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The Wanderer56
Embrace the journey. Stay adaptable and attentive. Balance independence with humility. Success comes from accepting change and being resourceful.
↓ Line 1
Focus on what is important and avoid distractions to prevent misfortune.
↓ Line 2
Finding a temporary place of rest and support can lead to stability and assistance.
↓ Line 4
Temporary security is achieved, but there is still unease and potential for conflict.
↓ Line 5
Success through skill and precision leads to recognition and advancement.
↓ Line 6
Neglect and carelessness lead to loss and regret; maintain vigilance to avoid misfortune.
↓ Waiting5
Be patient and prepare. Trust timing for success. Be steady and ready.
Original Readings
56 The Wanderer
Other titles: The Wanderer, The Symbol of the Traveler, The Exile, Sojourning, The Newcomer, To Lodge, To Travel, Traveling, The Stranger, Strangers, The Traveling Stranger, The Outsider, The Alien, The Gnostic, The Tarot Fool, Wandering, Homeless, Uncommitted, On Your Own, "Can refer to being out of one's element." -- D.F. Hook
Judgment
Legge: Transition means that small attainments are possible. If the traveling stranger is firm and correct, there will be good fortune.
Wilhelm/Baynes:The Wanderer. Success through smallness. Perseverance brings good fortune to the wanderer.
Blofeld:The Traveler -- success in small matters. Persistence with regard to traveling brings good fortune.
Liu: The Exile. Small success. To continue leads to good fortune.
Ritsema/Karcher:Sojourning, the small: Growing. Sojourning, Trial: significant. [This hexagram describes your situation in terms of wandering journeys and living in exile. It emphasizes that mingling with others as a stranger whose identity comes from a distant center is the adequate way to handle it...]
Shaughnessy:Traveling. Small receipt. Traveling; determination is auspicious.
Cleary (1): Travel is developmental when small; if travel is correct, it leads to good fortune.
Cleary (2): Travel has a little success. Travel is auspicious if correct.
Wu:Traveling indicates small pervasion. Perseverance will bring auspiciousness.
The Image
Legge: A fire on the mountain -- the image of Transition. The superior man exerts cautious wisdom in his punishments, and does not permit prolonged litigation.
Wilhelm/Baynes: Fire on the mountain: the image of The Wanderer. Thus the superior man is clear-minded and cautious in imposing penalties, and protracts no lawsuits.
Blofeld: This hexagram symbolizes fire upon a mountain. The Superior Man employs wise caution in administering punishments and does not suffer the cases brought before him to be delayed.
Liu: Fire over the mountain symbolizes the Exile. The superior man is careful and clever in imposing punishments, and does not delay the cases brought.
Ritsema/Karcher: Above mountain possessing fire. Sojourning. A chun tzu uses brightening consideration to avail-of punishing and-also not to detain litigating.
Cleary (1): There is fire atop a mountain, transient. Thus superior people apply punishments with understanding and prudence, and do not keep people imprisoned.
Cleary (2): Fire on a mountain – traveling. Etc.
Wu: There is fire on the mountain; this is Traveling. Thus the jun zi exercises the utmost deliberations in exacting punishments such that prisoners will not be detained without cause.
COMMENTARY
Confucius/Legge:Transition indicates that there may be some small attainment and progress -- the magnetic line occupies the central place in the upper trigram, and is obedient to the dynamic lines above and below it. We also have the attributes of Keeping Still connected with Intelligence in the lower and upper trigrams. Hence it is said that there may be some small attainment and progress. If the traveling stranger is firm and correct as he ought to be, there will be good fortune. Great is the time and great is the right course to be taken under these circumstances!
Legge: The written Chinese character for this hexagram denotes people traveling abroad, and is often translated as Strangers. The figure addresses itself to traveling strangers, and tells them how they ought to comport themselves through the cultivation of humility and firm correctness. By means of these they would escape harm, and make progress. The status of traveling stranger is seen as too low to expect great things of them.
It is assumed that the wanderer is in the position of the fifth line. The ideas of humility, docility, calmness and intelligence are derived from the attributes of the component trigrams. These are all characteristics which are proper to a stranger, and are likely to lead to advancement and attainment of his desires. Concerning the Image, K'ung Ying-ta comments: "A fire on a mountain lays hold of the grass, and runs with it over the whole space, not stopping anywhere long, and soon disappearing -- such is the emblem of the traveler."
NOTES AND PARAPHRASES
Judgment: During a Transition, keep your willpower great and your expectations small.
The Superior Man sees clearly and does not embroil himself in complexity. He is clear-minded and cautious in judging the truth of the situation, maintaining detachment from the social milieu.
Wilhelm's translation of the title of this hexagram is The Wanderer. A wanderer is one who has no home, or who is between one home and another. This reminds us of the gnostic notion of the "Alien": the incarnate soul exiled to wander in the space-time dimension (i.e., this world).
The alien is that which stems from elsewhere and does not belong here ... The stranger who does not know the ways of the foreign land wanders about lost; if he learns its ways too well, he forgets that he is a stranger and gets lost in a different sense by succumbing to the lure of the alien world and becoming estranged to his own origin ... The recollection of his own alienness, the recognition of his place of exile for what it is, is the first step back; the awakened homesickness is the beginning of the return. Hans Jonas -- The Gnostic Religion
In the broadest interpretation then, the message in the Judgment: "If the traveling stranger is firm and correct, there will be good fortune" can refer to not becoming entangled in the affairs of this world in which we wander -- an idea emphasized in the first line. Ritsema/Karcher state it explicitly -- defining our challenge as "mingling with others as a stranger whose identity comes from a distant center." This is good general advice for anyone seriously engaged in the Work, since the "distant center" ("God," or the Self) represents the essence we incarnated to serve.
We are strangers in this world, and the body is the tomb of the soul, and yet we must not seek to escape by self- murder; for we are the chattels of God who is our herdsman, and without his command we have no right to make our escape. Pythagorean ethic
In more specific situations, the hexagram symbolizes a transitional phase. Lines two, three and four all depict "Inns" or temporary resting places (commonly experienced in dreams as images of hotels or motels). The symbolism is identical: the psyche is reflecting an interim situation during a state of Transition.
By definition, a transition is fluid and not yet fixed. Depending upon the choices made, one can go in different directions. In terms of consciousness, it is obvious that the transition can be from a lower state of awareness to a higher one, or vice-versa. Because a transition is an opportunity for deliberate choice-making, the Confucian commentary concludes with: "Great is the time and great is the right course to be taken under these circumstances!"
Lines one, three and six depict very negative situations involving ignorant, arrogant choices. We think of the ego blindly pushing the river of its desires, unable to see the unfortunate consequences it thereby engenders. Line two suggests a solid resting place during our journey, while line four depicts a tenuous, though not necessarily incorrect, similar situation. The fifth line counsels a kind of sacrifice to the ruler (the Self) which results in an eventual reward. The message is to let the Self guide you through a Transition.
SUGGESTIONS FOR MEDITATION
Hexagram number fifty-six is the reverse of hexagram number fifty-five. Compare the role of the superior man in the Image of each figure. How are they the same? How are they different? What are the differences and similarities of the component trigrams of each hexagram, and how do they affect their respective meanings?
Notes, August 15, 2009: A new paraphrase of the Judgment and Image:
The Gnostic Alien. Small attainments are possible if the Alien keeps a clear head and maintains his self-discipline. The initiated Adept is intelligent, discreet, and displays vigilant wisdom: he maintains and protects his gnosis via cautious reserve in worldly disputes, eschewing needless contention. [He can do this because he knows that this is an illusory reality: a set-up, a trap, a Loosh factory created by the Demiurge.] A chun tzu uses brightening consideration to avail-of punishing and-also not to detain litigating. [In other words “do the work in the place in which you find yourself” quickly, and efficiently, with as few entanglements as possible under the circumstances. Shun new karma. Implicit is that this experience is preparation for the bodhisattva vow.]
Line 1
Legge: The first line, magnetic, shows the stranger mean and meanly occupied. It is thus that she brings on herself further calamity.
Wilhelm/Baynes: If the wanderer busies himself with trivial things, he draws down misfortune upon himself.
Blofeld: Trifling with unimportant matters, the traveler draws upon himself calamity.
Liu: If the exile dallies with petty matters, he will draw disaster on himself.
Shaughnessy: Traveling so trivially; this is the fire that he has taken.
Cleary (1): Restless in travel, this is the misfortune you get.
Cleary (2): Petty fussing on a journey brings misfortune.
Wu: The traveler complains about trivial things and he is poorly received.
COMMENTARY
Confucius/Legge: Her aim has become of the lowest character, and calamity will ensue. Wilhelm/Baynes: Thereby his will is spent, and this is a misfortune. Blofeld: The calamity attendant upon having no will of our own. Ritsema/Karcher: Purpose exhausted, calamity indeed. Cleary (2): The misfortune of frustration. Wu: His small-mindedness causes poor reception.
Legge: Line one is magnetic in a dynamic place at the bottom of the hexagram, thus the unfavorable auspice. The meanness of the first line doesn't arise from the nature of her occupation, but from her mind and aim being emptied of all that is good and ennobling.
NOTES AND PARAPHRASES
Siu: At the outset, the newcomer in a lowly position is occupying himself with disgraceful machinations. His aspirations invite troubles.
Wing: Do not assume a demeaning role in the general situation. Do not pay attention to trivial matters. This is not a way to gain entry into a group or situation. Maintain a dignified attitude about yourself. Through self-abasement you will only invite ridicule.
Editor: Legge's "Mean" is rendered by the other translators as: "trivial,""unimportant," and "petty." The Confucian commentaries are translated as a failure of willpower which brings about disaster. Implied is loss of purpose and hence of being unclear or ignorant of the situation at hand.
All men, from birth onward, live more by sensation than by thought, forced as they are by necessity to give heed to sense impressions. Some stay in the sensate their whole life long. For them, sense is the beginning and end of everything. Good and evil are the pleasures of sense and the pains of sense; it is enough to chase the one and flee the other. Those of them who philosophize say that therein wisdom lies. Like big earthy birds are they, prevented by their bulk from rising off the ground even though they have wings. Plotinus --The Enneads
A. Don't waste your energy on unimportant matters.
B. "Trivial pursuit."
Line 2
Legge: The second line, magnetic, shows the stranger occupying her lodging-house, carrying her means of livelihood, and provided with good and trusty servants.
Wilhelm/Baynes: The wanderer comes to an inn. He has his property with him. He wins the steadfastness of a young servant.
Blofeld: The traveler reaches an inn with his valuables still nestling safely in the bosom of his robe. He gains the loyalty of a young servant. [This implies that we need fear no loss upon our journey.]
Liu: The exile arrives at an inn. He carries valuables. He wins the loyalty of a young servant.
Ritsema/Karcher: Sojourning, approaching a resting-place. Cherishing one's own. Acquiring a youthful vassal: Trial.
Shaughnessy: In traveling having just lodged, he cherishes his belongings, getting the young servant's determination.
Cleary (1): Coming to a lodge on a journey with money in your pocket, you have attendants, yet are upright.
Cleary (2): Coming to an inn on a journey with supplies in hand, one gains the loyalty of a servant.
Wu: The traveler makes a stop with his valuable belongings and gets help from a trustworthy bellboy.
COMMENTARY
Confucius/Legge: With such servants she will in the end have nothing of which to complain. Wilhelm/Baynes: This is not a mistake in the end. Blofeld: There will be no trouble to the very end. Ritsema/Karcher: Completing without surpassing indeed. Cleary (2): After all there is no complaint. Wu: He is free from troubles.
Legge: Line two is magnetic, but in her proper and central place. Hence the traveler is represented as provided with everything she requires, and though the auspice is not mentioned, we must understand it as being good. Strong and trusty servants are the most important condition for the comfort and progress of the traveler.
NOTES AND PARAPHRASES
Siu: The man retains his inner sense of modesty and reserve. He acquires the necessary means of livelihood, a home, and good and trustworthy servants.
Wing: With confidence and self-possession you can attract support from new environments. Think of it as the personal gravity generated by the weight of your principles. Someone is ready to help you in your endeavors.
Editor: Psychologically interpreted, the image of a wandering stranger portrays the ego en-route to somewhere else -- transient, uncommitted, undergoing change. A lodging house or Inn is a temporary shelter, an interim point of view, a transitory state. Legge's "means of livelihood" (rendered as "valuables," "property,""belongings," “money” or “supplies” by the other translators), can be any wealth, gain, power, ability, or consolidation of psychic energy. Most translators qualify "servants" as "young servant." A young servant would symbolically suggest inexperienced, untried power or ability to do work. These images all suggest the consolidation of energy during a period of transition.
If the emphasis is on the temporary and transient nature of the worldly sojourn and on the condition of being a stranger, the world is called also the "inn," in which one "lodges"; and "to keep the inn" is a formula for "to be in the world" or "in the body." H. Jonas -- The Gnostic Religion
A. One preserves one's gains through a transition and obtains new and untried powers. You have everything you need to succeed.
Line 4
Legge: The fourth line, dynamic, shows the traveler in a resting place, having also the means of livelihood and the axe, but still saying: "I am not at ease in my mind."
Wilhelm/Baynes: The wanderer rests in a shelter. He obtains his property and an ax. My heart is not glad.
Blofeld: The traveler reaches a place where he obtains the money needed for his expenses, yet laments that there is no joy in his heart. [Were we to travel or continue to travel now, though material difficulties would not arise, we should not experience any happiness.]
Liu: The exile finds rest in a sanctuary. He regains his valuables. He is not happy in his heart.
Ritsema/Karcher: Sojourning, tending-towards abiding. Acquiring one's own emblem-ax. My heart not keen.
Shaughnessy: In traveling, staying put, he gets his goods and ax; my heart is not happy.
Cleary (1): Traveling in the right place, one obtains resources and tools, but one’s heart is not happy.
Wu: The traveler rests in his lodge. He has the amenities, but he is not at ease.
COMMENTARY
Confucius/Legge: Although in a resting place, he has not got his proper position. Even with a livelihood and an axe his mind is not at ease. Wilhelm/Baynes: He has not yet obtained his place. He is not yet glad at heart. Blofeld: His wandering to that place is indicated by the unsuitable position of this line; his obtaining money for expenses brings him no joy. Ritsema/Karcher: Not-yet acquiring the situation indeed. The heart not-yet keen indeed. Cleary (2): One has not gotten a position. One’s heart is not yet happy. Wu: His position is improper. He is still not at ease.
Legge: Line four is dynamic, but in a magnetic place. Hence, although he is without a lodging-house, he does have a shelter which is not very secure. He can use the axe for defense, but is still uneasy in his mind. The K'ang-hsi editors observe that the mention of the axe makes us think of caution as a quality desirable in a wanderer.
NOTES AND PARAPHRASES
Siu: Although the inferior man finds a resting place and a means of livelihood, his aspirations are greater than his capabilities. He remains ill at ease, a stranger in a strange environment.
Wing: Though you are on your way toward the attainment of your goals, you are constantly aware that you have not arrived. This state of mind leaves you feeling uneasy -- knowing you must move on, and yet anxious to protect and hold intact that which you have already accomplished.
Editor: Here the wanderer is "camping out," so to speak -- occupying a temporary position during a transition. The axe, analogous to the sword (or any metallic cutting instrument), can symbolize mental discrimination. (Cf. The suit of swords in the Tarot.) The image is of one who has the power to comprehend his situation and the resources to advance to a new position, yet is still in a very tenuous and ill-defined state of being. The issue could go either way.
This realization is extremely important from a practical standpoint, for it implies that only constant attention to the unconscious, an inner devoted tribute, is sufficient to enlist its cooperation. The unconscious realms cannot be analyzed away, cannot be defeated in battle, but, at best, by conscious confrontation, can be taken into account within the limits of one's individual capacity. E.C. Whitmont --The Symbolic Quest
A. A synthesis is only tentative -- gains are vulnerable to loss.
B. Consolidate and defend your position. You have all you need, but could lose it.
C. An incomplete idea or concept needs nourishment and careful discrimination to make it secure.
Line 5
Legge: The fifth line, magnetic, shows its subject shooting a pheasant. She will lose her arrow, but in the end she will obtain praise and a high charge.
Wilhelm/Baynes: He shoots a pheasant. It drops with the first arrow. In the end this brings both praise and office.
Blofeld: While pheasant shooting, he loses an arrow. In the end he wins praise and attains to office. [After suffering a small loss, we shall receive considerable benefits from those above us.]
Liu: He shoots a pheasant, losing one arrow. In the end he gains honor and position.
Shaughnessy: Shooting the pheasant, one arrow is gone; in the winter he is thereby presented a command.
Cleary (1): Shooting a pheasant, one arrow is lost; eventually one is entitled, because of good repute.
Cleary (2): ... Ultimately one is lauded and given a mandate.
Wu: He shoots a pheasant, but loses an arrow. Eventually he receives a conferment of praise.
COMMENTARY
Confucius/Legge: She has reached a high place. Wilhelm/Baynes: In the end he rises through praise and office. Blofeld: Both of these are bestowed from above. Ritsema/ Karcher: Overtaking the above indeed. Cleary (2): Reaching the highest. Wu:“Eventually he receives a conferment of praise” from his superior.
Legge: Although magnetic, the fifth line is in the center of the upper trigram of Clarity and Intelligence. She is the ruler of the trigram and the dynamic fourth and sixth lines loyally defend and help her. She shoots a pheasant. When an officer was traveling abroad in ancient times, the gift of introduction at any feudal court was a pheasant. The wanderer is here praised by her friends and exalted to a place of dignity by the ruler to whom she is acceptable. Note that the idea of the fifth line being the ruler's seat is dropped here as being alien to the idea of the hexagram.
NOTES AND PARAPHRASES
Siu: The man succeeds in his task and receives the recognition and praise of his friends. They recommend him to the prince, who accepts his services in a highly responsible position.
Wing: It may be that you must establish a place for yourself in altogether new territory. Be mindful of your approach. Modesty and generosity in the beginning will be rewarded with position and acceptance. Success is indicated.
Editor: There is some ambiguity in the various interpretations of this line. Some say that the fifth line is the seat of the ruler, though the logic of the symbolism suggests that since the ruler bestows favors on the subject of the line, he must be elsewhere. Wilhelm says that line four represents the wanderer's friends, and line six represents the high place to which she is promoted. As a bird, the pheasant is a creature of air, or mental realm, hence symbolic of an idea, concept or thought. Here the thought is given (sacrificed) to the ruler or Self. The arrow here suggests aspiration or intent: to perceive a goal or target (the pheasant) and make it one's own. However, the arrow is lost, and the quarry is given to the ruler in a gesture of fealty. In the end this results in a reward for the wanderer. All of these images suggest a kind of willing sacrifice which one may not completely understand, but which will eventually result in an ample reward.
Intellectually the Self is no more than a psychological concept, a construct that serves to express an unknowable essence which we cannot grasp as such, since by definition it transcends our powers of comprehension. It might equally well be called the "God within us." The beginnings of our whole psychic life seem to be inextricably rooted in this point, and all our highest and ultimate purposes seem to be striving towards it. Jung -- Two Essays on Analytical Psychology
A. Your aspiration exceeds your comprehension. Sacrifice a small reward now and receive a big one later on.
B. Sacrifice your need to understand. Have faith in the Work.
Line 6
Legge: The sixth line, dynamic, suggests the idea of a bird burning its nest. The stranger, thus represented, first laughs and then cries out. He has lost his ox-like docility too readily and easily. There will be evil.
Wilhelm/Baynes: The bird's nest burns up. The wanderer laughs at first, then must needs lament and weep. Through carelessness he loses his cow. Misfortune.
Blofeld: A bird manages to burn its own nest. At first the traveler laughs, but then has cause to shout and weep. A cow is lost through carelessness -- misfortune! [Presumably, someone's carelessness causes him misfortune which excites our mirth -- until we discover that we ourselves are deeply involved in the resulting loss.]
Liu: A bird's nest burns. The exile laughs in the beginning, laments later. He loses his cow by being careless. Misfortune.
Ritsema/Karcher: A bird burning its nest. Sojourning people beforehand laughing, afterwards crying-out sobbing. Losing the cattle, tending-towards versatility. Pitfall.
Shaughnessy: A crow disorders its nest; the traveler first laughs and later weeps and wails, losing an ox at Yi; inauspicious.
Cleary (1): A bird turns (Sic) its nest. The traveler first laughs, afterward cries. Losing the ox at the border, there is misfortune.
Cleary (2): ... Losing the cow while at ease is unfortunate.
Wu: Like a bird burning its own nest, the traveler first laughs with joy and then howls in sorrow. Like losing a cow in the field, it is foreboding.
COMMENTARY
Confucius/Legge: He would not listen to the truth about the course to be pursued. Wilhelm/Baynes: Being at the top as a wanderer rightly leads to being burnt up. In the end he hears nothing. Blofeld: The top of this hexagram signifies burning. The loss of a cow through carelessness means that no news will ever be obtained of something we have lost (or are about to lose). Ritsema/Karcher: Using Sojourning to locate- in the above. One's righteousness burning indeed. Completing absolutely-nothing: having hearing indeed. Cleary (2): Because the travel is in a high place, it is just to be destroyed. After all one does not listen. Wu: Traveling at this top position amounts to burning oneself. The misfortune of losing a cow in the field is something he has not heard of.
Legge: Line six is dynamic in a magnetic place at the outer limit of the trigram of Clarity -- he will be arrogant and violent, the opposite of what a wanderer should be, and the issue will be evil. Humility cannot co-exist with haughty arrogance, and his careless self-sufficiency has shut his mind against all the lessons of wisdom.
NOTES AND PARAPHRASES
Siu: The newcomer becomes careless, imprudent, and violent at the height of his distinction.
Wing: By losing yourself in the drama of a new situation and by involving yourself in details that have nothing whatsoever to do with the development of your own principles, you detach yourself from the very foundation of your original aims. Misfortune.
Editor: A bird, as a creature of the air, the realm of thought, can symbolize an idea or concept. A nest suggests the foundation, or resting place of a thought -- a necessary premise upon which the thought is founded. To burn up a necessary premise, foundation, or whatever, suggests thought that has transcended the bounds of reality -- i.e., fantasy, or illusion. If this is the only changing line, the hexagram becomes number sixty-two, Small Powers, the corresponding line of which also images a bird transcending its proper bounds. The wanderer here is arrogant, and as Legge points out, "carelessly self-sufficient." The line sometimes implies some harsh truths about an overly intellectual approach to life.
An inflated consciousness is always egocentric and conscious of nothing but its own existence. It is incapable of learning from the past, incapable of understanding contemporary events, and incapable of drawing right conclusions about the future. It is hypnotized by itself and therefore cannot be argued with. It inevitably dooms itself to calamities that must strike it dead. Jung -- Psychology and Alchemy
A. Criminal negligence creates an irretrievable loss.
B. Image of a stupid idea.
5 Waiting
Other titles: Nourishment, Calculated Inaction, Attending, Biding One's Time, Nourishment Through Inaction, Waiting for Nourishment, Moistened, "Waiting with the assurance that a blessing will come." -- D.F. Hook
Judgment
Legge:Waitingintimates that with sincerity and firmness there will be brilliant success and good fortune. It will be advantageous to cross the great stream.
Wilhelm/Baynes:Waiting. If you are sincere, you have light and success. Perseverance brings good fortune. It furthers one to cross the great water.
Blofeld: Calculated inaction (or exhibiting the power to wait) and the confidence of others win brilliant success. Righteous persistence brings good fortune. It will be advantageous to cross the great river (or sea). [The significance of this hexagram is that inaction while awaiting the outcome of events will enable us to avoid a danger now threatening. Firmness, clarity of mind and success in winning the confidence of others are now demanded of us; with them, our undertakings will prosper. Moreover, this period of inaction is a good time in which to go on a journey or else for relaxation and enjoyment.]
Liu: Waiting.If you are sincere you will have glory (light) and success. Continuing leads to good fortune. It is of benefit to cross the great water (to travel to remote places).
Ritsema/Karcher: Attending, possessing conformity . Shining Growing, Trial: significant. Harvesting: wading the Great River. (Editor: "Possessing conformity" is translated as: ... "Inner and outer are in accord; confidence of the spirits has been captured...") [This hexagram describes your situation in terms of being compelled to wait for and serve something. It emphasizes that fixing your attention on what is required while waiting carefully for the right moment to act is the adequate way to handle it. To be in accord with the time, you are told to: attend!]
Shaughnessy: Moistened: There is a return, radiant receipt; determination is auspicious; beneficial to ford the great river.
Cleary (1): In Waiting there is sincerity and great development. It is good to be correct. It is beneficial to cross a great river.
Cleary (2):Waiting with truthfulness lights up success in correct orientation toward good. It is beneficial to cross a great river.
Wu: Waiting indicates having confidence. It is brilliant and pervasive and auspicious to be persevering. It will be advantageous to cross the big river.
The Image
Legge: The image of clouds ascending over the sky forms Waiting. The superior man, in accordance with this, eats and drinks, feasts and enjoys himself as if there were nothing else to employ him.
Wilhelm/Baynes: Clouds rise up to heaven: the image of Waiting. Thus the superior man eats and drinks, is joyous and of good cheer.
Blofeld: This hexagram symbolizes clouds rising to the zenith -- inactivity! The Superior Man will pass this time in feasting and enjoyment.
Liu: Clouds rise up in the sky; this symbolizes Waiting. The superior man enjoys his food and drink. He remains relaxed and happy.
Ritsema/Karcher: Above clouds with-respect-to heaven. Attending. A chun tzu uses drinking [and] taking-in to repose delighting.
Cleary (1): Clouds rise to heaven, waiting. The superior person makes merry with food and drink.
Wu: The clouds ascend to the sky; this is Waiting. Thus the jun zi enjoys food and peace.
COMMENTARY
Confucius/Legge: Waiting shows peril in front, but its subject does not allow himself to be involved in the dangerous defile. The success in sincerity and good fortune in firmness are shown by the position of the fifth line which is correctly situated in the central place assigned by Heaven. Crossing the great stream will be followed by meritorious achievement.
Legge: Waiting is composed of the lower trigram of strength and the upper trigram of peril. Strength confronted by peril might be expected to advance boldly and deal with it at once, but the lesson of the hexagram is that it is wiser to wait until success is sure. In the situation at hand, firm correctness is all that is required for eventual victory.
"Crossing the great stream" is a frequent expression in the I Ching which symbolizes the undertaking of hazardous enterprises, or encountering great difficulties. Historically it refers to the Yellow River which the lords of Chou had to cross in their revolution against the Yin Dynasty tyrants. The crossing made by King Wu in 1122 B.C. was one of the greatest deeds in the history of China, and was preceded by a long period of waiting until success could be assured.
Regarding the Image, it is said that the cloud that has risen to the top of the sky has nothing to do but wait until the harmony of heaven and earth require it to discharge its store of rain. The superior man is likewise counseled to enjoy his idle time while waiting for the correct moment to deal with the approaching danger.
NOTES AND PARAPHRASES
Judgment: Strength in the face of danger here consists of the will to sit tight and do nothing.
The Superior Man carries on as if nothing was the matter, and nourishes himself through inaction.
There are many kinds of courage -- perhaps the greatest of all is the courage to remain unflinchingly in place when all the circumstances seem to cry out for action. It takes far more courage to wait for the dragon to slowly come to you than to rush forth and attack him in his lair. As a strategy, to out-wait your opponent through pure willpower and inner strength can be more effective than a direct attack -- but it can only succeed when you are truly strong. It is as if the real battle takes place on the inner planes, and the first one to act in the world thereby concedes defeat.
A very large part of the Work consists in disciplining oneself to wait -- to take no action until some indefinite time in the future. This is exceedingly difficult to do, and creates incredible stresses within the psyche -- which is exactly why it is necessary. Psychologically, to "cross the great stream" is to subdue all of the autonomous instincts, drives and emotions that are accustomed to responding whenever they are stimulated. As long as waiting creates feelings of stress, you can be sure that the battle has not been won. When you can wait like the superior man -- as if there were nothing else to do, then you can allow yourself to hope that you may be getting somewhere.
To nourish oneself through inaction is to digest and absorb the energy of one's instinctive responses. As in any nourishing assimilation, their strength then becomes your strength. The true adept is one who has digested all of his passion and is thereby empowered to use it for his own purposes. Instead of engaging in civil war, he has united his forces to act in the world.
Tradition says that Moses did not set the Tabernacle up straight away, but delayed for three months, despite the fact that the people wanted to dedicate it at once. In this is repeated a lesson of patience concerning matters of the spirit. For instead of accepting their Teacher's word, which conveyed the will of God, the Israelites sought to impose their own will over what they had made ... This phenomenon is not unknown among those who cannot wait, which is a vital part of esoteric training. Unfortunately, it has to be demonstrated over and over again that the timing of a spiritual event is contingent upon a cosmic schedule, and not the will of the individual. Z.B.S. Halevi -- Kabbalah and Exodus