MEDITATIONS: I CHING; THE BOOK OF CHANGES, CANTO FORTY-SIX

Rise—Conquer—Ascend
|or| Rising

Now is the time to open lines of communication to nurture growth. Slow and steady progress is the key. Do not exceed the basic goodness of consistency. Embrace righteousness and persistence. Know when to stop short as you advance forward. Above all, be cautious. If it seems too easy, then it cannot be trusted. (Bright-Fey 121)

Rising is very successful. Using this to see great people, do not worry—an expedition south bodes well.

Yin 1: Faithfulness rising is very auspicious.

Yang 2: If you are sincere, it is beneficial to perform simple ceremonies, without blame.

Yang 3: Rising into a vacant city.

Yin 4: The function of the king succeeded at Mount Qi. Auspicious, no error.

Yin 5: Steadfastness is auspicious. Climb the stairs.

Yin 6: Rising in the dark is profitable according to the correctness of what is persisted in. (Cleary 287-292)

 Wind beneath the earth is the breath of life animating seeds beneath the soil. In this hexagram, Cheng Yi describes the wind trigram as the Chinese element wood—earth stirred to life, penetrating the soil as it rises, reaching toward the surface and heavens above.

Like the trees, we too grow up, slowly and steadily, and if we are wise, while also deepening and widening our roots. That is to say, the proper mode of maturation, as Meeting progresses to Gathering before mounting into Rising, is a gradual ascension toward one’s desires while also strengthening the bonds of familial and interpersonal relationships. “Keep your feet on the ground,” the I Ching advises, for it is easy to lose oneself when one’s head is in the clouds and one’s feet unbound—they ought to be down in the muddy riverbed, a low, humble, and stable place of equilibrium.

But from the priorly described balanced position, there is no need to worry. As people gather together, related, cooperate, and compete, the great men of history shall reveal their merits to the public. They will serve as aspirational models in a time which rewards virtue, and with such models to emulate, the people can pursue their individuals Paths in accord with the path of the Great Course.

This is why “Rising is very successful.” Wind is both obedience and penetration: wind conforms to moral and ethical principles, and by that way is able to rise through a receptive and permeable hierarchy—a set of cultural and political institutions open to revitalization. This is also why one must “Know when to stop short.” Going too far leads to the leaving behind of constraining principles such as loyalty, honor, and propriety. It is tempting to toss off these moral chains, but to do so results in insincerity, false foundations. As society rises, if built on such lies, it shall collapse under its own successes.

Hence the first Yin exclaiming that faithfulness rising is a good omen. In this context, faith is akin to loyalty. As individuals collectivize, it is vital they consider their duties and obligations to their family, friends, and neighbors. Doing so is the growing of the homogenous culture which produces trust which makes for a stable base on which a people and nation can stand upright.

The second Yang develops the first Yin’s value of faith. For when one is sincere, not hiding ulterior motivations, not deceiving, manipulating, and lying, then his faith is real. He does not need to put on great airs or signal his virtue to those around him. Others know him by their relationships to him, and in those relationships, they experience honesty and consistency bespeaking the aforementioned virtues of sincerity and faith. Such a man, strong of character and occupying a balanced position in relationship to himself and others, is without blame—he is invulnerable to the gainsaying and slander of his opposition, and he is a model for those above as well as though below him.

The third Yang develops further and more directly from it predecessor. He is firm, in his proper high position within the trigram, has a corresponding Yin in the sixth position, and has the benefit from proximity to the upright character of the second Yang. All this within the body of obedience suggests that others naturally follow the third Yang without resistance or rebellion. It is like an army marching into an empty city. All are on one side, advancing. There is no one to fight, no conflict to stop them.

The fourth Yin lies likewise in her proper place at the bottom of the trigram of receptivity. Being in the fourth position, she represents those in low positions within the cultural institutions. In this case, during a time of rising, it bodes well if such middle-managers take pride and value in their current status—hence the allusion to King Wen. Cheng Yi gives us the context: King Wen served the emperor obediently, but because he desired the emperor to follow the Way, he also listened to wise men in low social positions and helped them to advance into and through the institutions. In this way, the king succeeded by forgoing his own rise. Instead, he helped the emperor rise by ensuring his people and counsel were full of sages and enlightened men who might otherwise might not have been put in a position to be heard.

The fifth Yin rests within the position of leadership. Though she is weak and vulnerable to temptation, she is complemented by the second Yang. The fourth Yin has surrounded her with wise and virtuous people, people like those represented by the second and third Yangs. This being so, even a weak leader can rise and bring fortune to a nation. She does so by ascending the “stairs,” the structured Path built by her sage counselors.

The final Yin goes beyond those occupying positions with the institutions. She is the unrecognized wise woman left to her lonesome. Though such types are not participants in the rise of fortune through the strengthening of relations, they still benefit from it and contribute to it—that is, so long as their aims are up and not down. Not becoming bitter or resentful for not being included, the sixth Yin can persist and even reach success on her own—again, to her own benefit as well as to the benefit of everyone.

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.