One appreciates a little comfort after having endured very difficult conditions. taoscopy.com
Small Powers62
Focus on the details. Embrace humility and small steps to achieve success. Avoid overreaching or taking on too much to prevent failure.
↓ Line 1
This line warns against overreaching or attempting too much. It suggests that one should be cautious and avoid taking unnecessary risks.
↓ Line 2
This line suggests that one should focus on immediate and attainable goals rather than distant or ambitious ones. It advises contentment with modest achievements.
↓ Line 3
This line warns of potential danger from unexpected sources. It advises vigilance and awareness of one's surroundings to avoid being caught off guard.
↓ Line 4
This line suggests that one should avoid unnecessary actions and remain cautious. It advises maintaining a steady course and being prepared for potential challenges.
↓ Line 5
This line indicates that while conditions may seem unfavorable, success is still possible through careful and precise actions. It suggests that one should focus on what can be achieved rather than what seems impossible.
↓ Limitation60
Set boundaries and apply discipline to create balance and order in life. Prioritize moderation and clear limits for greater focus and harmony.
62 Small Powers
Other titles: Preponderance of the Small, The Symbol of Excess in Small Things, The Small get by, Slight Excess, Small Exceeding, Small Surpassing, Excess of the Small, Small gains, Conscientiousness, Smallness in Excess, Exceeding the Mean, Proliferation of Details, "Like a bird, do not fly too high or attempt too much because this will lead to disaster." -- D.F. Hook
Judgment
Legge:Small Powers indicates that there will be progress and attainment in small affairs, but not in great affairs. It will be advantageous to be firm and correct. It is like the song of a flying bird: It is better to descend than to ascend. In this way there will be good fortune.
Wilhelm/Baynes:Preponderance of the Small. Success. Perseverance furthers. Small things may be done; great things should not be done. The flying bird brings the message: It is not well to strive upward, it is well to remain below. Great good fortune.
Blofeld:The Small Get By -- success! Persistence in a righteous course brings reward. Small things can be accomplished now, but not great ones. When birds fly high, their singing is out of tune. The humble, but not the mighty, are favored now with great good fortune. [To aim high now would be to put ourselves out of accord with the times.]
Liu:Slight Excess. Success. Continuing is of benefit. Undertaking small things, not great things. The song of the flying bird. It is not good to go up; it is good to stay below. Great good fortune. [Slight Excess signifies the slight excess or small mistake that can prevent the achievement of great things.]
Ritsema/Karcher:Small Exceeding, Growing. Harvesting Trial. Permitting Small
Affairs. Not permitting Great Affairs. Flying bird: abandoning's sound. Above not proper, below proper. The great significant. [This hexagram describes your situation in terms of an overwhelming variety of encounters and details. It emphasizes that an excessive concern with adapting yourself to these inner and outer events is the adequate way to handle it...]
Shaughnessy: Small Surpassing : Receipt; beneficial to determine; possible for little service, but not possible for great service. The sound left by the flying bird is not proper for ascent but is proper for descent; greatly auspicious.
Cleary (1):Predominance of the small is developmental, beneficial if correct. It is suitable for a small affair but not for a great one. The call left by a flying bird should not rise but descend. This is very auspicious.
Cleary (2):Small excess turns out all right. It is beneficial to be correct. It is all right for small matters, not for great matters. A flying bird leaves its cry; it should not ascend but descend – then there will be great good fortune.
Wu: Excess of the Small indicates pervasiveness and the advantage of being persevering. One may succeed in doing small business, but not big one. Like the lingering sound of a bird flying by, it is not suitable to go upward, but suitable to go downward. Great fortune.
The Image
Legge: The image of thunder above a hill forms Small Powers. The superior man, in accordance with this, in his conduct exceeds in humility, in mourning exceeds in sorrow, and in his expenditure exceeds in economy.
Wilhelm/Baynes: Thunder on the mountain: the image of Preponderance of the Small. Thus in his conduct the superior man gives preponderance to reverence. In bereavement he gives preponderance to grief. In his expenditures he gives preponderance to thrift. [The superior man derives an imperative from this image: he must always fix his eyes more closely and more directly on duty than does the ordinary man, even though this might make his behavior seem petty to the outside world. He is exceptionally conscientious in his actions.]
Blofeld: This hexagram symbolizes thunder over the mountains. The Superior Man now acts with too much reverence, experiences too much sorrow from bereavement and is overly thrifty in satisfying his needs.
Liu: Thunder over the mountain symbolizes Slight Excess. The superior man's conduct is overly humble; In mourning he laments exceedingly, and he is stingy in his spending.
Ritsema/Karcher: Above mountain possessing thunder. Small Exceeding. A chun tzu uses moving Exceeding to reach-to courtesy. A chun tzu uses losing Exceeding to reach-to mourning. A chun tzu uses availing of Exceeding to reach-to parsimony.
Cleary (1): There is thunder over a mountain, exessively small. Thus superior people are excessively deferential in conduct, excessively sad in mourning, excessively frugal in consumption.
Cleary (2): Thunder over a mountain – small excess. Genteel people are exceedingly deferential in conduct, exceedingly sad in mourning, and exceedingly abstemious in consumption.
Wu: Thunder rolls over the mountain; this is Excess of the Small. Thus the jun zi conducts himself with a little excess in respect to others, a little excess in sorrow at mourning, and a little excess in frugality in expenditure.
COMMENTARY
Confucius/Legge: In Small Powers we see the magnetic lines exceeding the others, and giving the intimation of progress and attainment. To be advantageous, such excesses must be associated with firm correctness, and must always be in harmony with the requirements of the time. The magnetic lines are in the central places, and hence it is said that small excesses may be done in small affairs with good effect. Of the dynamic lines, one is not in its proper place, and the other is not central; thus it is said that small excesses should not be done in great affairs. In the hexagram we have the symbol of the flying bird, whose song reminds us that it is better to descend than ascend. To ascend is contrary to what is reasonable in the case, while to descend is natural and right.
Legge: The meaning of this hexagram in which an excess of yin lines prevails, may be grasped by contrasting its image with that of hexagram number twenty-eight, Critical Mass, in which an excess of yang lines prevails. Here the idea is the prevalence of small or inferior powers, and the lesson to be learned is how to distinguish essentials from non-essentials. Is it ever good to deviate from the established course of procedure? The answer is that it is permissible only in small matters, but never in matters of import. Sometimes form may be dispensed with, but never substance, and the thing must always be done responsibly and with appropriate humility. The symbol of the bird is to teach humility -- it is better for it to descend, keeping near to where it can perch and rest, than to ascend into the homeless regions of the upper air.
NOTES AND PARAPHRASES
Judgment: Ground your flights of fancy.
The Superior Man bends over backwards to be correct.
Small Powers shows the preceding figure of Inner Truth turned inside-out. Here the magnetic lines are all on the outside -- uncontained and uncontrolled. The hexagram often reflects a situation in which the "archetypes": the passions, appetites, emotions, drives and instincts have left their proper places within the psyche and are flying free like birds escaped from the zoo. Most of the lines either depict the danger of such a situation or warn about how to control it.
In this inflated, compulsive state of identity, we and the drive are at our most harmful; the drive will unfold and we will act out its extreme, inappropriate and destructive side. In the process we get the worst of it, along with the other people involved. The wrong thing usually happens at the wrong time and in the wrong place. A capacity for moving toward differentiation and transforming the drive will not arise until the state of identity has been dissolved. This requires a confrontation of the drive as a Thou, as something that is not I, as something separate from ourselves. Only at this point can the inner dialogue begin. Until then the drive remains unconscious, primitive and destructive. Only after the identity has been dissolved by learning to experience the drive as an autonomous entity that is separate from the ego, do we get a chance to choose a right time and place and to develop the positive potential of the drive. E.C. Whitmont --The Symbolic Quest
Interestingly, the only line that seems to be correctly "out of its cage" is the second -- suggesting a situation in which an intuitive inner wisdom takes proper precedence over the usual firm correctness of "reason."
Line 1
Legge: The first line, magnetic, suggests the idea of a bird flying, and ascending until the issue is evil.
Wilhelm/Baynes: The bird meets with misfortune through flying. [A bird ought to remain in the nest until it is fledged. If it tries to fly before this, it invites misfortune.]
Blofeld: A bird in flight brings misfortune.
Liu: A bird encounters misfortune when it soars.
Ritsema/Karcher: Flying bird: using a pitfall.
Shaughnessy: The flying bird brings inauspiciousness.
Cleary (1): A bird that flies thereby brings misfortune.
Wu: The flying bird gets its misfortune.
COMMENTARY
Confucius/Legge: Nothing can be done to avoid this issue. Wilhelm/Baynes: Here there is nothing to be done. Blofeld: There is nothing we can do about it. [The bird is merely a symbol; we are due to encounter misfortune which we are powerless to avert.]Ritsema/Karcher: Wherefore not permitted thus indeed. Cleary (2): Nothing can be done about it. Wu: It cannot be helped.
Legge: Line one is magnetic in a dynamic place, and possessed by the idea of exceeding the limitations of the hexagram. Her correlate is the dynamic fourth line, belonging to the trigram of Movement, so that instead of being repressed from her tendency to ascend, she is actually stimulated to do so. Nothing can be done to avoid an evil issue because she brings it on herself.
NOTES AND PARAPHRASES
Siu: At the outset, the man should heed the case of a bird leaving the nest before it is fledged. He should spend his early life learning the traditional ways in order to avoid wasting his energies in senseless jousting.
Wing: If you are considering an extraordinary plan, forget it. The time and your position could not be more inappropriate. Your destiny lies in the ordinary or traditional, and anything beyond that would lead you into danger.
Editor: Despite the gloomy Confucian commentary, my experience with this line has usually been conditional: "If the bird flies, disaster is inevitable." The implicit conclusion is: "If the bird doesn't fly, it will escape the unpleasant consequences." The image of the bird (an air creature symbolizes a thought, concept or idea) can suggest blue-sky thinking that will only end up lost in space. Wilhelm’s commentary offers the idea of a fledgling trying to fly before it is ready, suggesting that the impulse to act may be more premature than improper.
If we do not know what moves us we are in no position to understand what we are doing, nor are we in any position to choose what we wish to do. We may think we decide what we want to do but what actually happens may be quite another matter. Without an awareness of the psychic fields in which we operate, any idea of freedom of will, decision or of relationship is an illusion. E.C. Whitmont --The Symbolic Quest
A. You have allowed your thoughts to run away with you.
B. You are in over your head -- have exceeded your ability to cope with the reality of the situation.
Line 2
Legge: The second line, magnetic, shows its subject passing by her grandfather, and meeting with her grandmother; not attempting anything against her ruler, but meeting her as her minister. There will be no error.
Wilhelm/Baynes: She passes by her ancestor and meets her ancestress. He does not reach his prince and meets the official. No blame.
Blofeld: Passing by the spirit tablets of his ancestors, he encountered the ghost of (or else the tablet of) his late mother. He did not get as far as the Prince but encountered one of the ministers -- no error!
Liu: He passes over his deceased grandfather and meets his deceased grandmother. He does not reach the king but meets an official. No blame.
Ritsema/Karcher: Exceeding one's grandfather. Meeting one's grandmother. Not extending-to one's chief. Meeting one's servant. Without fault.
Shaughnessy: Surpassing his grandfather, meeting his grandmother: Not reaching his lord, meeting his servant; there is no trouble.
Cleary (1): Passing the grandfather, you meet the mother; not reaching the lord, you meet the retainer. No fault.
Cleary (2): Going past the grandfather, etc. ... you meet the administrator, etc.
Wu: He passes by his grandfather and meets with his grandmother. He does not reach the ruler, but meets with the minister. No error.
COMMENTARY
Confucius/Legge: A minister should not overpass the ruler. Wilhelm/Baynes: The official should not wish to surpass the prince. Blofeld: He did not reach the Prince because he was unable to get by the minister. [We fail, but through no fault of ours, to reach as high as we'd hoped.] Ritsema/Karcher: Not extending to one's chief. A servant not permitted Exceeding indeed. Cleary (2): The administrator is not to be surpassed. Wu: Because the minister should not be bypassed.
Legge: The second line is magnetic but in her proper central place. Her correlate is the magnetic fifth-line ruler of the hexagram. The dynamic lines separating them represent her father and grandfather, but she passes by them to meet with her grandmother in line five. She moves toward the grandmother-ruler not as an enemy, but with the loyal humility of a proper minister.
NOTES AND PARAPHRASES
Siu: The man fails to meet the chief executive, but goes about his duties among other officials. He does not force his way into the limelight.
Wing: Use whatever common affiliations you have with others to bring you into a secure position. No matter what kind of connection you make, it is the connection itself that is important. Hold as closely as possible, however, to traditional methods.
Editor: Blofeld, Liu, Ritsema/Karcher (and Wilhelm by implication) all state that the "grandfather" and "grandmother" are deceased ancestors. Ritsema/Karcher translate "grandmother" as: "Second ancestor generation ... venerated as source of her many descendants." Psychologically, we can assume that the "ancestral grandmother" relates to a primal Yin archetype. Here, a female (Eros principle) passes by two males (logos principle) to unite (correctly in this instance) with another yin line -- which also rules the hexagram. Psychologically, the image suggests the subordination of intellect to a deeper source of wisdom within the psyche. A fair paraphrase of the Confucian commentary might be: "Don't exceed your authority." Perhaps a warning to the ego not to impose its preconceived ideas on the unusual situation portrayed by this line. If this is the only changing line, the corresponding line in the new hexagram, 32 – Consistency, is: Remorse disappears . The relationship between correlate lines in these two hexagrams helps explain each other. Siu’s paraphrase in the latter case is often useful: The man endures by keeping his force of character within the bounds of available power.
The utterances of the heart -- unlike those of the discriminating intellect -- always relate to the whole. The heartstrings sing like an Aeolian harp only to the gentle breath of a premonitory mood, which does not drown the song but listens. Jung -- The Symbolic Life
A. The intellect defers to the wisdom of the heart.
B. Go with your intuition.
C. Don't get ahead of yourself.
Line 3
Legge: The third line, dynamic, shows its subject taking no extraordinary precautions against danger, and some in consequence finding opportunity to assail and injure him. There will be evil.
Wilhelm/Baynes: If one is not extremely careful, somebody may come up from behind and strike him. Misfortune.
Blofeld: Unless he takes appropriate precautions, one of his subordinates may slay him -- misfortune!
Liu: If he does not protect himself carefully, someone will stab him in the back. Misfortune.
Ritsema/Karcher: Nowhere Exceeding defending-against it. Adhering, maybe killing it. Pitfall.
Shaughnessy: Not surpassing him but repelling him, following which someone injures him; inauspicious.
Cleary (1): If you do not overcome and forestall it, indulgence will cause harm, which would be unfortunate.
Cleary (2): One does not take precautions in excess, so pursuers attack one. This is unfortunate.
Wu: Ignoring to secure a little excess of protection, he may be fatally wounded. Foreboding.
COMMENTARY
Confucius/Legge: There will be evil: how great it will be! Wilhelm/Baynes: What a misfortune this is! Blofeld: Were that to happen, it would indeed be misfortune! Ritsema/Karcher: Wherefore a pitfall thus indeed. Cleary (2): Pursuers attack one. How unfortunate! Wu: How can it not be foreboding?
Legge: The subject of line three is too confident in his own strength, and too defiant of the magnetic enemies that seek to hurt him.
NOTES AND PARAPHRASES
Siu: The man is disdainful of weak enemies and does not exercise adequate precautions in the face of apparently insignificant signs. He will be hurt.
Wing: This is a warning. Because you are in the right and things have gone smoothly in the past, you may be tempted to overlook details and become overly confident. Dangers are lurking. They can be avoided with Conscientiousness. Take precautions now.
Editor: The "magnetic enemies" are all of the yin lines in the hexagram, seen here as treacherous adversaries. There is no ambiguity in this line at all -- it is saying in the clearest possible terms to "Watch out!"
We are therefore on safe ground when we speak of a personal part of the psyche consisting of the conscious and controllable elements, and a nonpersonal part consisting of those elements not controlled by the conscious I but superordinated to and acting independently of it, often dominating it and forcing it to act contrary to its desires ... A man in this stage of self-consciousness does not realize as a rule that ideas occur to him without his willing them, that actions are performed through him -- that he is being used by thoughts and impulses arising from something other than his I. M.E. Harding -- Psychic Energy
A. You are vulnerable to harm -- wake up!
B. You have taken no precautions against the threat of attack from unseen quarters. If you are not extremely careful, you're going to get hurt.
Line 4
Legge: The fourth line, dynamic, shows its subject falling into no error, but meeting the exigency of his situation without exceeding in his natural course. If he goes forward, there will be peril, and he must be cautious. There is no occasion to be using firmness perpetually.
Wilhelm/Baynes: No blame. He meets him without passing by. Going brings danger. One must be on guard. Do not act. Be constantly persevering. [Hardness of character is tempered by yielding position, so that no mistakes are made.]
Blofeld: No error! Instead of passing him by, he accosts him. Advancing now entails dangers which have to be guarded against. This is not a time for action, but for unwavering determination.
Liu: He meets things without excessive reactions. No blame. He will meet danger if he advances. There must be caution. Do not continue.
Ritsema/Karcher: Without fault. Nowhere Exceeding meeting it. Going adversity necessarily warning. No availing-of perpetual Trial.
Shaughnessy: There is no trouble. Not surpassing him, but meeting him; to go is dangerous, there necessarily being a revolt. Do not herewith determine permanently.
Cleary (1): No fault. Do not dally with it too much; it is dangerous to go on. Caution is necessary. Don’t persist forever.
Cleary (2): No fault, meeting here without excess. To go is dangerous; it is necessary to be cautious and not do it. Always be correct.
Wu: There will be no blame, when he encounters a chance meeting with someone without exceeding the spirit of small excess. Any excessive effort must be curtailed. Nor it is proper to be persevering.
COMMENTARY
Confucius/Legge: The position is inappropriate for a dynamic line. If he goes forward the result would be that his course would not be long pursued. Wilhelm/ Baynes: The place is not the appropriate one. Blofeld: Accosting someone instead of passing him by is now inappropriate or, is indicated by the unsuitable position of this line. The danger of going forward and the need for precaution imply that we should not continue long in our present course. Ritsema/ Karcher: Situation not appropriate indeed. Going adversity necessarily warning. Completing not permitting long-living indeed. Cleary (2): The position is not right. After all, it cannot last. Wu: This means that his position is improper. Because it will not last.
Legge: Line four is dynamic, but the exercise of his strength is tempered by his position in a magnetic place. He is warned however, to continue quiet and restrain himself.
NOTES AND PARAPHRASES
Siu: The man exercises restraint and caution. He meets the exigencies of the situation without exceeding the natural bounds.
Wing: Caution: Do not forge ahead toward your goals or force issues at this time. Stay low and remain inwardly persevering.
Editor: The image portrays a dynamic minister who might be inclined to surpass his magnetic ruler, but who is counseled to temper his impulse to advance. "He meets him without passing by" in Wilhelm's translation is another way of saying not to ignore the danger in the situation. Legge's rendering: "There is no occasion to be using firmness perpetually," Ritsema/Karcher's: "No availing-of perpetual Trial," and Shaughnessy’s "Do not herewith determine permanently," all contradict Wilhelm, Blofeld and Liu, who translate constant perseverance. The logic of the imagery and Confucian commentary argue for this latter rendering, though the circumstances of your query may leave the other interpretation open for consideration. Indeed, Cleary’s Taoist and Buddhist translations offer each version!
To put it in psychological terms, it is the unawareness of danger that constitutes the greatest threat to one who is assailed by an uprush of primitive libido from the unconscious. If he could see the threat or temptation clearly enough to call it by its true name, half the battle would be won. M.E. Harding -- Psychic Energy
A. Don't get ahead of yourself or exceed your authority. Unilateral action is inappropriate.
B. "Modesty is the best policy."
Line 5
Legge: The sixth line, magnetic, shows its subject not meeting the exigency of her situation, and exceeding her proper course. It suggests the idea of a bird flying far aloft. There will be evil. The case is one of calamity and self-inflicted injury.
Wilhelm/Baynes: He passes him by, not meeting him. The flying bird leaves him. Misfortune. This means bad luck and injury.
Blofeld: Instead of accosting him, he passed him by, The bird flew away from him -- misfortune in the form of natural calamity and deliberate injury.
Liu: He passes over someone, not meeting him. The birds fly away. Misfortune. There will be disaster.
Ritsema/Karcher: Nowhere meeting, Exceeding it. Flying bird radiating it. Pitfall. That designates Calamity and Blunder.
Shaughnessy: Not meeting him, but surpassing him; the flying bird is netted in it; inauspicious. This is called calamitous imperfection.
Cleary (1): Don’t overstay here. The flying bird is gone. This is called calamity.
Cleary (2): The flying birds leave. This is unfortunate. This is called calamity.
Wu: He meets with no one even though he applies the spirit of small excess. Like a bird flying away from other birds, he is alone. Foreboding. It will be catastrophic.
COMMENTARY
Confucius/Legge: The position indicates the habit of domineering. Wilhelm/ Baynes: He is already arrogant. Blofeld: The first sentence suggests that we behave too arrogantly. Ritsema/Karcher: Climaxing overbearing indeed. Cleary (2): Passing by without meeting is because of arrogance. Wu: Because he is too arrogant.
Legge: Line six is magnetic at the top of the trigram of Movement. She is possessed by the idea of the hexagram to an extreme degree, and is incapable of keeping herself under restraint.
NOTES AND PARAPHRASES
Siu: The man does not know how to control his preoccupation with trivia. His overshooting and restlessly pressing on bring disappointment and calamity to himself and his people.
Wing: Your ambitions may be too great. In an aggressive attempt to reach an unrealistic goal you will meet with disaster.
Editor: Wilhelm and Blofeld both translate "domineering" as "arrogance," thus creating an image of rising above one's proper station (exceeding the mean) through over-confidence or pride. If we accept the universal symbol of the bird as emblematic of thoughts or thought processes, the line becomes a commentary on the dangers of excessive intellectualism. Compare this line with the sixth line of hexagram number fifty-six.
Wherever there is identity, as we have seen, there is compulsiveness. When we are identical with a drive we never question why we are moving or where we are going: there is only automatic response to an impulse. This state of compulsiveness, moreover, gives us the feeling of being carried by a tremendous force of energy, in much the same way that an automobile going at the speed of eighty miles an hour may give us a feeling of exhilaration: We are really going fast now! This exhilaration, this unquestioning feeling of assurance that "I'm really going, and I'm going fine and well" is called inflation. E.C. Whitmont -- The Symbolic Quest
A. You have missed the mark. Arrogance or overconfidence have put your head in the clouds.
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