Clearing mine fields
One crosses a forest made of ambushes and traps. taoscopy.com
Increase42
Growth and progress: Favorable conditions and efforts lead to increase and success. Be generous, share your gains, and stay humble.
↓ Line 1
The beginning of Increase is a time of great potential. Taking initiative leads to success.
↓ Line 3
Adversity can lead to growth if one remains sincere and balanced.
↓ Line 6
Lack of generosity and inconsistency lead to misfortune and conflict.
↓ Obstruction39
Obstacle to progress; seek guidance.
Original Readings
42 Increase
Other titles: The Symbol of Addition, Gain, Augmenting, Help from Above, Benefit, Advantage, Profit, Expansion
Judgment
Legge: Increase denotes advantage in every movement which shall be undertaken -- it will be advantageous even to cross the great stream.
Wilhelm/Baynes:Increase. It furthers one to undertake something. It furthers one to cross the great water.
Blofeld: Gain. It is favorable to have in view some goal (or destination) and to cross the great water (or sea).
Liu:Increase. It is of benefit to set forth. It is of benefit to cross the great water.
Ritsema/Karcher: Augmenting , Harvesting: possessing directed going. Harvesting: wading the Great River. [This hexagram describes your situation in terms of increase and advance. It emphasizes that expanding the quantity and quality of your involvement is the adequate way to handle it. To be in accord with the time, you are told to augment!]
Shaughnessy:Increase:Beneficial herewith to have someplace to go; beneficial to find the great river.
Cleary (1): For Increase, it is beneficial to go somewhere; it is beneficial to cross great rivers.
Wu: Gain indicates an advantage in having undertakings and in crossing a big river.
The Image
Legge: Wind over thunder -- the image of Increase. When the superior man perceives good, he moves toward it; when he perceives his faults, he eliminates them.
Wilhelm/Baynes: Wind and thunder: the image of Increase. Thus the superior man: if he sees good, he imitates it; if he has faults, he rids himself of them.
Blofeld: This hexagram symbolizes wind and thunder. The Superior Man, seeing what is good, imitates it; seeing what is bad, he corrects it.
Liu: Wind and thunder symbolize Increase. When the superior man discovers good, he follows it. When he has errors, he corrects them.
Ritsema/Karcher: Wind, thunder. Augmenting. A chun tzu uses visualizing improvement, by-consequence shifting. A chun tzu uses possessing excess, by-consequence amending.
Cleary (1): Wind and thunder increase. Thus do superior people take to good when they see it, and correct whatever faults they have.
Wu: Wind and thunder make Gain. Thus, when the jun zi sees a good deed, he improves his own at once; when he realizes he is making a mistake, he corrects it at once.
COMMENTARY
Confucius/Legge: Increase shows the upper trigram brilliantly decreased to augment the lower. What descends from above reaches to all below, and the satisfaction of the people is without limit. Advantage in movement is shown in the blessings dispensed by the second and fifth lines from their correct positions. The action of Wood shows that it is advantageous to cross the great stream. Through the trigrams of Movement and Humility there is unlimited daily advancement -- heaven dispenses and earth produces, and all proceeds according to the requirements of the time.
Legge: Increase has the opposite meaning to hexagram number forty-one, Compensating Sacrifice [Decrease]. What king Wen had in mind was a ruler or a government operating to dispense benefits to the people and increase their resources. The two important lines in the figure are the correlates two and five. The general auspice of the hexagram is one of being successful in one's enterprises and of overcoming the greatest difficulties.
The formation of the trigrams here is the reverse of that in the preceding hexagram. The people are full of pleasure in the labors of the ruler for their good. "The action of Wood" in the Confucian commentary refers to the upper trigram, which is the symbol of Wind and Wood. From wood boats are made on which the great stream may be crossed. In three hexagrams, this, fifty-nine and sixty-one, in which this is the upper trigram, we find mention made of crossing the great stream. In the Image thunder and wind are seen to increase one another, and their combination gives the idea of Increase.
NOTES AND PARAPHRASES
Judgment: Take advantage of your opportunities.
The Superior Man recognizes his duty and rectifies his mistakes. Or: "Accentuate the positive, eliminate the negative."
If the ego's sacrifices for the good of the Work are described in the previous hexagram, here we see the inverse image of that figure in which it is the Self who bestows its blessings upon the psyche. The one implies the other -- in the words of an old Blues lyric: "If you don't put somethin' in, you can't get nothin' out..." The forty-first and forty-second hexagrams are intimately related, and in their interaction portray the active progress of the Work. To paraphrase the last sentence of the Confucian commentary: "The Self dispenses and the ego produces, and all proceeds according to the requirements of the time."
If a man continually weighs his actions and aims at the mean, he is in the highest of human ranks. In that way, he will come close to God and will attain what belongs to Him. This is the most perfect of the ways of worship. Maimonides -- Eight Chapters
Line 1
Legge: The first line, dynamic, shows that it will be advantageous for its subject in his position to make a great movement. If it be greatly fortunate, no blame will be imputed to him.
Wilhelm/Baynes: It furthers one to accomplish great deeds. Supreme good fortune. No blame.
Blofeld: The time is favorable for undertaking great works -- sublime good fortune and no error!
Liu: It is beneficial to undertake a great enterprise. Sublime good fortune. No blame.
Ritsema/Karcher: Harvesting: availing-of activating the great, arousing. Spring significant, without fault.
Shaughnessy: Beneficial herewith to do the great creation; prime auspiciousness; there is no trouble.
Cleary (1): It is beneficial to act so as to do great work: this is very auspicious and blameless.
Cleary (2): It is beneficial to undertake to do great work. If it turns out very well, there is no blame.
Wu: It is beneficial to do farming. There is great fortune, no error.
COMMENTARY
Confucius/Legge: Though it is not for one in so low a position to have to do with great affairs. Wilhelm/Baynes: Those below do not use it for their own convenience. Blofeld: What is said about sublime good fortune and freedom from error means that those below do not complain of having too much to do. [This suggests that others will now work for us gladly.]Ritsema/Karcher: The below, not munificent affairs indeed. Cleary (2): It is not for those in low positions to be deeply concerned with affairs. Wu: A person in this position is not suitable to do a delicate task.
Legge: Line one is dynamic, but his low position might seem to prevent him from any great enterprise. Favored as he is, however, by the general idea of the hexagram, and responding to his proper correlate in the fourth line, it is natural that he should make a movement. Great success will make his rashness irrelevant. The Confucian commentary says that "one in a low position should not move in great affairs" -- not a son, it is said, while his father is alive, nor a minister while his ruler governs, nor a member of an official department while its head directs its affairs. If such a one does initiate such an affair, only great success will excuse his rashness.
NOTES AND PARAPHRASES
Siu: At the outset, the man receives help from on high. He should use it to accomplish something correspondingly worthwhile. Success will cause his rashness to be forgotten.
Wing: You are blessed with the energy to approach a large task, which at any other time you may have avoided or not even considered. Success is yours if your goal is worthwhile and can Benefit others. Consider this carefully. In this way your reputation will remain above reproach.
Editor: Despite the confusing Confucian commentary, this is one of the very few lines in the entire Book of Changes that counsels unconstrained movement. Psychologically interpreted, action taken in the matter at hand will be in accordance with the will of the Self.
One must seek out what one's True Will is, and do it -- irrespective of whether it is convenient or not. Once one’s true will is found, to implement it will require change, and change is always painful -- or always appears so. Gareth Knight -- Qabalistic Symbolism
A. Decisive action may be taken now.
B. Archetypal forces ("those below") cooperate with the ego to effect positive action.
C. "Go for it!"
Line 3
Legge: The third line, magnetic, shows increase given to its subject by means of what is evil, so that she shall be led to good, and be without blame. Let her be sincere and pursue the path of the Mean, so shall she secure the recognition of the ruler, like an officer who announces herself to her prince by the symbol of her rank.
Wilhelm/Baynes: One is enriched through unfortunate events. No blame, if you are sincere and walk in the middle, and report with a seal to the prince.
Blofeld: He used an unfortunate means to gain something; but, as he acted in all sincerity, he was not to blame. Walking in the center (of the hall) to report to the Prince, he carried his jade tablet of office. [The additional Chinese commentaries declared that the jade tablet is a symbol of our being able to give an assurance of our faithfulness.]
Liu: He is enriched by unfortunate affairs. No blame, if you are sincere and moderate in your conduct, and report to the officials for the record.
Ritsema/Karcher: Augmenting's availing-of pitfall affairs. Without fault. Possessing conformity, center moving. Notifying the prince, availing-of the scepter.
Shaughnessy: Increase it, using work service; there is no trouble. There is a return in the middle of the ranks reporting to the duke using a tessera.
Cleary (1): Using unfortunate events to gain increase is blameless. Acting in a moderate, balanced way with sincerity and truthfulness, public announcement uses the imperial seal.
Cleary (2): Enhancement through unfortunate events is blameless. Sincere and balanced in action, one presents impartial use of authority.
Wu: He experiences increasing misfortune, but this is blameless. He proceeds with confidence and reports to his prince by holding a tablet in his hands.
COMMENTARY
Confucius/Legge: Increase is given by means of what is evil and difficult, as she has in herself the qualities called forth. Wilhelm/Baynes: This is something that certainly is one's due. Blofeld: His gaining something by an unfortunate means may lead to the supposition that such means are a matter of course. Ritsema/Karcher: Firmly possessing it indeed. Cleary (2): There has always been such a thing as enhancement through unfortunate events. [If one can believe that misfortune is beneficial, then it is no longer unfortunate.] Wu: “He experiences increasing misfortune,” because of his position, not his doing.
Legge: Line three is magnetic, neither central nor in her correct position. It would seem therefore that she should have no increase given to her. But it is the time for giving increase, and the idea of her receiving it by means of evil things is put into the line. That such things serve for reproof and correction is well known to Chinese moralists. But the paragraph goes on also to caution and admonish. There is a soul of good even in those who seem only evil, and adversity may quicken it.
NOTES AND PARAPHRASES
Siu: Even unfortunate events accrue to the good of the man. Pursued with reasonableness and sincerity, they exert beneficial influence, as if officially sanctioned.
Wing: You may find that you are going to Benefit from what might be considered unfortunate circumstances. If you hold to your principles, nevertheless, you can avoid reproach.
Editor: Every translation of the Confucian commentary says something distinctly different in the English language. When this happens it is a fair assumption that the original is ambiguous as well. My experience with the line prefers Wilhelm’s version of line and commentary. Psychologically interpreted, since the idea of "No blame" applies, we can assume that a painful but necessary transformation is in progress. This may be taking place on unconscious levels of the psyche.
Life on earth is tough. Of that there is no doubt, but esoteric tradition says, that under these harsh conditions of maximum physical constraint, many things can be quickly acquired, that are not possible in the upper worlds. The pleasure and pain of the body are the vital teaching situation of the psyche. Illness, love, even war, may be important demonstrations to the non- sensual psyche, of laws it has to respect, both below and above. Z.B.S. Halevi -- Adam and the Kabbalistic Tree
A. "Through adversity we acquire strength."
B. Growing pains.
Line 6
Legge: The sixth line, dynamic, shows us one to whose increase none will contribute, while many will seek to assail him. He observes no regular rule in the ordering of his heart. There will be evil.
Wilhelm/Baynes: He brings increase to no one. Indeed, someone even strikes him. He does not keep his heart constantly steady. Misfortune.
Blofeld: He did not attempt to benefit them and someone struck him for his inconstancy of heart -- misfortune!
Liu: He benefits no one. Someone will attack him. His mind is not consistent. Misfortune.
Ritsema/Karcher: Absolutely-no Augmenting it. Maybe smiting it. Establishing the heart, no persevering. Pitfall.
Shaughnessy: No one increases it, someone hits it; establishing the heart but not making it constant; inauspicious.
Cleary (1): Don’t increase here, or you may be attacked. If determination is inconsistent, that brings misfortune.
Cleary (2): None benefit one here; they may attack one. Do not persist in this attitude, for that would lead to misfortune.
Wu: People do not add to his coffer. They may even assail him. He sets no consistent course of action. Foreboding.
COMMENTARY
Confucius/Legge: To his increase none will contribute -- this expresses but half the result. They will come from beyond his immediate circle to assail him. Wilhelm/Baynes: This is a saying that pictures one-sidedness. This comes from without. Blofeld: He not benefiting them indicates prejudice: his being struck presages that we incur the wrath of people outside our own circle. Ritsema/Karcher: One-sided evidence indeed. Originating-from outside, coming indeed. Cleary (2):“None benefit one here” expresses partiality; “They may attack one” refers to what comes from without. Wu:“People do not add to his coffer.” This is a one-sided statement. “They may even assail him,” because he alienates them.
The Master said:"The superior man in a high place composes himself before he tries to move others; makes his mind restful and easy before he speaks; settles the principles of his intercourse with others before he seeks anything from them. The superior man cultivates these three things, and so is complete. If he tries to move others while he is himself in a state of apprehension, the people will not respond to him; if without certain principles of intercommunication, he issues his requests, the people will not grant them. When there are none to accord with him, those who work to injure him will make their appearance. As is said in the I Ching, `We see one to whose advantage none will contribute, while some will seek to assail him. He observes no regular rule in the ordering of his heart: there will be evil.'"
Legge: Line six is dynamic, but it should be magnetic. At the top of the figure he will only concentrate his powers for his own advantage, and not think of benefiting those below him. The repulsive power of selfishness is exhibited, and the consequences will be as described. Contrast this with line two where the attractive power of benevolence is shown: in both cases forces come from "beyond" to do either benefit or harm.
NOTES AND PARAPHRASES
Siu: The man in a high position fails to bring benefits to those below. They, in turn, assail his reputation and do not support him. He does not think before speaking and does not decide the principles that govern his relationships before he sets forth.
Wing: While you seem to have the means to Benefit others, you actually do not. This is not in accord with the demands of the time. You will lose your position of influence and become open to attack. This is unfortunate indeed.
Editor: Wilhelm renders Legge's "half the result" in the first sentence of the Confucian commentary as "one-sidedness" -- an image more expressive of the idea of selfishness. To "observe no regular rule in the ordering of the heart” suggests inconstancy and vacillation. Perhaps selfish motives have overwhelmed the ego's devotion to the Work. Selfishness is an imbalanced state where energy is appropriated by a part at the expense of the whole. Negative results are inevitable because the forces involved must seek equilibrium, and the stress of the imbalance is released in a violent reaction.
Emotion is not an activity of the ego but, when uncontrolled, is something that happens to it. Affects occur usually where adaptation is weakest, and at the same time they reveal the reason for its weakness, namely a certain degree of inferiority and the existence of a lower level of personality. On this lower level with its uncontrolled or scarcely controlled emotions one behaves more or less like a primitive, who is not only the passive victim of his affects but also singularly incapable of moral judgment. Jung -- Aion
A. Vacillation of will invites rebellion of unconscious forces.
B. A warped sense of priorities leaves the Work vulnerable to a setback.
C. Self-centeredness invites defensive or hostile responses.
39 Obstruction
Other titles: Obstruction, The Symbol of Difficulty, Arresting Movement, Trouble, Obstacles, Barrier, Halt, Halting, Limping, Afoot, “Sit Tight—Don’t move” "One is surrounded by an underwater reef and should wait for assistance." -- D.F. Hook
Judgment
Legge: During an Impasse advantage is found in the southwest, disadvantage in the northeast. See the great man. Firm correctness brings good fortune.
Wilhelm/Baynes:Obstruction. The southwest furthers. The northeast does not further. It furthers one to see the great man. Perseverance brings good fortune.
Blofeld: Trouble. The west and the south are favorable, but not the east and north. [That is to say, if we try to forward our plans by proceeding in either of those directions, we shall get bogged down or lost. It could also mean that we should be driven to unvirtuous conduct.] It is advisable to see a great man. [We should seek advice from someone of lofty moral stature and profound wisdom.] Persistence in a righteous course brings good fortune.
Liu: Obstruction. The southwest is of benefit. The northeast -- no benefit. It benefits one to visit a great man. To continue brings good fortune.
Ritsema/Karcher: Limping, Harvesting: Western South. Not Harvesting: Eastern North. Harvesting: visualizing Great People. Trial: significant. [This hexagram describes your situation in terms of being weak, afflicted or hampered. It emphasizes that going ahead even though haltingly is the adequate way to handle it. (Sic) To be in accord with the time, you are told to: limp!]
Shaughnessy: Afoot: Beneficial to the southwest, not beneficial to the northeast; beneficial to see the great man; determination is auspicious.
Cleary (1): When halted, the southwest is beneficial, not the northeast. It is profitable to see a great person; innocence is auspicious.
Cleary (2): When in trouble, it is beneficial to go southwest; it is not beneficial to go northeast. It is beneficial to see a great person. Correctness leads to good results.
Wu:Difficulty indicates that it will be advantageous in the southwest, but not so in the northeast. There will be advantage to meet with the great man. Auspiciousness will come with perseverance.
Hua-Ching Ni: The good direction is where there is no abyss or high mountains, like the Southwest, but not the Northeast. One should go to the great leader who can work with people in breaking through obstructions.
The Image
Legge: Water on the mountain -- the image of Impasse. The superior man turns around to examine himself and cultivate his virtue.
Wilhelm/Baynes: Water on the mountain: the image of Obstruction. Thus the superior man turns his attention to himself and molds his character.
Blofeld: This hexagram symbolizes water upon a mountain. The Superior Man cultivates virtue by bringing about a revolution within himself.
Liu: Water on the mountain symbolizes Obstruction. The superior man reexamines himself and improves his character.
Ritsema/Karcher: Above mountain possessing stream. Limping. A chun tzu uses reversing individuality to renovate 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): There is water atop a mountain, halting. Thus do superior people examine themselves and cultivate virtue.
Cleary (2): Water on a mountain – trouble. Developed people examine themselves to cultivate virtue.
Wu: There is water on the mountain; this is Difficulty. Thus, the jun zi examines his own person to polish his virtue.
COMMENTARY
Confucius/Legge:Impasse means difficulty, with the trigram of Peril up ahead. It is a wise man who can stop his advance at the first sign of danger. Advantage in the southwest means that the dynamic line has advanced to the central position. In the northeast, however, progress is halted. Seeing the great man insures progress and success. All of the lines except the first are in their appropriate places, suggesting the firm correctness in which the regions of the kingdom are brought to their natural order. Great indeed is the work to be done during an Impasse.
Legge: Impasse is the symbol of incompetency in the feet and legs involving difficulty in walking. Hence it represents a state of the kingdom which makes government an arduous task. The figure teaches how to perform this task under the prevailing circumstances.
The Judgment requires three things: the attention to place, the presence of the great man, and the observance of firm correctness. According to King Wen's arrangement of the trigrams, the southwest is occupied by the trigram of the Earth, and the northeast by the trigram of the Mountain. The former is the fertile lowland, the latter the mountain peaks; the former is easily traversed and held, while the latter presents obstacles. Thus the attention to place becomes a calculation of circumstances -- differentiating those that are promising from those that are likely to fail.
The great man is the correctly dynamic ruler in the fifth place, with the proper magnetic correlate in line two. However, favorable position and circumstances, and the presence of the great man do not relieve us from the observance of firm correctness -- this principle is consistent throughout the I Ching.
Ch'eng-tzu says: "We see here a steep and difficult mountain, on the top of which is water. Each trigram represents perilousness -- there is peril above and below. Hence it shows the difficulties of the state." The application of the symbolism is illustrated by the words of Mencius: "When our actions do not realize our desires, we must turn inwards and examine ourselves in every point."
NOTES AND PARAPHRASES
Judgment: Dissolve the polarities of an Impasseby seeking its most fertile integration. Use your will in harmony with the principles of the Work.
The Superior Man seeks his center and refines his commitment.
Lines two and five of this difficult hexagram show those who struggle with hardship; all of the other lines show images of an improper advance followed by a proper return to a former position. Ritsema/Karcher's characterization of the hexagram's overall meaning as an injunction to "(go) ahead even though haltingly is the adequate way to handle (the situation)" is anomalous and at variance with the general import of this figure. Legge's Confucian commentary is more in keeping with its meaning: "It is a wise man who can stop his advance at the first sign of danger."
Legge also chooses an excellent paraphrase of the role of the superior man in the Image with his quotation from Mencius: "When our actions do not realize our desires, we must turn inwards and examine ourselves in every point." In other words, the chances are good that the Impassemay be self-created, and when the ego introspects with care the reasons usually become apparent.
It is not unknown at a certain stage of development for the ego, overwhelmed with the enormity of the Work, to evade its responsibilities and vainly try to return to the bliss of its former ignorance. At such times it soon becomes clear that no matter what you attempt, success will be blocked: where others succeed with ease, it will take you five times as much effort just to break even. ThisImpasse is permanent until you reassume responsibility for the Work. The following quotation is an allegory of this condition:
Yahweh Saboath says this: Reflect carefully how things have gone for you. You have sown much and harvested little; you eat but never have enough, drink but never have your fill, put on clothes but do not feel warm. The wage earner gets his wages only to put them in a purse riddled with holes ... The abundance you expected proved to be little. When you brought the harvest in, my breath spoiled it. And why? It is Yahweh Saboath who speaks. Because while my house lies in ruins you are busy with your own, each one of you. Haggai 1: 6-10
In one way or another, the Self will attain its intent. To ignore this hard truth is to experience Impasse.