One supplies one's relatives despite the shortage. taoscopy.com
Limitation60
Set boundaries and apply discipline to create balance and order in life. Prioritize moderation and clear limits for greater focus and harmony.
↓ Line 1
Staying within limits and not overreaching oneself leads to no blame.
↓ Line 2
Excessive limitation and isolation can lead to misfortune.
↓ Line 3
Recognizing one's limitations can be painful, but it is necessary and without blame.
↓ Line 5
Embracing limitations with a positive attitude brings good fortune and respect.
↓ Modesty15
Embrace humility and balance; let modesty guide your actions for harmonious progress.
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
Line 1
Legge: The first line, dynamic, shows its subject not quitting the courtyard outside his door. There will be no error.
Wilhelm/Baynes: Not going out of the door and the courtyard is without blame.
Blofeld: He goes not go forth from the outer gates and courtyards of his home -- no error!
Liu: One does not go out of the door and courtyard. No blame.
Ritsema/Karcher: Not issuing-forth-from the door chambers. Without fault.
Shaughnessy: Not going out of the door or window; there is no trouble.
Cleary (1): Not leaving home, there is no blame.
Wu: He does not go beyond the entrance hall of his house. No error.
COMMENTARY
Confucius/Legge: He knows when he has free course and when he is obstructed. Wilhelm/Baynes: One knows what is open and what is closed. Blofeld: He acts thus from his knowledge of when things can be carried through to their end and when they will be blocked. [The implication is that we should now hold back.]Ritsema/Karcher: Knowing interpenetrating clogging indeed. Cleary (2): Not leaving home is knowing passage and obstruction. Wu: He knows what can be done and what cannot be.
The Master said: "When disorder arises, it will be found that ill-advised speech was the stepping stone to it. If a ruler does not keep secret his deliberations with his minister, he will lose that minister. If a minister does not keep secret his deliberations with his ruler, he will lose his life. If important matters in the germ are not kept secret, that will be injurious to their accomplishment. Therefore the superior man is careful to maintain secrecy, and does not allow himself to speak."
Legge: Line one is dynamic in a dynamic place, and therefore has the power to move. But he is kept in check by the dynamic second line, and his fourth line correlate occupies the first position in the trigram of Peril. He therefore knows when he has free course and when he is obstructed, and in this case the course of wisdom is to keep still. He regulates himself by a consideration of the times. The Daily Lecture says that the line tells an officer not to take office rashly, but to exercise a cautious judgment in his measures.
NOTES AND PARAPHRASES
Wilhelm/Baynes: Often a man who would like to undertake something finds himself confronted by insurmountable limitations. Then he must know where to stop. If he rightly understands this and does not go beyond the limits set for him, he accumulates an energy that enables him, when the proper time comes, to act with great force. Discretion is of prime importance in preparing the way for momentous things. …We see locked doors ahead and therefore hold back.
Siu: At the outset, the man appreciates his own limitations and exercises judicious discretion in not pressing beyond them. He does not exert his authority rashly.
Wing: Although you would like to take certain measures in the current pursuit of your aims, when you see obstacles ahead you must stop. Such Limitations should be recognized and accepted. Stay within the limits and collect your strength quietly.
Editor: If this is the only changing line, the hexagram becomes number twenty-nine, Danger. Obviously, "discretion is the better part of valor" -- one should stay put and not act.
Never set your foot on the path of the wicked, do not walk the way that the evil go. Avoid it, do not take it, turn your back on it, pass it by. Proverbs 4: 14
A. Sit tight and accept the limitations of the situation.
Line 2
Legge: The second line, dynamic, shows its subject not quitting the courtyard inside his gate. There will be evil.
Wilhelm/Baynes: Not going out of the door and courtyard brings misfortune.
Blofeld: He goes not forth from the inner gates and courtyards of his home -- misfortune!
Liu: One does not go out the gate and courtyard. Misfortune. [Generally, this line bodes good fortune for action and misfortune for inaction.]
Ritsema/Karcher: Not issuing-forth-from the gate chambers. Pitfall.
Shaughnessy: Not going out of gate or courtyard; inauspicious.
Cleary (1): Not going outside bodes ill. [Holding fast to petty regulations is a great loss.]
Wu: He does not go beyond his courtyard. Foreboding.
COMMENTARY
Confucius/Legge: He loses the time for action to an extreme degree. Wilhelm/ Baynes: One misses the crucial moment. Blofeld: Misfortune because he neglects to take advantage of an opportunity now presenting itself. [The implication is that it would be wrong to hold back now.] Ritsema/Karcher: Letting-go the season end indeed. Cleary (2): One misses the timing in the extreme. Wu: He misses an opportunity.
Legge: Line two is dynamic in a magnetic place and without the help of a proper correlate. He keeps still when he ought to be up and doing. There will be evil.
NOTES AND PARAPHRASES
Siu: The time for immediate action has come. The opportunity should be seized quickly and energetically. The man does not act, and bad luck ensues.
Wing: Opportunity and potential are on their way. If you hesitate when the time is right, you will miss your chance entirely. Such bad timing is a result of excessive limitation.
Editor: Line one depicts one restricting himself when it is proper to do so -- line two symbolizes the opposite case: He restricts himself when the times call for action. A fearful, over-cautious or perhaps merely ignorant attitude prevents him from taking the necessary initiative. Sometimes one receives both lines: a seeming contradiction, unless seen as a subtle differentiation of choice. I.e., The first line negates the immediate question, but the second warns us that action of a different character is necessary.
There is a tide in the affairs of men,
Which, taken at the flood, leads on to
fortune; Omitted, all the voyage of their life
Is bound in shallows and in miseries.
Shakespeare -- Julius Caesar
A. You inhibit yourself unnecessarily -- take advantage of your opportunities. The time calls for action, but you aren't acting.
B. Seek wider horizons.
Line 3
Legge: The third line, magnetic, shows its subject with no appearance of observing the proper regulations, in which case we shall see her lamenting. But there will be no one to blame but herself.
Wilhelm/Baynes: He who knows no limitation will have cause to lament. No blame.
Blofeld: Sighing over an apparent lack of restraint -- no error!
Liu: One does not limit oneself and has cause for lamenting. No blame.
Ritsema/Karcher: Not the Articulating like, by-consequence the lamenting like. Without fault.
Shaughnessy: If one is not moderate-like, then one will be sighing-like; there is no trouble.
Cleary (1): If one is not disciplined, one will lament. It is no fault of others.
Cleary (2): Without regulation there will be lament, but you cannot blame anyone.
Wu: If he does not achieve any regulation, he will lament later. No one is to blame.
COMMENTARY
Confucius/Legge: Who should there be to blame? Wilhelm/Baynes: Lament over neglect of limitation -- who is to blame for this? Blofeld: Who would find fault with that? [It is salutary to regret lack of restraint in ourselves or others.] Ritsema/Karcher: Furthermore whose fault indeed? Cleary (2): Whose fault is the lament that comes from lack of regulation? Wu: He laments for being not able to conserve. Who else is to blame?
Legge: Line three should be dynamic, but is magnetic, and neither central nor correct. She has no proper correlate, and is the topmost line in the trigram of Complacent Satisfaction. She refuses the restrictive regulations and will discover her mistake after it is too late. She knows by her lamentations that she only has herself to blame.
NOTES AND PARAPHRASES
Siu: The man does not follow promulgated laws in his own activities. His actions lead to regret.
Wing: Your extravagant behavior and lack of restraint have led you into a state of difficulty. If you are now feeling regret over this and not busy placing the blame elsewhere, you will avoid further mistakes.
Editor: Wilhelm says: "No blame," and Blofeld says: "No error." These renderings seem misleading, since Legge's admonition: "But there will be no one to blame but herself" is more in harmony with the line's meaning. Wilhelm's commentary paradoxically acknowledges this: "But one has oneself to blame for this result." The line is often given in the conditional sense: "If you don't observe the proper regulations, you'll be sorry."
A healthy mind is a castle that cannot be invaded without the will of its master; but if [evil spirits] are allowed to enter, they excite the passions of men and women, they create cravings in them, they produce bad thoughts which act injuriously upon the brain; they sharpen the animal intellect and suffocate the moral sense. Evil spirits obsess only those human beings in whom the animal nature is preponderating. Minds that are illuminated by the spirit of truth cannot be possessed; only those who are habitually guided by their own lower impulses may become subjected to their influence. Paracelsus -- De Ente Spirituali
A. An image of self-caused misfortune.
B. You'll regret it if you exceed the mean.
Line 5
Legge: Line five, dynamic, shows its subject sweetly and acceptably enacting his regulations. There will be good fortune. The onward progress with them will afford ground for admiration.
Wilhelm/Baynes: Sweet limitation brings good fortune. Going brings esteem.
Blofeld: Voluntary restraint -- good fortune! Advancing now wins praise. [Presumably this means that we have rightly exercised restraint and that the time has now come for us to continue our advance.]
Liu: Sweet limitation. Good fortune. Undertakings bring honor.
Shaughnessy: Sweet moderation; auspicious; in going there will be elevation.
Cleary (1): Contented discipline is good: If you go on, there will be exaltation.
Cleary (2): Contented regulation is auspicious. To go on will result in exaltation.
Wu: There is optimal regulation. Auspicious. Wherever he goes, he will succeed.
COMMENTARY
Confucius/Legge: The good fortune is due to the line occupying the place of authority and being in the center. Wilhelm/Baynes: The good fortune comes from remaining central in one's own place. Blofeld: This is indicated by the central position of this ruling line. Ritsema/Karcher: Residing-in the situation: centering indeed. Cleary (2): The position one is in is balanced. Wu: His central position.
Legge: Line five is dynamic and in his correct place. He has no proper correlate, and so regulates himself. But he is the lord of the hexagram, and his influence is everywhere beneficially felt.
NOTES AND PARAPHRASES
Siu: Before exacting obedience from others, the man in a high position first applies the restrictions to himself. His beneficial influence is widely felt.
Wing: In influencing others you must become an example. When Limitations and restrictions are necessary, take them upon yourself first. In this way you are certain that they are acceptable while you win the praise and emulation of others. Good fortune.
Editor: If we don't impose restrictions on ourselves, we are not likely to influence others to do so: "Handsome is as handsome does." In many contexts, the line can suggest a situation in which one may advance only by clearly differentiating its inherent limitations.
But animals which live in pure nature never overdo anything, neither sex nor food nor anything else, because their patterns of behavior always impose the right measure and the moment to stop. The moment to start and the moment to stop is all built into their behavioral system, which is why Jung always said that animals were much more pious and religious than man because they really obey their inner order and really follow the meaning of what they are meant to be, never going beyond that. M.L. Von Franz -- Alchemical Active Imagination
A. Equitable discipline advances the Work.
B. By recognizing innate difficulties within the situation one is enabled to proceed pragmatically.
C. Maintain realistic expectations in the matter at hand.
15 Modesty
Other titles: Modesty, The Symbol of Humility, Moderation, Humbling, Respectful/Humble, Yielding/Retiring. 1. Obtaining this hexagram implies that modesty is needed in our attitude, meaning, to allow ourself to be led without resistance. – C.K. Anthony. 2. A Humble or modest person is thought of as having an “empty or unoccupied” mind, meaning a mind without prejudice. – Chung Wu. 3. Only superior people who practice Tao know where to stop, disregard what they have and appear to have nothing. – T. Cleary.
Judgment
Legge:Temperance indicates successful progress. Temperancebrings a good issue to the superior man's undertakings.
Wilhelm/Baynes: Modesty creates success. The superior man carries things through.
Blofeld:Modesty brings success. The Superior Man is able to carry affairs through to completion.
Liu: Modesty: success. The superior man can continue to work to the end.
Ritsema/Karcher: Humbling, Growing. A chun tzu possesses completing. [This hexagram describes your situation in terms of the necessity to cut through pride and complication. It emphasizes that keeping your words unpretentious is the adequate way to handle it...]
Shaughnessy: Modesty: Receipt; the gentleman has an end.
Cleary (1):Humility is developmental. The superior person has a conclusion.
Cleary (2):Humility gets through. A leader has a conclusion.
Wu:Humility is pervasive. The jun zi will have grace in death.
The Image
Legge: A mountain hidden within the earth -- the image of Temperance. The superior man, in accordance with this, diminishes his excesses to augment his insufficiencies, thus creating a just balance.
Wilhelm/Baynes: Within the earth, a mountain: the image of Modesty. Thus the superior man reduces that which is too much, and augments that which is too little. He weighs things and makes them equal.
Blofeld: This hexagram symbolizes a mountain in the centre of the earth. The Superior Man takes from where there is too much in order to augment what is too little. He weighs things and apportions them fairly. [The component trigrams symbolize a mountain surrounded by flat earth, thus suggesting too much in one place and too little in others.]
Liu: The mountain within the earth symbolizes modesty. The superior man reduces the excess and increases the lacking; he weighs and then equalizes all things.
Ritsema/Karcher: Earth center possessing mountain. Humbling. A chun tzu uses reducing the numerous to augment the few. A chun tzu uses evaluating beings to even spreading-out.
Cleary (1): There are mountains in the earth; modesty. Thus does the superior person decrease the abundant and add to the scarce, assessing things and dealing impartially.
Cleary (2): … Leaders assess people and give impartially, by taking from the abundant and adding to the scarce.
Wu: There is a mountain inside earth; this is Humility. Thus the jun zi takes excess from the more to enrich the less and measures goods to ensure fair distribution. [To prepare oneself to accept what is fair among all his fellow men is the essence of humility.]
COMMENTARY
Confucius/Legge: It is the way of heaven to dispense its blessings downwards, and the way of earth to radiate its influence upwards. Both heaven and earth diminish the full to augment the lowly. Spiritual beings inflict calamity on the proud and bless the meek, and men resent ostentation and love temperance. Temperanceenlightens an honorable office, and neither will men ignore it in lowly positions. Thus does the superior man attain his ends. [Emphasis editor's -- Ritsema/Karcher translate "spiritual beings" [Kuei Shen] as: "The whole range of imaginal beings both inside and outside the individual; spiritual powers, gods, demons, ghosts, powers, fetishes.”]
Legge: An essay on temperance rightly follows that on abundant possessions. The third line, dynamic among five magnetic lines, in the topmost place of the trigram of Keeping Still, is the ruler of the hexagram. He is the representative of Temperance -- strong, but self-effacing. The idea is that temperance is the way to permanent success.
The Confucian commentary deals generally with the subject of temperance, showing how it is valued by heaven and earth, by spirits and by men. The descent of the heavenly influences, and the low position of the earth are both symbolic of temperance. The heavenly influences are seen in the daily fluctuations of the sun and moon, and the fertility of the earth correspondingly waxes and wanes with the seasons.
The Daily Lecture says:"The five yin lines above and below symbolize the earth; the one yang line in the center is the mountain in the midst of the earth. The many yin lines represent men's desires; the one yang line represents the heavenly principle. The superior man, looking at this symbolism, diminishes the multitude of human desires within him, and increases the single shoot of the heavenly principle; so does he become grandly just, and can deal with all things evenly according to the nature of each. In whatever circumstances or place he is, he will do what is right.”
NOTES AND PARAPHRASES
Judgment:Temperance means maintaining a dynamic/magnetic balance of forces to attain success.
The Superior Man maintains equilibrium in all that he does.
The most common translation of the title for this hexagram is Modesty, but I have chosen Temperance as a title more expressive of the ideas in the Image and Confucian commentary. The words “modesty” and “humility” often carry a connotation of weakness in western usage, and “temperance,” meaning to temper or regulate, is more expressive of the dynamic strength of will required to restrain and modulate the drive to dominate every situation.
The Image shows a mountain hidden beneath the earth--the quiet, invincible power of sheer will is hidden from view, yet it influences everything. Who observing such a level surface would know that the bulk of Mt. Everest was buried beneath it? Temperance means that one's power is hidden, that the fluctuations of heaven and earth are kept in such dynamic/magnetic balance as to be invisible to ordinary vision. The temperate person is strong enough to bear the weight of the world when that is necessary for the Work.
Marcus Aurelius, the Stoic Roman Emperor, was arguably the most powerful man of his time, yet his temperance and modesty showed him to fulfill the ideal of the superior man. Only the truly strong can be truly modest.
And let this truth be present to thee in the excitement of anger, that to be moved by passion is not manly, but that mildness and gentleness, as they are more agreeable to human nature, so also are they more manly; and he who possesses these qualities possesses strength, nerves and courage, and not the man who is subject to fits of passion and discontent. For in the same degree in which a man's mind is nearer to freedom from all passion, in the same degree also is it nearer to strength. Marcus Aurelius