Drawing from the past
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Approach19
Openness and approachability bring success. Embrace others with sincerity and attentive leadership. Seize opportunities with confidence while recognizing the temporary nature of influence.
↓ Line 1
The beginning of a new cycle. Cooperation and perseverance lead to success.
↓ Line 4
A complete and sincere approach leads to success without blame.
↓ Line 5
A wise and noble approach is fitting for leadership and brings good fortune.
↓ Oppression 47
Feeling trapped or constrained, yet resilience leads to inner growth. Embrace challenges to discover inner strength.
Original Readings
19 Approach
Other titles: The Symbol of Advance and Arrival, Nearing, Overseeing, Condescension, Getting Ahead, Promotion, Conduct, Drawing Near, Becoming Great, The Forest, Advance, Advancing, "Two people advancing together; or a good influence which hasn't been seen or felt for some time, is approaching." -- D.F. Hook
Judgment
Legge: Approach means successful progress through firm correctness. In the eighth month there will be evil.
Wilhelm/Baynes : Approach has supreme success. Perseverance furthers. When the eighth month comes, there will be misfortune.
Blofeld:Approach.Sublime success! Righteous persistence brings reward. However, when the eighth month is reached, misfortune will befall. [The eighth moon of the lunar calendar corresponds approximately to September.]
Liu: Approach. Great Success. It is of benefit to continue. When the eighth month arrives, then there will be misfortune.
Ritsema/Karcher: Nearing, Spring Growing Harvesting Trial. Culminating tending-towards the eighth moon: possessing a pitfall. [This hexagram describes your situation in terms of approaching and being approached. It emphasizes that acting without immediately expecting to attain what you desire is the adequate way to handle it...]
Shaughnessy: The Forest: Prime receipt; beneficial to determine; arriving at the eighth month there is inauspiciousness.
Cleary (1):Overseeing is creative and developmental, beneficial if correct. In the eighth month there is misfortune.
Cleary (2):Overseeing is very successful, beneficial if correct. If you go on until the eighth month, there will be misfortune. [If you ride on the momentum of the time and do not know to turn back, at a certain point deterioration will inevitably set in, after flourishing has reached its climax, and there will surely be misfortune.]
Wu:Condescension is great, pervasive, and persevering, etc. [Condescension as used in several judgments has two meanings: to condescend (or to look down from a higher position) and to press forward with authority.]
Hua-Ching Ni: Advance. It is beneficial to go forward with a positive attitude, but be mindful of the cyclical nature of things.
The Image
Legge: The earth over a marsh -- the image of Approach. The superior man is inexhaustible in his instruction and unflagging in his nourishing support of the people.
Wilhelm/Baynes: The earth above the lake: the image of Approach. Thus the superior man is inexhaustible in his will to teach, and without limits in his tolerance and protection of the people.
Blofeld: This hexagram symbolizes land rising above a marsh. The Superior Man's teaching and his affection for his juniors are inexhaustible. Nothing hinders him in his care for the people. [The lower component trigram suggests the nourishment which the Superior Man gives joyfully to others. The upper trigram symbolizes the great bulk of those who benefit.]
Liu: The earth above the lake symbolizes Approach. The superior man's will for instruction has no limit. He is boundless in his support and protection of the people.
Ritsema/Karcher: Above marsh possessing earth. Nearing. A chun tzu uses teaching to ponder without exhausting. [A chun tzu uses] tolerating to protect the commoners without delimiting.
Cleary (1): Above the lake there is earth, overseeing. Superior people use
inexhaustibility of education and thought to embrace and protect the people without bound.
Wu: There is ground above the marsh; this is Condescension. Thus the jun zi realizes that there is no limit to the ideas of education and there is no boundary in the protection of people.
COMMENTARY
Confucius/Legge: In Approach we see the dynamic lines gradually increasing and advancing. The lower trigram is the symbol of Being Pleased, and the upper of Being Compliant. The strong line is in the central position, and is properly responded to. It is the way of heaven to bring progress and success through firm correctness, however the advancing power will decay after no long time.
Legge: Approach suggests the approach of authority -- to inspect, to comfort or to rule. The figure shows two dynamic lines advancing on the four magnetic lines above them. Their action will be powerful and successful, but it must be governed by rectitude and a caution that understands the nature of continuous change.
NOTES AND PARAPHRASES
Judgment: Two steps forward are followed by one step backward.
The Superior Man remains true to the Work regardless of fluctuations within the psyche.
The meaning of Approach is derived from the two dynamic lines advancing from below to encounter the magnetic lines above. These two are firm allies, and the action of the superior man in the Image suggests that their ascent is one of benevolent regard for the welfare of their subordinates -- only the third line need change for the hexagram to become number eleven, Harmony. We are reminded of the proper relationship between the ego and the Self -- when they advance together, the magnetic forces in the rest of the psyche are eventually transformed.
This hexagram recognizes the inevitably slow progress of the Work (" Rome wasn't built in a day"), and that advances are always followed by retreats. The point is that if one maintains the will to advance, one can be confident that the Work is advancing, regardless of appearances.
(Confucius) tried his best, but the issue he left to Ming. Ming is often translated as Fate, Destiny or Decree. To Confucius, it meant the Decree of Heaven or Will of Heaven ... Thus to know Ming means to acknowledge the inevitability of the world as it exists, and so to disregard one's external success or failure. If we can act in this way, we can, in a sense, never fail. For if we do our duty that duty through our very act is morally done, regardless of the external success or failure of our action. Fung Yu-Lan -- A Short History of Chinese Philosophy
Without changing lines, the hexagram suggests a progressive advance in the matter at hand. Nature being what it is however, no advance can be sustained indefinitely and an eventual regression can be expected. (This observation is such a truism that we must assume it is more than usually applicable to the current situation.)
Line 1
Legge: The first line, dynamic, shows its subject advancing in company with the subject of the second line. Through his firm correctness there will be good fortune.
Wilhelm/Baynes: Joint approach. Perseverance brings good fortune.
Blofeld: All approach -- righteous persistence will bring good fortune! [All approach can be taken to mean that all things desirable are converging upon us.]
Liu: Approach with sincerity. To continue brings good fortune.
Shaughnessy: Prohibited forest; determination is auspicious.
Cleary (1): Sensitive overseeing leads to good results when correct.
Wu: Pressing forward with a companion will be auspicious.
Hua-Ching Ni: Advance impartially. One should start in this manner and continue in this direction. Good Fortune.
COMMENTARY
Confucius/Legge: His will is set on doing what is right. Wilhelm/Baynes: His will is to act correctly. Blofeld: This is because what is willed is carried out in righteous ways. Ritsema/Karcher: Purpose moving, correcting indeed. Cleary (2): Because the intention and the action are correct. Wu: Because his aspiration is correct.
Legge: Line one is dynamic in his proper place. The danger is that he may be more strong than prudent -- hence the caution requiring firm correctness.
NOTES AND PARAPHRASES
Siu: At the outset, the man advances with his associates to a higher position. He must remain more prudent than strong in doing right and not be carried away by the popular will.
Wing: Begin your endeavors in the company of those who share your enthusiasm. This will give you the kind of strong support necessary to achieve your aims. At the same time you should be certain that you are pursuing worthwhile goals. Continuing in your principles brings good fortune.
Editor: The texts of the first two lines are almost identical. As the only two yang forces in the hexagram they support and reinforce each other in their advance on the yin lines. The image suggests an ego-Self accord in the work of pacifying disparate forces within the psyche. If this is the only changing line, the new hexagram becomes number seven, Discipline, which reinforces the idea of a disciplined dynamic advance. In the context of certain questions, the Confucian commentary here sometimes seems more accessible than the original line.
If you want to go your original way, it is the way you make for yourself, which is never prescribed, which you do not know in advance, and which simply comes into being of itself when you put one foot in front of the other. If you always do the next thing that needs to be done, you will go most safely and sure-footedly along the path prescribed by your unconscious. Jung -- Letters
A. Mutual advancement. Ego and Self are in accord. Advance the Work.
Line 4
Legge: The fourth line, magnetic, shows one advancing in the highest mode.
There will be no error.
Wilhelm/Baynes: Complete approach. No blame.
Blofeld: A perfect approach -- no error!
Liu: Complete approach brings no blame.
Ritsema/Karcher: Culmination Nearing. Without fault.
Shaughnessy: Arriving at the forest; there is no trouble.
Cleary (1): Consummate overseeing is blameless. [Being weak yet preserving rectitude, refining oneself and mastering the mind, thereby awaiting the newborn positive energy, is called consummate overseeing. Watching over the quintessential, when the great medicine appears one naturally does not make the mistake of missing it.]
Cleary (2): Consummate overseeing is impeccable. [In Buddhist terms, this represents using correct concentration corresponding to correct insight.]
Wu: Condescending at the right place is without blame.
Hua-Ching Ni: Correct advancement. No fault.
COMMENTARY
Confucius/Legge: This is due to the various appropriateness of the position. Wilhelm/Baynes: For the place is the appropriate one. Blofeld: This is indicated by the suitable position of this line. Ritsema/Karcher: Situation appropriate indeed. Cleary (2): In the right place. Wu: His position is proper.
Legge: Line four, though magnetic, is in her proper place and has for her correlate the dynamic first line. Hence her advance is in the highest style.
NOTES AND PARAPHRASES
Siu: The man advances to a high place because of the appropriateness of his ideas and behavior and the open-mindedness of a person of high rank who draws men of competence into service.
Wing: Your Promotion is well executed. Regardless of any difficulties you may encounter in assuming your new position, your behavior is so appropriate that you can continue successfully on your way.
Editor: The image suggests that the conscious attitude is in accordance with the aims and goals of the Work. Depending on the context of your query, some kind of fruition is indicated: something is concluding as fated or willed.
But, O my friend, if this be true, there is great reason to hope that, going whither I go, when I have come to the end of my journey, I shall attain that which has been the pursuit of my life. And therefore I go on my way rejoicing, and not I only, but every other man who believes that his mind has been made ready and that he is in a manner purified. Plato -- Phaedo
A. The Work is progressing as it should. It's all coming together now.
Line 5
Legge: The fifth line, magnetic, shows the advance of wisdom, such as
befits the great ruler. There will be good fortune.
Wilhelm/Baynes: Wise approach. This is right for a great prince. Good fortune.
Blofeld: A wise approach suited to a great prince -- good fortune.
Liu: To approach with wisdom is appropriate for a great duke. Good fortune.
Ritsema/Karcher: Knowledge Nearing. A Great Chief's propriety. Significant.
Shaughnessy: Knowing the forest; the great lord's propriety is auspicious.
Cleary (2): Knowing overseeing, appropriate for a great leader, bodes well.
Wu: Condescending with wisdom befits a great king. There will be good fortune.
Hua-Ching Ni: Wise advancement. This is how the great should proceed. G.F.
COMMENTARY
Confucius/Legge: What befits the great ruler means pursuing the course of the due mean. Wilhelm/Baynes: This means that he should walk in the middle. Blofeld: This is a way of saying that we must keep to the middle path. Ritsema/Karcher: Moving the center's designating indeed. Cleary (2): What is appropriate for a great leader is balance in action. Wu: He rules from the center.
Legge: Line five is the seat of the ruler. She is magnetic, but because she is central and has the dynamic second line as her proper correlate, she is the symbol of a wise sovereign who employs able counsel to advise her.
NOTES AND PARAPHRASES
Siu: The great ruler displays his wisdom in attracting men of ability to direct his affairs and in providing them freedom of action.
Wing: Your position is one of sovereignty. Here you would be wise to allow others to execute you plan for you. If you can choose competent helpers and restrain yourself from interfering in their work, you will achieve the ideal of true authority.
Editor: There is an intimation here of the Self allowing the ego to look after its own welfare, as long as action is in accordance with moderation and restraint. A test situation may be in progress.
From my brother Severus (I learned) to love my kin, and to love truth, and to love justice... And from him I received the idea of a polity in which there is the same law for all, a polity administered with regard to equal rights and equal freedom of speech, and the idea of a kingly government which respects most of all the freedom of the governed. Marcus Aurelius
A. An image of balance.
B. Wisdom walks in the middle.
47 Oppression
Other titles: Exhaustion, The Symbol of Repression and Confinement, Adversity, Weariness, Confining, Entangled, Hardship, Depression, Tiresome Restriction, Dried Up, "Actions speak louder than words." -- D.F. Hook
Judgment
Legge: Oppression means that successful progress is still possible. The perseverance of the truly great man brings good fortune without error; but if he relies on words, no one will believe them.
Wilhelm/Baynes: Oppression . Success. Perseverance. The great man brings about good fortune. No blame. When one has something to say, it is not believed.
Blofeld:Adversity leading to success thanks to persistence in a righteous course; good fortune for the truly great and freedom from error! Though words be spoken, they will not inspire confidence. [`Great' refers to high moral qualities. This hexagram is of evil omen for most people, but success can be won through tremendous persistence in doing what is right.]
Liu: Oppression. Success. Persistence. Good fortune for the great man. No blame. If one indicates with words only, no one will believe.
Ritsema/Karcher:Confining, Growing. Trial: Great People significant. Without fault. Possessing words not trustworthy. [This hexagram describes your situation in terms of restriction and distress. It emphasizes that turning inward through accepting enclosure is the adequate way to handle it...]
Shaughnessy: Entangled: Receipt; determination for the great man is auspicious; there is no trouble. There are words that are not trustworthy.
Cleary (1): Exhaustion develops the righteous. Great people are fortunate and blameless. If one complains, one will not be trusted.
Cleary (2): Exhausted but coming through successfully, upright great people are fortunate and impeccable. Mere words are not believed.
Wu: Hardship indicates pervasion and perseverance. There will be good fortune for the great men. No error. But their words do not make impressions on people.
The Image
Legge: An abyss beneath the marsh that drains its water -- the image ofOppression. Thus the superior man will sacrifice his life to attain his purpose.
Wilhelm/Baynes: There is no water in the lake: the image of Exhaustion. Thus the superior man stakes his life on following his will.
Blofeld: This hexagram symbolizes a marsh in which no water (appears). The Superior Man risks his life to carry out his will.
Liu: The lake with no water symbolizesOppression.The superior man would give up his life to achieve his purpose.
Ritsema/Karcher: Marsh without stream. Confining. A chun tzu uses involving fate to release purpose.
Cleary (1): A lake with no water is exhausted. Therefore superior people use life to the full and achieve their aim. [When people lack purpose their path is at an end. Therefore they use life to the full to achieve their aim… Using life to the full means to get to the end of conditioned life; achieving one’s aim means to achieve the primordial life… Using the temporal to restore the primordial, ending false life and establishing real life, producing being in the midst of nothingness, seeking life within death, getting through an exhausting impasse, is like a lake without water again being filled with water.]
Cleary (2): …Developed people accomplish their will by living out their destiny. [Developed people only live out their destiny; they do not willingly try to avoid following and accepting it. Being strong and balanced, they are able to be joyful even in danger; this is the will that is up to oneself. Developed people intend to accomplish their will and do not vacillate just because they run into problems.]
Wu: The marsh has no water; this is Hardship. Thus the jun zi is prepared to dedicate his life to fulfill his commitments. [A marsh devoid of water is like a man deprived of his intellectual pursuits. This is unacceptable to a jun zi. He would rather fight to the end than surrender to idiocy.]
COMMENTARY
Confucius/Legge: In Oppressionwe see the dynamic lines covered and obscured by the magnetic. We see the attribute of Perilousness in the lower trigram going on to Cheerfulness in the upper. Who but the superior man is still able to advance although straitened by circumstances? The central position of the dynamic lines explains the good fortune of the great man who is firm and correct. As regards speech making, to be fond of argument or persuasion is the way to be reduced to extremity.
Legge: The written Chinese character of Oppression presents us with the picture of a tree within an enclosure. "A plant," according to Williams, "fading for want of room." "A tree," according to T'ai Tung, "not allowed to spread its branches." The image conveys the idea of being straitened and distressed, and the hexagram indicates how skilful management may relieve it.
The two central places in the figure are occupied by dynamic lines, but line two is confined between one and three, which are magnetic; and line five (the ruler), as well as four (his minister), are covered by the magnetic sixth line. These conditions indicate the repression of good men by adversity. The K'ang-hsi editors imply that "actions and not words" are what are required in the case.
Perilousness is the attribute of the lower trigram, and Cheerfulness that of the upper. The superior man, no matter how straitened, remains master of himself, and pursues his principled intent. The idea of speech making is found in the upper trigram, one of the attributes of which is the mouth, or speech, as well as Pleased Satisfaction. The pleading of the oppressed party still tries to make others pleased with him.
Literally translated, the first sentence of the Image reads: "A marsh with no water is Oppression." Chu Hsi says: "The water descending and leaking away, the marsh above will become dry."
Anthony: Our belief in the ruling power as beneficial is shaken by doubt. This lack of steadfastness is a problem because it obstructs acceptance and its corrective power. We often receive this hexagram when we feel tired. The oppressiveness of doubt exhausts our inner resources.
NOTES AND PARAPHRASES
Judgment: With enough will, success can be won. "Actions speak louder than words.” (i.e., The answer lies beyond the realm of reason and logic -- intuition furthers.)
The Superior Man stakes everything he's got on his will to succeed.
In Oppressionwe have the image of a dry lake bed. Anyone who has ever seen alkali flats in the desert can easily understand this metaphor for Oppression -- almost nothing can live in such an environment. The following hexagram, The Well, is an upside-down image of Oppression depicting the opposite case of an unending source of nourishment flowing from deep beneath the surface of the earth. (A comparison of these two figures will reveal a great deal about the meaning of each.)
To be under Oppression then, is to be cut off from all sustenance -- although there is water down below, it is presently inaccessible, and there is no nourishing flow of inner forces to the surface. This is a common, inevitable and potentially defeating experience for anyone doing serious inner work:
People who try to practice the Tao can all keep steadfast when they are in easy circumstances, but many of them waver in determination when they are in difficult or perilous situations. They may change their minds because of the pressures of making a living, or they may slack in determination due to illness; their spirits may flag because of old age, or they may stop work because of obstruction by some obsession. All these are cases in which people do not exert the mind of Tao and are hindered by exhaustion, so they ultimately do not attain the Tao. T. Cleary – The Taoist I Ching
Obviously, this is a dangerous situation, and we are told how to cope with it in the Confucian commentary, where it is observed that the lower trigram of Peril goes on to the upper trigram of Cheerfulness. These two trigrams are found in reversed sequence in hexagram number sixty, Restrictive Regulations, where a cheerful attitude is described as absolutely essential for the furtherance of the Work. The observations made there also apply here, and we see the superior man thereby enabled to advance under conditions that would utterly defeat lesser individuals.
This Cheerfulness cannot be underestimated. When it comes naturally and isn't forced, it is a gift of grace. Suddenly one is enabled to face the most incredible hardships with a light heart. It isn't that you no longer care -- you still do the best you can to further the Work, but you do it with bemused detachment.
The one thing the Jewish mystics never lost sight of was the suffering experienced in the arena of the profane. They did not retreat from this suffering, but sought instead to find meaning in it by living it. This is the core of mysticism. The temple in which the sacred marriage takes place is the world. C. Ponce -- Kabbalah
Lines 2 and 5 specifically mention sacrifice: an important concept in theI Ching. Sacrifice is mentioned in lines 17:6, 45:2, 46:2, 46:4, 47:2, 47:5, 63:5, and in the Judgment of hexagram 20. Note that in each case sincerity is specifically cited as essential to success.
Sincere 1: marked by genuineness: as a: free of dissimulation: not hypocritical: REAL, TRUE, HONEST...
Very often, the “sincerity” of our sacrifices involves following the dictates of the Work whether we fully understand them or not. Much that takes place in the Work is incomprehensible to ego consciousness; for example, changes often occur within the psyche which we only experience as strange dreams. Yet somehow, perhaps months later, we suddenly realize that we no longer act in a certain way or have lost interest in something that used to be of compelling importance. Our sacrifices are necessary for these changes to take place, even if they don't immediately make sense to us.
"With sacrifice shall you nourish the gods; and may the gods nourish you. Thus nourishing one another, you will obtain the Highest Good. "The gods, nourished by sacrifice, will bestow on you the enjoyments you desire." He is verily a thief who enjoys the things that they give without offering to them anything in return. The Bhagavad-Gita
Each of Cleary’s Taoist (1) and Buddhist (2) commentaries provides valuable insights into how much courage is required to follow the dictates of the Work at its more advanced levels. Take comfort that others before you have persevered and survived: “Developed people accomplish their will by living out their destiny.”