MEDITATIONS: I CHING; THE BOOK OF CHANGES, CANTO THIRTY-FIVE
Progress—Advance—Flourish
|or| Advance
Seize the moment but make haste slowly. Now is not the time to go it alone. Seeking a partnership is very advantageous if both parties are certain that they share the same goals. Wait for the occurrence of a happy accident and then, deliberately move forward. Do not embark on a self-improvement regimen at this time. (Bright-Fey 99)
Advance: Secure lords are given gifts of many horses and are granted audiences three times a day.
Yin 1: Now advancing, now thwarted, be correct and you will be lucky. You have no trust, so be relaxed and you will be blameless.
Yin 2: Advancing sadly, you will be lucky if correct. You receive this great blessing from the grandmother.
Yin 3: With the concord of the group, regret vanishes.
Yang 4: Advancing like a squirrel, it is dangerous to persist.
Yin 5: Regret vanishes. Loss or gain, do not worry. It is auspicious to proceed. Benefit all around.
Yang 6: Advancing the horns, control them. Conquering your own domain is harsh but bodes well. There is no blame, but in terms of correctness there is regret. (Cleary 205-210)
When one is in the possession of great power, his natural impulse is to use that power to manifest his vision. Such vision is the enlightening fire of attention and intellect. It is the ego, and it is immortalized by the image of the sun rising. However, the sun alone does not bring forth the abundance of all things. Plants and animals, mountains and rivers, none of these things would be if not for the presence of the earth as receiver of the suns energy.
Thus fire above and earth below represents the voluntary and harmonious implementation of a singular vision held in accordance above and below. That is to say that progress is not implemented from the top down but emerges from the pursuit of the common interests of the society and culture.
That is why haste is made slowly and secure lords are granted frequent audiences. There must be a deliberation and conversation among the group such that a consensus can be brought to light. By way of this consensus can homogeneity be attained, and from homogeneity, trust—from trust, peace such as what is kept by “secure lords” who are trusted with “horses,” the means to make great advancements in their endeavors.
But few are the people of influence in any society, let alone lords or high government officials. Most people are represented by the first Yin, and she is neither known nor powerful at the initiation of cultural advancement. Therefore, because she is not yet trusted and not yet powerful, she will fail as many times—perhaps more often—than she is successful. This is a matter of circumstances, and does not reflect on the value or morality of the individual. She should not blame herself so long as she follows a virtuous path in accordance with the Way.
Eventually, the first Yin will advance into the more balanced position of the second. She is still weak, and so she still suffers many defeats in her struggle to advance. However, because her values are in common with the fifth Yin above in her corresponding position, she receives a “blessing from the grandmother,” which is the blessing of mature, wise, and benevolent leadership. Those good and virtuous people who work cooperatively with those above them are those same people who have their voices heard and considered.
Even those who go too far, such as those represented by the third Yin, can be absolved of their regrets. It is human to make mistakes and missteps, but these errors can be forgiven so long as one still shares the core values of her group and is willing to correct in accordance with them.
But during times of change, even times of positive progress, there will be those middling types who do not share the values of the wise leadership nor the majority of people. These are the fearful and greedy midwits of the fourth Yang, people who occupy positions within the cultural institutions much like squirrels occupy trees: they use the structures around them to horde goods to themselves, and they fear any advancement from below threatens their security. Persisting on like this is dangerous both to the individual and to the group. One cannot foster trust nor learn to trust others acting this way; and if this behavior and mode of thought spreads, it will erode the trust bonding the society together—a trust on which peace is predicated.
But if the leadership is soft instead of firm in its governance, meaning that she, the fifth Yin, considers the desires of her subordinates and delegates responsibilities based on their merits, then there can be no regret. Outcomes cannot be controlled, but moral choices can, and when all involved are in agreement as to how each can contribute best to achieve a common end, then all involved are free to pursue the Way in accordance with each his own personal way. This is the harmony which can only be achieved when chords are played together—played, an act of mutual and positive engagement under a co-consensual set of constraints—a game.
The comes the sixth Yang, strength at the absolute peak of advancement. This is force used in order to achieve one’s ends, thus is it represented by piercing and threatening horns. When turned inward, forcing oneself to conform to a set of standards will be painful, but there is no denying that pain pays the price for the cultivation of a virtuous character. That is controlling the horns. To let the horns extend further is to lose control and act in a vicious manner. Once this begins, there must be regret, because the interests of people are necessarily pitted against one another. Where before there was harmony, now there is discord. Advancement should not be like this, imposed by those with great power on the small. Such behavior is not advancement at all, but is as the next chapter is titled, Damage to Illumination.
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.
