Hugging the depressed
One comforts those who doubt by showing them love. taoscopy.com
Small Restraint9
Focus on the small details and subtle actions. Gentle persistence and restraint will gradually lead you to success.
↓ Line 1
Returning to the right path brings good fortune. There is no blame in correcting one's course.
↓ Line 5
Sincerity and loyalty in relationships bring mutual support and richness in connections.
↓ Line 6
After a period of tension, relief comes. However, continued perseverance in a situation that has reached its peak can lead to danger and misfortune.
↓ Pushing Upward46
Steady growth and progress through perseverance and effort. Step-by-step advancement leads to success.
9 Small Restraint
Other titles: The Taming Power of the Small, The Symbol of Small restraint, The Lesser Nourisher, Taming the Small Powers, Small Accumulating, Small Harvest, Small Obstruction, Nurturance by the Small, Restraint by the Weak, Restrained, Minor Restraint, The Weak Force, The Force of the Small, Weak Forces Restrain Strong Forces "The restraint is small, success follows. Overcoming something small which is poisoning or nagging. Partially relieving a situation. Influencing that which one cannot change.” -- D.F. Hook
Judgment
Legge:Passive Restraint brings about progress and success. We see dense clouds, but no rain coming from our western borders.
Wilhelm/Baynes: The Taming Power of the Small has success. Dense clouds, no rain from our western region.
Blofeld: The Lesser Nourisher. Success! Dense clouds giving forth no rain approach from the western outskirts. [On the whole, this hexagram presages good for us. The wind blowing across the heavens does not have the nourishing virtues of rain, but it refreshes us and makes us feel better. Thus, if things are going reasonably well with us, we may expect an improvement, especially in the future when, presumably, the nourishing rain will fall. However, as lines three and six indicate, if we are in serious trouble, we must not expect much help from the rather mild good fortune that is blowing our way. The conception of something weak or yielding bringing great benefit has been greatly developed by the Taoists who, as though they were familiar with judo, recognize the strength to be found in softness and the dangerous weakness sometimes occasioned by too much strength. The name of this hexagram understood somewhat differently may also be taken to mean that the time is propitious for undertaking additional activity or the care of the young.]
Liu: Taming the Small Powers: success. Thick clouds come from the west. No rain. [This situation symbolizes the preparation which precedes a new development.]
Ritsema/Karcher:Small Accumulating, Growing. Shrouding clouds, not raining. Originating-from my Western suburbs. [This hexagram describes your situation in terms of a variety of seemingly unconnected events and impulses. It emphasizes that retaining and hoarding these experiences through adapting to them is the adequate way to handle it...]
Shaughnessy:Small Harvest:Receipt; dense clouds do not rain from our western pasture.
Cleary (1):Nurturance by the small is developmental. Dense clouds do not rain, proceeding from one’s own western province.
Cleary (2): At small obstruction, nurturing the small succeeds… (etc.)
Wu:Restraint of the Small indicates pervasiveness. There are dense clouds, but no rain coming from our western countryside.
The Image
Legge: The image of the sky with the wind moving above it forms Passive Restraint. The superior man, in accordance with this, adorns the outward manifestation of his virtue.
Wilhelm/Baynes: The wind drives across heaven: the image of The Taming Power of the Small. Thus the superior man refines the outward aspect of his nature.
Blofeld: This hexagram symbolizes wind blowing across the sky. The Superior Man displays his scholarly accomplishments.
Liu: The wind blows across the sky, symbolizing Taming the Small Powers. The superior man improves his ability and virtue.
Ritsema/Karcher: Wind moving above heaven. Small Accumulating. A chun tzu uses highlighting the pattern to actualize-tao.[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): Wind blowing up in the sky is small nurturance; thus do superior people beautify cultured qualities.
Cleary (2): Wind moving up in the sky, nurturing the small. Thus do leaders beautify cultured qualities.
Wu: The wind blows in the sky above; this is Restraint of the Small. Thus the jun zi refines his splendorous virtue.
COMMENTARY
Confucius/Legge: In the ninth hexagram the magnetic line takes her proper place, and all the lines above and below obey her -- hence the name Passive Restraint. The figure is composed of the trigrams of Strength plus Flexibility. Dynamic lines occupy the central places, and their will is accomplished -- this means progress and success. Dense clouds but no rain depict the advancing dynamic lines, but their source in the west shows that their beneficial influence has yet to be felt.
Legge: The symbolism of the hexagram Passive Restraint is taken from the magnetic line in the fourth place which holds all of the dynamic lines in restraint. This is because the fourth place is properly passive (magnetic), and the response of the other lines is therefore one of submission to her authority.
The second sentence of the Judgment indicates the time and place of King Wen whose homeland was the western portion of China in the twelfth century B.C. Rain coming and moistening the ground causes the luxuriant growth of the natural world, and symbolizes the blessings which flow from good government. Therefore from the west, the hereditary territory of the legendary author of the I Ching, come the blessings which might enrich the whole kingdom. Here, however, they are somehow restrained -- the dense clouds do not yet empty their stores. Ch'eng-tzu, Wang Feng, and other scholars say, in effect: Dense clouds should give rain. That they exist without doing so shows the restraining influence of the hexagram at work. But the dynamic influence of the other lines still continues, and the rain will eventually fall. The wind moves in the sky and then ceases -- it can restrain for a time, but not indefinitely.
Cleary (1): Being strong, yet acting submissively, the submissiveness subdues the strength, and strength cannot act on its own. The heart grows daily humbler, while the virtue grows daily higher. One can thereby gradually get to the realm of sages. This is why nurturance by the small is developmental.
Cleary (2): When you encounter situations that obstruct you and bog you down, if you do not get resentful or bitter, but just nurture yourself to digest them, you will be successful … Indeed, events and situations that formerly obstructed you can become means of self-development; this is how you succeed …This line (Sic) indicates the value of not grabbing for easy success and the value of long-term results.
Wu:Restraint of the Small means literally small accumulation or small restraint. “Small” is another name for yin. “Small accumulation” or “small restraint” can also mean accumulation or restraint of the yin … When there are clouds, but no rain, it means that something has intervened and prevented the cycle from completion ... The judgment simply means: Many factors can derail a potential success and we should weigh them carefully before making a decision.
Anthony: Our influence is limited by the circumstances… We should avoid ambition to make progress as this exerts a negative pressure on people. It also indicates that we do not yet trust our path of non-action or the power of truth to change the situation…
NOTES AND PARAPHRASES
Judgment: Power is accumulated by gently withholding its expression.
The Superior Man transforms his insights into components of his conscious will. Or: He works on his outer, conscious (as opposed to inner, unconscious), awareness. Or: He lives his beliefs.
Wilhelm's translation of the title of this hexagram is The Taming Power of the Small. I have substitutedPassive Restraintas a phrase more compatible with contemporary English. The titles rendered by the other translators, in my opinion, do not convey the meaning of the hexagram: Liu's Taming the Small Powers even seems diametrically opposed to it, though it is obvious that the title has multiple meanings. In describing the action of the trigrams in this hexagram, Wilhelm conveys its essential meaning. (From Lectures on the I Ching):
The function of wind is to tame creative forces, to accumulate these and to make them visible. It is exceedingly difficult to understand this relationship of forces, because the power used here is not expressed with might, but it is the softest, gentlest, force imaginable. Wind is the least visible of all phenomena, and this invisible wind is now needed to concentrate that which strives upward, the strongest of all phenomena ... The unconscious acts and creates as it must, and we should submit to the surgings of its waves. Only in the peripheral region, in the small free zone of consciousness, can work be taken up each day, and whatever needs refining can be refined. This is not superfluous work. Although this small zone of consciousness and freedom is only a thin rind, its contact with the forces of the unconscious is vigorous ... Hence, that which is seemingly small and insignificant is, after all, the power that succeeds in taming chaos by means of steady work and perseverance.
Lines one through four of the ninth hexagram show different forms of restraint during a time of building tension. The dark clouds are accumulating, and we know that eventually the rain will fall and the tension will be released. Rain always symbolizes a union between Heaven and Earth in the I Ching,which in turn means a synthesis of some sort. In the present instance, the synthesis is still building, and although the tension seems to demand action we are counseled to remain still. The magnetic force must hold the overwhelming pressure of the dynamic forces in check.
The fifth line depicts the focal point at which the forces are gathered, and the sixth line shows the restraint necessary to allow the new transformation to stabilize. If we turn the hexagram over we get Cautious Advance, which depicts a different situation in which very careful action is called for. In the present instance however, no action is correct action.
Through the activity of divine providence, an abundance of blessing descends on the creatures, but this awakening of the power of providence is dependent on the deeds of created beings, on "awakening from below." Gershom Scholem – Kabbalah
Line 1
Legge: The first line, dynamic, shows its subject returning and pursuing his own course. What mistake should he fall into? There will be good fortune.
Wilhelm/Baynes: Return to the way. How could there be blame in this? Good fortune.
Blofeld: How could returning to this path be blameworthy?
Liu: Return to the correct way. Then how can one be blamed? It is good fortune.
Shaughnessy: Returning from the way, what could its trouble be? Auspicious.
Cleary (1): Returning by the path – how could that be blameworthy? It bodes well.
Wu: By returning to his own course, how can he be blamed? It will be auspicious.
COMMENTARY
Confucius/Legge: He returns and pursues his own path -- it is right there should be good fortune. Wilhelm/Baynes: This is something that bodes well. Blofeld: This passage assures us of good fortune. Ritsema/Karcher: One's righteousness significant indeed. Cleary (2): It is right that there should be good fortune. Wu: “By returning to his own course” means good fortune.
Legge: Line one is the first line of the trigram of Strength, here occupying its proper place. Therefore, notwithstanding the check of line four, he resumes his movement and will go forward according to his strong nature.
NOTES AND PARAPHRASES
Siu: At the outset, the man presses forward. When obstacles are encountered, however, he returns to the state of greater choice. By not forcing his way, he eventually gains his objective.
Wing: In forcing your way, you meet with obstacles. It is best to hold back to a position where you have the choice of advance or retreat. Then you may concern yourself with the true nature of the situation and react accordingly.
Anthony: In taking hold of the problem, we adopt an either-or attitude, to force some sort of conclusion. This impatience springs from desire and our ego’s attempt to dominate the situation. This is doomed to failure. It is best to return to the path of acceptance and modesty.
Cleary (1): Being strong yet remaining humble, concealing one’s light and nurturing it in obscurity, embracing the Tao and keeping settled, not injuring inner reality by outward artificiality, is to be able to return by way of the path. Being able to return by way of the path, though the nurturance is small, one can gain its nourishment, and strong energy grows day by day; not only is it blameless, it brings good fortune. This is the nurturance of being great yet being humble and appearing small.
Cleary (2): In the first yang, accurate knowledge is strong, so obstacles caused by events cannot do any harm, and so one “returns by the path.”
Editor: Legge's commentary here is inconsistent with his own translation of the line. The strong first line wants to forge ahead, but the idea of the figure is passive restraint, and the symbol of that restraint is his correlate fourth line. He accepts her message and returns to virtue by restraining his forward impetus. Wilhelm's translation expresses this idea as a command to "Return to the way” -- i.e.: "Get back where you belong.” Ritsema/Karcher's rendering of "Returning originating-from tao” is perhaps the most powerful image. This line is sometimes received when doubts arise about the Work or our way of processing it: it is telling us to trust our inner knowing. If this is the only changing line, the new hexagram becomes #57, Penetration, with the corresponding advice: “In advancing and retreating, the perseverance of a warrior furthers.”
A knowledge of the opinions of others may guide us in our researches as long as we cannot find the truth in ourselves, but such knowledge is as liable to mislead us as to lead us right; the only way to arrive at the recognition and understanding of the truth is the development of the knowledge of self. F. Hartmann -- Paracelsus: Life and Prophecies
A. Don't get ahead of yourself. Restrain your compulsive need to act. Don't exceed your authority.
B. Image of a return to normalcy.
C. Remain persevering in your conduct of the Work. You know exactly what that is.
Line 5
Legge: The fifth line, dynamic, shows its subject possessed of sincerity, and drawing others to unite with him. Rich in resources, he employs his neighbors in the same cause with himself.
Wilhelm/Baynes: If you are sincere and loyally attached, you are rich in your neighbor.
Blofeld: Confidence is like a cord to bind the hearts of others. With it we enrich our neighbors.
Liu: If you are sincere you will be enriched by your neighbor.
Ritsema/Karcher: Possessing conformity , binding thus. Affluence: using one's neighbor. [Possessing conformity:"Inner and outer are in accord; confidence of the spirits has been captured..."]
Shaughnessy: Losing sheep at Yi; there is no regret.
Cleary (1): There is truthfulness in companionship; prosperity is shared with the neighbor.
Wu: Association strengthens self-confidence. With wealth, he is capable of reaching out to help his neighbors.
COMMENTARY
Confucius/Legge: His sincerity draws others to unite with him -- he does not use only his own rich resources. Wilhelm/Baynes: You will not be alone in your riches. Blofeld: This implies not getting rich on our own. Ritsema/ Karcher: Not solitary affluence indeed. Cleary (2): One does not enjoy blessings alone. Wu: He does not keep wealth for himself.
Legge: Line five occupies the central place and because of his sincerity converts lines four and six into helpful neighbors who offer their energy and resources to accomplish a common purpose.
NOTES AND PARAPHRASES
Siu: Partners reinforce each other through loyalty. The man uses both his own resources and those of his neighbors to further their common cause.
Wing: Through a co-operative and loyal relationship with another, you increase your resources mutually. In this way you can accomplish your aim.
Editor: Psychologically, this images an inner unity -- a gathering of energy to address a worthy task. The key elements are the ego's devotion and ability to muster its forces.
The term individuation means a becoming whole and therefore implies the necessity of reconciling the conscious and the unconscious parts of the psyche. In practice the process involves two steps. The first is that of searching out and recognizing all the scattered parts of the psyche and bringing them together; the second is that of amalgamating and coordinating them, together with the energies that inhere in them, so that they will make a meaningful whole -- a cosmos, not a chaos. M.E. Harding -- Psychic Energy
A. Pull yourself together and get to work.
B. Sincerity inspires cooperation.
C. A cooperative alliance.
Line 6
Legge: The sixth line, dynamic, shows how the rain has fallen, and the onward progress is stayed; so must we value the full accumulation of the virtue of humble service. But a wife exercising restraint, however firm and correct she may be, is in the position of peril, and like the moon approaching to the full. If the superior man prosecutes his measures in such circumstances, there will be evil.
Wilhelm/Baynes: The rain comes, there is rest. This is due to the lasting effect of character. Perseverance brings the woman into danger. The moon is nearly full. If the superior man persists, misfortune comes.
Blofeld: The rains are falling and a time of rest has come. Virtue continues to increase. At this moment, persistence would bring serious trouble to women. Were the Superior Man to venture forth at the time of the full moon, he would be courting calamity.
Liu: It is raining; one can rest, respected for one's virtues. Continuing to hesitate like a woman brings danger; the moon is almost full. If the superior man sets forth, misfortune.
Ritsema/Karcher: Already rain, already abiding. Honoring actualizing-tao carrying. The wife, Trial: adversity. The moon almost facing. A chun tzu chastising: pitfall. [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.]
Shaughnessy: Having rained and having stopped, he still gets to ride; for a maiden to determine is auspicious; the moon is almost full; for the gentleman to be upright is inauspicious.
Cleary(1): It has rained and settled. Esteeming virtue, putting the wife on top, though she be chaste there is danger. The moon is almost full; it bodes ill for the superior person to go on an expedition.
Wu: The rain has come and it has brought comfort to people. Those who are virtuous deserve it. The woman is in a difficult situation despite her proper conduct. The moon is almost full. It will be foreboding for the jun zi to be venturesome.
COMMENTARY
Confucius/Legge: The power of Passive Restraint has accumulated to the full. If the superior man prosecutes his measures, he will find himself obstructed. Wilhelm/Baynes: "The rain comes, there is rest." This is the continuously cumulative effect of character. “If the superior man persists, misfortune comes,” for there might be doubts. Blofeld: The first sentence indicates that our stock of virtues is mounting; that about the Superior Man indicates that we may expect trouble. Ritsema/Karcher: Actualizing-tao amassing carrying indeed. Possessing a place to doubt indeed. Cleary (2): It having rained and settled represents full development of inner qualities. It is unlucky for a leader to go on an expedition, as there is some doubt. Wu: Only those who have accumulated virtues deserve good fortune. His action raises doubts about his judgment.
Legge: In line six the idea of the hexagram has run its course. The harmony of nature is restored. The rain falls, and the onward march of the dynamic lines should now stop. But passive restraint that has achieved such a result, if it plume itself on it, will be in the perilous position of the full moon which can now only wane. Let the superior man, when he has attained his end, remain in quiet. Restraint is at its height and the restrained should keep still for a time. The paragraph is metrical, and we have a couplet:
Lo! Rain, lo! Rest, the power is full!
Good man! Hold hard. Obstructions rule!
NOTES AND PARAPHRASES
Siu: Bit by bit the man achieves success. This should be valued but not pushed too far. When the moon is full, waning is inevitable. Quiescence is in order.
Wing: You have won the battle. Rest and consolidate your position now and restrain yourself from going after the entire war. Caution: Adversity is on the rise. If you attempt to push ahead, you will meet with misfortune.
Editor: Rain symbolizes the union of Heaven and Earth, and the issue from such union is always a new synthesis of forces. The Judgment describes dense clouds, but no rain -- an image of tension and its impending resolution. Here that resolution has taken place -- it is now time to rest and allow the synthesis to stabilize. The image of the wife in peril during a waxing moon suggests that continuing to push forward could result in an uncontrollable emotional release. Rest and relaxation are called for to reduce tension. If this is the only changing line, the new hexagram become number 5,Waiting, reinforcing the idea that inaction is the proper response now. Sometimes one gets this line when anxiously importuning the oracle: it is telling you to relax and cease striving. Ritsema/Karcher render "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. And "Adversity,” (LI) as: Danger, threatening, malevolent demon ... It indicates a spirit or ghost that seeks revenge by inflicting suffering upon the living. Pacifying or exorcizing such a spirit can have a healing effect.” I have always found these definitions extremely useful in interpreting any line in which they appear.
Remember the Sabbath day and keep it holy. For six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath for Yahweh your God. You shall do no work that day, neither you nor your son nor your daughter nor your servants, men or women, nor your animals nor the stranger who lives with you. For in six days Yahweh made the heavens and the earth and the sea and all that these hold, but on the seventh day he rested; that is why Yahweh has blessed the Sabbath day and made it sacred. Exodus 20: 8-11
A. Suggests the completion of a cycle -- rest is now required to allow a reorganization of forces for a new phase of the Work. Relax, let go -- leave the Work alone for a while.
B. Drop the subject of inquiry.
C. Allow the situation to develop.
46 Pushing Upward
Other titles: The Symbol of Rising and Advancing, Ascending, Ascension, Rising, Promotion, Advancement, Sprouting from the Earth, Organic Growth
Judgment
Legge:Pushing Upward means successful progress. Have no anxiety about meeting with the great man. An advance to the south is fortunate.
Wilhelm/Baynes:Pushing Upward has supreme success. One must see the great man. Fear not. Departure toward the south brings good fortune.
Blofeld: Ascending. Supreme success! It is essential to see a great man, so as to banish anxiety. Progressing towards the south brings good fortune.
Liu: Ascending. Great Success. One should see a great man. Without fear. An expedition to the south leads to good fortune.
Ritsema/Karcher:Ascending, Spring Growing. Availing-of visualizing Great People. No cares. The South, chastising significant. [This hexagram describes your situation in terms of rising to a higher level. It emphasizes that setting a higher goal and working toward it step by step is the adequate way to handle it. To be in accord with the time, you are told to: ascend!]
Shaughnessy:Ascending: Prime receipt; beneficial to see the great man. Do not pity. For the southern campaign, auspicious.
Cleary(1): Rising is greatly developmental; it calls for seeing a great person, so there will be no grief. An expedition south brings good fortune.
Cleary (2):Rising is very successful, etc.
Wu:Ascension indicates great pervasion. It will be useful to see the great man. No anxiety. It will be auspicious to go south.
The Image
Legge: Wood growing in the earth -- the image of Pushing Upward. The superior man accumulates small increments of virtue until it becomes high and great.
Wilhelm/Baynes: Within the earth, wood grows: the image of Pushing Upward. Thus the superior man of devoted character heaps up small things in order to achieve something high and great.
Blofeld: This hexagram symbolizes tress growing upwards from the earth. The Superior Man most willingly accords with virtuous ways; starting from small things, he accumulates a great heap of merit.
Liu: The wood grows in the earth, symbolizing Ascending. The superior man devotes his virtue to building things up from the small to the high and great.
Ritsema/Karcher: Earth center giving-birth-to wood. Ascending. A chun tzu uses yielding to actualize-tao. A chun tzu uses amassing the small to use the high great.
[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): Trees grow on the earth, rising. Thus do superior people follow virtue, accumulating the small to lofty greatness.
Wu: Trees grow from earth; this is Ascension. Thus the Jun zi diligently cultivates his virtues little by little to become tall and large like trees growing.
COMMENTARY
Confucius/Legge: The magnetic line ascends as opportunity permits. We have Flexibility, Obedience and a dynamic line below with his magnetic correlate above: this means successful progress. See the great man -- his will is accomplished in the south.
Legge: The character for this hexagram means advancing in an upward direction, or ascending. The figure symbolizes the promotion of an able officer to the highest pinnacle of distinction. The action of the dynamic second line is tempered by being in the magnetic central position of the lower trigram. As the representative of Pushing Upward he is forceful, yet modest and the magnetic fifth line ruler welcomes his advance. The officer therefore has the qualities that fit him to ascend as well as a favorable opportunity to do so.
After he has met with the "great man" in line five, advance to the south will be fortunate. Chu Hsi says that this is equivalent to "advancing forwards.” Since the south is the region of brightness and warmth, the progress will be easy and agreeable.
The lower trigram symbolizes Wood, and its weak first line is the root of a tree buried in the earth of the upper trigram. The gradual growth of this root pushes the trunk upward as the circumstances of time permit.
NOTES AND PARAPHRASES
Judgment: Ascend in accordance with the will of the Self. Turn toward clarity.
The Superior Man grows a little every day.
The image of the 46th hexagram is of a plant growing in the earth, gradually pushing upward toward the sun. That "an advance to the south is fortunate" means that as all plants turn southward toward the sun, their source of nourishment, so should we turn toward the light and clarity of the "great man" or Self within us.
The upward advancement of the Work is an organic process. There is no such thing as "instant enlightenment." The many stories and parables of instant Satori which are common in the Zen Buddhist tradition are actually just dramatic accounts of the final few moments' resolution that come after a lifetime of slow and patient devotion. The Work progresses at the pace of a tree -- what started out as an acorn eventually becomes a forest giant, but it doesn't happen overnight.
Remember ever that Mind in its entirety is ever the Builder. For it is step by step, line upon line, precept upon precept, here a little, there a little, that the attaining is accomplished in the mental, the spiritual, the material applications of an entity in this material world. Edgar Cayce – Book of Changes
This slow growth is an accumulation of countless "gathering togethers" as depicted in the preceding hexagram, of whichPushing Upward is the upside-down image. It is estimated that an adult human being grows from a single cell to about one-hundred billion cells through a process of fifty-billion mitotic divisions. It is interesting to observe that "one-hundred-billion" is the scientific estimate of the number of stars in any given galaxy. If we apply the Hermetic Axiom: "As above, so below" to this relationship of macrocosm to microcosm we get the image of our solar system as a single atom in the "body" of a galactic entity.
That should put the Work into perspective!
Understand that thou art a second little world and that the sun and the moon are within thee, and also the stars. Origen --Homiliae in Leviticum