Dominating through fear
One wants to see the evidence that the other is patient and will not take any initiative, even modest, before committing to give back what one took. taoscopy.com
Small Restraint9
Focus on the small details and subtle actions. Gentle persistence and restraint will gradually lead you to success.
↓ 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.
↓ Waiting5
Be patient and prepare. Trust timing for success. Be steady and ready.
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 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.
5 Waiting
Other titles: Nourishment, Calculated Inaction, Attending, Biding One's Time, Nourishment Through Inaction, Waiting for Nourishment, Moistened, "Waiting with the assurance that a blessing will come." -- D.F. Hook
Judgment
Legge:Waitingintimates that with sincerity and firmness there will be brilliant success and good fortune. It will be advantageous to cross the great stream.
Wilhelm/Baynes:Waiting. If you are sincere, you have light and success. Perseverance brings good fortune. It furthers one to cross the great water.
Blofeld: Calculated inaction (or exhibiting the power to wait) and the confidence of others win brilliant success. Righteous persistence brings good fortune. It will be advantageous to cross the great river (or sea). [The significance of this hexagram is that inaction while awaiting the outcome of events will enable us to avoid a danger now threatening. Firmness, clarity of mind and success in winning the confidence of others are now demanded of us; with them, our undertakings will prosper. Moreover, this period of inaction is a good time in which to go on a journey or else for relaxation and enjoyment.]
Liu: Waiting.If you are sincere you will have glory (light) and success. Continuing leads to good fortune. It is of benefit to cross the great water (to travel to remote places).
Ritsema/Karcher: Attending, possessing conformity . Shining Growing, Trial: significant. Harvesting: wading the Great River. (Editor: "Possessing conformity" is translated as: ... "Inner and outer are in accord; confidence of the spirits has been captured...") [This hexagram describes your situation in terms of being compelled to wait for and serve something. It emphasizes that fixing your attention on what is required while waiting carefully for the right moment to act is the adequate way to handle it. To be in accord with the time, you are told to: attend!]
Shaughnessy: Moistened: There is a return, radiant receipt; determination is auspicious; beneficial to ford the great river.
Cleary (1): In Waiting there is sincerity and great development. It is good to be correct. It is beneficial to cross a great river.
Cleary (2):Waiting with truthfulness lights up success in correct orientation toward good. It is beneficial to cross a great river.
Wu: Waiting indicates having confidence. It is brilliant and pervasive and auspicious to be persevering. It will be advantageous to cross the big river.
The Image
Legge: The image of clouds ascending over the sky forms Waiting. The superior man, in accordance with this, eats and drinks, feasts and enjoys himself as if there were nothing else to employ him.
Wilhelm/Baynes: Clouds rise up to heaven: the image of Waiting. Thus the superior man eats and drinks, is joyous and of good cheer.
Blofeld: This hexagram symbolizes clouds rising to the zenith -- inactivity! The Superior Man will pass this time in feasting and enjoyment.
Liu: Clouds rise up in the sky; this symbolizes Waiting. The superior man enjoys his food and drink. He remains relaxed and happy.
Ritsema/Karcher: Above clouds with-respect-to heaven. Attending. A chun tzu uses drinking [and] taking-in to repose delighting.
Cleary (1): Clouds rise to heaven, waiting. The superior person makes merry with food and drink.
Wu: The clouds ascend to the sky; this is Waiting. Thus the jun zi enjoys food and peace.
COMMENTARY
Confucius/Legge: Waiting shows peril in front, but its subject does not allow himself to be involved in the dangerous defile. The success in sincerity and good fortune in firmness are shown by the position of the fifth line which is correctly situated in the central place assigned by Heaven. Crossing the great stream will be followed by meritorious achievement.
Legge: Waiting is composed of the lower trigram of strength and the upper trigram of peril. Strength confronted by peril might be expected to advance boldly and deal with it at once, but the lesson of the hexagram is that it is wiser to wait until success is sure. In the situation at hand, firm correctness is all that is required for eventual victory.
"Crossing the great stream" is a frequent expression in the I Ching which symbolizes the undertaking of hazardous enterprises, or encountering great difficulties. Historically it refers to the Yellow River which the lords of Chou had to cross in their revolution against the Yin Dynasty tyrants. The crossing made by King Wu in 1122 B.C. was one of the greatest deeds in the history of China, and was preceded by a long period of waiting until success could be assured.
Regarding the Image, it is said that the cloud that has risen to the top of the sky has nothing to do but wait until the harmony of heaven and earth require it to discharge its store of rain. The superior man is likewise counseled to enjoy his idle time while waiting for the correct moment to deal with the approaching danger.
NOTES AND PARAPHRASES
Judgment: Strength in the face of danger here consists of the will to sit tight and do nothing.
The Superior Man carries on as if nothing was the matter, and nourishes himself through inaction.
There are many kinds of courage -- perhaps the greatest of all is the courage to remain unflinchingly in place when all the circumstances seem to cry out for action. It takes far more courage to wait for the dragon to slowly come to you than to rush forth and attack him in his lair. As a strategy, to out-wait your opponent through pure willpower and inner strength can be more effective than a direct attack -- but it can only succeed when you are truly strong. It is as if the real battle takes place on the inner planes, and the first one to act in the world thereby concedes defeat.
A very large part of the Work consists in disciplining oneself to wait -- to take no action until some indefinite time in the future. This is exceedingly difficult to do, and creates incredible stresses within the psyche -- which is exactly why it is necessary. Psychologically, to "cross the great stream" is to subdue all of the autonomous instincts, drives and emotions that are accustomed to responding whenever they are stimulated. As long as waiting creates feelings of stress, you can be sure that the battle has not been won. When you can wait like the superior man -- as if there were nothing else to do, then you can allow yourself to hope that you may be getting somewhere.
To nourish oneself through inaction is to digest and absorb the energy of one's instinctive responses. As in any nourishing assimilation, their strength then becomes your strength. The true adept is one who has digested all of his passion and is thereby empowered to use it for his own purposes. Instead of engaging in civil war, he has united his forces to act in the world.
Tradition says that Moses did not set the Tabernacle up straight away, but delayed for three months, despite the fact that the people wanted to dedicate it at once. In this is repeated a lesson of patience concerning matters of the spirit. For instead of accepting their Teacher's word, which conveyed the will of God, the Israelites sought to impose their own will over what they had made ... This phenomenon is not unknown among those who cannot wait, which is a vital part of esoteric training. Unfortunately, it has to be demonstrated over and over again that the timing of a spiritual event is contingent upon a cosmic schedule, and not the will of the individual. Z.B.S. Halevi -- Kabbalah and Exodus