Moving to the front line
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Discipline7
Strategic alignment leads to victory; discipline and structure ensure success.
↓ Line 3
Carrying unnecessary burdens or past issues leads to failure.
↓ Line 5
Leadership should be entrusted to the experienced. Misfortune comes from inexperience.
↓ Line 6
Leadership and authority should be exercised wisely, avoiding reliance on those who are unworthy.
↓ Penetration57
Adapt influence like the wind; subtle shifts bring progress. Consistency and endurance will penetrate barriers.
7 Discipline
Other titles: The Army, The Symbol of Multitude and of Army, Legions/ Leading, The Troops, Collective Force, Discipline, Soldiers, Group Action, A Disciplined Multitude, Ego Discipline, Willpower "Can refer to mourning but its essential meaning is Discipline." -- D.F. Hook
Judgment
Legge:Disciplineindicates that with firm correctness and a leader of age and experience, there will be good fortune and no error.
Wilhelm/Baynes:The Army. The army needs perseverance and a strong man. Good fortune without blame.
Blofeld: Persistence in a righteous course brings to those in authority good fortune and freedom from error. [If the enquiry is not concerned with military affairs, we must interpret this hexagram symbolically in the sense that life is a battle.]
Liu:The Army. The army demands perseverance and a strong person (leader). Good fortune. No blame.
Ritsema/Karcher: Legions: Trial. Respectable people significant. Without fault. [This hexagram describes your situation in terms of unorganized crowds or bunches of things. It emphasizes that organizing these things into functional units is the adequate way to handle it. To be in accord with the time, you are told to lead!]
Shaughnessy: The Troops: Determination for the senior man is auspicious; there is no trouble.
Cleary (1): For the leader of the army to be right, a mature person is good; then there is no error.
Wu: The Army indicates persevering. Led by the elder man, it will be auspicious.
The Image
Legge: Water in the midst of the earth -- the image ofDiscipline. The superior man nourishes and educates the people, and collects from among them a mighty army.
Wilhelm/Baynes: In the middle of the earth is water: the image of The Army. Thus the superior man increases his masses by generosity toward the people.
Blofeld: The symbol of water surrounded by land. The Superior Man nourishes the people and treats them with leniency.
Liu: Water in the earth symbolizes the Army. The superior man increases his followers by benevolence toward the people.
Ritsema/Karcher: Earth center possessing stream. Legions. A chun tzu uses tolerating commoners to accumulate crowds.
Cleary (1): There is water in the earth, The Army. Thus does the superior person embrace the people and nurture the masses.
Cleary (2): … Leaders develop a group by admitting people.
Wu: There is water underneath the ground; this is The Army. Thus the jun zi receives people and shelters them.
COMMENTARY
Confucius/Legge: Discipline describes the masses who make up the army, and the firm correctness referred to means a morally correct intent. When the leader uses the masses with such correctness, he may fulfill the ruler's will. The focus of strength in the second line is responded to by his proper correlate in the ruler's place. Although action is dangerous, it accords with the best sentiments of men, and although the leader may distress the country the people will still follow him -- there will be good fortune and no error.
Legge: Discipline is symbolized here by the conduct of a military expedition. The arrangement of the lines suggests the idea of a general surrounded by his troops. The dynamic yang line in the center of the lower trigram has the confidence of the magnetic ruler in the fifth place. Entire trust is reposed in him because he is strong and correct. He is referred to as an old and experienced man, hence all of his enterprises will succeed.
Perilousness is the attribute of the lower trigram, and Docility or Accordance with Others, that of the upper. War is like poison to a country -- painful, and potentially ruinous, and yet the people will endure it on behalf of the sovereign whom they love and respect.
In regard to the Image, Chu Hsi says: "As the water is not outside the earth, so soldiers are not outside the people. Therefore if a ruler is able to nourish the people, he can get the multitudes for his armies."
NOTES AND PARAPHRASES
Judgment: Discipline directed by willpower and serious intent advances the Work. Or: With experienced judgment and proper will and intent there will be a good outcome.
The Superior Man trains and nourishes his powers to build an invincible unity.
The English word "infantry," meaning foot soldiers (the backbone of any army), is derived from the French word enfant, meaning infant, or child. This ancient association was made because a good military officer was expected to treat his soldiers as if they were his own children -- with a stern but loving discipline designed to improve their character. This concept is what the Image alludes to when it says: “The superior man nourishes and educates the people, and collects from among them a mighty army.” Psychologically interpreted the idea is that the ego-complex is the general officer in the second line that nourishes, educates and controls the other complexes within the psyche. This can only be accomplished through discipline, and thus I have chosen that name for the hexagram rather than the more usual title of The Army.
With the only dynamic line of the hexagram placed in the center of the lower trigram we have an image of the position of the ego-complex in relation to the rest of the psyche. The magnetic ruler in line five represents the Self, isolated from direct physical involvement and dependent upon the dynamic ego to carry out the Work in the material dimension. The seventh hexagram, therefore, shows the Work from the ego's point of view.
Hexagram number eight, Holding Together, is the inverse of this image, and shows the Work from the Self's point of view outside of spacetime. There it is the dynamic fifth line ruler who is the focal point -- an image of the Self surrounded by its satellites. In that dimension the second line ego-complex is only another magnetic complex in the company of other magnetic complexes. Ideally, the lower complexes within the psyche should be magnetic in relation to a dynamic ego, but the ego is always magnetic in relation to the dynamic Self. From the Self's point of view all of its complexes are its magnetic "children," or "infantry." Hexagrams seven and eight should be studied together as reversed images to get a full comprehension of each.
The images in the lines of Discipline all deal with the management of forces as a coordinated whole -- as long as they are under the firm command of the ego (who is only a general carrying out the orders of the Self), things proceed successfully. If the Discipline breaks down and the ego- general loses control, defeat is certain.
Narutomi Hyogo said, "What is called winning is defeating one's allies. Defeating one's allies is defeating oneself, and defeating oneself is vigorously overcoming one's own body. It is as though a man were in the midst of ten thousand allies but not one were following him. If one hasn't previously mastered his mind and body, he will not defeat the enemy." Yamamoto Tsunetomo -- The Book of the Samurai
Line 3
Legge: The third line, magnetic, shows how the army may possibly have many inefficient leaders. There will be evil.
Wilhelm/Baynes: Perchance the army carries corpses in the wagon. Misfortune.
Blofeld: The army carries wagon-loads of corpses -- disaster!
Liu: The army carries corpses. Misfortune. [This is a time of sudden mourning.]
Shaughnessy: Of the troops some join with the corpses; inauspicious.
Cleary (1): The army has casualties; bad luck.
Cleary (2): The army may have casualties; misfortune.
Wu: The army may have to cart back corpses. This will be foreboding.
COMMENTARY
Confucius/Legge: Possibly the army has idle leaders -- great will be its want of success. Wilhelm/Baynes: This is quite without merit. Blofeld: This indicates a serious defeat. Ritsema/Karcher: The great without achievement indeed. Cleary (2): When the army has casualties, that is a great lack of success. Wu: Despite its large number, it does not succeed.
Legge: Canon McClatchie translates this as: "Represents soldiers as it were lying dead in their baggage carts, and is unlucky." Line two is the only legitimate leader of the army. Line three is magnetic in a dynamic place, as if she had jumped over the leader and perched herself above him to take command. In military operations there must be one ruling will and mind. A divided authority is sure to bring failure.
NOTES AND PARAPHRASES
Siu: Defeat ensues when others interfere with the authority of the chosen ruler. Divided command is often fatal.
Wing: There is an absence of vision and leadership. Whether it is a matter of divergent goals or whether the acting leader is simply inept, the result is the same: misfortune.
Editor: Psychologically interpreted, this line describes one of the most fundamental, yet least recognized truths of human consciousness -- the fact that "unity" of awareness is mostly illusory. Indeed, the whole goal of the Work is to actually attain this unity which we think we already possess. Legge's metaphorical equation of "corpses" with "inefficient leaders" is not always apt -- in its most neutral interpretation, the line can depict a situation of (as Liu says) "sudden mourning" or overwhelming grief.
Man has no individual I. But there are, instead, hundreds and thousands of separate small I's, very often entirely unknown to one another, never coming into contact, or, on the contrary, hostile to each other, mutually exclusive and incompatible ... And each separate small I is able to call itself by the name of the whole, to act in the name of the whole, to agree or disagree, to give promises, to make decisions, with which another I or the whole will have to deal. – Gurdjieff
A. Are you in charge of your thoughts and feelings, or do they make your choices for you?
B. Be on guard against inferior elements within yourself or the situation.
C. Suggests dead weight, useless baggage (beliefs, etc.)
Line 5
Legge: The fifth line, magnetic, shows birds in the fields, which it will be advantageous to seize and destroy. In that case there will be no error. If the oldest son leads the host, and younger men idly occupy offices assigned to them, however firm and correct he may be, there will be evil.
Wilhelm/Baynes: There is game in the field. It furthers one to catch it. Without blame. Let the eldest lead the army. The younger transports corpses; then perseverance brings misfortune.
Blofeld: Wild beasts roam the field. To avoid error, speech should be guarded. The eldest son is in command; the younger son carts away the corpses. Persistence would lead to calamity.
Liu: Much game in the field. It benefits to capture it. No blame. The army is led by the eldest son. The younger son carries corpses. Continuing brings misfortune.
Ritsema/Karcher: The fields possess wild-fowl. Harvesting: holding-on-to words. Without fault. The long-living son conducting Legions. The junior son carting corpses. Trial: pitfall.
Shaughnessy: In the fields there is game; beneficial to shackle prisoners; there is no trouble. The eldest son leads the troops, the younger son carts corpses; determination is inauspicious.
Cleary (1): There are animals in the fields. It is beneficial to take up words. A mature person is to lead the army; if it is an immature person, there will be casualties, for even if he is righteous the outlook is bad.
Cleary (2): … A mature person leads the army. If the leader is immature, there will be casualties, and even if the leader is right, the prospects are bad.
Wu: There are prisoners of war in the field. It will be advantageous to uphold the mission of the military action. No blame. The eldest son commands the army. A younger son carts back corpses. Even with perseverance, it will be foreboding. [The fifth is a ruler’s position, but it is now occupied by a yin. Hence, the occupant becomes a weak administrator. The elder man and the eldest son … refer to the same second nine, the commander.]
COMMENTARY
Confucius/Legge: The army's movements are directed by the oldest son in accordance with his position in the center. The employment of younger men who idly occupy their posts is improper. Wilhelm/Baynes: "Let the eldest lead the army," because he is central and correct. "The younger transports corpses." Thus the right man is not put in charge. Blofeld: The moving line in the center of the upper trigram indicates that the elder son is in command. The younger son is put in charge of carrying away the corpses because he is unsuited to worthier employment. [This line may refer to the suitability or otherwise of a person required to fill an important post in any sort of organization or in carrying out some scheme.] Ritsema/Karcher: Using centering movement indeed. Commissioning not appropriate indeed. Cleary (2): A mature person leads the army, with balanced action. The immature sustain casualties because their mission was not appropriate. Wu: His orders are given from the center. Because the appointment is a poor choice.
Legge: In line five we have an intimation of the important truth that only defensive war, or war waged by the rightful authority to put down rebellion and lawlessness is right. The birds in the fields symbolize parties attacking for plunder. The fifth line symbolizes the ruler, who is humble and magnetic, and in the center. She cedes the use of all her power to the general in line two. Line two is the "oldest son" and lines three and four are the younger brother and son -- i.e., the younger men who would cause evil if allowed to share the command. In military operations there must be one ruling will and mind. A divided authority is sure to be a failure.
NOTES AND PARAPHRASES
Siu: Invasion occurs. A seasoned soldier is chosen to lead the army to victory and to prevent needless slaughter of the defeated people.
Wing: Rely on an experienced person to lead the way in correcting the situation. He must be moderate in his behavior and not over reactive, for this would lead to misfortune. Inexperienced and enthusiastic persons are now inappropriate for the job of deliberate and controlled leadership.
Editor: This line contains ambiguities, yet the general image is clear enough. It is a re-statement of lines two and three: a strong leader is essential for success. Nevertheless, all except Legge's translation contain a final sentence stating that perseverance leads to misfortune, which seems to contradict the earlier advice to "pursue the game." As written, it is not clear whether this applies to the situation in general or only in the case of incompetent leadership. If this is the only changing line, the hexagram thus created is number twenty-nine,Danger -- suggesting that you carefully examine the situation at hand, consolidate your control and advance cautiously.
Know you not that the thing is a warfare? One man’s duty is to mount guard, another must go out to reconnoiter, a third to battle; all cannot be in one place, nor would it even be expedient. But you, instead of executing your Commander's orders, complain if aught harsher than usual is enjoined; not understanding to what condition you are bringing the army, so far as in you lies. If all were to follow your example, none would dig a trench, none would cast rampart around the camp, none would keep watch, or expose himself to danger; but all turn out useless for the service of war. Thus it is here also. Every life is a warfare, and that long and various. You must fulfill a soldier's duty, and obey each order at your commander's nod: aye, if it be possible, divine what he would have done: for between that Commander and this, there is no comparison, either in might or in excellence. Epictetus
A. There is work to be done, but if you allow inferior elements to influence your judgment, disaster will ensue.
Line 6
Legge: The sixth line, magnetic, shows the great ruler delivering his charges, appointing some to be rulers of states, and others to undertake the headship of clans. But inferior men should not be employed in such positions.
Wilhelm/Baynes: The great prince issues commands, founds states, vests families with fiefs. Inferior people should not be employed.
Blofeld: The mandate is given to a great prince so that the work may go forward satisfactorily. A man of mean ability would be useless, for he would merely spread disorder through the realm.
Liu: The king issues directives, establishes states, and awards fiefs to certain families. Inferiors should not be given power.
Ritsema/Karcher: The Great Chief possesses fate. Disclosing the city, receiving a dwelling. Small People, no availing-of.
Shaughnessy: The great man's lord has a mandate, to open the state and uphold the families; the little man should not use it.
Cleary (1): The great leader has orders, to establish states and families; do not employ petty people.
Cleary (2): A great leader has orders to establish states and families that continue. Small people are not to be employed.
Wu: The great king has given his order. This is the time to reconstruct the nation and resettle families. Little men should not be appointed to office.
COMMENTARY
Confucius/Legge: The ruler rightly apportions merit. Inferior men are sure to throw the states into confusion. Wilhelm/Baynes: In order to reward merit properly. Because they are certain to cause confusion in the country. Blofeld: We cannot now rely on anyone of less than exceptional ability. Ritsema/ Karcher: Using correcting achieving indeed. Necessarily disarraying the fiefdoms indeed. Cleary (2): Appropriate achievement. They will disrupt the nation. Wu: Merits should be recognized. Because they will certainly cause upheavals in the nation.
Legge: Other ways can be found to reward inferior men. They ought not to be placed in situations where the conditions of others will depend on them.
NOTES AND PARAPHRASES
Siu: Victory is achieved. The king rewards his supporters. But he is careful to compensate inferior people with money instead of land or ruling privileges. Otherwise power is abused by them.
Wing: Your aim is achieved. When settling into the new situation be certain to align your proprieties to worthwhile values. Inferior persons and ideas should be assigned to their proper places. Do not give them a voice in your affairs.
Editor: The imagery of this line is that of establishing a new order: a sorting out and allocation of forces to their correct places. Proper allocation demands keen discrimination. The meaning is similar to that of line 1, except that here one uses the discriminating faculty after the action has been completed, whereas in line 1, action has yet to commence. Lines 1 and 6 are like "bookends" holding the hexagram together; reminding us that discipline is required both before and after any meaningful change can be fixed in spacetime.
All the nations will be assembled before him and he will separate men one from another as the shepherd separates sheep from goats. He will place the sheep on his right hand and the goats on his left. Then the King will say to those on his right hand, "Come, you whom my father has blessed, take for your heritage the kingdom prepared for you since the foundation of the world.” -- Matthew25: 32-35
A. Image of a judicious division of labor: a meritocracy.
B. "Accentuate the positive, eliminate the negative."
C. Allocate your energy intelligently: Evaluate your options so that your choices are based on the best interests of the Work.
57 Penetration
Other titles: The Gentle, The Penetrating, Wind, The Symbol of Bending to Enter, Willing Submission, Gentle Penetration, Ground, Calculations, Complaisance, Penetrating Influence, The Penetration of the Wind, Humility, Devoted Service, Submission
Judgment
Legge:Penetration indicates modest success. See the great man and move in the direction that implies.
Wilhelm/Baynes:The Gentle. Success through what is small. It furthers one to have somewhere to go. It furthers one to see the great man.
Blofeld:Willing Submission -- success in small matters. It is advantageous to have in view a goal (or destination) and to visit a great man. [This is a reasonably auspicious hexagram; it augurs a certain amount of success for those who submit to circumstances -- unless a moving line indicating the contrary is received. This is not a time for resistance but for submission.]
Liu:Penetration. Small success. It is beneficial to go somewhere. It is beneficial to see a great man.
Ritsema/Karcher: Ground, the small: Growing. Harvesting: possessing directed going. Harvesting: visualizing Great People. [This hexagram describes your situation in terms of providing an underlying support. It emphasizes that subtly penetrating and nourishing things from below, the action of Ground, is the adequate way to handle it. To be in accord with the time, you are told to enter the situation from below!]
Shaughnessy: Calculations: Little receipt; beneficial to have someplace to go; beneficial to see the great man.
Cleary (1):Wind is small but developmental. It is beneficial to have somewhere to go. It is beneficial to see a great man.
Cleary (2):The small comes through successfully. It is beneficial to have a place to go. It is beneficial to see great people.
Wu: Complaisance indicates that the small are pervasive. It is advantageous to have undertakings. It is also advantageous to see the great man.
The Image
Legge: Two wind trigrams following each other form Penetration. The superior man proclaims his commands and undertakes his work.
Wilhelm/Baynes: Winds following one upon the other: the image of the gently penetrating. Thus the superior man spreads his commands abroad and carries out his undertakings.
Blofeld: This hexagram symbolizes a favorable wind. The Superior Man performs his allotted tasks in consonance with heaven's (or the sovereign's) will. [The component trigrams combine the concepts of wind and blandness -- hence a favorable wind.]
Liu: Wind following wind symbolizes Penetration. The superior man proclaims his directives and executes his affairs.
Ritsema/Karcher: Following winds. Ground. A chun tzu uses distributing fate to move affairs.
Cleary (1): Wind following wind.Thus do superior people articulate directions and carry out tasks.
Wu: One breeze follows the other; this is Complaisance. Thus the jun zi gives further injunctions in order to administer public affairs.
COMMENTARY
Confucius/Legge: Repeated wind trigrams show the repetition of governmental orders. The dynamic fifth line has penetrated to his correct central place and carries his will into action. The magnetic first and fourth lines obey the dynamic lines above them. Hence it is said that there will be success in small matters.
Legge: Penetration symbolizes both wind and wood, and has the attributes of Docility, Flexibility and Penetration. We are to think of it as wind with its penetrating power which finds its way into every nook and cranny.
Confucius said: "The relation between superiors and inferiors is like that between the wind and the grass. The grass must bend when the wind blows upon it." In accordance with this, the hexagram must be understood as the influence and orders of the government designed to remedy what is wrong in the people. The upper trigram denotes the orders issuing from the ruler, and the lower the obedience rendered to them by the people.
Ch'eng-tzu says:"Superiors, in harmony with the duty of inferiors, issue their commands; inferiors, in harmony with the wishes of their superiors, follow them. Above and below there are that harmony and deference; and this is the significance of the redoubled Wind trigram. When governmental commands and business are in accordance with what is right, they agree with the tendencies of the minds of the people who follow them."
Anthony: Getting this hexagram often refers to the presence of inferior elements that obstruct our having a good influence ... Because this hexagram is concerned with self-correction, we often get it together with Work on What has been Spoiled. [Hex. 18: Repair.]
NOTES AND PARAPHRASES
Judgment: Get to the heart of the matter and act on the information obtained.
The Superior Man acts on his understanding by implementing it in the world.
The hexagram ofPenetration, made up of two trigrams symbolizing Wind (which is air in motion), suggests the activity of thought (the realm of air) trying to comprehend or "penetrate" something. Thus, each line of the figure may be seen as some aspect of an act of mental endeavor.
Therefore the student must exert his own mind to the utmost. If he does so, he will know his own nature. And if he knows his own nature, examines his own self and makes it sincere, he becomes a sage. Therefore the "Great Norm" says, "The virtue of thinking is penetration and profundity ... Penetration and profundity lead to sageness.” -- Ch'eng I
The first line depicts vacillation and indecisiveness; the second shows one trying to "get to the bottom" of a matter. Line three is an image of futile hypothesizing; four and five show two aspects of successful comprehension, and the sixth line symbolizes an inability to understand.
Man's intellect -- the greatest but most dangerous gift he has received from God -- builds a bridge across the seemingly unconquerable chasm between that which is personal and mortal and that which is impersonal and eternal. Through man's intellect he succumbed to the temptation to fall out of divine unity with his consciousness. But by the same token, his intellect gives him the possibility of bringing back his consciousness into full union with divinity. By means of his intellect, man is able to understand truth, and when he has understood, he will seek and keep on seeking and trying until he some day succeeds in finding the only path to the realization of his self. Elisabeth Haich -- Initiation
The hexagram can also symbolize humble submission and devoted service, thus suggesting the role of the ego in the Work. To truly comprehend the nature of the Work is to serve it with devotion. There are some interesting associations between the act of penetration and that of submission – when dynamic and magnetic are in full harmony they lose their individual identities and become one force which is both and neither.