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Great Power34
Harness inner strength wisely; true power comes from patience and understanding, not force.
↓ Line 1
Acting with force prematurely leads to misfortune. One must be cautious and not rush into action.
↓ Line 2
Steadfastness and determination lead to success. One should remain committed to their path.
↓ Line 3
Using force recklessly leads to entanglement and danger. Wisdom lies in restraint and understanding one's limits.
↓ Line 4
With perseverance, obstacles are overcome, and remorse fades. Strength is found in stability and support.
↓ The Receptive2
Receptive, nurturing energy; embody patience, openness, and gentle support. Embrace the path of yielding and adapt to circumstances.
Original Readings
34 Great Power
Other titles: The Power of the Great, The Symbol of Great Vigor, Persons of Great Authority, Great Strength, Great Invigorating, Great Maturity, Accumulated Force, The Strength of the Mighty, Righteous Power, Excessive Force
Judgment
Legge:Great Power necessitates firm correctness.
Wilhelm/Baynes:The Power of the Great. Perseverance furthers.
Blofeld: The Power of the Great. Persistence in a righteous course brings reward. [This hexagram with a solid group of firm lines topped by a small number of yielding lines obviously signifies strength -- in this case the power to succeed in spite of difficulties. Much of what follows concerns goats -- a symbol presumably suggested by the form of the hexagram, namely a solid body distinguished by a pair of horns -- the yielding lines at the top.]
Liu: Great Power. It is of benefit to continue.
Ritsema/Karcher: Great Invigorating , Harvesting Trial. [This hexagram describes your situation in terms of the invigorating power of a central creative idea. It emphasizes that animating everything around you through this guiding motivation is the adequate way to handle it. To be in accord with the time, you are told to invigorate through the great!]
Shaughnessy: Great Maturity: Beneficial to determine.
Cleary(1):Great power is beneficial when correct.
Wu: Great Strength indicates that it is advantageous to be persevering.
The Image
Legge: The image of thunder over heaven forms the hexagram of Great Power. The superior man, in accordance with this, does not take one step that is not in accordance with propriety.
Wilhelm/Baynes: Thunder in heaven above: The image of The Power of the Great. Thus the superior man does not tread upon paths that do not accord with established order.
Blofeld: This hexagram symbolizes thunder in the sky. The Superior Man never takes a step involving impropriety. [Note: The combination of trigrams meaning thunder and sky suggests something of the awe-inspiring quality of the truly great.]
Liu: Thunder in the sky above symbolizes Great Power. The superior man's conduct does not oppose the rules.
Ritsema/Karcher: Thunder located above heaven. Great Invigorating. A chun tzu uses no codes whatever, nowhere treading.
Cleary (1): Thunder is up in the sky, with great power. Thus do superior people refrain from what is improper.
Cleary (2): … Developed people do not do what is improper.
Wu: There is thunder above heaven; this is Great Strength. Thus the jun zi does not practice what is not proper.
COMMENTARY
Confucius/Legge: In Great Powerwe see that which is great becoming strong. The trigram of Strength directs the trigram of Movement, and hence the whole is expressive of vigor. But that which is great necessitates firm correctness. The attributes of heaven and earth are displayed when firmness and correctness attain their ideal state.
Legge: Because the dynamic lines predominate in Great Power,the figure suggests a state in which there is an abundance of strength and vigor. Is strength alone enough for the conduct of affairs? Of course not! Strength must always be subordinated to the idea of right, and exerted only in harmony with it.
The lower trigram symbolizes Strength, the upper symbolizes Movement. In the Confucian commentary, "that which is great” denotes the group of four dynamic lines which strikes us on looking at the figure, and also the superior men in positions of power, of whom these are the representatives. That the attributes of heaven and earth are displayed means that the power of men should be a reflection of the great power which we see impartially working in nature.
Ch'eng-tzu says on the Image: "Thunder rolling in the sky and making all things shake is the symbol of Great Power." In relating its application to man, he quotes a beautiful saying of antiquity: "The strong man is he who overcomes himself."
NOTES AND PARAPHRASES
Judgment: Control yourself.
The Superior Man does nothing that is not in accordance with the principles of the Work.
Wilhelm and Blofeld translate this hexagram as The Power of the Great., but I prefer Liu's rendition of Great Power, because it has a more neutral connotation. The Power of the Great suggests the might of kings and emperors, and implies "superior" power wielded at one's own discretion. It is too easy to misinterpret this hexagram as a clear injunction to take unilateral action. Such is seldom the case -- the hexagram depicts a charge of latent energy which must be properly managed.
The figure is usually compared with the image of a ram or goat -- the four lower dynamic lines being the body, and the two upper magnetic lines representing the horns. Since this hexagram is the preceding figure of Retreat turned upside down, one can imagine the two together as a person retreating across a pasture pursued by a charging beast. The ram/goat is mentioned in four of the six lines of the hexagram. This is certainlyGreat Power, but in such a crude form it cannot be truthfully called The Power of the Great.
Truly Great Power, as the Judgment tells us, is derived from our will to restrain our emotions, instincts and appetites. Note that lines two and four are the most positively forceful lines in the hexagram and that both imply restraint of power as the proper way to attain one's goals. Without changing lines, the hexagram sometimes refers to provocations in which one is "legitimately” tempted to a self-righteous display of "power.” Remember that other people's ego-trips are none of your concern: the superior man does not respond to them with other than dignified reserve. Regard it as a test and be joyful if you pass it!
Everything found in later literature seems to indicate that these meditative schools required a strong discipline and faithful adherence to a strict regimen. The schools were extremely demanding, and were open only to those willing to devote themselves totally. Before even being admitted to one of these ancient meditative schools, a person had to be not only spiritually advanced but in complete control of all his emotions and feelings. Beyond that, the disciplines of the Torah and commandments were central to these schools, and these disciplines required a degree of self-mastery to which not everyone could aspire. Aryeh Kaplan -- Jewish Meditation
Line 1
Legge: The first line, dynamic, shows its subject manifesting his strength in his toes. But advance will lead to evil -- most certainly.
Wilhelm/Baynes: Power in the toes. Continuing brings misfortune. This is certainly true.
Blofeld: Power in the toes. [I.e. power of a rather low or limited kind.] To advance now would bring misfortune.
Liu: Power in the toes. Actions lead to misfortune. This is true.
Ritsema/Karcher: Invigorating tending-towards the feet. Chastising: pitfall, possessing conformity.
Shaughnessy: Mature in the foot; to be upright is inauspicious; there is a return.
Cleary (1): With power in the feet, it is inauspicious to go forth on an expedition – there is truth in this.
Cleary (2): With power in the feet, an expedition bodes ill, having certainty.
Wu: Having strength in the toes indicates foreboding to proceed, confidence notwithstanding.
COMMENTARY
Confucius/Legge: This will certainly lead to exhaustion. Wilhelm/Baynes: This certainly leads to failure. Blofeld: The confidence symbolized by power in the toes is soon exhausted. Ritsema/Karcher: One's conforming exhausted indeed. Cleary (2): With power in the feet, that certainty comes to an impasse. Wu: Confidence has been misplaced.
Legge: This line is dynamic, in its correct place, and is the first line of the lower trigram of Strength in the hexagram of Great Power. The essence of the hexagram might seem to be concentrated in it and hence we see it symbolized by "strength in the toes," or "advancing." But such action is
too bold to be undertaken by one in the lowest place, and in addition there is no proper correlate in line four. From exhaustion will follow distress and other evils.
NOTES AND PARAPHRASES
Siu: At the outset, the man in a lowly situation possesses great energy. Seeking advancement through force, however, will bring misfortune.
Wing: Even though you have the strength, proceeding with your plan would be a mistake. You must not force this issue because you are not in a position to do so successfully.
Editor: Compare this line with the definition of compulsion:
Compulsion:1a. an act of compelling: a driving by force, power, pressure, or necessity. 2. an irresistible impulse to perform an irrational act.
The power is in the toes, the lowest part of the body, and the very bottom of the hexagram. This suggests a compulsive, unconscious drive, or an ill-considered impulse to act. If it is the only changing line, the hexagram becomes number thirty-two, Consistency,Duration or Standing Fast, which is the implied proper response here. In its most neutral interpretation, this line images a strong urge or impetus to take action.
"Men are only apparently drawn from in front; in reality they are pushed from behind;" they think they are led on by what they see, when in truth they are driven on by what they feel, -- by instincts of whose operation they are half the time unconscious. W. Durant -- (Quoting Schopenhauer) The Story of Philosophy
A. An inner force seeks expression. Quell your impulse to act.
B. "Don't jump to conclusions."
Line 2
Legge: The second line, dynamic, shows that with firm correctness there will be good fortune.
Wilhelm/Baynes: Perseverance brings good fortune.
Blofeld: Persistence in a righteous course brings good fortune.
Liu: Persistence brings good fortune. It (the second line) is in the center (the middle way).
Ritsema/Karcher: Trial: significant.
Shaughnessy: Determination is auspicious.
Cleary (1): Rectitude is auspicious.
Cleary (2): Correctness is auspicious.
Wu: Perseverance will bring auspiciousness.
COMMENTARY
Confucius/Legge: Because he is in the center and exemplifies the due mean. Wilhelm/Baynes: Because it is in the central place. Blofeld: This is indicated by the line's central position in the lower trigram. Ritsema/ Karcher: Using centering indeed. Cleary (2): Because of balance. Wu: Because the second line is central.
Legge: The strength of line two is tempered by his being in a magnetic place which is also in the center. With firm correctness there will be good fortune. The central position and the due moral mean in line two are illustrative of the maxim: "The strong man is he who overcomes himself."
NOTES AND PARAPHRASES
Siu: The way begins to open for growth and progress. Exuberant self-confidence needs to be tempered by continued inner equilibrium in the use of power.
Wing: Moderation now is the key to lasting success. Do not allow yourself to become overconfident because you meet with such little resistance in your efforts. Use your power carefully.
Editor: The symbolism of the line, and Legge's commentary point out the fact that willpower is the cornerstone of the Work.
A man is, above all, his will. As is his will in this life, so does he become when he departs from it. Therefore should his will be fixed on attaining Brahman. Chandogya Upanishad
A. Willpower succeeds.
B. "Don't give up the ship."
Line 3
Legge: The third line, dynamic, shows, in the case of an inferior man, one
using all his strength; and in the case of a superior man, one whose rule is not to do so. Even with firm correctness the position would be perilous. The exercise of strength in it might be compared to the case of a ram butting against a fence, and getting his horns entangled.
Wilhelm/Baynes: The inferior man works through power. The superior man does not act thus. To continue is dangerous. A goat butts against a hedge and gets its horns entangled.
Blofeld: Inferior men use their power where (under the circumstances prevailing) the Superior Man refrains from using his. Persistence now would bring serious consequences, as when a goat butts against a hedge and gets its horns entangled.
Liu: The inferior man uses his power, while the superior man does not. The goat butts against a hedge, entangling his horns. To continue is dangerous.
Ritsema/Karcher: Small People avail-of Invigorating. A chun tzu avails-of absence. Trial: adversity. The he goat butts a hedge. Ruining his horns.
Shaughnessy: The little man uses maturity, the gentleman uses loss; determination is dangerous. A ram butts a fence, and weakens its horns.
Cleary (1): For inferior people the use is powerful, but for superior people the use is nil. It is dangerous to persist in this, goat, etc.
Cleary (2): Petty people use power; superior people use nothingness, chaste in danger, goat, etc.
Wu: A little man deploys strength indiscreetly; a jun zi doe not do so. There is peril ahead, goat, etc.
COMMENTARY
Confucius/Legge: The inferior man uses all his strength; in the case of the superior man it is his rule not to do so. Wilhelm/Baynes: The inferior man uses his power. This the superior man does not do. Blofeld: This means that inferior men use their power and the Superior Man is likely to be tricked. Ritsema/Karcher: Small People avail-of Invigorating. A chun tzu: absence indeed. Cleary (2): Petty people use power; superior people disappear. Wu: A little man deploys strength indiscreetly, but a jun zi does not.
Legge: Line three is dynamic, and in his proper place at the top of the trigram of Strength. An inferior man so placed will use all of his strength to the utmost. Not so the superior man. For him the position is beyond the safe middle, and he will be cautious not to injure himself like the ram by exerting all of his strength.
NOTES AND PARAPHRASES
Siu: The situation becomes entangled and perilous. The inferior man in power applies full force and gets himself irretrievably enmeshed. He is like a goat butting against a hedge and getting its horns entangled. The superior man renounces empty display of force and retains the secure middle position.
Wing: Only inferior people boast of their power or demonstrate it ostentatiously. This creates many unnecessary entanglements and, ultimately, danger. Do not persist in this. Concealed power, at this time, has the greatest effect.
Editor: The image suggests the difference between forcing an issue and allowing it to develop naturally.
"Good fortune, evil fortune, occasion for repentance, and reason for regret all arise from activity." Alas! Good fortune is only one out of four. Should we not be careful about activity? Chou Tun-I
A. Forcing the issue only ends in impasse.
B. "Don't push the river."
C. Relax! Contrived effort spoils the Work.
Line 4
Legge: The fourth line, dynamic, shows a case in which firm correctness leads to good fortune, and occasion for repentance disappears. We see the fence opened without the horns being entangled. The strength is like the wheel spokes of a large wagon.
Wilhelm/Baynes: Perseverance brings good fortune. Remorse disappears. The hedge opens; there is no entanglement. Power depends upon the axle of a big cart.
Blofeld: Righteous persistence brings good fortune and regret vanishes. The hedge falls apart and he is no longer entangled. There is great power in the cart axle. [A powerful axle indicates that the time is favorable for an advance towards our goal.]
Liu: Persistence brings good fortune and remorse vanishes. The hedge opens and entanglements vanish. Powerful is the axle of the big cart. [Note: Activity will follow a long quiet period, bringing good fortune for the individual.]
Ritsema/Karcher: Trial: significant. Repenting extinguished. The hedge broken-up, not ruined. Invigorating tending-towards the Great: a cart's axle-straps.
Shaughnessy: Determination is auspicious; regret is gone. The fence block is not weakened, but is matured by the great cart's axle-strut.
Cleary (1): Correctness is good; regret vanishes. The fence opened up, one does not get stuck; power is in the axle of a large vehicle.
Cleary (2): Being correct leads to good results; regret vanishes. Fences opened up, one does not get exhausted, etc.
Wu: With perseverance, there is good fortune and no regret. The fence has been removed and the horns unharmed. The wooden pieces holding the axle underneath the carriage are strong.
COMMENTARY
Confucius/Legge: He still advances. Wilhelm/Baynes: It can go upward. Blofeld: Once the hedge has fallen apart, he can get up and go forward. Ritsema/Karcher: The hedge broken-up, not ruined. Honoring going indeed. Cleary (2): It is valuable to go. Wu: The conditions are favorable to proceed.
Legge: Line four is still dynamic, but in the place of a magnetic line. This explains the cautions with which the symbolism commences. Going forward thus cautiously, his strength will produce the good effects described.
NOTES AND PARAPHRASES
Siu: The man removes all obstacles through quiet perseverance. Unseen power can move heavy loads.
Wing: When you can work toward your aim and make progress without a great show of power, you create a striking effect. Obstacles give way and your inner strength persists. Good fortune.
Editor: The image suggests that slowly but surely, one step at a time, one removes the obstacles to progress. Power thus accumulated can go anywhere.
The image of the thirty spokes converging toward the empty space of the hub is often used to symbolize the virtue of the ruler who attracts all creatures to his service, the virtue of Sovereign Unity that brings order to the multiplicity of things around it. M. Kaltenmark -- Lao Tzu and Taoism
A. Take it slow and the way becomes clear.
B. Willpower removes the obstacles to advancement.
C. Image of a careful, methodical advance.
2 The Receptive
Other titles: The Receptive, The Symbol of Earth, Submission, The Passive Principle, Field, The Flow, Responsive Service, Yin, Natural Response, The Bearer
Judgment
Legge:The Magnetic means success through the docility of a mare. If the superior man takes the initiative, he goes astray, but if he follows, he finds his proper lord. It is advantageous to find one's friends in the southwest, and to lose them in the northeast. Through a passively firm correctness, there will be good fortune.
Wilhelm/Baynes: The Receptive brings about sublime success, furthering through the perseverance of a mare. If the superior man undertakes something and tries to lead, he goes astray; but if he follows, he finds guidance. It is favorable to find friends in the west and south, to forgo friends in the east and north. Quiet perseverance brings good fortune.
Blofeld:The Passive Principle. Sublime success! Its omen is a mare, symbolizing advantage. The Superior Man has an objective and sets forth to gain it. At first he goes astray, but later finds his bearings. It is advantageous to gain friends in the west and the south, but friends in the east and the north will be lost to us. Peaceful and righteous persistence brings good fortune
Liu: The Receptive : great success. Benefiting from the quality of a mare -- perseverance. The superior man has an undertaking; in the beginning he will go astray, but later will receive guidance. He can find a friend in the southwest and lose friends in the northeast. Peacefulness and continuance. Good fortune.
Ritsema/Karcher: Field: Spring Growing Harvesting, female horse's Trial.
A chun tzu possesses directed going. Beforehand delusion, afterwards
acquiring. A lord Harvesting. Western South: acquiring partnering. Eastern North: losing partnering. Quiet Trial significant. [This hexagram describes your situation in terms of the primal structuring power confronted with many forces and obstacles. It emphasizes that giving way in order to serve and yield results, the action of Field, is the adequate way to handle it. To be in accord with the time, you are told to yield!]
Shaughnessy:The Flow: Prime receipt; beneficial for the determination of a mare; the gentleman has someplace to go, is first lost but later gains his ruler; beneficial to the southwest to gain a friend, to the northeast to lose a friend; contented determination is auspicious.
Cleary(1): With earth, creativity and development are achieved in the faithfulness of the female horse. The superior person has somewhere to go. Taking the lead, one goes astray; following, one finds the master. It is beneficial to gain companionship in the southwest and lose companionship in the northeast. Stability in rectitude is good.
Cleary(2): The creative is successful. It is beneficial to be correct like a mare. People with developmental potential have a goal; if they go ahead before this, they will get lost. If they follow, they get the benefit of the director. Companionship is found in the southwest; companionship is lost in the northeast. Stability and correctness bode well.
Wu:The Bearer is primordial, pervasive, prosperous, and has the perseverance of a mare. When the jun zi is going to undertake a task, he will lose his direction if he leads, and he will find guidance if he follows. This will be advantageous. If he goes south or west, he will win friends; if he goes north or east, he will lose them. If he can be content and single-hearted, he will have good fortune.
The Image
Legge: The capacity and sustaining power of the Earth is shown in The Magnetic. The superior man supports men and things with his large virtue.
Wilhelm/Baynes: The earth's condition is receptive devotion. Thus the superior man who has breadth of character carries the outer world.
Blofeld: This hexagram symbolizes the passivity of the terrestrial forces. The Superior Man displays the highest virtue by embracing all things.
Liu: The earth's condition is that of the Receptive. The superior man has the greatness of character to bear with everything in the world.
Ritsema/Karcher: Earth potency: Field. A chun tzu uses munificent actualizing-tao to carry the beings. [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): The configuration of earth is receptive; superior people support
others with warmth.
Cleary(2): The attitude of earth is receptivity. Thus do leaders support people with rich virtue.
Wu:The Bearer symbolizes the physical features and resources of the earth. Thus the jun zi uses his immense virtue to bear his responsibilities.
COMMENTARY
Confucius/Legge: All things owe their birth to the great originating capacity of The Magnetic -- it obediently receives the influences of Heaven. Its largeness contains and supports all things, and its capacity matches the unlimited power of The Dynamic. Its comprehension is wide, its brilliance great, and through it all things are fully developed. The mare is a creature of the earth, with a limitless power to traverse the land. She is mild and docile, with stamina and capacity for work. Such is the path of the superior man. If he takes the initiative, he loses his way; if he follows, he finds it again. In the southwest he will walk with his own kind. To lose friends in the northeast means he is well rid of them. The passively firm correctness of the superior man imitates the unlimited capacity of the earth.
Legge: The same attributes are ascribed to The Magnetic as in the former hexagram to The Dynamic -- but with a difference: The Dynamic originates, The Magnetic produces, or gives birth to what has been originated. This figure, made of six divided lines, symbolizes the idea of subordination and docility. The superior man described here must not take the initiative, and by following he will find his lord – the subject ofThe Dynamic. The firm correctness is analogous to a mare -- docile and strong, but a creature for the service of man. That it is not the sex of the animal which is paramount is plain from the mention of the superior man and his lord.
The superior man will bring his friends with him to serve the ruler. The southwest is the direction proper forThe Magnetic.The northeast is the direction proper for the trigram of the Mountain -- hence a direction of obstruction and impasse, the opposite of magnetic receptivity. Thus the injunction to seek friends who are receptive, and shun those who are recalcitrant.
Concerning The Image, Lin Hsi-yuan says: "The superior man, in his single person sustains the burden of all under the sky. The common people depend on him for their rest and enjoyment. Birds and beasts and creeping things, and the tribes of the vegetable kingdom, depend on him for the fulfillment of their destined being. If he be of a narrow mind and cold virtue, how can he help them? Their hope in him would be in vain."
NOTES AND PARAPHRASES
Judgment: The ego bears the burden of the Work. Success is found in compliance with the will of the Self.
The Superior Man supports the Work through its many transformations.
In terms of the symbolism of the Work, the second hexagram clearly shows the proper role of the ego as one of receptivity to the will of the Self. The sexual, male-female metaphor must be interpreted as one of polarity. The ego, inhabiting a physical body, is the psychological link which connects the material dimension of spacetime with the world of thought where the Self resides. To be receptive to the influence of the Self is to allow its energy to work through the ego-body to attain its purpose. This earth-like receptivity is seen as a feminine quality, as the Heavenly dynamic force emanating from the Self is seen as masculine. Earth means the body in spacetime, and Heaven means the realm of thought transcending spacetime -- the Pleroma of the gnostics which Jung referred to as the Collective Unconscious. The concept is also found in the Kabbalah:
I am the Door of Life, The passage from the world of ideas Into the world of form... Now, as Daleth [the Door], I present myself as the Portal Through which life, Eternal and Unbounded, Entereth the realm of temporal and limited creation... I am the fruitful womb Whence all creatures have their birth.
P.F. Case -- The Book of Tokens
The message in the Judgment clearly indicates the ego's proper role –
"If the superior man takes the initiative, he goes astray." This is supplemented by the image of a docile mare which uncomplainingly bears its load. Indeed, during certain phases of the Work it becomes painfully obvious that the ego really is just a beast of burden. The Self is beyond our full comprehension, and at times it uses us as if we were an expendable tool -- which, to a certain extent, we are. Only by realizing that our existence in spacetime consists mostly of illusions and that the Self is the only real thing in our lives, can we come to accept the Work as the duty we were created to perform.
SUGGESTIONS FOR MEDITATION
Compare the ego-Self relationship in hexagrams one and two with that in hexagrams seven and eight.