Sample
I
Ching Comprehensive Reading
Dear Cathy,
I enjoyed
talking with you the other day, and was very gratified to learn
that you had read the I Ching. Normally, I would not burden my
consultation with digressions about the meaning of certain terms
as they are used in the book.
Since you
have a copy of the book, and will be reading the chosen passages
along with me, I have tried in what follows to help you a little
bit with definitions.
I asked for
a general comment on your relationship with Andrew. The response
was hexagram #12, STANDSTILL, moving into hexagram #6, CONFLICT.
As you will
see when you read the relevant passages yourself, the answer is
framed in terms of the relationship between superior and inferior
people. This requires a little preliminary explanation. The term
"superior man" in the I Ching is not judgmental in the sense
that we might use the expression today. In the original context
of the book, namely traditional Chinese culture, distinctions
between people were based as much on hereditary social standing
as on personal merit. The book is addressed to the nation's
rulers, to those few officials, ministers, and princes who were
responsible for the welfare of the great masses of common people.
On the ideal level, the sages assumed a natural correspondence
between the role of ruler and the person whose character and
nature fitted him for his elevated position.
In our own
situation, however, we emphasize character and nature (rather
than heredity or gender) in the definition of the superior
person, and we think this far more advanced and rational, of
course. Nevertheless, the judgmental attitude is something we all
tend overly to indulge, and we might better avoid making any
deep, and spiritual judgments about people in any of these terms.
Here, we may refer back to the I ching for guidance. For,
according to this traditional Chinese philosophy, it is wholly
natural for people to be at different levels of consciousness and
responsibility.
When we
spoke on the phone, I was wanting to say, but didn't, that your
response to the I Ching indicated, in itself, that you are the
superior person to whom the book is addressed. I wanted to say
that you might calm yourself even in your sense of urgency and
confusion, with the understanding that by seeking the counsel of
a higher level of consciousness, you would find it, and that in
this way you would surely be guided through your perplexities and arrive
at an excellent resolution.
You
mentioned, off-hand, that Andrew would not understand or
appreciate any attempt to find advice through something like the
I Ching. In the terms and sense of the book, Andrew is casting
himself in the position of the inferior person. There is no
particular judgment implied here. It may be no more appropriate
for Andrew to be learning from the I Ching at this point in his
development, than it would be for a Chinese peasant in the
ancient world to delve into matters of state. Moreover, people
are clearly composites of contradictory qualities and aspects. In
one respect, we may be inferior, in another superior.
With these
caveats, then, you may reflect on the second line of STANDSTILL.
(I assume that you understand from the Introduction to the book
how it is that the second line is highlighted when STANDSTILL is
changing into CONFLICT. Please let me know if there is any
confusion in your mind about the method of the oracle.) The ancient
verse reads:
They bear
and endure;
This means good fortune for inferior people.
The standstill serves to help the great man to attain success.
You may note
that this line emphasizes the overall judgment in STANDSTILL:
Evil people
do not further
The perseverance of the superior man.
The great departs; the small approaches.
The book is
saying that the disharmony between you and Andrew is fundamental.
Your sense
of confusion is characteristic of a time in which the higher and
the lower aspects of yourself, and of your relationship with
Andrew, are in disorder. It also suggests that the dominant
position is being occupied by the inferior elements in this equation,
namely Andrew himself, and, of course, that which binds you to
him. Were it not for the fact that something in you overcomes
your understanding of the rightness or wrongness of the relationship,
it would not be possible for Andrew to confuse and dominate you.
At such a
time as this, the superior person withdraws. You will find
greater clarity in a place of seclusion, where you can get in
touch with your own principles and responsibilities.
But there is
more. In "The Image" it says,
The superior
man falls back upon his inner worth
In order to escape the difficulties.
He does not permit himself to be honored with revenue.
Self-reliance
is the key here. You have everything you need to move toward your special destiny
without Andrew's help. I should interject here that I also asked
a question about whether or not Andrew should be supporting your
music. The response was hexagram #15, MODESTY, moving into
hexagram #52, KEEPING STILL.
You might
suppose that STANDSTILL and KEEPING STILL would have a lot in common.
This is not the case. STANDSTILL represents a time of fruitless
stagnation that impinges upon us, is even imposed upon us, by the
waxing of inferior elements in the world (or of inessential and
inferior aspects of our own personality.) KEEPING STILL, in
contrast, represents a time in which our superior, higher
consciousness imposes upon us the discipline of tranquility and peacefulness.
It is likened, as you may recall from your reading, to the
experience of a meditative practice something like Yoga.
As MODESTY
moves into KEEPING STILL, the top line is highlighted, saying:
Modesty that
comes to expression.
It is favorable to set armies marching
To chastise one's own city and one's country.
It is the
modesty of your own independent, unaided, and unadorned self that
should be allowed to blossom in this situation. Andrew may harm
or help you only if you allow him to do so. And therefore, it is
pointless to attach any blame to him. True progress for you requires
only that you examine your own behavior, and set out resolutely
to rectify any aspect that is wrong or inappropriate. The I
Ching, I think, is not necessarily ruling out the possibility
that Andrew might be supportive of your music. It is declaring
that this is not the issue. It is your behavior that is relevant,
not his. In this image for KEEPING STILL, it says
The superior
person
Does not permit his thoughts
To go beyond his situation.
In quiet
meditation, look into your own heart for the truth of what you
should be doing. Then do it, and let the future take care of
itself.
Getting back
now to the more general question of your relationship to Andrew,
there is more to say about the second line in STANDSTILL. It is
by bearing and enduring, with your mind set on your inner sense
of principle, that you will find success. By keeping your consciousness
on the guiding ideals that are at the core of your essential
self, you will be able to move through confusion to clarity.
Indeed, the book suggests that it is this very process of
enduring difficulties, with a constant focus on what is right, through
which you make of yourself the superior person. It is a variation
of the idea that by adversity we are made better. It is not
always easy advice to follow, but it is wise.
There is
more advice for you in the 6th hexagram, CONFLICT. It says,
You are
sincere
And are being obstructed.
A cautious halt halfway brings good fortune.
Going through to the end brings misfortune.
It furthers one to see the great man.
It does not further one to cross the great water.
In this
hexagram, all situations involving conflict are resolved through
the appropriate use of compromise. While never advising the
compromise of fundamental principle, the I Ching acknowledges
that totally uncompromising solutions to problems of conflict may
create situations that are worse than what precipitated them. War
is the perfect example.
You may seek
to find ways in which you can meet Andrew halfway. Can you be
friends, for example, and not lovers? Here again, I should
interject something about the response when I asked about
Andrew's mentality, as you requested. The I Ching answered with
hexagram #14, POSSESSION IN GREAT MEASURE moving into #1, THE
CREATIVE. These are extremely beautiful images. In the
highlighted fifth line of POSSESSION IN GREAT MEASURE, it says,
He whose
truth is accessible, yet dignified,
Has good fortune.
Wilhelm's
commentary on this line suggests, by extrapolation, that Andrew
is attached to you "in sincerity and truth." However,
it also suggests that benevolence is not sufficient here. Does
Andrew want to "possess" you? Does this lead to a
certain "insolence" in his attitude toward you? Is he,
in other words, overbearing and domineering; is he haughty in his disregard
of your feelings and ideas; is he disrespectful of your
independence; is he rude or insulting? Some of the words you used
in our conversation implied as much to me.
I might say
that as POSSESSION IN GREAT MEASURE moves into the CREATIVE in
this instance, I can well believe your own characterization of
Andrew as "very powerful." There is nothing more
powerful than the primal force of THE CREATIVE.
I did also
ask about your mentality. The response was hexagram #43, BREAK-THROUGH,
with no changing (highlighted) lines. In this response is
revealed an implicit attitude and method that has always
impressed me in my experience with the I Ching. The book does not
address itself so much to what is as to what should be. It leaves
it to us to transform what should be into what is. Rather I
should say, when the question implicitly seeks light on a path
into the future, the book tends to pass over the errors of the
present.
Thus, in
this case, the book implies that you need not dwell on questions
about the quality of your mental apparatus, whether you are sane
or insane. It is concerned primarily with how you should be using
your mind. In BREAK-THROUGH, it says,
One must
resolutely make the matter known
At the court of the king.
It must be announced truthfully. Danger.
It is necessary to notify one's own city.
It does not further to resort to arms.
It furthers one to undertake something.
In part,
this underlines the advice in CONFLICT. You should exercise great
caution in the way you handle your situation with Andrew. There
is danger in your situation. Exercise the greatest sensitivity
and diplomacy in discussing with him whatever changes you decide
to make in your relationship. But do not fail to be truthful and resolute
in your approach.
There might
seem to be a contradiction between the line in CONFLICT that says
"It does not further one to cross the great water," and
the line in BREAK-THROUGH that says "It furthers one to
undertake something." But these lines clarify the difference between
resolving your own problem, and resolving whatever conflicts
exist between you and Andrew. Your problem must be resolved quite
apart from the resolution of conflicts with Andrew. It may not be
possible to resolve the latter. This is where compromise is
appropriate, in understanding differences and accepting them.
Your own
problem, however, can and must be resolved without compromise,
and in your own way. Do not think in terms of battle. Clarify
your goal, and move resolutely toward it. You cannot fail to
succeed. Moments of BREAK-THROUGH are very beautiful, and I know
you will look back on this time of growth and renewal with very great
joy.
Wishing you
the very best,
D.
December 6,
1992
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