One sews up one's wounds before returning to the battlefield. taoscopy.com
Joy58
Embrace joy and communicate openly. Positive interactions and shared enthusiasm strengthen bonds and cultivate happiness.
↓ Line 2
Sincerity in joy brings good fortune and dispels any previous regrets.
↓ Line 3
Seeking joy externally can lead to misfortune if it is not genuine.
↓ Line 4
Joy that is calculated or forced is not true joy. Letting go of such calculations brings real happiness.
↓ Line 5
Being sincere towards negative influences can be harmful. One must be cautious.
↓ Clouded Perception36
Stay resilient amidst adversity. When in challenging circumstances, maintain inner clarity and integrity while concealing your light from those who may not understand or appreciate it. Patience and perseverance are key.
58 Joy
Other titles: The Joyous, Joyousness, Pleased Satisfaction, Encouraging, Delight, Open, Usurpation, Self-indulgence, Pleasure, Cheerfulness, Frivolity, Callow Optimism
Judgment
Legge:Joy intimates that under its conditions there will be progress and attainment, but it will be advantageous to be firm and correct.
Wilhelm/Baynes:The Joyous. Success. Perseverance is favorable.
Blofeld: Joy -- success! Persistence in a righteous course brings reward.
Liu: Joyousness. Success. Continuance is favorable.
Ritsema/Karcher:Open, Growing. Harvesting Trial. [This hexagram describes your situation in terms of interaction and exchange. It emphasizes that stimulating things through cheering and persuasive speech, the action of Open, is the adequate way to handle it. To be in accord with the time, you are told to: stimulate!]
Shaughnessy:Usurpation: Receipt; a little beneficial to determine.
Cleary (1): Joy is developmental, beneficial if correct. [This hexagram represents joy in practicing the Tao. Having one’s will in the Tao is finding joy in the Tao; when one delights in the Tao, then one can practice the Tao. This is why Joy is developmental.]
Cleary (2):Delight comes through, beneficial if correct.
Wu:Joy indicates pervasiveness. It is advantageous to be persevering.
The Image
Legge: Two images of the waters of a marsh, one over the other, form Joy. The superior man, in accordance with this, encourages the conversation of friends and the stimulus of their common practice.
Wilhelm/Baynes: Lakes resting one on the other: the image of The Joyous. Thus the superior man joins with his friends for discussion and practice.
Blofeld: This hexagram symbolizes two bodies of water conjoined. The Superior Man joins his friends in discussions and in practicing the various arts and virtues.
Liu: The beautiful lakes symbolize Joyousness. The superior man joins his fellows for teaching and study.
Ritsema/Karcher: Congregating marshes. Open. A chun tzu uses partnering friends to explicate repeating.
Cleary (1): Joined lakes are joyful. Thus do superior people explain and practice with companions. [As water provides moisture for myriad beings, joy develops myriad beings; joyful within and without, reaching the outer from within, communicating with the inner from without, inside and outside are conjoined, without separation between them – therefore it is called joy.]
Cleary (2): ... Thus do developed people study and practice with companions.
Wu: One marsh is adjacent to another; this is Joy. Thus the jun zi discusses and exchanges ideas with friends.
COMMENTARY
Confucius/Legge:Joy has the meaning of Pleased Satisfaction. We have the dynamic lines in the center and the magnetic lines on the outer edge of the two trigrams, indicating that in pleasure what is most advantageous is the maintenance of firm correctness. Through this there will be found an accordance with the will of heaven, and a correspondence with the feelings of men. When such pleasure goes before the people, and leads them on, they forget their toils; when it animates them in encountering difficulties, they forget the risk of death. How great is the power of this Pleased Satisfaction, stimulating in such a way the people!
Legge: The feeling of pleasure is the subject of this hexagram, which is made up of the doubled trigram of Cheerfulness, or Pleased Satisfaction. The progress and attainment of the figure are due to the one magnetic line surmounting each trigram and supported by the two dynamic lines. The idea is that of mildness which is energized by a double portion of strength.
The pleasure which leads the people to endure toil and risk death is the effect of the instructive example of their ruler. Fu Fan-hsien paraphrases this portion of the text as: "When the sage with this precedes them, he can make them endure toil without any wish to decline it, and go with him into difficulty and danger without their having any fear."
Anthony: This hexagram speaks, on the one hand, of that on which true joy depends, and on the other, of joy as desire, which leads to conflict. The essence of true joy is inner stability. Being firmly devoted to our path, we do not waver. When we think of the soft and comfortable path, on the other hand, self-conflict begins. Therefore, getting this hexagram indicates that we may be wavering or irresolute.
NOTES AND PARAPHRASES
Judgment: A cheerful attitude serves the will.
The Superior Man shares his thoughts and feelings. [Or, psychologically interpreted: observes, weighs and integrates his thoughts with his feelings.]
The title of this hexagram denotes joyousness and pleasure, and most people regard it as a good omen when they receive it. Yet, an analysis of the lines indicates that only the first two are particularly favorable, and the hexagram itself seldom seems to refer to anything remotely resembling “Joy” in a typical oracle consultation. The lessons to be learned from the figure are the differences between self-indulgence and maintaining emotional stability in one's conduct of the Work, which always demands a firm control over one’s affects. To receive this hexagram without changing lines requires the querent's careful discrimination -- it can mean simply: "Oh happy day!" Or, it can suggest that you examine an inclination toward lack of control in the situation at hand. The oracle is capable of brutal sarcasm when your query warrants it, so don't be too quick to accept the shallow meaning ofJoy – as often as not, Self-indulgence is the more appropriate title.
In light frivolity, the center is lost; in hasty action, self-mastery is lost. Lao Tse
The Image depicts an open interchange among “friends.” Intrapsychically, this suggests the normal give and take between thoughts and feelings for the purpose of reaching integration. The symbol of “two bodies of water conjoined” (Blofeld) might refer to the adjacent dimensions of thought and emotion within the psyche. When feelings are not in harmony with intellectual differentiation (a common phenomenon), give and take (“discussion and practice”), is essential to effect integration: i.e., harmony, or “joy.”"Practice" suggests cycles of time, and the notion that perfection is still to be achieved.
Shaughnessy’s seemingly anomalous title of Usurpation for this hexagram offers some subtle insights into the symbolism here. Emotions, feelings, affects, are often portrayed as daemonic forces which “usurp” ego consciousness and indulge themselves in the “joy” of expressing whatever they happen to represent in the psyche. This is often what is implied when receiving this hexagram.
Each of us is equipped with a psychic disposition that limits our freedom in high degree and makes it practically illusory. Not only is "freedom of the will" an incalculable problem philosophically, it is also a misnomer in the practical sense, for we seldom find anybody who is not influenced and indeed dominated by desires, habits, impulses, prejudices, resentments, and by every conceivable kind of complex. All these natural facts function exactly like an Olympus full of deities who want to be propitiated, served, feared and worshipped, not only by the individual owner of this assorted pantheon, but by everybody in his vicinity. Jung -- Psychology and Religion
Cleary’s Taoist commentary: “As water provides moisture for myriad beings, etc.,” supports this interpretation. Water symbolizes the emotional realm, and the “myriad beings” dwelling therein are emotional entities: creatures like untamed animals, which are never happier than when running free. To them it’s Joy; to the executive function in the psyche, it’s Self-indulgence. Usurpation has taken place.
Line 2
Legge: The second line, dynamic, shows the pleasure arising from inward stability. There will be good fortune. Occasion for repentance will disappear.
Wilhelm/Baynes: Sincere joyousness. Good fortune. Remorse disappears.
Blofeld: Confident joy -- good fortune and absence of regret!
Liu: Truthful joyousness. Good fortune. Remorse vanishes.
Shaughnessy: Sincere usurpation; auspicious; regret is gone.
Cleary (1): The joy of truthfulness is good. Regret vanishes.
Cleary (2): Sincere delight is auspicious. Regret vanishes.
Wu: There is joy with confidence. Auspicious. No regrets.
COMMENTARY
Confucius/Legge: This is due to the confidence he feels in his objective. Wilhelm/ Baynes: This consists in having faith in one's own will. Blofeld: This implies exerting our will with complete confidence. Ritsema/Karcher: Trustworthy purpose indeed. Cleary (2): Confidence in the aim. Wu: The confidence of his purpose.
Legge: The second line, by the rule of place, should be magnetic, but here is dynamic. Without a proper correlate above, and contiguous to the magnetic third line, he might be injuriously affected, and there would be cause for repentance. But the sincerity natural in his central position counteracts all this.
NOTES AND PARAPHRASES
Siu: The man is tempted by pleasures unbecoming to a superior man. But he clings to duty and integrity.
Wing: By strengthening your integrity and principles, you will not be tempted by distractions that are unworthy of your attention. In this way you will become free of regret -- the regret that accompanies the waste of personal resources.
Editor: The Confucian commentary emphasizes calm self-confidence: one entertains no doubts and indulges in no temptations to stray from the path, yet all the while remains open and cheerful toward experience.
Man too, in his inner being, has a plane of contact with the divine self. And that's why he can only find his own divine being within himself, never by directing his attention towards the outside world. Elisabeth Haich --Initiation
A. Stay centered and keep the faith.
B. Trust your Self.
C. Have confidence in your intuition.
Line 3
Legge: The third line, magnetic, shows its subject bringing round herself whatever can give pleasure. There will be evil.
Wilhelm/Baynes: Coming joyousness. Misfortune.
Blofeld: Coming joy -- misfortune! [The relation between the misfortune indicated by this line and coming joy is not very clear. Interpreting it rather loosely, the passage can be taken to mean that we shall suffer misfortune at a time when we are expecting something which would afford us happiness; in other words, the expected joy may not materialize.]
Liu: Coming joyousness. Misfortune. [Do not follow another blindly, or mistakes and danger will result.]
Ritsema/Karcher: Coming Opening, pitfall.
Shaughnessy: Coming usurpation; inauspicious.
Cleary (1): Imported joy is not good.
Cleary (2): Coming for delight is inauspicious.
Wu: He comes to seek joy. Foreboding.
COMMENTARY
Confucius/Legge: The evil is shown by the inappropriateness of the line's place. Wilhelm/Baynes: Its place is not the proper one. Blofeld: Misfortune is indicated by the unsuitable position of this line. Ritsema/Karcher: Situation not appropriate indeed. Cleary (2): Being out of place. Wu: His position is improper.
Legge: The K'ang-hsi editors say that the threatened evil to the subject of line three is due to her excessive devotion to pleasure. She should be strong, but the desire for pleasure leads her to the evil results described.
Anthony: Desire for things to be better, more relaxed or pleasurable, is the beginning of self-pity, doubt and despair. Giving way to such feeling opens successively larger attacks by these same feelings. Fear, restlessness, desire, pride, jealousy or anger are similar strong elements which quickly take over and cause movement which is no longer self-governed. Thus we lose our direction. If we look for any way to solve our problems other than to follow our path modestly and “without purpose,” we are certain to be put through distressing situations. For this reason, it is best not to dwell on how things “should be,” a thought which springs from these strong elements.
NOTES AND PARAPHRASES
Siu: Evil threatens the man because of his excessive devotion to idle pleasures.
Wing: Total abandonment to outside pleasures and diversions is only momentarily fulfilling. These indulgences in idle distractions will surely bring misfortune. True happiness will be found in the person full of his own nature.
Editor: Most commentaries mention self-indulgence or lack of control which allow outside forces to enter and overwhelm one's will to serve the Work. I have found Anthony’s insights, which bear little conformity with general interpretations of what constitutes “joy,” to be particularly appropriate.
The Nefesh (animal soul) cannot see beyond its sensual or sensory range. While it is true to say the arguments of the body are shrewd, they are never deeply considered, as many a foolish moment of passion has shown in its result. Z.B.S. Halevi -- A Kabbalistic Universe
A. Your lack of control leaves you vulnerable to disintegrating influences.
B. Your outlook is simplistic and immature: You are self-indulgent.
Line 4
Legge: The fourth line, dynamic, shows its subject deliberating about what to seek his pleasure in, and not at rest. He borders on what would be injurious but there will be cause for joy.
Wilhelm/Baynes: Joyousness that is weighed is not at peace. After ridding himself of mistakes a man has joy.
Blofeld: Calculating future joys, he is restless and suffers from various small ills, yet he is happy.
Liu: Considering joyousness does not bring serenity. Once one corrects his conduct, one has joyousness.
Shaughnessy: Patterned usurpation; not yet at peace; a transitional illness has happiness.
Cleary (1): Joy after deliberation: If one is firm and wary without complacency, there will be happiness.
Cleary (2): Deliberating about delight, one is uneasy. If one is firm and swift, there will be happiness.
Wu: He is not at ease in pondering about joyousness, but he is glad to be able to distinguish what is correct from what he despises.
COMMENTARY
Confucius/Legge: The joy in connection with the subject of the fourth line is due to the happiness which he will produce. Wilhelm/Baynes: The joy brings blessing. Blofeld: There will be happiness in spite of this foolish anxiety because blessings [i.e., unexpected or seemingly unmerited happiness] will be received. Ritsema/ Karcher: Possessing reward indeed. Cleary (2): Celebration. Wu: There is something to celebrate.
Legge: The bordering on what is injurious has reference to the contiguity of line four to the magnetic third line. That might have an injurious effect, but he reflects and deliberates before he will yield to the seduction of pleasure, and there is cause for joy.
Anthony: In addition to the more literal meanings of this line, pleasure also means departing from our limits to indulge our self-importance, power, correctness, wit, intelligence, skill, sharpness or independence. Such luxuries of attitude are against our inner nature and create self-conflict.
NOTES AND PARAPHRASES
Siu: Indecision regarding the choice among pleasures temporarily robs the man of inner peace. After due reflection, he attains joy by turning away from the lower pleasures and seeking the higher ones.
Wing: You are suffering from indecision based upon a choice between inferior and superior pleasures. If you recognize this and then choose the higher and more constructive form of pleasure, you will find true happiness. Above all, make your decision soon.
Editor: Two kinds of "joy" are contrasted here: desire indulged vs. desire mastered, and the line depicts ambivalence about which one you'll choose. If this is the only changing line, the hexagram becomes number sixty -- Restrictive Regulations, with a corresponding line that counsels the acceptance of limitation as productive of peace of mind and contentment: "Shows its subject quietly and naturally attentive to all regulations. There will be progress and success."
By reflecting upon the uselessness of aimlessly frittering away thy life, mayest thou be incited to diligence in the treading of the Path. W.Y. Evans-Wentz -- Tibetan Yoga and Secret Doctrines
A. Rid yourself of ambivalence by accepting the limitations demanded by the Work: "Yield not unto temptation."
Line 5
Legge: The fifth line, dynamic, shows its subject trusting in one who would injure him. The situation is perilous.
Wilhelm/Baynes: Sincerity toward disintegrating influences is dangerous.
Blofeld: Faith in what is disintegrating leads to trouble. [Presumably, we put our trust in the continuance of something which, perhaps unknown to us, is already beginning to crumble away.]
Liu: Confidence in what is decaying is dangerous. [If you get this line, you should expect trouble caused by an unworthy person.]
Shaughnessy: Sincerity in flaying; there is danger.
Cleary (1): There is danger in trusting plunderers.
Cleary (2): There is inspiration in sincerity toward the fallen.
Wu: He shows confidence in the one that may strip him: a sign of danger.
COMMENTARY
Confucius/Legge: His place is that which is correct and appropriate. Wilhelm/ Baynes: The place is correct and appropriate. Blofeld: However, this line is suited to its position (hence the trouble will hardly amount to much). Ritsema/Karcher: Situation correcting appropriate indeed. Cleary (2): Being sincere toward the fallen, the position is indeed appropriate. Wu: “He shows confidence in the one that may strip him,” because of his position.
Legge: The danger to line five is from the magnetic line six above, in whom he is represented as trusting. Possibly his own strength and sincerity of mind may be perverted into instruments of evil; but possibly they may operate beneficially. The correctness of his position seems to contradict his trusting of the line above, who can only injure him. On the contrary, it should keep him from doing so. The commentators have seen this, and say that the paragraph is intended by way of caution.
Anthony: This means we are sincere in listening to negative ideas, such as the temptation to pursue self-advantage, or listening to doubt, impatience, fear, or pride, as in “having rights.”
NOTES AND PARAPHRASES
Siu: The man associates with destructive people and exposes himself to perils. There is the possibility that his own strength and sincerity may be perverted into instruments of evil.
Wing: You are contemplating a relationship with an inferior element. Such a commitment is dangerous, for you will be drawn into peril. You must now be more selective in order to protect yourself.
Editor: The message is unambiguous:A correct position is threatened by a negative influence. Cleary’s Buddhist translation: “There is inspiration in sincerity toward the fallen” is anomalous in my experience.
That happens when you get into a state in which you are not yourself, or into an emotional upset where you lose control of yourself, but afterwards wake up completely sober and look at the stupid things you did during your possessed state and wonder what got into you: something got hold of you, you weren't yourself, though while you were behaving like that you thought you were -- it was just as if an evil spirit or the devil had got into you. ... We would say, more neutrally, an autonomous complex temporarily replaces the ego complex; it feels like the ego at the time, but it isn't, for afterwards, when dissociated from it, one cannot understand how one came to do or think such things. M.L. Von Franz -- On Divination and Synchronicity
A. Overcome your fascination with forces that would spoil the Work.
B. You place your trust in illusions: "Stop indulging yourself."
36 Clouded Perception
Other titles: Darkening of the Light, The Symbol of the Appearance of Clear Intelligence Wounded, Injury, Wounding of the Bright, Brightness Hiding, Calling Pheasant, The Darkened Light, Concealment of Illumination, Injury of Illumination, Light Obliterated, Intelligence Unappreciated, Censorship, Hiding One's Light, The Dark Night of the Soul, Ignorance "Not necessarily as bad as it sounds, may just mean being restricted or restricting yourself." -- D.F. Hook
Judgment
Legge: Under the conditions of Clouded Perceptionbe aware of the difficulty of your position and maintain firm correctness.
Wilhelm/Baynes: Darkening of the Light. In adversity it furthers one to be persevering.
Blofeld:Darkening of the Light. Righteous persistence in the face of difficulty brings reward.
Liu:Darkening of the Light. It benefits one to carry on through hard times.
Ritsema/Karcher: Brightness Hiding, Harvesting: drudgery, Trial. [This hexagram describes your situation in terms of intelligence hidden or harmed. It emphasizes that deliberately concealing your light by entering what is beneath you is the adequate way to handle it. To be in accord with the time, you are told to: hide your brightness!]
Shaughnessy: Calling pheasant: Beneficial to determine about difficulty.
Cleary (1): In concealment of illumination, it is beneficial to be upright in difficulty.
Cleary (2): When illumination is damaged, it is beneficial to be upright in difficulty.
Wu:Light Obliterated indicates that it is advantageous to be persevering in time of danger.
The Image
Legge: The sun enters the earth -- the image ofClouded Perception.The superior man manages his subordinates and shows his intelligence by keeping it hidden.
Wilhelm/Baynes: The light has sunk into the earth: the image of Darkening of the Light. Thus does the superior man live with the great mass: He veils his light, yet still shines.
Blofeld: This hexagram symbolizes light hidden within the earth. In governing the people, the Superior Man, though taking care to conceal his light, nevertheless shines.
Liu: The sun sinking under the earth symbolizes the Darkening of the Light. In approaching the people the superior man veils his brightness, yet still has glory.
Ritsema/Karcher: Brightness entering earth center. Brightness Hiding. A chun tzu uses supervising the crowds to avail-of darkening and-also Brightening.
Cleary (1): Light enters into the earth, illumination is concealed.Thus do Superior people deal with the masses, acting unobtrusively while in fact illuminated. [When practitioners of the Tao are among the masses, if they use their illumination too much, they will startle the ignorant and amaze the worldly, easily bringing on abuse and slander.]
Cleary (2): Illumination goes underground, in concealment of illumination. In dealing with the masses, true leaders act unobtrusively while in fact being illuminated. [What sages learn is to become daily more illumined unbeknownst to others.]
Wu: The light enters the earth; this is Light Obliterated. Thus the jun zi uses the spirit of dimness in place of brightness to administer affairs of the populace. [By “dimming” his internal strength, he would make people feel that he is one of them.]
COMMENTARY
Confucius/Legge: The image of Brightness entering into the midst of the earth suggests clarity that has been wounded or obscured. The lower trigram shows Clarity, the upper Docility. King Wen had both of these qualities, yet he was involved in great difficulties. The individual concerned should obscure his brightness. Thus was Count Chi able to correctly maintain his mind and intent amidst the difficulties of his situation.
Legge: This hexagram shows an able officer going forth in the service of his country, notwithstanding the occupancy of the throne by a weak and unsympathetic ruler. Hence the name Clouded Perception or Intelligence Wounded -- that is, injured and oppressed. The lesson of the figure is to show how such an officer will conduct himself and maintain his purpose.
King Wen was not of the line of Shang. Though opposed and persecuted by its sovereign, he could pursue his own course, till his line came in the end to supersede the other. It could not be so with the Count of Chi, who was a member of the House of Shang. He could do nothing that would help on its downfall.
NOTES AND PARAPHRASES
Judgment: Recognize a difficult situation and use your willpower to cope with its restrictions.
The Superior Man manages the situation by subduing his need to speculate, meddle, or call attention to himself. (Alternate: When in the presence of arrogance, the wise man plays the fool.)
The thirty-fifth hexagram shows the trigram of Clarity progressing over the earth -- an image of advancing awareness. The thirty-sixth hexagram is the inverse of this -- it shows the trigram of Clarity swallowed up by the earth. If the image of Advance of Consciousness symbolizes noon, when the sun is at the midheaven, then Clouded Perception symbolizes midnight, when the sun is at the Imum Coeli, or undersky. It is a time of maximum darkness, maximum ignorance; a time when the dark forces of the unconscious are at their strongest. We are reminded of the Dark Night of the Soul, an inescapable and inevitable phase of the Work:
When, at length, they have practiced themselves for some time in the journey of virtue, persevering in meditation and prayer, wherein, with the suavity and relish they have found, they have become detached from worldly things, and acquired some spiritual strength in God, so as to be able to curb the creature appetites and in some small degree suffer for God some slight load and dryness, without turning back at the crucial moment; when, to their thinking, they are proceeding in these spiritual exercises to their entire satisfaction and delight; and when the Sun of Divine favors seems to them to shine most radiantly upon them, God darkens all this light, and shuts the door and fountain of the sweet spiritual water, which they were wont to drink in God as often and as long as they chose ... and thus, he leaves them in darkness so profound that they know not whither to direct the sense of the imagination and speculations of the mind. St. John of the Cross
The Dark Night of the Soul is the universal experience of everyone who follows the way beyond the tried and true paths of the spiritual dilettante. It is an archetypal filter for determining the survival of the fittest in psychic evolution. For those who have entered this phase of the Work, it is good to remember that no one is given a test that they can't pass if they sincerely want to.
The situation in line five of this hexagram means little to one who is unacquainted with Chinese history. In its essence, the story of Count Chi concerns a superior man who was imprisoned by an evil emperor. The only way that he could survive this dark time was to feign insanity. Thus the message in the Image counsels us to show our intelligence by concealing it. There is a wide range of applications for this rule, and perhaps Lao Tse gives us the best paraphrase of the idea in his famous aphorism: He who knows does not speak; He who speaks does not know.
In terms of the Work this can mean that one must firmly understand that there are some things which cannot be shared with just anyone. Inner work is very fragile until it has had time to crystallize, and to expose its truths to the harsh light of unsophisticated intellect is to risk severe damage to the process of individuation.
One must not tell people of things they cannot grasp. There are mysteries that cannot be shared with everybody ... Some things can be told to no one and a secret told to a wrong person is destructive and even irresponsible. M.L. Von Franz -- The Feminine in Fairytales
This hexagram can symbolize many situations, but sometimes it is a suggestion that you are ignorant or "in the dark" about the true state of affairs now prevailing.