周易

卜

20221226

XVII ⁓ ∞

Working the Way back

Linear development: 27 follows 26 ➨ ‘Things are tamed, and so there can be nurturing, and so Nourishment follows. Nourishment means nurturing.’

➥ Reversing engineering: 27 revisits 26  ➨ understanding the flagrant misuse of both the lower and upper jaws ➨ time to bath into the "GG" Great Gathering or 'Gentle Glory' of  मञ्जुश्री (mañjuśrī)

Replacing Lyon Leo's jaws with the full embrace of  文殊師利

頤 《頤 - ㄧˊ》 

• (literary) chin; jaw; cheek
• (literary) to nourish; to maintain one's health
• 易經二十七卦 27th hexagram of the 易經: 51 & 52 afoot

➥ The Sequence (at a slightly larger scale)

Contexing the Sequence of hexagrams, one can observe and see that this is a turning point ➨ starting with hexagrams 21 and 22, every hexagram pair of the 20s has had thunder as an inner trigram in one hexagram, and mountain as the outer trigram of its pair. The initiative of inner thunder encounters different situations and outer mountain tries to absorb and contain them. The effect is one of experiments, trials and the ‘learning experience’.

Then in Hexagram 27, inner thunder and outer mountain come together: inner spark with outer stability, both experimenting and integrating. The combination creates a great mix of appropriate interrogations: ‘What to do here? How do I engage?’ conjoining with ‘What do I take in? How do I grow from this?’ to make ‘How can I find nourishment?’

Although on the larger scale of things, Hexagram 27 represents equilibrium ― in contrast to the imbalance of Hexagram 28 ― its inner workings (as represented in the moving line texts) are pretty fraught. Much as ䷌13 is about trying to create Harmony among People, ䷚ 27 is about the search for complete, dependable nourishment. The question is, how can we have a structure that is both strong enough to hold and also flexible enough to work? The willow tree of ䷛ 28 is one answer; the jaws are another…

Thunder is ― by definition ― active: moving, hankering, aspiring to something distant. It can not simply be present ― there’s no such thing as thunder that is not in motion. 觀 ‘Seeing’, the name of ䷓ 20, recurs in line 1 ― but whereas in the oracle we were ‘seeing the jaws’, becoming aware of what is present, now we are looking at someone else. To expect our nourishment to come from elsewhere, and push away what is available here and now, is destabilising and disempowering.

Mountain is still and solid – and this is the outer world, so there is scope for real, effective action here. Lines 4-6 have progressively more ownership of nourishment. The tiger has claws and teeth to match his intense desire, so he’s supremely capable of feeding himself – yet not on the same level as the less spectacular humans of line 5, who can make their dwelling in one place because they will grow their own food… (cf. today's reference to the question of whether 'eating meat has been crucial to the specific development of 'homo sapiens'?).

➥䷚ Hexagram 27 is named 《頤 - ㄧˊ》, "Swallowing" or, "the corners of the mouth (providing nourishment)", "jaws" and "comfort/security". Its inner (lower) trigram is ☳ (震 cf. ䷲ Hexagram 51) shake = (雷) thunder, and its outer (upper) trigram is ☶ (艮 cf ䷳ Hexagram 52) bound = (山) mountain.

The image of an open mouth is portrayed by this hexagram. This is a time to nourish one's body, mind and spirit. It is also a time to delight in nourishing others remembering that giving and receiving are not inherently different. To give is to receive. We must fill the self with good ideas, good actions, good books, good teachers and good people.

《䷚頤 - ㄧˊ》 English translation: James Legge

頤：貞吉。觀頤，自求口實。

頤 - ㄧˊ: 頤 indicates that with firm correctness there will be good fortune (in what is denoted by it). We must look at what we are seeking to nourish, and by the exercise of our thoughts seek the proper aliment.

彖傳:

頤貞吉，養正則吉也。觀頤，觀其所養也；自求口實，觀其自養也。天地養萬物，聖人養賢，以及萬民；頤之時大矣哉！

'頤 indicates that with firm correctness there will be good fortune:' ― when the nourishing is correct, there will be good fortune. 'We must look at what we seek to nourish:' ― we must look at those whom we wish to nourish. 'We must by the exercise of our thoughts seek the proper aliment:' - we must look to our own nourishing of ourselves. Heaven and earth nourish all things. The sages nurture men of talents and virtue, by them to reach the myriads of the people. Great is (the work intended by this) nourishing in its time!

象傳:

山下有雷，頤；君子以慎言語，節飲食。

(The trigram representing) a mountain and under it that for thunder form Yi. The superior man, in accordance with this, (enjoins) watchfulness over our words, and the temperate regulation of our eating and drinking.

Oracle

‘Nourishment: constancy brings good fortune.

See the jaws,

Our own quest for something real to fill our mouth.’

 …because reflecting on it, our jaws are solid and yet mobile (and would not be much use to us if they were only one or the other). This is also portrayed in the component trigrams: thunder below, which moves (like the lower jaw) and mountain above, which does not (like the upper).

The Image authors contemplated this landscape of mountain and thunder, and seem most of all to have heard how the thunder echoes:

‘Below the mountain is thunder. Nourishment.

The noble one reflects on his words in conversation,

And is discriminating about what he eats and drinks.’

The noble one joins 51 & 52 ― thunder and mountain ― by coupling his impulse to act with reflection and discrimination. Thunder is the desire to speak up, as hunger and thirst, and the mountain is the conscious ‘container’ for those impulses.

An interesting feature here is that the noble one is not only thinking about what he consumes, but also what he sends out into the world. Accordingly, the line texts progress towards the top line, where we might become not only a consumer but an ‘origin of nourishment.’

➥ As relating hexagram, it is been more subjective, having more to do with the motivating power of hunger of all kinds. It can describe the hunger for beauty, connection, or meaning – but even when it is pointing to a desire that might be met in material, practical ways (like a steady income), it still has more to do with emotional needs (e.g. security).

First of all, this hexagram calls for constancy: steadiness, persistence (maybe with a hint of doggedness), and loyalty to truth.

‘Jaws’ is the name of the hexagram, and 觀 ‘see’, here and in line 1, is the same word as the name of ䷓ Hexagram 20, so it comes with echoes of that hexagram’s themes. This is a clear and strong exhortation to step back from any action and see what is really happening. (There are no other hexagrams that direct us to ‘see’ them, so this is quite striking.)

What are our desires? How are our needs governing our behaviour?

The need for nourishment is simple, powerful and primal. In readings, this may be pointing to any strong hunger, from emotional neediness to material survival fears to spiritual thirst. There could be someone looking for admiration, for the rent, or even to fill the void by buying another gadget. However, the next line speaks of our quest for something real.

實 is for ‘real’  and the early forms of the character show a string of cowries (i.e. cash) under a roof. (No imaginary money here, only hard cash.) It means true, substantial, solid, and also a fruit or seed.

If we are still hungry, chances are that we have not found real nourishment. It’s interesting that the word means ‘fruit’, as the nutritional value of fruit is what gave us our instinctive craving for sweet things. Then we invented refined sugar, which cannot satisfy our hunger. And this, of course, is a perfect image for any amount of emotional or spiritual ‘junk food’. Receiving Hexagram 27 is a good cue to stop and ask about the real underlying need.

䷚頤:

六二：顛頤，拂經，于丘頤，征凶。

The second SIX ― magnetic ― shows one looking downwards for nourishment, which is contrary to what is proper; or seeking it from the height (above), advance towards which will lead to inauspicious conditions.

象傳:

六二征凶，行失類也。

'The inauspicious of advance by the subject of the second SIX, (divided),' is owing to his leaving in his movements his proper associates.

䷚頤:

六三：拂頤，貞凶，十年勿用，无攸利。

The third SIX ― magnetic ― shows one acting contrary to the method of nourishing. However firm he may be, there will be evil. For ten years let him not take any action, (for) it will not be in any way advantageous.

象傳:

十年勿用，道大悖也。

'For ten years let him not take any action:' ― his course is greatly opposed (to what is right). 

➥ Changing line #2

"Seeking the Best Nourishment" ― This line is a reminder to take responsibility for one's own nourishment. Let not us receive from the ungenerous. Let us be wise with our giving as well. Let us give help to those who have genuine potential, not to those who are unmotivated or ungenerous.

Lines 2 and 4 talk about unbalanced nourishment/jaws – a word that means something is toppled, upset or turned on its head. (Brad Hatcher uses ‘top-heavy’ in one line and ‘subverted’ in the other.) In the context (looking at the hilltop, and the tiger’s gaze), this seems to be about the unbalancing power of desire – more wanting than the existing framework can contain. 

Cleary (1): Perverting nourishment goes against the constant. Feeding on high ground – to go brings misfortune.

Cleary(2): Perverting nourishment brushes aside the constant. Feeding on high ground, an expedition bodes ill. [For those above to nourish those below is the rational constant. Here one in a higher position is recessive and weak and relies on strength from below for nourishment, so this “brushes aside the constant.]

Wu: There is reversed nurturing. It violates the normal order of offering nurture to the one above. The action is foreboding. [The second (line) has the responsibility of offering nurture to its correlate, the fifth (line). On the contrary, it nurtures the one below, i.e., the first (line). Hence the judgment calls the action a misplaced reversed nurturing.]

➥ Changing line #3

"Feeding the Soul"- When choosing friends, co-workers or romantic partners, let us ignore the superficial realms of status and finances. Let us be with people who support our deepest values and receive with an open heart and thus avoid misfortunes and experience greater health. 

Cleary (1): Going against nourishment, even with rectitude this is inauspicious. Don’t act on this for ten years; there is no benefit.

Cleary (2): Going against nourishment is inauspicious even if there is rectitude. Do not act on this for ten years; there is nothing to be gained. [The weak cannot nourish themselves; if they are also not balanced correctly and dwell on the climax of action in this state, this is going against nourishment. Even though there is correct correspondence with the top yang, this cannot save them, and they wind up useless. In Buddhism, it is like the senses deranging people so that they lose their standards.]

Wu: It violates the principle of nurturing. Even if correct it is foreboding. It loses its usefulness for ten years. There is nothing to be gained.

「易」大畜 《大畜 ㄉㄚˋ ㄔㄨˋ》

➥易經的第二十六卦，稱為“大積”; the twenty-sixth hexagram of the 易經,

➥ ䷙ Hexagram 26 is named 大畜 (dà xù), "Great Accumulating" or "the taming power of the great", "great storage", and "potential energy". Its inner (lower) trigram is ☰ (乾 qián) force = (天) heaven, and its outer (upper) trigram is ☶ (艮 gèn) bound = (山) mountain. Also translated as Controlled Power or, The Taming Power of the Great, The Great Nourisher, Taming the Great Powers, Great Accumulating, Great Accumulation, Great Storage, Nurturance of the Great, Great Buildup, Restraint of the Great, Restraint by the Strong, Potential Energy, The Great Taming Force, Energy Under Control, Power Restrained, Sublimation, Latent Power

《䷙大畜 - ㄉㄚˋ ㄔㄨˋ》 English translation: James Legge

䷙大畜:

大畜：利貞，不家食吉，利涉大川。

ㄉㄚˋ ㄔㄨˋ:

Under the conditions of 大畜, it will be advantageous to be firm and correct. (If its subject do not seek to) enjoy his revenues in his own family (without taking service at court), there will be good fortune. It will be advantageous for him to cross the great stream.

彖傳:

大畜，剛健篤實輝光，日新其德，剛上而尚賢。能止健，大正也。不家食吉，養賢也。利涉大川，應乎天也。

In (the trigrams composing) 大畜 we have (the attributes) of the greatest strength and of substantial solidity, which emits a brilliant light; and indicate a daily renewal of his virtue (by the subject of it). The strong line is in the highest place, and suggests the value set on talents and integrity; there is power (in the upper trigram) to keep the strongest in restraint: - all this shows 'the great correctness' (required in the hexagram). 'The good fortune attached to the subject's not seeking to enjoy his revenues in his own family' shows how talents and virtue are nourished. 'It will be advantageous to cross the great stream:' - (the fifth line, representing the ruler,) is responded to by (the second, the central line of Qian, representing) Heaven.

象傳:

天在山中，大畜；君子以多識前言往行，以畜其德。

(The trigram representing) a mountain, and in the midst of it that (representing) heaven, form 大畜. In accordance with this, the superior man stores the words and deeds of former men in his memory to subserve the accumulation of his virtue.

➥ Meaning of ䷙ hexagram #26 大畜 Cosmic Gathering

This vital hexagram explores the power of holding firm and standing our ground. Let us not become distracted by luxury and leisure. Let us stay the course with courage and inner discipline. This can be a time of great gains and increased well-being, but we must keep our footing despite strong currents tugging at us. Let us put our ideas/projects into motion and 『䷾ 既濟』 cross the waters without apprehension. Let us honour our strengths to achieve great things.

大畜：利貞，不家食吉，利涉大川。Judgment

Legge: Controlled Power means being firm and correct. If its subject doesn't enjoy his family revenues at the expense of public service, there will be good fortune. It will be advantageous to cross the great stream.

Wilhelm/Baynes: The Taming Power of the Great. Perseverance furthers. Not eating at home brings good fortune. It furthers one to cross the great water.

Blofeld: The Great Nourisher favours righteous persistence. Good fortune results from not eating at home. It is a favourable time for crossing the great river (sea). [I.e. going on a long journey, perhaps abroad.]

Liu: Taming the Great Powers. Persistence benefits. Not eating at home is good fortune. It is of benefit to cross the great water.

Ritsema/Karcher: Great Accumulating. Harvesting Trial. Not dwelling, taking in. Significant. Harvesting: wading the Great River. [This hexagram describes your situation in terms of an overriding concern that defines what is valuable. It emphasizes that bringing the variety of things under the control of this central idea is the adequate way to handle it...]

Shaughnessy: Great Storage: Beneficial to determine; not eating at home is auspicious; beneficial to ford the great river.

Cleary (1): In Nurturance of the Great it is beneficial to be chaste. It is good not to eat at home; it is beneficial to cross great rivers. [This hexagram represents incubation nurturing the spiritual embryo. On this path, it is beneficial to still strength, not to use strength. Therefore it says: “it is beneficial to be chaste.” Chastity here means quietude. Stilling strength is nurturing strength. It is good to be still, not active – if one is still, this preserves strength; if one is active, this damages strength. This is the work referred to as “nine years facing a wall.”]

Cleary (2): Great Buildup is beneficial if correct, etc.

Wu: Restraint of the Great indicates prosperity and perseverance. It will be auspicious not to have meals at home. It will be advantageous to cross the big river. [The character chu in the present context has two meanings: one is to accumulate and the other to restrain.]

天在山中，大畜；君子以多識前言往行，以畜其德。The Image

Legge: Heaven in the midst of the mountain -- the image of Controlled Power. Thus, the superior man studies the words and deeds of ancient men in order to build his virtue.

Wilhelm/Baynes: Heaven within the mountain: the image of the Taming Power of the Great. Thus the superior man acquaints himself with many sayings of antiquity and many deeds of the past, in order to strengthen his character thereby.

Blofeld: This hexagram symbolizes the sky visible amidst the mountain peaks. The Superior Man, acting from his profound knowledge of the words and conduct of the wise men of old, nourishes his virtue. [The arrangement of the component trigrams suggests glimpses of the sky among the peaks of the mountains. This points to something very far off and thereby indicates the advisability of setting out for some distant place. This is a time for going from home and giving concrete expression to our appreciation of what others have done for us or for the public good.]

Liu: Heaven within the mountain symbolizes Taming the Great Powers. The wise man studies ancient knowledge to improve his character.

Ritsema/Karcher: Heaven located-in mountain centre. Great

Accumulating. 君子 uses the numerous recorded preceding words going to move. [君子] uses accumulating one's actualizing-tao. [Actualize-tao: ...ability to follow the course traced by the ongoing process of the cosmos... Linked with acquire, TE: acquiring that which makes a being become what it is meant to be.]

Cleary (1): Heaven is in the mountains, great accumulation. Thus superior people become acquainted with many precedents of speech and action, in order to accumulate virtue.

Cleary (2): …Leaders build up their virtues by abundant knowledge of past words and deeds.

Wu: Heaven is within the mountain; this is Restraint of the Great. Thus 君子 accumulates his virtue by remembering past words and deeds.

大畜，剛健篤實輝光，日新其德，剛上而尚賢。能止健，大正也。不家食吉，養賢也。利涉大川，應乎天也。

Commentary

Confucius/Legge: The trigrams that compose Controlled Power show the intelligence of Strength and Mass renewing their virtue every day. A dynamic line is in the highest place, displaying the worth of talent and virtue -- his is the power that keeps Strength in restraint and displays the will necessary to the hexagram. Talents and virtue are nourished because he refuses to confine his power within his immediate family. Heaven in the second line responds to the ruler in the fifth, thus it is favourable to cross the great stream.

Legge: Controlled Power symbolizes both restraint and the accumulation of virtue. What is restrained accumulates its strength and increases its volume to become a great reservoir of force. The Judgment teaches that if one is firm and correct in this endeavour he may then engage in public service and enjoy the king's grace.

The dynamic line in the highest place is line six which is above the ruler and has all of heaven in which to move. This, plus the power to suppress the strongest opposition, shows how he is supported by all that is correct.

Concerning the Image, Chu Hsi says: "Heaven is the greatest of all things, and its being in the midst of a mountain gives us the idea of a very large accumulation. This is analogous to the labour of the superior man in learning, acquiring and remembering, to accumulate his virtue."

Notes & paraphrases

Judgment: Controlled Power is willpower. The ego renounces selfish indulgences to work for the good of the whole. With such a spirit, great transformations are possible.

The Superior Man studies the precepts of the Work to increase his comprehension and fortitude.

The essential image to remember in this hexagram is that of Mount Everest holding down Heaven itself: raw power is controlled by the sheer mass of Keeping Still. Thus we see that Controlled Power is Willpower -- arguably the most potentially creative force in the universe, because used correctly it can accomplish anything.

The will is, curiously, not recognized as the central and fundamental function of the ego. It has often been depreciated as being ineffective against the various drives and the power of the imagination, or it has been considered with suspicion as leading to self-assertion (will-to-power). But the latter is only a perverted use of the will, while the apparent futility of the will is due only to a faulty and unintelligent use. The will is ineffective only when it attempts to act in opposition to the imagination and to the other psychological functions, while its skilful and consequently successful use consists in regulating and directing all other functions toward a deliberately chosen and affirmed aim.

Roberto Assagioli –Psychosynthesis

An extreme example of this is illustrated by Cleary’s commentary on the Judgment where he says: “This is the work referred to as “nine years facing a wall.” The reference is to Bodhidharma (the patriarch who brought Zen Buddhism to China), who meditated facing a wall for nine continuous years until he attained enlightenment.

"If its subject doesn't enjoy his family revenues at the expense of public service, there will be good fortune” is an image of the ego renouncing its illusions of free choice. Psychologically, inner complexes will drain energy from the situation unless the ego has the will to control its manifestation. Every line except the sixth depicts some kind of restraint of power -- only in the top line is the energy available for use. It is significant that the superior man is advised to study the ancient wisdom, for it is in the Mysteries, the Perennial Philosophy, that one discovers the secrets and applications of the will. In other contexts (for example, a question about business matters), this can refer to making a connection with sound and established practices.

In the larger philosophical sense, we see that the evolving illusions of every age insure that the masses will remain attached to the wheel of birth and death -- continuously repeating endless variations of the same basic lessons. When each individual is finally ready to escape from these cycles, it is only within the ancient and eternal template of the Work that transcendence can be found.

The analogies between religious ideas in Jewish mysticism that are hundreds of years old and the scientific findings of modern psychology can be explained only by the archetypal structure of the psyche. Man's images and ideas concerning the mysteries of being fall into the timeless patterns arranged by the archetypes of the unconscious; his meditations are determined by them. Within the setting of his culture and his time, he creates new forms for the expression of age-old truths.

A. Jaffe -- The Myth of Meaning

Through contact with the Self, negative cycles can be broken and positive cycles begun, but it always requires a mountain's worth of Controlled Power to make it happen.

GGG