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Penetration57
Adapt influence like the wind; subtle shifts bring progress. Consistency and endurance will penetrate barriers.
↓ Line 2
Delve deeply into the situation to understand hidden aspects. Seek guidance from wise and knowledgeable individuals.
↓ Line 6
Going too deep into matters can lead to loss and misfortune. Know when to stop and avoid excessive probing.
↓ Obstruction39
Obstacle to progress; seek guidance.
Original Readings
57 Penetration
Other titles: The Gentle, The Penetrating, Wind, The Symbol of Bending to Enter, Willing Submission, Gentle Penetration, Ground, Calculations, Complaisance, Penetrating Influence, The Penetration of the Wind, Humility, Devoted Service, Submission
Judgment
Legge:Penetration indicates modest success. See the great man and move in the direction that implies.
Wilhelm/Baynes:The Gentle. Success through what is small. It furthers one to have somewhere to go. It furthers one to see the great man.
Blofeld:Willing Submission -- success in small matters. It is advantageous to have in view a goal (or destination) and to visit a great man. [This is a reasonably auspicious hexagram; it augurs a certain amount of success for those who submit to circumstances -- unless a moving line indicating the contrary is received. This is not a time for resistance but for submission.]
Liu:Penetration. Small success. It is beneficial to go somewhere. It is beneficial to see a great man.
Ritsema/Karcher: Ground, the small: Growing. Harvesting: possessing directed going. Harvesting: visualizing Great People. [This hexagram describes your situation in terms of providing an underlying support. It emphasizes that subtly penetrating and nourishing things from below, the action of Ground, is the adequate way to handle it. To be in accord with the time, you are told to enter the situation from below!]
Shaughnessy: Calculations: Little receipt; beneficial to have someplace to go; beneficial to see the great man.
Cleary (1):Wind is small but developmental. It is beneficial to have somewhere to go. It is beneficial to see a great man.
Cleary (2):The small comes through successfully. It is beneficial to have a place to go. It is beneficial to see great people.
Wu: Complaisance indicates that the small are pervasive. It is advantageous to have undertakings. It is also advantageous to see the great man.
The Image
Legge: Two wind trigrams following each other form Penetration. The superior man proclaims his commands and undertakes his work.
Wilhelm/Baynes: Winds following one upon the other: the image of the gently penetrating. Thus the superior man spreads his commands abroad and carries out his undertakings.
Blofeld: This hexagram symbolizes a favorable wind. The Superior Man performs his allotted tasks in consonance with heaven's (or the sovereign's) will. [The component trigrams combine the concepts of wind and blandness -- hence a favorable wind.]
Liu: Wind following wind symbolizes Penetration. The superior man proclaims his directives and executes his affairs.
Ritsema/Karcher: Following winds. Ground. A chun tzu uses distributing fate to move affairs.
Cleary (1): Wind following wind.Thus do superior people articulate directions and carry out tasks.
Wu: One breeze follows the other; this is Complaisance. Thus the jun zi gives further injunctions in order to administer public affairs.
COMMENTARY
Confucius/Legge: Repeated wind trigrams show the repetition of governmental orders. The dynamic fifth line has penetrated to his correct central place and carries his will into action. The magnetic first and fourth lines obey the dynamic lines above them. Hence it is said that there will be success in small matters.
Legge: Penetration symbolizes both wind and wood, and has the attributes of Docility, Flexibility and Penetration. We are to think of it as wind with its penetrating power which finds its way into every nook and cranny.
Confucius said: "The relation between superiors and inferiors is like that between the wind and the grass. The grass must bend when the wind blows upon it." In accordance with this, the hexagram must be understood as the influence and orders of the government designed to remedy what is wrong in the people. The upper trigram denotes the orders issuing from the ruler, and the lower the obedience rendered to them by the people.
Ch'eng-tzu says:"Superiors, in harmony with the duty of inferiors, issue their commands; inferiors, in harmony with the wishes of their superiors, follow them. Above and below there are that harmony and deference; and this is the significance of the redoubled Wind trigram. When governmental commands and business are in accordance with what is right, they agree with the tendencies of the minds of the people who follow them."
Anthony: Getting this hexagram often refers to the presence of inferior elements that obstruct our having a good influence ... Because this hexagram is concerned with self-correction, we often get it together with Work on What has been Spoiled. [Hex. 18: Repair.]
NOTES AND PARAPHRASES
Judgment: Get to the heart of the matter and act on the information obtained.
The Superior Man acts on his understanding by implementing it in the world.
The hexagram ofPenetration, made up of two trigrams symbolizing Wind (which is air in motion), suggests the activity of thought (the realm of air) trying to comprehend or "penetrate" something. Thus, each line of the figure may be seen as some aspect of an act of mental endeavor.
Therefore the student must exert his own mind to the utmost. If he does so, he will know his own nature. And if he knows his own nature, examines his own self and makes it sincere, he becomes a sage. Therefore the "Great Norm" says, "The virtue of thinking is penetration and profundity ... Penetration and profundity lead to sageness.” -- Ch'eng I
The first line depicts vacillation and indecisiveness; the second shows one trying to "get to the bottom" of a matter. Line three is an image of futile hypothesizing; four and five show two aspects of successful comprehension, and the sixth line symbolizes an inability to understand.
Man's intellect -- the greatest but most dangerous gift he has received from God -- builds a bridge across the seemingly unconquerable chasm between that which is personal and mortal and that which is impersonal and eternal. Through man's intellect he succumbed to the temptation to fall out of divine unity with his consciousness. But by the same token, his intellect gives him the possibility of bringing back his consciousness into full union with divinity. By means of his intellect, man is able to understand truth, and when he has understood, he will seek and keep on seeking and trying until he some day succeeds in finding the only path to the realization of his self. Elisabeth Haich -- Initiation
The hexagram can also symbolize humble submission and devoted service, thus suggesting the role of the ego in the Work. To truly comprehend the nature of the Work is to serve it with devotion. There are some interesting associations between the act of penetration and that of submission – when dynamic and magnetic are in full harmony they lose their individual identities and become one force which is both and neither.
Line 2
Legge: The second line, dynamic, shows penetration under a bed, and one employing diviners and exorcists in a way bordering on confusion. There will be good fortune and no error.
Wilhelm/Baynes: Penetration under the bed. Priests and magicians are used in great number. Good fortune. No blame.
Blofeld: Crawling below the bed. He employs the services of a disorderly rabble of diviners and wizards -- good fortune and no error! [This could be taken to refer to the lines of the hexagram up to this point, for this one is much more favorable than those (sic) preceding it. Or it may be taken to mean that affairs which begin by going ill with us will later take a change greatly for the better.]
Liu: Wind under the bed. Many fortune-tellers and witches are used. Good fortune. No blame.
Ritsema/Karcher: Ground located below the bed. Availing-of chroniclers, shamans. The mottled like significant. Without fault.
Shaughnessy: Calculations are under the bed, herewith causing the magicians to be indignant-like; auspicious; there is no trouble.
Cleary (1): Obedient in the basement, frequently employing intermediaries, leads to good fortune, without blame.
Cleary (2): Obedience below the platform, using scribes and mediums frequently, etc.
Wu: He acts so agreeably as if he were under the bed. If he could use the sincerity of an augur to make himself understood, it would be auspicious.
COMMENTARY
Confucius/Legge: The good fortune is due to the position of the line in the center.
Wilhelm/Baynes: One has attained the middle. Blofeld: Good fortune is indicated by the position of this line, which is central to the lower trigram. Ritsema/Karcher: Acquiring the center indeed. Cleary (2): The attainment of balance. Wu: His central position.
Legge: Line two is dynamic in the central place of the lower trigram. The K'ang-hsi editors explain that something is hidden beneath a couch or bed, and the subject of the line searches for it. He relies on divination to assist his judgment, and exorcism to expel what is bad. The work is great and difficult, and he appears almost distracted by it. The sincerity of purpose indicated by his central position leads him to the right course, despite the many considerations that might distract him.
NOTES AND PARAPHRASES
Siu: Undesirable influences from hidden quarters adversely affect the man's progress. They must be indefatigably traced to their darkest sources and exposed. This will eliminate their power over people.
Wing: Hidden motives, weaknesses, or prejudices are buried deeply within the situation and influence it. These must be ferreted out into the light of day and dispensed with. Once this is done, your aims can be accomplished.
Editor: Wind is air in motion, hence symbolic of thought. When the ideas of "thought" and "penetration" are combined we get an image of the process of comprehension. Trying to comprehend something "under a bed" suggests that which lies beneath a sleeping place, beneath consciousness: hence, trying to understand hidden or unconscious forces. To do this, one employs "exorcists and diviners" -- uses the oracle, studies dreams, etc. Although our method borders on confusion (we are not entirely accurate in our comprehension), we are on the right track, and eventual success is indicated. Sometimes there is a hint here that we may be making things more complicated than necessary.
The means of destruction of ignorance is unbroken practice of discrimination. Patanjali
A. Delving into the unconscious, one seeks comprehension of that which is hidden.
B. You are confused in your understanding of the matter at hand -- look beneath the surface and figure it out.
Line 6
Legge: The sixth line, dynamic, shows penetration beneath a bed, and its subject having lost the axe with which he executed his decisions. However firm and correct he may try to be, there will be evil.
Wilhelm/Baynes: Penetration under the bed. He loses his property and his ax. Perseverance brings misfortune.
Blofeld: Crawling below the bed. [This symbolizes exaggerated submission, servile humility, etc. Apparently, we have been guilty of this fault.] He loses what is required for his traveling expenses -- persistence brings misfortune!
Liu: Wind under the bed. He loses his wealth. Continuing leads to misfortune. [This line indicates possible loss or sickness.]
Ritsema/Karcher: Ground located below the bed. Losing one's own emblem-ax. Trial: pitfall.
Shaughnessy: Calculations are under the bed; losing his goods and ax; determination is inauspicious.
Cleary (1): Obedient under the floor, one loses one’s resources; even if faithful, there is misfortune.
Cleary (2): The obedient are below the platform. Losing resources and tools, it is proper that there be misfortune.
Wu: He acts so agreeably as if he were under the bed. He loses his means of supporting and protecting himself. Even with perseverance it is foreboding.
COMMENTARY
Confucius/Legge: Though occupying the topmost place, his powers are exhausted. Though he tries to be correct, there will be evil. Wilhelm/Baynes: At the top, the end has come. Is this right? It brings misfortune. Blofeld: This top line indicates exhaustion of all possibilities. Losing his traveling expenses presages certain misfortune! Ritsema/ Karcher: Above exhaustion indeed. Correcting reaching a pitfall indeed. Cleary (2): Above there is an impasse. It is proper that there be misfortune. Wu: He has reached his limit. It is definitely foreboding.
Legge: The evil that line six concludes with arises from the quality of gentle penetration being carried to excess.
Anthony: Sometimes a diligent search for the hidden enemy reveals nothing specific. In getting this line, we should let go of the search. In sincerely seeking, our attitude has been corrected of careless overconfidence; that is enough.
NOTES AND PARAPHRASES
Siu: The man appreciates the underlying problem and traces the injurious influence to its ultimate origin. However, he lacks the power to overcome it and is hurt in the process.
Wing: By attempting to penetrate all the myriad possibilities of the situation, you have dissipated the energy to influence. Great understanding means little without decisive action. Negativity can no longer be prevented.
Editor: As in line two, "penetration" is comprehension, and "beneath a bed" suggests the unconscious realms of the psyche. "Penetration under the bed" is an attempt to understand the unknown. An axe is a metal cutting instrument with associations in common with the sword and arrow: that is, the discriminating mental faculty; intellect, scientific method, etc. To lose one's axe is to be without the ability to differentiate the components of an unknown situation. The line implies that you are asking questions beyond your capacity to understand; or you are asking the wrong questions; or the oracle is tired of your importunate questioning entirely: the "gentle penetration is being carried to excess." In the latter case, we are reminded of the Judgment in hexagram number 4, Inexperience:"I do not seek the inexperienced youth, but he seeks me. When he shows the sincerity proper for divination, I instruct him. If he asks two or three times, that is troublesome, and I do not instruct the troublesome."
Some (schools) claim that the way to enlightenment consists in holding dialogues with the archetypes, fantasy figures of the objective psyche, surrounding yourself with the personified projections of your mind in the form of "higher selves" and "inner guides." ... The "new age" optimism and superficiality of those who reduce the dark mysteries of Jung's Gnosis to the shallow level of their own limitations are apt to make people into the victims of the very unconscious they tend to treat so lightly. Those who naively wish to use the archetypes for their personalistic ends will be made subject to their cruel tyranny. S.A. Hoeller -- The Gnostic Jung
A. You are fumbling in the dark.
B. Confused thinking or compulsive speculation cripples intuition.
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.