Wiki I Ching

Nourishment 27.1.3.5 → 53 Development

From
27
Nourishment
To
53
Development

Discovering an unexpected angle
One becomes aware of an idea that one had neglected.
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Nourishment 27
Focus on sustenance and nourishment, both physical and spiritual.
Evaluate the sources from which you draw energy and wisdom.
Guard against meaningless indulgence and seek genuine fulfillment.

↓
Line 1
Misfortune.
You are neglecting your own resources and looking to others for sustenance.

↓
Line 3
Avoiding nourishment and neglecting needs leads to long-term misfortune.
Correct your course.

↓
Line 5
Staying true to your principles brings good fortune.
Avoid taking unnecessary risks.

↓
Development 53
Steady progress through gradual development.



Original Readings

27
Nourishment


Other titles: The Corners of the Mouth, Providing Nourishment, The Symbol of the Cheek and of Nourishment, Jaws, Lower Jaw, Nurturing, Swallowing, Sagacious Counsel, Nourishing, To Feed, "Can mean money, usually as the result of effort." -- D.F. Hook

 

Judgment

Legge:Nourishmentindicates good fortune through firm correctness. Make sure you know what you are feeding, and determine your proper diet.

Wilhelm/Baynes: The Corners of the Mouth . Perseverance brings good fortune. Pay heed to the providing of nourishment and to what a man seeks to fill his own mouth with.

Blofeld: Nourishing. (Nourishment -- literally Jaws) [The form of this hexagram readily brings to mind the concept of wide open jaws, but the word nourishment must not be taken only in a literal sense; for we are concerned here with all those things which men seek both for their own advantage and for giving succor or assistance to others.] Righteous persistence brings good fortune. Watch people nourishing others and observe with what manner of things they seek to nourish themselves. [For this will teach us a lot about their characters.]

Liu: Nourishment. Continuing leads to good fortune. Observe the providing of nourishment and the food someone seeks for himself.

Ritsema/Karcher: Jaws, Trial: significant. Viewing Jaws. Originating-from seeking mouth substance. [This hexagram describes your situation in terms of nourishing and being nourished. It emphasizes that opening in order to take things in as well as providing to others is the adequate way to handle it...]

Shaughnessy:Jaws: Determination is auspicious. View the jaw; oneself seeking the mouth's fullness.

Cleary (1): In nourishment, it is good to be correct. Observe nourishment, and seek fulfillment for the mouth by yourself.

Cleary (2): Nourishment is good if correct. Observe nourishment, and seek food by yourself.

Wu: Nurturing indicates that with perseverance there will be auspiciousness. People should observe the principle of nurturing and find proper foods for nourishment.

Hua-Ching Ni: In nourishment, one should seek the right nutrition and not be tempted by what others enjoy.

 

The Image

Legge: The image of thunder under a mountain forms Nourishment. The superior man, in accordance with this, controls his speech and regulates his eating and drinking.

Wilhelm/Baynes: At the foot of the mountain, thunder: the image of The Corners of the Mouth. Thus the superior man is careful in his words and temperate in eating and drinking.

Blofeld: This hexagram symbolizes thunder rumbling at the foot of a mountain. The Superior Man is thoughtful in speech and frugal in his eating and drinking. [The lower trigram, thunder, also represents the power of quickening growth; hence its place in a hexagram concerned with nourishment.]

Liu: Thunder rolling around the foot of the mountain is the symbol of Nourishment. The superior man is cautious in his speech; he restrains and regulates his eating and drinking.

Ritsema/Karcher: Below mountain possessing thunder. Jaws. A chun tzu uses considering words to inform. [A chun tzu uses] articulating to drink and take-in.

Cleary (1): There is thunder beneath the mountain. Superior people are careful about what they say, and moderate in eating and drinking.

Cleary (2): … Leaders are prudent in speech, moderate in consumption.

Wu: There is thunder below the mountain; this is Nurturing. Thus the jun zi speaks with caution and drinks and eats with moderation.

 

COMMENTARY

Confucius/Legge: When the nourishing is correct, there will be good fortune. We must examine those whom we wish to nourish, and we must also examine our own nourishing of ourselves. Heaven and earth nourish all things. The sages nourish men of talent and virtue in order to reach the masses. Great is the work intended in the time of nourishing.

Legge: The character ofNourishment is the symbol of the upper jaw, but the image of the hexagram suggests a whole mouth with undivided lines at top and bottom, and divided lines between them. The bottom line is in the trigram of Movement, and the top line is in the trigram of Keeping Still -- giving the image of a mobile lower jaw and a fixed upper jaw. The divided lines represent the mouth cavity. The hexagram denotes nourishing of body or mind, of one's self or others, and the proper nourishment in each case must necessarily vary according to circumstances. Thus, judgment must be exercised to determine which nourishment is in harmony with correctness and virtue.

 

NOTES AND PARAPHRASES

Judgment:Nourishment asks you to examine your motives in the allocation of your energy. Willpower creates a well- balanced apportionment.

The Superior Man controls his expression and monitors his appetites.

The lines in the lower trigram of Movement are all rendered unfavorably to one degree or another, while the lines of the upper trigram of Keeping Still are all generally correct. The implication is that non-action is almost always preferable to movement. This idea is fundamental to the philosophy of the I Ching, and in the hexagram of Nourishmentthe lesson is that non-action feeds and strengthens the psyche.

All actions are the expression of psychic energy through a physical body to create an effect in spacetime. Each effect creates consequences which usually demand further action. It is easy to see that action which is not initiated by the Self can only result in unexpected consequences, and that action which conforms to the will of the Self is motivated by and directed toward a transcendent goal. Although correct non-action generally creates no negative consequences in spacetime, it does have nourishing consequences in the psyche as autonomous forces are gathered, digested, assimilated and renewed in ascending configurations of growth.

As this Path represents the structure of the [ego], the attribution of the Mouth reminds us that the purpose of incarnation is the seeking of the food of experience in Form for the benefit of the [Self] and the Spirit.
Gareth Knight -- Qabalistic Symbolism

 

SUGGESTIONS FOR MEDITATION

Compare the Image of Nourishment in this hexagram with those in hexagram number five, Waiting; number forty-eight, The Well; and number fifty, The Sacrificial Vessel.


Line 1

Legge: The first line, dynamic, seems to be thus addressed: "You leave your efficacious tortoise, and look at me till your lower jaw hangs down.” There will be evil.

Wilhelm/Baynes: You let your magic tortoise go, and look at me with the corners of your mouth drooping. Misfortune.

Blofeld: You released your sacred tortoise and stared at me with mouth agape -- misfortune! [The shells of tortoises were used for divination. Here, the implication seems to be that someone abandons his sacred duty in his greed (symbolized by ‘mouth agape') to obtain what he wants from the person to whom “me” refers. It may be that contemporaries of the authors of the I Ching were familiar with a story to which this sentence pertains.]

Liu: If you leave your divine tortoise and look at me with mouth drooling, there will be misfortune.

Ritsema/Karcher: Stowing-away simply the psyche tortoise. Viewing my pendant jaws. Pitfall.

Shaughnessy: Dispensing with your numinous turtle, and viewing our shortened jaw; inauspicious.

Cleary (1): Abandoning your spiritual tortoise, you watch my moving jaw – this is unfortunate.

Cleary(2): To give up your sacred tortoise and watch me greedily leads to misfortune.

Wu: “Abandon your spiritual tortoise and watch me with your mouth watering.” Foreboding.

 

COMMENTARY

Confucius/Legge: He thus shows himself unfit to be thought noble. Wilhelm/ Baynes: This is really not to be respected. Blofeld: Looking at me like that is hardly to be regarded as admirable behavior. Ritsema/Karcher: Truly not the stand to value indeed. Cleary(2): To watch me greedily is not worthy of respect. Wu: He who watches with his mouth watering is also unworthy of respect.

Legge: The first line is dynamic and in his proper place. He might suffice for the nourishing of himself like a tortoise, which is said to live on air. But he is drawn out of himself by desire for the magnetic line four, his proper correlate, at whom he looks till his jaw hangs down, or, as we say, his mouth waters. Hence the auspice is bad. The symbolism takes the form of a reprimand addressed by the fourth line to the first. As Mencius said, "He who attends his smaller self becomes an inferior man, and he who attends to his greater self becomes a superior man."

 

NOTES AND PARAPHRASES

Siu: At the outset, the man is envious of the prosperity of others.

Wing: You are so actively aware of the prosperity of others that you lose control of your own destiny. This is deplorable behavior and will result in misfortune.

Editor: This line is a reprimand for an unworthy attitude. Since in China the tortoise was associated with divination, it refers to a higher realm of perception. The other translations render Legge's "efficacious" as "magic,""sacred," "divine," "psyche," and "numinous." The line tells you that you are out of touch with what is best in you and suggests a “victim,” a self-made loser, who has repudiated his source of power or nourishment and then begs for sympathy because he “has nothing.” Often the line can suggest that you have misread a previous oracle: i.e., "I already told you, but you paid no attention.”

So it will be seen that spiritual growth is best attained by getting fully to grips with life in the world. It is a common pathology with esoterically inclined students that they want to find the easiest way out of it. This accounts for many of the "muzzy mystical" societies which give such a bad name to occultism. In a genuine occult school the student should be rammed good and hard into the maelstrom of life; and until he can cope efficiently with the physical plane the higher planes of experience should be barred to him -- for his own sake as well as others.
Gareth Knight -- Qabalistic Symbolism

A. You've lost touch with your spiritual Self.

B. Image of a "needy” victim. Grow up!

Line 3

Legge: The third line, magnetic, shows one acting contrary to the method of nourishing. However firm she may be, there will be evil. For ten years let her not take any action, for it will not be advantageous in any way.

Wilhelm/Baynes: Turning away from nourishment. Perseverance brings misfortune. Do not act thus for ten years. Nothing serves to further.

Blofeld: He is determined to relinquish nourishment -- misfortune! For ten years he performs no useful function and there is nowhere favorable for him to go. [Such extreme eccentricity can only end in barrenness. Those familiar with Buddhism will recollect that the Lord Buddha abandoned nourishment on the advice of his teachers and then came to regret this fruitless method of self-discipline.]

Liu: One turns away from nourishment. Continuing in this way brings misfortune: no action for ten years, no benefit or advantage. [Owing to misconduct there is a danger of encountering disaster, misfortune, or poor health.]

Ritsema/Karcher: Rejecting Jaws. Trial: pitfall. Ten years-revolved, no availing-of. Without direction: Harvesting.

Shaughnessy: Threshing the jaw; determination is inauspicious; for ten years do not use it; there is no place beneficial.

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 a 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.

Hua-Ching Ni: The wrong kind of nourishment. This kind of nourishment may look good for ten years, but in the end has no real benefit. Misfortune.

 

COMMENTARY

Confucius/Legge: Her course is greatly opposed to what is right. Wilhelm/

Baynes: It is all too contrary to the right way. Blofeld: Ten years because his ways are utterly perverse. Ritsema/Karcher: Ten years-revolved, no availing-of. Tao, the great rebelling indeed. Cleary(2): For the way is greatly confused. Wu: Because it has violated the principle.

Legge: Line three is magnetic in a dynamic place, and because she is the last line in the trigram of Movement, that quality culminates in her. She considers herself self-sufficient, needing no help. The issue is bad.

Anthony: Only by firmly mastering our inferiors [i.e. our attitudes, complexes, limiting beliefs] do we nourish ourself correctly.

 

NOTES AND PARAPHRASES

Siu: Instead of solid accomplishments, the man pursues pleasures and self-gratification. He will never achieve anything so long as he is surrounded by dissipating temptations.

Wing: You cannot be fully nourished because you are too busy looking for nourishment in the wrong places. In doing this, you turn away from others who might help you, and therefore you achieve nothing. This is eccentric and dangerous behavior.

Editor: The idea here is one of ignoring or repudiating what is necessary for growth. Compare this line with the sixth line of hexagram 24: Return, which Wilhelm translates as: “Missing the return. Misfortune. Misfortune from within and without. If armies are set marching in this way, one will in the end suffer a great defeat, disastrous for the ruler of the country. For ten years it will not be possible to attack again.” Carefully examine the situation at hand to determine where the source of error lies. This line can sometimes refer to “attitude” problems – depression or pessimism that you cannot throw off despite knowing that the Work transcends such illusions.

The difficulty in realizing this permanence of the essential self is, of course, due to the fact that a person becomes so attached to the physical vehicle and so connected with its activities, that the divine self is seldom contacted.
G. Barborka -- The Pearl of the Orient

A. You have just made an egregious blunder.

B. Consider yourself reprimanded for getting off the path.

C. Your assumptions in the matter at hand are totally incorrect.

D. You have an attitude problem.

Line 5

Legge: The fifth line, magnetic, shows one acting contrary to what is regular and proper; but if she abides in firmness, there will be good fortune. She should not, however, try to cross the great stream.

Wilhelm/Baynes: Turning away from the path. To remain persevering brings good fortune. One should not cross the great water.

Blofeld: Normal ways are abandoned. Righteous persistence will bring good fortune to those who stay where they are. The great river (or sea) must not be crossed. [In such abnormal times, it is best to stay at home.]

Liu: One strays from the path. Remaining in the correct way brings good fortune. Don't cross the great water. [With another's help, one will...achieve his goals.]

Ritsema/Karcher: Rejecting the canons. Residing-in Trial significant. Not permitting wading the Great River.

Shaughnessy: Threshing the warp; determination about dwelling is auspicious; one may not ford the great river.

Cleary (1): Going against the constant. It is good to abide in rectitude. It will not do to cross great rivers.

Cleary (2): Brushing aside the constant, it is good to remain upright, but it will not do to cross a great river.

Wu: It violates normal way of doing things. Should he stay firm, there will be good fortune. He may not cross the big river.

 

COMMENTARY

Confucius/Legge: The good fortune from abiding in firmness is due to her docility in following the line above. Wilhelm/Baynes: The good fortune comes from following the one above devotedly. Blofeld: The good fortune attainable by such people consists in being able to obey their superiors most willingly. Ritsema/Karcher: Residing in Trial's significance. Yielding uses adhering-to the above indeed. Cleary (2): What is good about remaining upright is following those above docilely. Wu: The docility of following the one above.

Legge: Line five is not equal to the requirements of her position, but with a firm reliance on the dynamic sixth line there will be good fortune. However, she shouldn't engage in the most difficult undertakings.

Anthony: The Sage cannot make us strong. Although we are dependent on his guidance, we must do the work of disciplining our inferiors.

 

NOTES AND PARAPHRASES

Siu: The man realizes his personal deficiencies in strength and knowledge to discharge his assigned responsibilities. He seeks and follows the advice of a spiritual superior, who is unknown to the public. Persevering under such guidance will bring success. But he must recognize his dependency and not assume great undertakings alone.

Wing: Although you are aware of the need to nourish and affect others, you lack sufficient strength to do so unaided. You must take an indirect approach and depend upon a strong superior to accomplish the deed. Don't try it on your own.

Editor: This line can suggest that an unconventional ("improper”) action is justifiable under the prevailing conditions. Blofeld interprets the line in terms of correctly abandoning normal procedures; Wilhelm and Liu render images of getting off of a "proper” path, but still retaining appropriateness. Because this fifth line ruler seeks help from the sixth line above, the image suggests an ego obeying the higher laws of the Self. The implication is that some form of unconventional action may be valid under the prevailing circumstances as long as one doesn't attempt too much. In other words, the expected, conventional (or your usual) response may be inappropriate in the current situation. Meditate to obtain intuitive guidance.

The greatness of historical personalities has never lain in their abject submission to convention, but, on the contrary, in their deliverance from convention. They towered up like mountain peaks above the mass that still clung to its collective fears, its beliefs, laws, and systems, and boldly chose their own way. To the man in the street it has always seemed miraculous that anyone should turn aside from the beaten track with its known destinations, and strike out on the steep and narrow path leading into the unknown.
Jung -- The Development of Personality

A. The ego looks to the Self for guidance and takes no action which is not so inspired, even if this means that one appears unconventional.

53
Development


Other titles: Development, The Symbol of Progressive Advance, Gradual Development, Infiltrating, Advancing, Growth, Developing, Gradualness, Dialectical Progression, Step by Step, "The slower the stronger." -- D.F. Hook

 

Judgment

Legge:Gradual Progressshows the good fortune attending the marriage of a young lady. Firm correctness brings advantage.

Wilhelm/Baynes: Development. The maiden is given in marriage. Good fortune. Perseverance furthers.

Blofeld: Gradual Progress. The marriage of a maiden brings good fortune. Persistence in a righteous course brings reward.

Liu: Gradual Development. The marriage of a girl -- Good Fortune. It benefits to continue.

Ritsema/Karcher:Infiltrating, womanhood converting significant. Harvesting Trial. [This hexagram describes your situation in terms of gradually achieving a goal. It emphasizes that advancing through diffuse but steady penetration is the adequate way to handle it. To be in accord with the time, you are told to: infiltrate!]

Shaughnessy:Advancing: For the maiden to return is auspicious; beneficial to determine.

Cleary (2):Gradual Progress in a woman’s marriage is auspicious. It is beneficial to be chaste.

Wu: Gradualness indicates that it is auspicious for a woman to get married and it is advantageous for her to be persevering.

 

The Image

Legge: A tree on the mountain -- the image of Gradual Progress. The superior man attains and nourishes his extraordinary virtue to improve the manners of the people.

Wilhelm/Baynes: On the mountain, a tree: the image of Development. Thus the superior man abides in dignity and virtue, in order to improve the mores.

Blofeld: This hexagram symbolizes a tree upon a mountain. The Superior Man, abiding in holiness and virtue, inclines the people towards goodness.

Liu: A tree on the mountain symbolizes Gradual Development. The superior man, in maintaining his virtue, improves society's customs.

Ritsema/Karcher: Above mountain possessing wood. Infiltrating. A chun tzu uses residing-in eminent actualizing-tao to improve the vulgar. [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): There are trees on the mountain, growing gradually. Thus do superior people abide in sagacity and improve customs.

Cleary (2): …Developed people improve customs by living wisely and virtuously.

Wu: There are trees on the mountain; this is Gradualness. The jun zi chooses to live in the neighborhood known for its high moral standards and exemplary custom.

 

COMMENTARY

Confucius/Legge: The ascent of Gradual Progress resembles the fortunate marriage of a young lady. The lines ascend to their proper places, indicating achievement. Because the ascent is made correctly the subject of the hexagram is empowered to rectify his country. He is shown as the dynamic ruler in line five, central and correct. The alternation of Keeping Still and Flexible Penetration ensure that the advance is continuous.

Legge: The written character for Gradual Progress is ordinarily used in the sense of gradually, but there is connected with it also the idea of advance. The whole of it denotes a gradual advance like the soaking in of water. The other two hexagrams that contain the idea of advance are number thirty-five, Advance of Consciousness and number forty-six,Pushing Upward-- each expresses its own nuance of meaning, and here the nuance is the gradual manner in which the advance takes place.

The theme of the hexagram is the advance of men to offices in the state -- how it should take place gradually and by successive steps. Lines 2, 3, 4 and 5 are all in their proper places as dynamic or magnetic, and we ascend them as by regular steps to the top of the hexagram.

The marriage of a young lady illustrates an important event which takes place according to various preliminary steps which must be correctly done in an orderly sequence. So must it be with the advance of a man in the service of the state.

The K'ang-hsi editors say: "A tree springing up on the ground is a tree as it begins to grow. A tree on a hill is high and large. Every tree when it begins to grow shows its branches and twigs gradually becoming long. Every morning and every evening show some difference; and when the tree is high and great, whether it be of an ordinary or extraordinary size, it has taken years to reach its dimensions."

Added Commentary: Blofeld appends the following footnote to each line in this hexagram: it is easier to read it here as his general commentary. [The additional Chinese commentaries explain that the wild goose is a bird which moves toward the sun. Now, a commonly used Chinese term for the sun is YANG, namely the male principle. So the bird obviously (sic) betokens a maiden seeking a husband. Its movement from river bank to rock, dry land, a tree, a hillock and the mainland (which is said in one commentary to mean peninsula) signifies gradual movement in an unchanging direction. From the point of view of divination, this is the best course for us, even if marriage is not our objective. Regarding marriage: the first line betokens gossip, although the marriage is not unsuitable; the second, a materially successful marriage; the third, an unfortunate marriage; the fourth, marriage to someone exceedingly kind and thoughtful; the fifth, a blissful marriage; the sixth, marriage to a public figure who has some responsibility for good order within the realm and who succeeds in his task.]

 

NOTES AND PARAPHRASES

Judgment: The proper union of forces within the psyche is a matter of slow maturation.

The Superior Man maintains his will and transforms the psyche. "Example is the school of mankind, and they will learn at no other." -- Burke

This is one of the most hierarchical of the hexagrams -- each line represents a clear advance from the position of the preceding line, thus giving an image of Gradual Progress. The vehicle of this progression is the wild goose, which also appears in every line. A goose is a bird -- primarily a creature of the air, or realm of thought; but because it also thrives on either water or land, the goose symbolizes thought which permeates the lower two categories of consciousness -- emotion (water), and sensation (earth).

Another traditional interpretation of the goose motif is that of the universal aspect of the soul. The wild goose is able to move about everywhere, on firm land, in water and in the air. It is the bird of Hermes, who is the leader of souls.
E.C. Whitmont -- The Symbolic Quest

The progress of the goose is a gradual one, from the shore, or threshold of awareness in line one, to the mountain heights, or realm of the Spirit in line six. The fact that this progress is linked with the idea of marriage in the Judgment is a clear hint that we are dealing here with the idea of the union of opposites within the psyche. (See commentary on hexagram number eleven.) The message is unambiguous: the process of psycho-spiritual growth is one of slow maturation. There are no short-cuts to enlightenment.

Evils and falsities must be removed, to the intent that a new life which is the life of heaven may be implanted. This can in nowise be done hastily; for every evil enrooted with its falsities has connection with all evils and their falsities; and such evils and falsities are innumerable, and their connection is so manifold that it cannot be comprehended ... From this it is plain that the life of hell in man cannot be suddenly destroyed, for if it were suddenly done he would straightway expire; and that the life of heaven cannot be suddenly implanted, for if this were done suddenly he would also expire.
Swedenborg -- Arcana Coelestia