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Oppression 47
Feeling trapped or constrained, yet resilience leads to inner growth. Embrace challenges to discover inner strength.
↓ Line 1
This line suggests a period of stagnation and lack of progress. Patience and perseverance are required.
↓ Line 3
This line warns against allowing oneself to be burdened by difficulties. It suggests a lack of awareness and connection with loved ones.
↓ Line 5
This line indicates severe oppression and loss, but also the potential for joy and relief through sincere offerings and rituals.
↓ Great Power34
Harness inner strength wisely; true power comes from patience and understanding, not force.
47 Oppression
Other titles: Exhaustion, The Symbol of Repression and Confinement, Adversity, Weariness, Confining, Entangled, Hardship, Depression, Tiresome Restriction, Dried Up, "Actions speak louder than words." -- D.F. Hook
Judgment
Legge: Oppression means that successful progress is still possible. The perseverance of the truly great man brings good fortune without error; but if he relies on words, no one will believe them.
Wilhelm/Baynes: Oppression . Success. Perseverance. The great man brings about good fortune. No blame. When one has something to say, it is not believed.
Blofeld:Adversity leading to success thanks to persistence in a righteous course; good fortune for the truly great and freedom from error! Though words be spoken, they will not inspire confidence. [`Great' refers to high moral qualities. This hexagram is of evil omen for most people, but success can be won through tremendous persistence in doing what is right.]
Liu: Oppression. Success. Persistence. Good fortune for the great man. No blame. If one indicates with words only, no one will believe.
Ritsema/Karcher:Confining, Growing. Trial: Great People significant. Without fault. Possessing words not trustworthy. [This hexagram describes your situation in terms of restriction and distress. It emphasizes that turning inward through accepting enclosure is the adequate way to handle it...]
Shaughnessy: Entangled: Receipt; determination for the great man is auspicious; there is no trouble. There are words that are not trustworthy.
Cleary (1): Exhaustion develops the righteous. Great people are fortunate and blameless. If one complains, one will not be trusted.
Cleary (2): Exhausted but coming through successfully, upright great people are fortunate and impeccable. Mere words are not believed.
Wu: Hardship indicates pervasion and perseverance. There will be good fortune for the great men. No error. But their words do not make impressions on people.
The Image
Legge: An abyss beneath the marsh that drains its water -- the image ofOppression. Thus the superior man will sacrifice his life to attain his purpose.
Wilhelm/Baynes: There is no water in the lake: the image of Exhaustion. Thus the superior man stakes his life on following his will.
Blofeld: This hexagram symbolizes a marsh in which no water (appears). The Superior Man risks his life to carry out his will.
Liu: The lake with no water symbolizesOppression.The superior man would give up his life to achieve his purpose.
Ritsema/Karcher: Marsh without stream. Confining. A chun tzu uses involving fate to release purpose.
Cleary (1): A lake with no water is exhausted. Therefore superior people use life to the full and achieve their aim. [When people lack purpose their path is at an end. Therefore they use life to the full to achieve their aim… Using life to the full means to get to the end of conditioned life; achieving one’s aim means to achieve the primordial life… Using the temporal to restore the primordial, ending false life and establishing real life, producing being in the midst of nothingness, seeking life within death, getting through an exhausting impasse, is like a lake without water again being filled with water.]
Cleary (2): …Developed people accomplish their will by living out their destiny. [Developed people only live out their destiny; they do not willingly try to avoid following and accepting it. Being strong and balanced, they are able to be joyful even in danger; this is the will that is up to oneself. Developed people intend to accomplish their will and do not vacillate just because they run into problems.]
Wu: The marsh has no water; this is Hardship. Thus the jun zi is prepared to dedicate his life to fulfill his commitments. [A marsh devoid of water is like a man deprived of his intellectual pursuits. This is unacceptable to a jun zi. He would rather fight to the end than surrender to idiocy.]
COMMENTARY
Confucius/Legge: In Oppressionwe see the dynamic lines covered and obscured by the magnetic. We see the attribute of Perilousness in the lower trigram going on to Cheerfulness in the upper. Who but the superior man is still able to advance although straitened by circumstances? The central position of the dynamic lines explains the good fortune of the great man who is firm and correct. As regards speech making, to be fond of argument or persuasion is the way to be reduced to extremity.
Legge: The written Chinese character of Oppression presents us with the picture of a tree within an enclosure. "A plant," according to Williams, "fading for want of room." "A tree," according to T'ai Tung, "not allowed to spread its branches." The image conveys the idea of being straitened and distressed, and the hexagram indicates how skilful management may relieve it.
The two central places in the figure are occupied by dynamic lines, but line two is confined between one and three, which are magnetic; and line five (the ruler), as well as four (his minister), are covered by the magnetic sixth line. These conditions indicate the repression of good men by adversity. The K'ang-hsi editors imply that "actions and not words" are what are required in the case.
Perilousness is the attribute of the lower trigram, and Cheerfulness that of the upper. The superior man, no matter how straitened, remains master of himself, and pursues his principled intent. The idea of speech making is found in the upper trigram, one of the attributes of which is the mouth, or speech, as well as Pleased Satisfaction. The pleading of the oppressed party still tries to make others pleased with him.
Literally translated, the first sentence of the Image reads: "A marsh with no water is Oppression." Chu Hsi says: "The water descending and leaking away, the marsh above will become dry."
Anthony: Our belief in the ruling power as beneficial is shaken by doubt. This lack of steadfastness is a problem because it obstructs acceptance and its corrective power. We often receive this hexagram when we feel tired. The oppressiveness of doubt exhausts our inner resources.
NOTES AND PARAPHRASES
Judgment: With enough will, success can be won. "Actions speak louder than words.” (i.e., The answer lies beyond the realm of reason and logic -- intuition furthers.)
The Superior Man stakes everything he's got on his will to succeed.
In Oppressionwe have the image of a dry lake bed. Anyone who has ever seen alkali flats in the desert can easily understand this metaphor for Oppression -- almost nothing can live in such an environment. The following hexagram, The Well, is an upside-down image of Oppression depicting the opposite case of an unending source of nourishment flowing from deep beneath the surface of the earth. (A comparison of these two figures will reveal a great deal about the meaning of each.)
To be under Oppression then, is to be cut off from all sustenance -- although there is water down below, it is presently inaccessible, and there is no nourishing flow of inner forces to the surface. This is a common, inevitable and potentially defeating experience for anyone doing serious inner work:
People who try to practice the Tao can all keep steadfast when they are in easy circumstances, but many of them waver in determination when they are in difficult or perilous situations. They may change their minds because of the pressures of making a living, or they may slack in determination due to illness; their spirits may flag because of old age, or they may stop work because of obstruction by some obsession. All these are cases in which people do not exert the mind of Tao and are hindered by exhaustion, so they ultimately do not attain the Tao. T. Cleary – The Taoist I Ching
Obviously, this is a dangerous situation, and we are told how to cope with it in the Confucian commentary, where it is observed that the lower trigram of Peril goes on to the upper trigram of Cheerfulness. These two trigrams are found in reversed sequence in hexagram number sixty, Restrictive Regulations, where a cheerful attitude is described as absolutely essential for the furtherance of the Work. The observations made there also apply here, and we see the superior man thereby enabled to advance under conditions that would utterly defeat lesser individuals.
This Cheerfulness cannot be underestimated. When it comes naturally and isn't forced, it is a gift of grace. Suddenly one is enabled to face the most incredible hardships with a light heart. It isn't that you no longer care -- you still do the best you can to further the Work, but you do it with bemused detachment.
The one thing the Jewish mystics never lost sight of was the suffering experienced in the arena of the profane. They did not retreat from this suffering, but sought instead to find meaning in it by living it. This is the core of mysticism. The temple in which the sacred marriage takes place is the world. C. Ponce -- Kabbalah
Lines 2 and 5 specifically mention sacrifice: an important concept in theI Ching. Sacrifice is mentioned in lines 17:6, 45:2, 46:2, 46:4, 47:2, 47:5, 63:5, and in the Judgment of hexagram 20. Note that in each case sincerity is specifically cited as essential to success.
Sincere 1: marked by genuineness: as a: free of dissimulation: not hypocritical: REAL, TRUE, HONEST...
Very often, the “sincerity” of our sacrifices involves following the dictates of the Work whether we fully understand them or not. Much that takes place in the Work is incomprehensible to ego consciousness; for example, changes often occur within the psyche which we only experience as strange dreams. Yet somehow, perhaps months later, we suddenly realize that we no longer act in a certain way or have lost interest in something that used to be of compelling importance. Our sacrifices are necessary for these changes to take place, even if they don't immediately make sense to us.
"With sacrifice shall you nourish the gods; and may the gods nourish you. Thus nourishing one another, you will obtain the Highest Good. "The gods, nourished by sacrifice, will bestow on you the enjoyments you desire." He is verily a thief who enjoys the things that they give without offering to them anything in return. The Bhagavad-Gita
Each of Cleary’s Taoist (1) and Buddhist (2) commentaries provides valuable insights into how much courage is required to follow the dictates of the Work at its more advanced levels. Take comfort that others before you have persevered and survived: “Developed people accomplish their will by living out their destiny.”
Line 1
Legge: The first line, magnetic, shows its subject with bare buttocks straitened under the stump of a tree. She enters a dark valley, and for three years has no prospect of deliverance.
Wilhelm/Baynes: One sits oppressed under a bare tree and strays into a gloomy valley. For three years one sees nothing.
Blofeld: With dried branches entangling the lower part of his body, he enters a gloomy valley. For three years he encounters no one. [Whoever receives this line must resign himself to failure.]
Liu: His bottom is oppressed by the bare tree. He enters a dark valley. For three years, he sees no one. [This line indicates fear, sadness or mourning.]
Ritsema/Karcher: The sacrum Confined, tending-towards stump wood. Entering tending-towards a shady gully. Three year's- time not encountering.
Shaughnessy: The lips are entangled in a columnar tree: Entering into a dark valley, for three years he is not drawn out; inauspicious.
Cleary (1): Sitting exhausted on a tree stump, gone into a dark ravine, not to be seen for three years.
Wu: He sits on tree roots. He enters a lonely valley. He does not see the outside world for three years. [It is all in his mind. (He) is preoccupied with the thoughts of hardship before it actually happens.]
COMMENTARY
Confucius/Legge: So benighted is she, and without clear vision. Wilhelm/Baynes: One is gloomy and not clear. Blofeld: What is said about entering a gloomy valley indicates darkness that will not be dispelled. Ritsema/Karcher: Shady, not bright indeed. Cleary (2): It is obscure and unclear. Wu: His mind is not open.
Legge: The poor subject of line one sitting on a mere stump, which affords her no shelter, is indeed badly off. The line is at the bottom of the trigram of Peril, and her correlate fourth line is unable to render help. So stupid is line one that by her own action she increases her distress. "Three years" is used for a long time.
NOTES AND PARAPHRASES
Siu: At the outset, the man lacks clear vision and is badly off. He is overwhelmed and has no immediate prospects of deliverance.
Wing: You are in danger of falling into a trap created by an adverse situation. The trap is of your own making and comes about because of discouragement. Discouragement creates a pattern for failure that will continue if not halted now.
Anthony: As long as we are influenced by doubt, we are blocked from seeing the solution. We must firmly resist doubt and hopelessness to restore open-mindedness. The way out will show itself at the right time.
Editor: Despite Blofeld's note on this line, it does not necessarily always intimate complete failure. In the most neutral sense, it's an image of stalemate, though there is a definite suggestion that this is due to one's own failing in something. Self-pity is hinted at, as well as lack of clarity. Some kind of illusion prevails. There is a possibility that things aren't as bad as they seem, or your attitude is making them worse than they need to be. The line can sometimes indicate that you have misunderstood a previous hexagram.
There are two wrongs the soul commits. The first is its descent; the second, the evil done after arrival here below. The first is punished by the very conditions of its descent. Punishment for the second is passage once more into other bodies, there to remain at greater or less length according to the judgment of its deserts.
(The word "judgment" indicates that this takes place as a result of divine law.) If, however, its perversity goes beyond all measure, the soul incurs an even more severe penalty administered by avenging daimons. Plotinus -- The Enneads
A. You are oppressed and confined by ignorance; perhaps the aridity of "reason."
B. A self-created impasse.
Line 3
Legge: The third line, magnetic, shows its subject straitened before a frowning rock. He lays hold of thorns. He enters his palace, and does not see his wife. There will be evil.
Wilhelm/Baynes: A man permits himself to be oppressed by stone, and leans on thorns and thistles. He enters his house and does not see his wife. Misfortune.
Blofeld: Faced by rock-like difficulties and with naught to lean upon but thistles and briars, he entered his dwelling but could not find his wife -- misfortune! [This line may be taken to presage insuperable difficulties; the word “wife" does not necessarily have any special application to our case, as can be seen from the commentary on the line.]
Liu: The man is oppressed by stone. He sits on thorns and thistles. When he enters his home, he cannot find his wife. Misfortune. [One should be prepared to meet with insult or difficulty.]
Ritsema/Karcher: Confined, tending-toward petrification. Seizing tending-towards star thistles. Entering tending- towards one's house. Not visualizing one's consort. Pitfall.
Shaughnessy: Entangled in stone, and crying out in the thistles: Entering into his palace, and not seeing his wife; inauspicious.
Cleary (1): Stymied by rocks, resting on thorns, going into the house without seeing the wife – inauspicious.
Cleary (2): Exhausted on a rock, resting on thorns, going into a house but not seeing the wife is not a good sign.
Wu: He is surrounded by rocks and leaning on thorny shrubs. He enters his house and does not find his wife. Foreboding.
COMMENTARY
Confucius/Legge:"He lays hold of thorns" -- this is suggested by the position of the line above the dynamic line. To enter one's palace and not see one's wife is inauspicious. Wilhelm/Baynes: He rests on a hard line. This bodes misfortune. Blofeld: The firm line just below him. His not finding his wife symbolizes bad luck. Ritsema/Karcher: Riding a solid indeed. Not auspicious indeed. Cleary (2): Not seeing the wife is not a good sign. Wu: An unfortunate omen.
Legge: For a full explanation of the third line, Chu Hsi refers the reader to what Confucius said on it: "If one be distressed by what need not distress him, his name is sure to be disgraced; if he lay hold on what he should not touch, his life is sure to be imperiled. In disgrace and danger, his death will soon come; is it possible for him in such circumstances to see his wife?" The K'ang-hsi editors say here: "The subjects of the three magnetic lines (one, three and six) are all unable to cope correctly with the oppression of their circumstances. The first is at the bottom, sitting and distressed. The third line, able either to advance or retreat, advances and is distressed. Wounded abroad, he returns to his family and finds no one to receive him: a graphic portrayal of the results of reckless action."
NOTES AND PARAPHRASES
Siu: The man is indecisively unable to deal with adversity and is oppressed by something which should not oppress him. He leans on things like thorns and thistles, which are hazardous yet cannot support him.
Wing: You allow yourself to become oppressed by things that are not oppressive.
You put your faith in things that cannot support you. You are unable to see your priorities although they are obvious. This brings misfortune.
Editor: This line does not lend itself to the usual gender symbolism. The rock is often a symbol of eternity, and is seen as a dwelling place for spiritual beings, hence: a transcendental reality or "eternal verity." In fairy tales a barrier of thorns is often created by an evil witch or other negative magnetic force -- the feminine principle in its destructive aspect. This barrier is usually what separates the hero from the sleeping maiden, his unconscious anima or feminine soul. A house or palace is the whole psyche. ("In my father's house are many mansions." -- John 14:2) The wife of course, is the contra-sexual correlate: in a man, the anima, or emotional-feeling component of his psyche. (A woman receiving this line should just reverse the symbolism and see it as the animus, or logical-thinking component of her psyche.) Putting all these symbols together we receive an image of a situation which is somehow contrary to "the laws of nature." Both the frowning rock (yang) and the thorns (yin) are opposed to the situation, so no union can possibly take place: "He does not see his wife." If this is the only changing line, the new hexagram created is number twenty-eight, Critical Mass, with a corresponding line which indicates a position of extreme vulnerability to danger. This line is an unambiguous warning that your situation is untenable -- both dynamic and magnetic forces are against you. Ritsema/Karcher translate "pitfall" as: "Leads away from the experience of meaning; stuck and exposed to danger, unable to take in the situation; flow of life and spirit is blocked..." Wilhelm alludes to "immanent death," which, of course, should be interpreted symbolically in most cases.
He disowned the God who made him, dishonored the Rock, his salvation. Deuteronomy 32: 15
A. You are out of touch with reality -- resisting a situation that you should accept.
B. Your ego-indulgence in illusion prevents psychic unity; your action, intention or attitude is in opposition to psychic unification.
Line 5
Legge: The fifth line, dynamic, shows its subject with his nose and feet cut off. He is straitened by his ministers in their scarlet knee covers. He is leisurely in his movements however, and is satisfied. It will be well for him to be as sincere as in sacrificing to spiritual beings.
Wilhelm/Baynes: His nose and feet are cut off. Oppression at the hands of the man with the purple knee bands. Joy comes softly. It furthers one to make offerings and libations.
Blofeld: His nose and feet are chopped off owing to difficulties with a vermillion sash-wearer (man of high rank), but joy may come in time. It is advisable to offer sacrifice. [It is very sure that we shall have to suffer bitterly. The joy to come is less certain, but may be assured by our making a suitable sacrifice.]
Liu: His nose and feet suffer punishment, oppressed by the man in the red ceremonial robe. Joy comes gradually. It is beneficial to sacrifice.
Shaughnessy: Doubled rafters; entangled in crimson kneepads, then slowly having extrication; beneficial to use an aromatic grass sacrifice.
Cleary (1): Nose and feet cut off, at an impasse in minister’s garb, gradually there will be joy; it is beneficial to make ceremonial offerings.
Cleary (2): Nose and feet cut off, exhausted in a regal robe, etc.
Wu: He feels as if his nose and feet had been cut off, as he is distressed in seeing the red vestment. He will come out of hardship slowly and be happy. It will be good to make offerings.
COMMENTARY
Confucius/Legge: His aim has not yet been gained. Satisfied leisure means his position is central and his virtue is correct. Sincere sacrifice means he thereby receives blessing. Wilhelm/Baynes: He does not yet attain his will. The line is straight and central. Thus one attains good fortune. Blofeld: What we will now will not come to pass. The correct position of the line. Sacrifice in order to ensure good fortune. Ritsema/Karcher: Purpose not yet acquired indeed. Using centering straightening indeed. Acquiescing-in blessing indeed. Cleary (2): The aim is not yet attained. Taking a balanced course. One receives blessings. Wu: His wishes have not been fulfilled. He is straightforward. He will receive blessings.
Legge: The fifth line is repressed by the sixth, yet urged on by the fourth. He is thus wounded from above and below, especially the minister in the fourth line with his scarlet knee covers. But the upper trigram symbolizes Cheerfulness, and this indicates that he gets by notwithstanding his difficulties. His sincerity helps get him through also.
NOTES AND PARAPHRASES
Siu: The man's good intentions to help mankind are obstructed from above and below, especially by the bureaucrats. Gradually the situation improves. In the meantime, all he can do is to maintain inner composure, as in offering sacrifices to heaven.
Wing: There exists a frustrating lack of information within your milieu. Bureaucracy stands in the way of progress. Those who need help are stranded. All you can do is maintain your composure until things take a promised turn for the better.
Editor: The situation of line five is "between a rock and a hard place." The nose symbolizes intuition -- to have the nose cut off suggests that we have no insight into our situation; when our feet are cut off, we "don't have a leg to stand on" and our foundation is undermined. Psychologically, the symbolism implies that the stress of the position is caused by a higher power: the Self; if so, the stress is necessary to effect an inner transformation of some sort. We are asked to sacrifice our need to understand the incomprehensible and submit to the requirements of the time. This line changes the hexagram to number forty, Liberation, suggesting that through submission toOppression one eventually attains freedom.
The death of the physical body is one of the supremer forms of the principle of Crucifixion. One which equals it is the "death of initiation." This is the comparatively high initiation where the whole life is dedicated to the service of the Spirit ... and the initiate instead of dying for a principle, lives out his life in accordance with a principle, and this can be a far harder thing ... The Great Work comes first, whatever the cost. Gareth Knight --Qabalistic Symbolism
A. Without intuition you have no power-base -- submit to the lessons that a restricted situation offers you. Sacrifice your ego impulses.
B. You are oppressed by powers outside of your awareness. For the benefit of the Work, sacrifice your autonomy and your need to understand, and attain eventual liberation.
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