MEDITATIONS: I CHING; THE BOOK OF CHANGES, CANTO FIFTY-ONE

Seize—Initiate—Excite
|or| Thunder

The energy of unusual things is present. Now is not the time to be sedate or listless. Instead, seize the moment and find unique paths to walk. Move forward “without hurry and without worry.” Stay calm even in the face of difficulty. (Bright-Fey 131)

Thunder comes through.
When Thunder comes, there is fright, then laughter.
Thunder startles for a hundred miles, but does not cause the loss of the ceremonial knife and wine.

Yang 1: When thunder comes there is fright, afterward laughter, which is fortunate.

Yin 2: Thunder comes, dangerous. Figuring loss of possessions, climb up nine hills. Do not chase; in seven days you gain.

Yin 3: Shaken and faint, if you are stirred to action there is no fault.

Yang 4: Thunder bogged down.

Yin 5: Thunder goes and comes. Think of avoiding loss, and you will have something.

Yin 6: Thunder fades; the gaze unsteady, an expedition bodes ill. It has not affected oneself, but it is affecting those nearby; there is no blame. The association involves criticism. (Cleary 323-331)

The crash of thunder forebodes of great and tumultuous change. The winds and rains and lightning flashes of a storm are simultaneously destructive and transformative—for these reasons does Thunder proceed after The Cauldron in the order of the hexagrams. The Cauldron represented transformation as a consequence of a revolutionary cultural movement. Thunder is the anticipation of the devastation that will be left in said transformation’s wake. It is inevitable. There can be no creation of what is becoming without the destruction of what was once in the new creation’s place.

During these uncertain and rapidly changing times, one can only solidify himself inside as to preserve what virtues and disciplines he has cultivated. To be mentally and spiritually without an anchor when at sea during a storm is to be doomed to be cast away or even capsized before the storm is over. The Taoist and Confucian interpretations use opposing language to describe this matter.

On the Taoist side, they describe a continual, calm, and unwavering progression and discovery of subtle opportunity within the ever changing environment. This follows the notion that changing with change is the eternally changeless state. Ones attitude adjusts as to accept that which lies outside of the individual’s control and to exploit advantages as they reveal themselves.

The Confucian interpretation focuses on stability and maintenance, though this should be understood as likened to remaining upright on a bicycle. One stays balanced by not falling to the sides via the continual motion forward. In this way, through conservation of one’s ways—such as through the continued practice of a tradition—one sustains through fright and societal upheaval and can laugh about it on the other side.

The above well describes the first Yang, the spirit of staying strong in one’s ways despite one’s position of weakness and vulnerability in the beginning of the signaling of a great change.

The second Yin represents those with balanced characters. These are the wise and virtuous people of any age who, despite their virtue, do not have the power to prevent the coming danger. These are also those who have much to lose from the destruction of former norms and traditions. These natural conservatives would do well to keep to themselves and their small communities during times of great transformation. They should protect what they have and wait until the storm has passed. Once it has, then the value of their virtuous will seem self-evident.

The third Yin is weak and yet in a place of precarious excess. Thes are the types of people who cannot self-regulate in normal, peace times. Many will be blown away by the stormy source of the coming thunder, but some will rise to the occasion. For those disorganized folks, there is opportunity in great transformation. The danger is a great motivator to improve oneself and to invest in those close. If you are such a kind of person, let the thunder frighten you forward.

They who fail to adopt the proper attitudes in the face of fear and change will not be saved. The fourth Yang, though strong, stands in a weak position without a correspondent for help and surrounded by Yin weakness. These are the cowardly officials and influencers who bend toward lies and deception at the first sound of thunder. For fear of social rejection or losing their jobs, they pretend to go along with wherever the wind would blow them. They are useless, for by lying, they lose their accord with the Way—that is to say they think and act out of harmony with reality. Such a path can lead only to disaster.

The fifth Yin resides in the position of leadership. She is weak in a Yang position and has no corresponding help. Her only saving grace is that she is morally balanced, but this is enough to save her from corruption. This is an important lesson and worth contemplating. Sometimes, even though one occupies a position of power and influence, the only right thing to do is to be a virtuous person. Even an emperor cannot control the minds and hearts of the people. Populations cannot be molded to any individual’s will, and when fear and confusion make them hide or elsewise blinded, it is right to look inward and to focus on developing and protecting the self.

The sixth Yin resides at the end of a cultural shakeup and beyond the normal realm of society and politics. Being an outsider, she had been unaffected by the calamities of sudden change, but the fear has affected those others around her. There is no one to blame during such a state. The thunder could not be stopped, and the change was already underway. To try to make associations and causal connections is to invite discord and criticism. The wise sage residing in the position of the sixth Yin decides to keep to herself and wait for the right time to put forward either old or new ideas.

I Ching; The Book of Changes, with commentaries by Cheng Yi, translated by Thomas Cleary, Shambala Library, 2003.

I Ching: The Book of Changes; An authentic Taoist translation, translated by John Bright-Fey, Sweetwater Press, 2006.