Hexagram 睽 38 changing to hexagram 師 7 with a total of 3 changing lines.
In this transformation, both the upper and lower trigrams are transformed from 睽 38 to 師 7.
➥ The 睽 38 hexagram implies a draw, an impasse or a stalemate. Like water and fire coming together, opposing forces bring activity to a standstill. The opposing forces I encounter may be the actions or opinions of others, or they may be my own. An internal struggle has brought me to a point where movement is impossible. This is a time to identify a higher vision for myself. Look to see who shares my vision and who does not, who is in alignment with my cause and who is not. This is an opportunity to evaluate and decide on directions for future movement. The first step in dealing with opposition is identifying it.
This hexagram is composed of the trigram 離 above, i.e., flame, which burns upward, and 兌 below, i.e., the lake, which seeps downward. These two movements are in direct contrast. Furthermore, 離 is the second daughter and 兌 the youngest daughter, and although they live in the same house they belong to different men; hence their wills are not the same but are divergently directed.
➥ The conflict between III & VIII is due to the presence of V Le Pape.
The sequence:
When the way of the Family draws to an end, misunderstandings come. Hence there follows the hexagram of Opposition. Opposition means misunderstandings.
Miscellaneous notes:
Opposition means estrangement.
Appended judgments:
The men of ancient times strung a piece of wood for a bow and hardened pieces of wood in the fire for arrows. The use of bow and arrow is to keep the world in fear. They probably took this from the hexagram of Opposition.
The upper primary trigram 離 means weapons; the lower, 兌, is associated with the west, metal, and killing; hence the idea of bow and arrow to keep the world in fear and alarm. The correspondences between the lines are of great importance in this hexagram. In all the lines the situation is that of opposition; throughout, however, the tendency is toward smoothing out misunderstandings. This is why at the first line no search is made for the horse, which returns of its own accord, and why at the fourth line one meets a person of like mind. In the second place it is said, “One meets his lord,” and correspondingly at the fifth place, “The companion bites his way through the wrappings.” Again, the pronouncement at the third place, “Not a good beginning, but a good end,” is related to that at the topmost place: “As one goes, rainfalls.” This hexagram is the inverse of 家人, the preceding one.
the Judgment:
睽：小事吉。
Opposition. In small matters, good fortune.
➥ When people live in opposition and estrangement they cannot carry out a great undertaking in common; their points of view diverge too widely. In such circumstances one should above all not proceed brusquely, for that would only increase the existing opposition; instead, one should limit oneself to producing gradual effects in small matters. Here success can still be expected because the situation is such that the opposition does not preclude all agreement.
In general, opposition appears as an obstruction, but when it represents polarity within a comprehensive whole, it has also its useful and important functions. The oppositions of heaven and earth, spirit and nature, man and woman, when reconciled, bring about the creation and reproduction of life. In the world of visible things, the principle of opposites makes possible the differentiation by categories through which order is brought into the world.
Commentary on the Decision:
睽，火而上，澤動而下；二女同居，其志不同行；而麗乎明，柔故而說，得中而應乎剛；是小事，其事同。 志通也；萬物睽，而其事類也；睽之時用大矣哉！
Opposition: fire moves upward, the lake moves downward. Two daughters live together, but their minds are not directed to common concerns.
Joyousness and dependence upon clarity: the yielding progresses and goes upward, attains the middle and finds correspondence in the firm. This is why there is good fortune in small matters.
Heaven and earth are opposites, but their action is concerted. Man and woman are opposites, but they strive for a union. All beings stand in opposition to one another: what they do takes on order thereby. Great indeed is the effect of the time of Opposition.
➥ The name of the hexagram is derived from the relationships developing out of the movement of the two trigrams. Fire flames upward, water seeps downward: when they are quiescent, their movements can unite; when they are in motion, they draw farther and farther apart. The two daughters are originally together in the parental house. Their ways part as they grow up and marry into different families. Thus the movement leads more and more to the opposition. However, since this movement is a natural one, it comes of itself to a turning when it has reached an extreme.
The trigram 兌 has joyousness as an attribute; the trigram 離, dependence, upon clarity. Joyousness unites, clarity finds the right way for this. Furthermore, the relations of the two rulers of the hexagram are favourable, so that there is a possibility of success at least in small matters.
However, Confucius goes still further. He shows that opposition is actually the natural prerequisite for a union. As a result of opposition, a need to bridge it arises; this is true as regards heaven and earth, man and woman. Similarly, it is the individual differences between things that enable us to differentiate them clearly and hence to classify them. This is the effect of the phase of opposition - a phase that must be transcended.
the Image:
上火下澤，睽；君子以同而異。
Above, fire; below. The lake.
The image of Opposition.
Thus amid all fellowship
The superior man retains his individuality.
➥ The two elements, fire and water, never mingle but even when in contact retain their own natures. So the sutured man is never led into baseness or vulgarity through intercourse or community of interests with persons of another sort; regardless of all commingling, he will always preserve his individuality.
The changing lines between hexagram 睽 38 and hexagram 師 7
Changing line #1
初九：悔亡，喪馬勿追，自複；見惡人無咎。
Nine at the beginning means:
- Remorse disappears.
- If you lose your horse, do not run after it;
- It will come back of its own accord.
- When you see evil people,
- Guard yourself against mistakes.
"Lesson of the Runaway Horse"
If one's horse runs off out of control, let it go and trust it will return on its own accord. This means that if I do not feel supported by somebody ― that my own will differs from a comrade's will ― I shall not attempt to force alignment. I shall accept that there is opposition right now and this person will join me later.
Changing line #4
九四：睽孤，遇元，交孚，厲無咎。
Nine in the fourth place means:
- Isolated through opposition,
- One meets a like-minded man
- With whom one can associate in good faith.
- Despite the danger, no blame.
"Dissolving Isolation"
When it seems as if you are stuck, and all those around you are in opposition to your journey, always look for the one wise person to meet with. There will still be at least one person in your circle of friends who will share your vision. Seek this person's counsel at this time.
Changing line #6
上九：睽孤，見豕負塗，載鬼一車，先張之弧，後說之弧，匪寇婚媾，往遇雨則吉。
Nine at the top means:
- Isolated through opposition,
- One sees one's companion as a pig covered with dirt,
- As a wagon full of devils.
- The first one draws a bow against him,
- Then one lays the bow aside.
- He is not a robber; he will woo at the right time.
- As one goes, rain falls; then good fortune comes.
"Seeing Past a Dirty Face"
Comrades who share my commitment and vision could be hidden from view at this time. I shall show my own true colours first and my allies will then show theirs. The new people I meet at this time come in peace, no matter how it may seem at first.
師 the future hexagram 7:
"The Army" 🢥 I & X•Cॐ (I+X•Cṁ)
The meaning of 師 hexagram 7
Even with powerful allies and armies, no success is possible if leadership wavers. Good leadership requires public strength, but more importantly: private discipline. I shall remember to treat my allies well and support the greater good. Success at this time will be the result of strong interpersonal ties and dedicated personal discipline. To indulge one's ego or one's own personal ambitions will fail. A unified force will succeed. The importance of clear communication is also referenced here.
The hexagram 7 is made up of the trigrams 坎, water, and 坤 Kun, earth, and thus it symbolizes the groundwater stored up in the earth. In the same way, military strength is stored up in the mass of the people ― invisible in times of peace but always ready for use as a source of power. The attributes of the two trig rams are danger inside and obedience must prevail outside.
Of the individual lines, the one that controls the hexagram is the strong nine in the second place, to which the other lines, all yielding, are subordinate. This line indicates a commander because it stands in the middle of one of the two trigrams. But since it is in the lower rather than the upper trigram, it represents not the ruler but the efficient general, who maintains obedience in the army by his authority.
The sequence:
When there is conflict, the masses are sure to rise up. Hence there follows the hexagram of the Army. Army means mass.
Miscellaneous notes:
The Army means mourning.
the Judgment:
師：貞，丈人，吉無咎。
The Army. The army needs perseverance
And a strong man.
Good fortune without blame.
➥ An army is a mass that needs organization in order to become a fighting force. Without strict discipline, nothing can be accomplished, but this discipline must not be achieved by force. It requires a strong man who captures the hearts of the people and awakens their enthusiasm. In order that he may develop his abilities, he needs the complete confidence of his ruler, who must entrust him with full responsibility as long as the war lasts. But war is always a dangerous thing and brings with it destruction and devastation. Therefore it should not be resorted to rashly but, like a poisonous drug, should be used as a last recourse.
Commentary on the Decision:
師，眾也，貞正，能以眾正，可以王矣。而應，行險也，順毒天下，而之，剛中又何故民從矣。
The Army means the masses. Perseverance means discipline.
The man who can affect discipline through the masses may attain mastery of the world.
The strong one is central and finds response. One does a dangerous thing but finds devotion.
The man who thus leads the world is followed by the people.
Good fortune. How could this be a mistake?
➥ This hexagram consists of a mass of yielding lines in the midst of which, in a central although subordinate place, is a single strong line. As a general, not as a ruler, it holds the others under control. From this arises the idea of the mass (the many yielding lines) and of the army - a disciplined multitude. The firm line in the second place finds support, because of correspondence, in the yielding line in the fifth place, the place of the ruler. The danger of the action is indicated by the lower trigram, Kan, and devotion by the upper, Kun.
the Image:
地有水，師；君子以容民畜眾。
In the middle of the earth is water:
The image of the Army.
Thus the superior man increases his masses
By generosity toward the people.
➥ Groundwater is invisibly present within the earth. In the same way, the military power of a people is invisibly present in the masses.
When danger threatens, every peasant becomes present in the masses. When danger threatens, every peasant becomes a soldier; when the war ends, he goes back to his plough. He who is generous toward the people wins their love, and a people living under a mild rule becomes strong and powerful. Only a people economically strong can be important in military power. Such power must therefore be cultivated by improving the economic condition of the people and by humane government. Only when there is this invisible bond between government and people, so that the people are sheltered by their government as groundwater is sheltered by the earth, is it possible to wage a victorious war.
