Answering one last time
One recovers their poise the time to fight their last battle. taoscopy.com
Controlled Power26
Cultivate inner strength and patience to overcome obstacles. Harness your energy wisely and focus on gradual progress.
↓ Line 1
The situation is precarious. It is wise to hold back and avoid taking action.
↓ Line 2
Progress is halted. It is necessary to pause and reassess the situation.
↓ Line 6
Achieving harmony with the natural order brings ultimate success.
↓ Modesty15
Embrace humility and balance; let modesty guide your actions for harmonious progress.
Original Readings
26 Controlled Power
Other titles: 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
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 favors righteous persistence. Good fortune results from not eating at home. It is a favorable time for crossing the great river (sea). [I.e. going on a long journey, perhaps abroad.]
Liu: Taming the Great Powers. Persistence benefits. Not to eat 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.]
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 center. Great
Accumulating. A chun tzu uses the numerous recorded preceding words going to move. [A chun tzu] 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 do 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 the jun zi accumulates his virtue by remembering past words and deeds.
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 favorable 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 endeavor he may then engage in public service and enjoy the king's grace.
The dynamic line in the highest place is line six who 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 labor of the superior man in learning, acquiring and remembering, to accumulate his virtue."
NOTES AND 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 their 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 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 Powerto make it happen.
Line 1
Legge: The first line, dynamic, shows its subject in a position of peril. It will be advantageous for him to stop his advance.
Wilhelm/Baynes: Danger is at hand. It furthers one to desist.
Blofeld: Trouble threatens -- it would be wise to bring activities to a halt.
Cleary (1): There is danger; it is beneficial to stop.
Cleary (2): There is danger; help yourself.
Wu: There is danger ahead. It will be advantageous to stop here.
COMMENTARY
Confucius/Legge: He should not rashly expose himself to calamity. Wilhelm/ Baynes: Thus one does not expose oneself to danger. Blofeld: That is, no attempt should be made to avert the trouble. Ritsema/Karcher: Not opposing calamity indeed. Cleary (2): Help yourself – do not get into trouble. Wu: To avoid calamities.
Legge: Line one is subject to opposition or repression from line four. This calamity will be increased if he tries to advance, so it is better for him to halt.
NOTES AND PARAPHRASES
Siu: At the outset, the man is confronted with dangerous obstacles. He should not attempt to advance rashly but remain composed.
Wing: Compose yourself. You may feel that you are restrained from advancing. In fact, there are obstacles on the path ahead. It would be wise to halt.
Editor: The line itself is unambiguous, though the contradictory Confucian commentaries are subject to interpretation: depending on context, one should either actively avoid danger, or passively allow it to run its course. It is generally safest to accept Wilhelm's translation when doubt prevails.
Those that live their life in Tao achieve realization of their nature in inaction. Chuangtse, quoting Confucius
A. Stop now -- don't expose yourself to danger.
Line 2
Legge: The second line, dynamic, shows a carriage with the strap under it removed.
Wilhelm/Baynes: The axletrees are taken from the wagon.
Blofeld: A broken axle.
Liu: The axletree separates from the wagon.
Ritsema/Karcher: Carting, stimulating the axle-strap.
Shaughnessy: The cart throws off an axle-strut.
Cleary (1): A cart is divested of its axles.
Cleary (2): A cart has its axles removed.
Wu: The wooden pieces holding the axle firmly underneath a carriage come off.
COMMENTARY
Confucius/Legge: He is like a carriage from which the strap under it has been removed -- being in the central place, he will incur no blame. Wilhelm/ Baynes: In the middle there is no blame. Blofeld: We are not to blame. [A relatively serious hindrance threatens, but we are not to blame for it.] Ritsema/Karcher: Centering without surpassing indeed. Cleary (2): But there is no resentment in the heart. Wu: The pieces come off, but the center is faultless.
Legge: Line two is subject to the repression of the fifth line, so he stops his advance voluntarily -- he has the wisdom to do so because of his central place. The strap below, when attached to the axle, made the carriage stop; he himself acts that part.
NOTES AND PARAPHRASES
Siu: The opposition is decisively stronger. The man should wait while storing energy for his next move.
Wing: There is no opportunity for advancement. You are held back by forces that are beyond your reach. Stay where you are and continue to build the resources of your potential energy. Be content with the present situation. There should be no conflict.
Editor: A modern image might be an automobile up on blocks – a vehicle is immobilized. In a strange mixture of metaphors, from the ruler's perspective (see Legge's commentary on line five), this second line correlate is seen as a castrated boar -- a potentially dangerous force which has been transformed into a safe one. Usually the line simply means that no action is possible at this time.
Here I am speaking not of a power complex, or of an identification with the will to power, but rather of the feeling of ability to control oneself and one's actions, and of the power to choose a goal and to do what is necessary to achieve it. This is a positive factor leading to self-discipline and culture, and on its development civilization largely depends. M.E. Harding -- Psychic Energy
A. Stop striving -- nothing can be done now.
Line 6
Legge: The sixth line, dynamic, shows its subject as in command of the firmament of heaven. There will be progress.
Wilhelm/Baynes: One attains the way of heaven. Success.
Blofeld: Carrying (i.e. according with) heaven's way.
Cleary (1): Carrying the crossroads of heaven; development. [At the end of nurturance of the great, the achievement complete, the practice fulfilled, with a peal of thunder the real person emerges, startling the ignorant, amazing the mundane … When practitioners of the Tao reach liberation and attain reality, there is a body outside the body, beyond heaven and earth.]
Cleary (2): Carrying the crossroads of heaven is successful.
Wu: It is at the crossroads of heaven. There will be pervasiveness.
COMMENTARY
Confucius/Legge: The way is grandly open for movement. Wilhelm/ Baynes: Truth works in the great. Blofeld: This implies great progress along the way of virtue. Ritsema/Karcher: Tao: the great moving indeed. Cleary (2): The way is carried out on a grand scale. Wu: The way of heaven prevails.
Legge: The work of repression is over, and the dynamic subject of line six now has ample scope to carry out the idea of the hexagram in the accumulation of virtue.
NOTES AND PARAPHRASES
Siu: The man eventually removes all obstacles and attains progress and honor.
Wing: All obstacles give way. potential energy can be used to accomplish great deeds in the world. Align yourself with the tao and you will meet with unparalleled success.
Editor: This is the only line of the hexagram that does not depict some form of restraint of power, implying that when the ego has learned to control its inner forces they are available for transformation by the Self. Cleary’s commentary describes what this experience may be like: “When practitioners of the Tao reach liberation and attain reality, there is a body outside the body, beyond heaven and earth.” If this is the only changing line, the new hexagram created is number eleven, Harmony, in which Heaven and Earth unite: ego and Self are as portrayed in this line.
The great majority of humanity are ruled by their external circumstances, but the superior man is he who works out his own direction and then changes his environment, or his reaction to it, accordingly. He is a master of his destiny. Gareth Knight -- Qabalistic Symbolism
A. Use your power to further the Work.
15 Modesty
Other titles: Modesty, The Symbol of Humility, Moderation, Humbling, Respectful/Humble, Yielding/Retiring. 1. Obtaining this hexagram implies that modesty is needed in our attitude, meaning, to allow ourself to be led without resistance. – C.K. Anthony. 2. A Humble or modest person is thought of as having an “empty or unoccupied” mind, meaning a mind without prejudice. – Chung Wu. 3. Only superior people who practice Tao know where to stop, disregard what they have and appear to have nothing. – T. Cleary.
Judgment
Legge:Temperance indicates successful progress. Temperancebrings a good issue to the superior man's undertakings.
Wilhelm/Baynes: Modesty creates success. The superior man carries things through.
Blofeld:Modesty brings success. The Superior Man is able to carry affairs through to completion.
Liu: Modesty: success. The superior man can continue to work to the end.
Ritsema/Karcher: Humbling, Growing. A chun tzu possesses completing. [This hexagram describes your situation in terms of the necessity to cut through pride and complication. It emphasizes that keeping your words unpretentious is the adequate way to handle it...]
Shaughnessy: Modesty: Receipt; the gentleman has an end.
Cleary (1):Humility is developmental. The superior person has a conclusion.
Cleary (2):Humility gets through. A leader has a conclusion.
Wu:Humility is pervasive. The jun zi will have grace in death.
The Image
Legge: A mountain hidden within the earth -- the image of Temperance. The superior man, in accordance with this, diminishes his excesses to augment his insufficiencies, thus creating a just balance.
Wilhelm/Baynes: Within the earth, a mountain: the image of Modesty. Thus the superior man reduces that which is too much, and augments that which is too little. He weighs things and makes them equal.
Blofeld: This hexagram symbolizes a mountain in the centre of the earth. The Superior Man takes from where there is too much in order to augment what is too little. He weighs things and apportions them fairly. [The component trigrams symbolize a mountain surrounded by flat earth, thus suggesting too much in one place and too little in others.]
Liu: The mountain within the earth symbolizes modesty. The superior man reduces the excess and increases the lacking; he weighs and then equalizes all things.
Ritsema/Karcher: Earth center possessing mountain. Humbling. A chun tzu uses reducing the numerous to augment the few. A chun tzu uses evaluating beings to even spreading-out.
Cleary (1): There are mountains in the earth; modesty. Thus does the superior person decrease the abundant and add to the scarce, assessing things and dealing impartially.
Cleary (2): … Leaders assess people and give impartially, by taking from the abundant and adding to the scarce.
Wu: There is a mountain inside earth; this is Humility. Thus the jun zi takes excess from the more to enrich the less and measures goods to ensure fair distribution. [To prepare oneself to accept what is fair among all his fellow men is the essence of humility.]
COMMENTARY
Confucius/Legge: It is the way of heaven to dispense its blessings downwards, and the way of earth to radiate its influence upwards. Both heaven and earth diminish the full to augment the lowly. Spiritual beings inflict calamity on the proud and bless the meek, and men resent ostentation and love temperance. Temperanceenlightens an honorable office, and neither will men ignore it in lowly positions. Thus does the superior man attain his ends. [Emphasis editor's -- Ritsema/Karcher translate "spiritual beings" [Kuei Shen] as: "The whole range of imaginal beings both inside and outside the individual; spiritual powers, gods, demons, ghosts, powers, fetishes.”]
Legge: An essay on temperance rightly follows that on abundant possessions. The third line, dynamic among five magnetic lines, in the topmost place of the trigram of Keeping Still, is the ruler of the hexagram. He is the representative of Temperance -- strong, but self-effacing. The idea is that temperance is the way to permanent success.
The Confucian commentary deals generally with the subject of temperance, showing how it is valued by heaven and earth, by spirits and by men. The descent of the heavenly influences, and the low position of the earth are both symbolic of temperance. The heavenly influences are seen in the daily fluctuations of the sun and moon, and the fertility of the earth correspondingly waxes and wanes with the seasons.
The Daily Lecture says:"The five yin lines above and below symbolize the earth; the one yang line in the center is the mountain in the midst of the earth. The many yin lines represent men's desires; the one yang line represents the heavenly principle. The superior man, looking at this symbolism, diminishes the multitude of human desires within him, and increases the single shoot of the heavenly principle; so does he become grandly just, and can deal with all things evenly according to the nature of each. In whatever circumstances or place he is, he will do what is right.”
NOTES AND PARAPHRASES
Judgment:Temperance means maintaining a dynamic/magnetic balance of forces to attain success.
The Superior Man maintains equilibrium in all that he does.
The most common translation of the title for this hexagram is Modesty, but I have chosen Temperance as a title more expressive of the ideas in the Image and Confucian commentary. The words “modesty” and “humility” often carry a connotation of weakness in western usage, and “temperance,” meaning to temper or regulate, is more expressive of the dynamic strength of will required to restrain and modulate the drive to dominate every situation.
The Image shows a mountain hidden beneath the earth--the quiet, invincible power of sheer will is hidden from view, yet it influences everything. Who observing such a level surface would know that the bulk of Mt. Everest was buried beneath it? Temperance means that one's power is hidden, that the fluctuations of heaven and earth are kept in such dynamic/magnetic balance as to be invisible to ordinary vision. The temperate person is strong enough to bear the weight of the world when that is necessary for the Work.
Marcus Aurelius, the Stoic Roman Emperor, was arguably the most powerful man of his time, yet his temperance and modesty showed him to fulfill the ideal of the superior man. Only the truly strong can be truly modest.
And let this truth be present to thee in the excitement of anger, that to be moved by passion is not manly, but that mildness and gentleness, as they are more agreeable to human nature, so also are they more manly; and he who possesses these qualities possesses strength, nerves and courage, and not the man who is subject to fits of passion and discontent. For in the same degree in which a man's mind is nearer to freedom from all passion, in the same degree also is it nearer to strength. Marcus Aurelius