Wanting to get out of a hornet's nest
One moves mountains so as not to bear the choice of others. taoscopy.com
Great Power34
Harness inner strength wisely; true power comes from patience and understanding, not force.
↓ Line 3
Using force recklessly leads to entanglement and danger. Wisdom lies in restraint and understanding one's limits.
↓ Line 4
With perseverance, obstacles are overcome, and remorse fades. Strength is found in stability and support.
↓ Line 5
Letting go of stubbornness and rigidity brings freedom and relief. There is no regret in releasing what holds one back.
↓ Limitation60
Set boundaries and apply discipline to create balance and order in life. Prioritize moderation and clear limits for greater focus and harmony.
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 3
Legge: The third line, dynamic, shows, in the case of an inferior man, one
using all his strength; and in the case of a superior man, one whose rule is not to do so. Even with firm correctness the position would be perilous. The exercise of strength in it might be compared to the case of a ram butting against a fence, and getting his horns entangled.
Wilhelm/Baynes: The inferior man works through power. The superior man does not act thus. To continue is dangerous. A goat butts against a hedge and gets its horns entangled.
Blofeld: Inferior men use their power where (under the circumstances prevailing) the Superior Man refrains from using his. Persistence now would bring serious consequences, as when a goat butts against a hedge and gets its horns entangled.
Liu: The inferior man uses his power, while the superior man does not. The goat butts against a hedge, entangling his horns. To continue is dangerous.
Ritsema/Karcher: Small People avail-of Invigorating. A chun tzu avails-of absence. Trial: adversity. The he goat butts a hedge. Ruining his horns.
Shaughnessy: The little man uses maturity, the gentleman uses loss; determination is dangerous. A ram butts a fence, and weakens its horns.
Cleary (1): For inferior people the use is powerful, but for superior people the use is nil. It is dangerous to persist in this, goat, etc.
Cleary (2): Petty people use power; superior people use nothingness, chaste in danger, goat, etc.
Wu: A little man deploys strength indiscreetly; a jun zi doe not do so. There is peril ahead, goat, etc.
COMMENTARY
Confucius/Legge: The inferior man uses all his strength; in the case of the superior man it is his rule not to do so. Wilhelm/Baynes: The inferior man uses his power. This the superior man does not do. Blofeld: This means that inferior men use their power and the Superior Man is likely to be tricked. Ritsema/Karcher: Small People avail-of Invigorating. A chun tzu: absence indeed. Cleary (2): Petty people use power; superior people disappear. Wu: A little man deploys strength indiscreetly, but a jun zi does not.
Legge: Line three is dynamic, and in his proper place at the top of the trigram of Strength. An inferior man so placed will use all of his strength to the utmost. Not so the superior man. For him the position is beyond the safe middle, and he will be cautious not to injure himself like the ram by exerting all of his strength.
NOTES AND PARAPHRASES
Siu: The situation becomes entangled and perilous. The inferior man in power applies full force and gets himself irretrievably enmeshed. He is like a goat butting against a hedge and getting its horns entangled. The superior man renounces empty display of force and retains the secure middle position.
Wing: Only inferior people boast of their power or demonstrate it ostentatiously. This creates many unnecessary entanglements and, ultimately, danger. Do not persist in this. Concealed power, at this time, has the greatest effect.
Editor: The image suggests the difference between forcing an issue and allowing it to develop naturally.
"Good fortune, evil fortune, occasion for repentance, and reason for regret all arise from activity." Alas! Good fortune is only one out of four. Should we not be careful about activity? Chou Tun-I
A. Forcing the issue only ends in impasse.
B. "Don't push the river."
C. Relax! Contrived effort spoils the Work.
Line 4
Legge: The fourth line, dynamic, shows a case in which firm correctness leads to good fortune, and occasion for repentance disappears. We see the fence opened without the horns being entangled. The strength is like the wheel spokes of a large wagon.
Wilhelm/Baynes: Perseverance brings good fortune. Remorse disappears. The hedge opens; there is no entanglement. Power depends upon the axle of a big cart.
Blofeld: Righteous persistence brings good fortune and regret vanishes. The hedge falls apart and he is no longer entangled. There is great power in the cart axle. [A powerful axle indicates that the time is favorable for an advance towards our goal.]
Liu: Persistence brings good fortune and remorse vanishes. The hedge opens and entanglements vanish. Powerful is the axle of the big cart. [Note: Activity will follow a long quiet period, bringing good fortune for the individual.]
Ritsema/Karcher: Trial: significant. Repenting extinguished. The hedge broken-up, not ruined. Invigorating tending-towards the Great: a cart's axle-straps.
Shaughnessy: Determination is auspicious; regret is gone. The fence block is not weakened, but is matured by the great cart's axle-strut.
Cleary (1): Correctness is good; regret vanishes. The fence opened up, one does not get stuck; power is in the axle of a large vehicle.
Cleary (2): Being correct leads to good results; regret vanishes. Fences opened up, one does not get exhausted, etc.
Wu: With perseverance, there is good fortune and no regret. The fence has been removed and the horns unharmed. The wooden pieces holding the axle underneath the carriage are strong.
COMMENTARY
Confucius/Legge: He still advances. Wilhelm/Baynes: It can go upward. Blofeld: Once the hedge has fallen apart, he can get up and go forward. Ritsema/Karcher: The hedge broken-up, not ruined. Honoring going indeed. Cleary (2): It is valuable to go. Wu: The conditions are favorable to proceed.
Legge: Line four is still dynamic, but in the place of a magnetic line. This explains the cautions with which the symbolism commences. Going forward thus cautiously, his strength will produce the good effects described.
NOTES AND PARAPHRASES
Siu: The man removes all obstacles through quiet perseverance. Unseen power can move heavy loads.
Wing: When you can work toward your aim and make progress without a great show of power, you create a striking effect. Obstacles give way and your inner strength persists. Good fortune.
Editor: The image suggests that slowly but surely, one step at a time, one removes the obstacles to progress. Power thus accumulated can go anywhere.
The image of the thirty spokes converging toward the empty space of the hub is often used to symbolize the virtue of the ruler who attracts all creatures to his service, the virtue of Sovereign Unity that brings order to the multiplicity of things around it. M. Kaltenmark -- Lao Tzu and Taoism
A. Take it slow and the way becomes clear.
B. Willpower removes the obstacles to advancement.
C. Image of a careful, methodical advance.
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.
60 Limitation
Other titles: Restrictive Regulations, Restraint, Regulations, Articulating, Receipt, Restraining, Containment
Judgment
Legge:Restrictive Regulations bring progress and success, but if they are severe and difficult they cannot be permanent.
Wilhelm/Baynes:Limitation. Success. Galling limitation must not be persevered in.
Blofeld:Restraint -- success! It is wrong to persist in harsh restraint.
Liu: Limitation. Success. Bitter limitation should not be continued.
Ritsema/Karcher:Articulating, Growing. Bitter Articulating not permitting Trial. [This hexagram describes your situation in terms of confused relations. It emphasizes that making limits and connections clear, particularly through speech, is the adequate way to handle it...]
Shaughnessy: Receipt. Withered moderation; one may not determine.
Cleary (1):Discipline is developmental, but painful discipline is not to be held to. [Discipline means having limits that are not to be exceeded. This hexagram represents practicing obedience in unfavorable circumstances, adaptably keeping to the Tao. The situation may be up to others, but creation of destiny is up to oneself. When discipline gets to the point of inflicting suffering, it brings on danger itself even where there was no danger; you will only suffer toil and servility which is harmful and has no benefit.]
Cleary (2): Regulation is successful, but painful regulation is not to be held to.
Wu: Regulation indicates pervasiveness. Excessive regulation should not be obstinately pursued. [Sometimes the meaning of conservation or moderation is implied. Although the idea of regulation is convincing, it should not be applied blindly without regard to conditions.]
The Image
Legge: Water over a lake -- the image of Restrictive Regulations. The superior man constructs methods of numbering and measurement, and examines the nature of virtuous conduct.
Wilhelm/Baynes: Water over lake: the image of Limitation. Thus the superior man creates number and measure, and examines the nature of virtue and correct conduct.
Blofeld: This hexagram symbolizes water held in a dyke above a marshy lake. The Superior Man employs a system of regulations in his plans for the widespread practice of virtue.
Liu: Water above the lake symbolizes Limitation. The superior man devises number and measure, and measures conduct and virtue.
Ritsema/Karcher: Above marsh possessing stream. Articulating. A chun tzu uses paring to reckon the measures. A chun tzu uses deliberating actualizing-taoto move.
[Actualize-tao: ...ability to follow the course traced by the ongoing process of the cosmos... Linked with acquire, TE: acquiring that which makes a being become what it is meant to be.]
Cleary (1): There is water over a lake, regulated. Thus superior people determine measures and discuss various actions.
Cleary (2): … Leaders establish numbers and measures, and consider virtuous conduct.
Wu: There is water above the marsh; this is Regulation. Thus, the jun zi enacts statutes and deliberates virtues. [A study of the limits and merits will avert difficulties.]
COMMENTARY
Confucius/Legge: Progress and attainment are seen in the equally divided dynamic and magnetic lines, with the dynamic lines in the central places. If the regulations are severe and difficult, the course of action will come to an end. We see a cheerful attitude directing the course amidst peril. The rules are correctly initiated by the ruler in the fifth place. Heaven and earth observe their regular cycles and complete the four seasons. When rulers frame their laws according to just limitations, the resources of the state suffer no injury, and the people receive no hurt.
Legge: The written Chinese character which denotes Restrictive Regulations means the regular division of a whole, such as the division of the seasons of the year into ninety-day periods clearly marked by the solstices and equinoxes. Whatever makes regular division may be denominated by a "restrictive regulation," and there enter into it the ideas of ordering and restraining. The hexagram deals with the regulations of government enacted for the guidance and control of the people. An important point is made that these regulations must be adapted to the circumstances and not made too strict and severe.
Ch'eng-tzu says on the Image: "The water which a lake or marsh will contain is limited to a certain quantity. If the water flowing in exceeds that amount, it overflows. This gives us the idea of Restrictive Regulations."
NOTES AND PARAPHRASES
Judgment: Restrictive Regulations are necessary for growth, but severe restriction must itself be limited.
The Superior Man differentiates his options in relation to the goals of the Work.
The Work itself is nothing if not a rigid structure imposed upon one's life -- a "restrictive regulation" of the ego's illusion of freedom of choice. Ordinary people insist that their lives are ordered by the intelligent exercise of free will, but this "freedom" is more commonly just a rationalization for the activity of autonomous complexes. No one can look objectively at the current state of the world and seriously claim that it reflects either rational order or balanced perception. Collective human experience on this planet is determined by the whims of archetypal forces expressing themselves through the unconscious psyches of six-billion people.
The Work then, is a restrictive regulation of these autonomous forces -- it is a limitation, a containment of the expression of instinct and desire. We are reminded of the alchemical vessel which is hermetically sealed to prevent its contents from escaping before they have been transmuted into gold. If the alchemist miscalculates his "methods of numbering and measurement" the vessel becomes a kind of bomb: the seal breaks, the contents explode, and the Work is ruined. This is what is meant by "if the regulations are severe and difficult, the course of action will come to an end." If we restrict the contents of the vessel beyond their capacity for confinement the psyche boils over in some degree of rebellion. This is no minor thing -- depending on the circumstances, severe psychotic reactions can be created in this manner.
On the other hand, the ego thinks that all but the most minor restrictions are severe and difficult, and it is constantly on the verge of rebellion. As always, it is the Self which must determine how far the restrictive regulations can be taken. From its perspective outside of spacetime it is best able to determine how much pressure the psyche can take -- frequently it is far more (or sometimes far less) than the ego thinks possible.
The Confucian commentary observes: "We see a cheerful attitude directing the course amidst peril." This refers to the lower trigram of Cheerfulness encountering the upper trigram of Peril or Danger. The restrictions of the Work are more often than not unpleasant and risky, constantly verging on some kind of an explosion. An attitude of cheerful acceptance enables one to survive these difficult trials. This is an extremely important concept, because without it one can all too easily fall into a suicidal despair. The Work can become an impossible burden unless one learns how to approach stress and hardship with an almost irreverent sense of humor. (This in itself is an essential lesson about how to purge the ego of its myopic notions of what it will and will not "accept" in life.)
There is an old Zen proverb that says: "Hell, also, is a place to live in." The message is clear: be of good cheer, because without it you are sure to fail.
The seeming inevitability of conflict among the archetypal "powers" can cause us to experience life as a hopeless, senseless impasse. But the conflict can also be discovered to be the expression of a symbolic pattern still to be intuited. It can be lived as if it were a drama, the play of life or of the gods, for the purpose of experiencing an ultimate meaning ... When one can feel with Goethe that "everything transient is but a symbol," then meaning can be found not only in creativity, joy and love but also in impasse, suffering and conflict. Then life can be lived as a work of art. E.C. Whitmont -- The Symbolic Quest