Cast
09/02/18 Nine @ 2 & 4
Cast
09/11/18, Nine @ 1, Six @ 4
6.
Sung / Conflict
The upper trigram, whose image
is heaven, has an upward movement; the lower trigram, water, in
accordance with its nature, tends downward. Thus the two halves move
away from each other, giving rise to the idea of conflict.
The attribute of the Creative is
strength, that of the Abysmal is danger, guile. Where cunning has
force before it, there is conflict.
A third indication of conflict,
in terms of character, is presented by the combination of deep
cunning within and fixed determination outwardly. A person of this
character will certainly be quarrelsome.
THE JUDGMENT
CONFLICT.
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.
Conflict develops when one feels
himself to be in the right and runs into opposition. If one is not
convinced of being in the right, opposition leads to craftiness or
high-handed encroachment but not to open conflict.
If a man is entangled in a
conflict, his only salvation lies in being so clear-headed and
inwardly strong that he is always ready to come to terms by meeting
the opponent halfway. To carry on the conflict to the bitter end has
evil effects even when one is in the right, because the enmity is
then perpetuated. It is important to see the great man, that is, an
impartial man whose authority is great enough to terminate the
conflict amicably or assure a just decision. In times of strife,
crossing the great water is to be avoided, that is, dangerous
enterprises are not to be begun, because in order to be successful
they require concerted unity of forces. Conflict within weakens the
power to conquer danger without.
THE IMAGE
Heaven
and water go their opposite ways:
The
image of CONFLICT.
Thus
in all his transactions the superior man
Carefully
considers the beginning.
The
image indicates that the causes of conflict are latent in the
opposing tendencies of the two trigrams. Once these opposing
tendencies appear, conflict is inevitable. To avoid it, therefore,
everything must be taken carefully into consideration in the very
beginning. If rights and duties are exactly defined, or if, in a
group, the spiritual trends of the individuals harmonize, the cause
of conflict is removed in advance.
THE LINES
Six
at the beginning means:
If
one does not perpetuate the affair,
There
is a little gossip.
In
the end, good fortune comes.
While
a conflict is in the incipient stage, the best thing to do is to drop
the issue. Especially when the adversary is stronger, it is not
advisable to risk pushing the conflict to a decision. It may come to
a slight dispute, but in the end all goes well.
Nine
in the second place means:
One
cannot engage in conflict;
One
returns home, gives way.
The
people of his town,
Three
hundred households,
Remain
free of guilt.
In
a struggle with an enemy of superior strength, retreat is no
disgrace. Timely withdrawal prevents bad consequences. If, out of a
false sense of honor, a man allowed himself to be tempted into an
unequal conflict, he would be drawing down disaster upon himself. In
such a case a wise and conciliatory attitude benefits the whole
community, which will then not be drawn into the conflict.
Six
in the third place means:
To
nourish oneself on ancient virtue induces perseverance.
Danger.
In the end, good fortune comes.
If
by chance you are in the service of a king,
Seek
not works.
This
is a warning of the danger that goes with an expansive disposition.
Only that which has been honestly acquired through merit remains a
permanent possession. It can happen that such a possession may be
contested, but since it is really one’s own, one cannot be robbed
of it. Whatever a man possesses through the strength of his own
nature cannot be lost. If one enters the service of a superior, one
can avoid conflict only by not seeking works for the sake of
prestige. It is enough if the work is done: let the honor go to the
other.
Nine in
the fourth place means:
One
cannot engage in conflict.
One
turns back and submits to fate,
Changes
one’s attitude,
And
finds peace in perseverance.
Good
fortune.
This
refers to a person whose inner attitude at first lacks peace. He does
not feel content with his situation and would like to improve it
through conflict. In contrast to the situation of the nine in the
second place, he is dealing with a weaker opponent and might
therefore succeed. But he cannot carry on the fight, because, since
right is not on his side, he cannot justify the conflict to his
conscience. Therefore he turns back and accepts his fate. He changes
his mind and finds lasting peace in being at one with eternal law.
This brings good fortune.
Nine
in the fifth place means:
To
contend before him
Brings
supreme good fortune.
This
refers to an arbiter in a conflict who is powerful and just, and
strong enough to lend weight to the right side. A dispute can be
turned over to him with confidence. If one is in the right, one
attains great good fortune.
Nine
at the top means:
Even
if by chance a leather belt is bestowed on one,
By
the end of a morning
It
will have been snatched away three times.
Here
we have someone who has carried a conflict to the bitter end and has
triumphed. He is granted a decoration, but his happiness does not
last. He is attacked again and again, and the result is conflict
without end.
Commentaries
The
ruler of the hexagram is the nine in the fifth place. All the other
lines represent persons quarreling, and the nine in the fifth place
stands for the person who overhears the quarrel. This is what is
referred to by the following sentence from the Commentary on the
Decision: “’It furthers one to see the great man’: thus his
central and correct position is honored.”
The Sequence
Over
meat and drink, there is certain to be conflict.
Hence
there follows the hexagram of CONFLICT.
Miscellaneous Notes
CONFLICT
means not to love.
THE JUDGMENT
CONFLICT.
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.
Commentary on the Decision
CONFLICT: strength is above,
danger below. Danger and strength produce conflict.
“The contender is sincere and
is being obstructed.”
The firm comes and attains the
middle.
“Going through to the end
brings misfortune. A conflict must not be allowed to become
permanent.”
“It furthers one to see the
great man”: thus his central and correct position is honored.
“It does not further one to
cross the great water,” for this would lead one into the abyss.
The name of the hexagram of
CONFLICT is derived from the attributes of the two trigrams Ch’ien,
strength, and K’an, danger. When strength is above and cunning
below, conflict is sure to arise. Similarly, a person who is inwardly
cunning and outwardly strong inclines to conflict with others.
The contender, the second line,
is sincere and feels himself obstructed. He is in the inner trigram,
and therefore it is said, “He comes.” Because the line is strong
and occupies the center, it suggests sincerity, for it makes the
middle “sound.” It is obstructed because it is inclosed between
the two yin lines. The great man is the central and correct line in
the fifth place. The judge who must render the decision abides
outside the dangerous situation. He can render a just decision only
by remaining impartial. The abyss into which one would fall by
crossing the great water is indicated by the trigram K’an, danger.
Crossing of the great water is suggested by the fact that the nuclear
trigram Sun, wood, is over the lower primary trigram K’an, water.
Structurally, this hexagram is
the inverse of the preceding one: hence we have conflict here,
forbearance there. Although the time meaning of the hexagram is that
of conflict, it nevertheless teaches at every turn that conflict
should be avoided.
THE IMAGE
Heaven
and water go their opposite ways:
The
image of CONFLICT.
Thus
in all his transactions the superior man
Carefully
considers the beginning.
The
movement of the upper trigram, heaven, goes upward, that of the
lower, water, goes downward; thus the two draw farther and farther
apart, and create conflict. To avoid conflict, all transactions
(nuclear trigram Sun, work, undertaking) must be well considered at
the beginning (K’an means being concerned, and the nuclear trigram
Li means clarity; Ch’ien is the beginning of all things).
THE LINES
Six
at the beginning:
a)
If one does not perpetuate the affair,
There
is a little gossip.
In
the end, good fortune comes.
b)
Not perpetuating the affair: one must not prolong the conflict.
Although
“there is a little gossip,” the matter is finally decided
clearly.
The
six is weak and at the very bottom. Therefore, although there is a
brief altercation with the neighboring nine, which comes from
without, the conflict cannot continue—the place and the character
of the line are too weak. Since the nuclear trigram Li, standing
above it, has clarity as its attribute, everything is finally decided
justly—a fortunate thing in a conflict. As the six changes, there
arises the trigram Tui, speech.
Nine
in the second place:
a)
One cannot engage in conflict;
One
returns home, gives way.
The
people of his town,
Three
hundred households,
Remain
free of guilt.
b)
“One cannot engage in conflict: one returns home, gives way.”
Thus one escapes. To contend from a lowly place with someone above
brings self-incurred suffering.
One
cannot engage in conflict, although in this hard line in the middle
of the trigram K’an, the Abysmal, intention to contend with the
nine in the fifth place is inherently present. This second line,
being a nine, moves; that is, it changes into a yin line. Thereby it
conceals itself, and with the two other yin lines it forms the town
of three hundred families, who remain free of all entanglement.
Six
in the third place:
a)
To nourish oneself on ancient virtue induces perseverance.
Danger.
In the end, good fortune comes.
If
by chance you are in the service of a king,
Seek
not works.
b)
“To nourish oneself on ancient virtue.” To obey the one above
brings good fortune.
Because
the line is weak in a strong place, it is not correct. Above and
below are strong lines hemming it in. Moreover, being in a place of
transition, it is inwardly restless. All these circumstances
constitute elements of danger. Still, everything goes well, provided
the line rests content with what it has honorably acquired from its
ancestors. It corresponds with the third line of the “mother”
hexagram, K’un; hence the oracle for this line in K’un is
repeated here in part.
Nine
in the fourth place:
a)
One cannot engage in conflict.
One
turns back and submits to fate,
Changes
one’s attitude,
And
finds peace in perseverance.
Good
fortune.
b)
“One turns back and submits to fate, changes one’s attitude, and
finds peace in perseverance.” Thus nothing is lost.
This
line is neither central nor correct, and therefore originally
intended to quarrel. But it cannot do so. Over it is the strong judge
in the fifth place, with whom one may not quarrel. Below it is the
weak line in the third place, and standing in the relationship of
correspondence to it is the weak line at the beginning, neither of
which gives cause for quarrel. Its position in a yielding place gives
this line the possibility of being converted and of turning away from
conflict.
Nine
in the fifth place:
a)
To contend before him
Brings
supreme good fortune.
b)
“To contend before him brings supreme good fortune,” because he
is central and correct.
This
line is the ruler of the hexagram; it occupies the place of honor, is
central, correct, and strong. All this fits it for the task of
settling the quarrel, so that great good fortune comes about through
it.
Nine
at the top:
a)
Even if by chance a leather belt is bestowed on one,
By
the end of a morning
It
will have been snatched away three times.
b)
To attain distinction through conflict is, after all, nothing to
command respect.
A
strong line at the high point of CONFLICT seeks to win distinction
through conflict. But this does not last.
NOTE.
The nine in the fifth place is the judge, the other lines the
contenders, but only the strong lines really contend. The weak lines
in the first and the third place hold back. The strong lines in the
second and the fourth place are inclined by nature to contend, but
cannot quarrel with the judge in the fifth place, and the weak lines
below them offer no resistance. Therefore they too withdraw from the
conflict in good time. Only the strong top line carries the conflict
through to the end and, being in the relationship of correspondence
to the weak line in the third place, it triumphs and receives a
distinction. Yet the line is analogous to the top line—the
“arrogant dragon”—of the hexagram Ch’ien. It will have cause
to rue the matter. What is won by force is wrested away by force.
1.
In the text, the character for “leads” is written tu; which means
“to poison,” but should be read tan, “to lead.”
2.
The word lü, “order,” in its original sense means a reedlike
musical instrument. The literal meaning would be: “The army marches
forth to the sound of horns. If the horns are not in tune, it is a
bad sign.”
3.
The sentence li chih yen is best translated by taking the word yen
(meaning “to speak,” “to explain”) simply as the equivalent
of an exclamation point, which it frequently is in the Book of Odes.
This yields the translation, “It furthers one to hold fast, to
catch” (the game).
Tao Te Ching Chapters
Chapter 6: What is complete
The valley spirit never dies.
Call it the mystery, the woman.
The mystery,
the Door of the Woman,
is the root
of earth and heaven.
Forever this endures, forever.
And all its uses are easy.
Chapter 13 Shameless
To be in favor or disgrace
is to live in fear.
To take the body seriously
is to admit one can suffer.
What does that mean,
to be in favor or disgrace
is to live in fear?
Favor debases:
we fear to lose it,
fear to win it.
So to be in favor or disgrace
is to live in fear.
What does that mean,
to take the body seriously
is to admit one can suffer?
I suffer because I’m a body;
if I weren’t a body,
how could I suffer?
So people who set their bodily
good
before the public good
could be entrusted with the
commonwealth,
and people who treated the body
politic
as gently as their own body
would be worthy to govern the
commonwealth.
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