynamic line.
NOTES AND PARAPHRASES
Siu: The man has lost his alertness and strength because of the ease of his position.
Wing: You should now let go of an opinionated or stubborn attitude. It is no longer necessary to prove anything. The situation will progress with ease; therefore you do not need to use excessive force.
Anthony: We may give up pacts with ourself which require people to do certain things before we will be receptive to them. We need to allow ourself to be led, not setting up structured ideas of how things must happen. We should give up anger and feelings of retribution. Punishment must not be an end in itself.
Editor: None of the translations of this line convey exactly the same message in English. When that happens, beware: the statement can have a maddeningly koan-like range of meanings. In the positive sense, because line five occupies the central place there is the possibility that one understands the Mean and knows when to refrain from action: one "loses the goat (impetus to act) with ease." Alternately, the Blofeld, Liu and Ritsema/Karcher versions depict power which is misused or wasted. As a weak line in a strong place in a hexagram of strength and action, this can also refer to an impotent force with little power to affect the situation at hand. Since "no remorse" is involved, apparently no harm accrues.
Strength may be good or it may be evil. The same is true of weakness. The ideal is the Mean. Chou Tun-I
A. You can easily discard your compulsion to act.
B. An inferior force is eliminated from the situation.
C. Moderation prevents an excessive response.
D. When you are truly centered in the Work, aggressive action should be unnecessary.
Legge: Upon fulfillment of the conditions implied in Initiative, there will be free course and success. Advantage depends upon firm correctness, as in marrying a young lady. Good fortune.
Wilhelm/Baynes:Influence. Success. Perseverance furthers. To take a maiden to wife brings good fortune.
Blofeld: Attraction. Success! Righteous persistence brings reward. Taking a wife will result in good fortune.
Liu: Attraction. Success. To continue is of benefit. To marry a girl is good fortune.
Ritsema/Karcher: Conjoining, Growing. Harvesting Trial. Grasping womanhood significant. [This hexagram describes your situation in terms of the influence that separated parts of an intrinsic whole have on each other. It emphasizes that bringing these parts into contact is the adequate way to handle the situation...]
Shaughnessy: Feelings : Receipt; beneficial to determine; to take to wife a woman is auspicious.
Cleary (1): Sensitivity is developmental. It is beneficial to be correct. Marriage brings good fortune.
Cleary (2):Sensing gets through, beneficial if correct. Marriage is auspicious.
Wu:Affection indicates pervasion and advantage to be persevering. There will be good fortune to marry a young woman.
The Image
Legge: The image of a marsh over a mountain forms Initiative. The superior man frees his mind of preoccupation so that he is open to the influence of others. [Lit: "Thus the superior man receives people by virtue of emptiness."]
Wilhelm/Baynes: A lake on the mountain: the image of Influence. Thus the superior man encourages people to approach him by his willingness to receive them.
Blofeld: This hexagram symbolizes a lake situated upon a mountain. In dealing with men, the Superior Man shows himself to be entirely void of selfishness.
Liu: The lake on top of the mountain symbolizes Attraction. With a humble manner the superior man receives people.
Ritsema/Karcher: Above mountain possessing marsh. Conjoining. A chun tzu uses emptiness to acquiesce people.
Cleary (1): There is a lake on a mountain. Thus does the superior person accept people with openness.
Cleary (2): There is a lake atop a mountain – Sensing. Developed people accept others with openness.
Wu: There is a marsh in the mountain; this is Affection. Thus the jun zi receives people with humility.
COMMENTARY
Confucius/Legge: Initiative is here used in the sense of mutually influencing. The magnetic trigram is above and the dynamic trigram is below -- their two influences move, respond and unite with each other. The male is placed below the female -- his repression is her satisfaction and brings fulfillment. Advantage depends upon firm correctness, as in the marrying of a young lady. Heaven and earth stimulate each other and all things attain birth. The sages stimulate the minds of men and harmony is born. If we examine the pattern of these influences, the nature of heaven and earth is revealed.
Legge: The lines of the hexagram all deal with moving or influencing to movement, and the figure is an essay on the different ways of creating an influence, and the results engendered thereby. The lower trigram of the youngest son supports the upper trigram of the youngest daughter in happy union. This is correct because the lower trigram (here yang) should always take the initiative. No influence is so powerful and constant as that between husband and wife, and where they are both young, it is especially active. Therefore, mutual influence, correct in itself, and for correct ends is sure to be effective.
NOTES AND PARAPHRASES
Judgment: Initiative succeeds only when it originates from the Self.
The Superior Man clears his mind and remains receptive to the will of the Self.
Wilhelm's translation of the name of this hexagram is Influence, but I have chosen Initiative to emphasize the idea of the proper source of the influence implied in the symbolism. Webster's Third New International Dictionary defines initiative as follows:
Initiative 1 : an introductory step or movement: an act designed to originate or set on foot, as a process or train of events. Often used in the phrase: on one's own initiative, as in: "Don't blame me, he acted on his own initiative."
The Judgment states that the situation can be furthered only by the firm correctness associated with the proper contracting of a marriage. We already know that the symbolism of marriage refers to a union of opposites within the psyche. To understand what is meant by the proper contracting of a marriage, we need only look at hexagram number fifty-four,Propriety (The Marrying Maiden), to see the improper way to do it -- that is, when the woman takes the initiative.
Far from being a sexist idea, the symbolism reveals a profound archetypal truth. The polarity of forces in the psyche shows the ego as magnetic to the dynamic Self. That is, the conscious ego-complex in any psyche, male or female, is feminine, or magnetic in relation to the Self, which is masculine, or dynamic. In the I Ching the Self is symbolized by heaven, and the ego is symbolized by earth. This primordial relationship between the two qualities is found in many symbol systems. Here's the Kabbalistic version:
This clearly indicates the function of polarity that prevails between the planes of form and the planes of force; the planes of form being the female aspect, polarized and made fertile by the influencesof the planes of force. D. Fortune -- The Mystical Qabalah
The Hermetic tradition describes it this way:
There is this dual aspect in the mind of every person. The "I" [Self] represents the Masculine Principle of Mental Gender -- the "Me" [ego] represents the Female Principle. The Kybalion
In the contracting of a marriage between heaven and earth (uniting the polarities within the divided psyche), the ego must learn, usually through great suffering, that its correct role is a magnetic one in relation to that of the Self. The Work cannot progress until this lesson has been learned and accepted completely. As long as the ego insists on taking dynamic initiative “as usual" in the illusory world of appearances, the results can only be the kind of objective world we inhabit -- one of chaos and strife. The lesson of this hexagram then, is the realization that the only correct source of power lies with the Self, and that the ego must yield to that source as a bride to her bridegroom. (Unfortunately, the contemporary relationship between the sexes has become so confused that this metaphor is seldom effective in conveying the profound truth it represents.)
The Self (the Causal Body of Theosophy) dwells beyond the restrictions of spacetime and is pre-eminently suited for directing the Work, since it can "see ahead” so to speak, and it knows the effects of all of the available choices. The ego, on the other hand, dwells in spacetime and is able to take action: by its choices it makes or breaks the Work. The ideal reciprocity between ego and Self is a simple and logical division of labor -- the Self can see ahead but cannot take direct action, and the ego can take direct action but cannot see ahead. For the ego to act without direction from the Self is to grope blindly in the dark -- and the Work clearly cannot progress under such circumstances. The superior man therefore, "clears his mind and remains receptive to the will of the Self.” Obviously, it takes time to learn how to do this properly; in its initial stages, that's what the Work is all about.
The majority of people are more or less the slaves of heredity, environment, etc., and manifest very little freedom. They are swayed by the opinions, customs and thoughts of the outside world, and also by their emotions, feelings, moods, etc. They manifest no Mastery, worthy of the name. The Kybalion
The second and third sentences in the Confucian commentary elicit the sexual symbolism in this hexagram quite clearly: "The [female] trigram is above and the [male] trigram is below -- their two influences move, respond and unite with each other. The male is placed below the female -- his repression is her satisfaction and brings fulfillment.” Blofeld comments on this in a footnote:
I doubt if this should be regarded as shedding light upon the ancient Chinese concept of the most acceptable position for intercourse; it is more likely to mean that the girl is able to depend upon the man as a plant depends upon the earth for its nourishment.
Symbolism works on many levels, and Blofeld's aborted insight does apply to some of them. It is an established fact that the sentences in question accurately describe tantric sexual techniques practiced in the Orient for millennia. To understand the principles of the Work we must be able to see the "obvious" as symbolic of an abstraction -- and vice- versa. Sexual polarity is a very tricky and volatile symbol because we are predisposed to confine it to its most literal meaning. The hardest part of symbolic interpretation is to know where in the continuum a specific symbol belongs in any given situation.
Without changing lines this hexagram suggests that you examine your impulses and motivations to act and see if they are truly in accordance with the goals of the Work. The figure can sometimes take on the meaning of importuning: "to press or urge with frequent or unreasonable requests or troublesome persistence.” In other words, you might be importuning the oracle for answers which it is of no mind to give you. It is also significant to note that every line has a more or less negative connotation. These are all very strong warnings to the ego to control its compulsive need to take the Initiative, to influence the situation. Calm down -- reality is not what it appears to be. Please allow the Self to direct the Work.
SUGGESTIONS FOR MEDITATION
Compare the concepts in this hexagram with hexagram number fifty-four,Propriety; number fifty-three, Gradual Progress; and number eleven, Harmony. How do they all deal with the symbol of marriage as an aspect of the Work? Compare the first three lines with hexagram number 52,Keeping Still.
Initiativeis the first hexagram of Part II of the I Ching. Why do you suppose the book was divided into two unequal sections? Why did the division appear between the thirtieth and thirty-first hexagrams? (An even division would be between the thirty-second and thirty-third.)
The (I Ching) was originally divided into two books. (Appendix VI) considers the first of these as dealing with the world of nature, and the second as dealing with that of man. Fung Yu-Lan -- A Short History of Chinese Philosophy
What insights does the alchemical concept of the Unus Mundus bring to bear on these questions?