La conscience mène à l'inspiration; laissez la vision se transformer en innovation et enthousiasme.
From
20
Contemplation
To
16
Enthousiasme
Élargir ses connaissances
On ne reconnaît pas ce que les autres présentent, alors on leur demande des explications. taoscopy.com
Contemplation20
Faites une pause et observez le monde qui vous entoure. Gagnez en clarté en vous distanciant de l'implication immédiate, ce qui permet d'avoir une perspective plus large. La perspicacité vient de la capacité à voir à la fois la vue d'ensemble et les détails subtils.
↓ Line 4
En observant la situation dans son ensemble, on acquiert une compréhension des affaires de l'État. Cette compréhension permet d'exercer une influence efficacement, à l'instar d'un invité conseillant un souverain.
↓ Line 5
Une personne sage réfléchit à sa propre vie et à ses actions, s'assurant de rester irréprochable. Cette conscience de soi est la marque d'un individu supérieur.
↓ Line 6
Au plus haut niveau, on contemple l'intégralité de sa vie. Cette réflexion exhaustive garantit que la personne supérieure reste exempte de faute.
↓ Enthousiasme16
L'inspiration alimente l'énergie ; alignez l'enthousiasme avec le but pour avancer efficacement.
Other titles: View, The Symbol of Steady Observation, Looking Down, Observation, Viewing, Looking Up, Observing, Admiration, To Examine, Rulers and Their Subjects, Introspection, Perception, Contemplation of the Work
Judgment
Legge: Contemplation shows us a worshipper who has purified himself, but must still present his sacrifice with that dignified sincerity which inspires reverence.
Wilhelm/Baynes: Contemplation . The ablution has been made, but not yet the offering. Full of trust they look up to him.
Blofeld: Lookingdown.[This word often means “contemplation" and I have so translated it when the context so requires.] The ablution has been performed, but not the sacrifice. Sincerity inspires respect. [This is generally understood to mean that the first step has been taken or that one has bound oneself to follow a certain course...but that the main duties are yet to be performed.]
Liu:Observation. The hand-washing ritual is completed, but the sacrifice is still to come. All done and looked upon with sincerity.
Ritsema/Karcher:Viewing: hand-washing and-also not worshipping. Possessing conformity, like a presence. [This hexagram describes your situation in terms of something seen from a distance, out of immediate reach. It emphasizes that carefully observing and divining the meaning is the adequate way to handle it...]
Shaughnessy: Looking Up. Washing the hands but not making offering; there is a return with head held high.
Cleary (1): Observing, one has washed the hands but not made the offering; there is sincerity, which is reverent.
Wu:Admiration indicates a worshipper washing his hands in preparation for the offerings, but not participating in it. He shows sincerity and awe.
The Image
Legge: The image of earth and wind moving above it form Contemplation. The ancient kings, in accordance with this, examined the different regions of the kingdom to see the ways of the people, and set forth their instructions.
Wilhelm/Baynes: The wind blows over the earth: the image of Contemplation. Thus the kings of old visited the regions of the world, contemplated the people, and gave them instruction.
Blofeld: This hexagram symbolizes wind blowing across the earth. The ancient rulers visited the different regions to keep watch over their people and carefully instruct them.
Liu: The wind blowing over the earth symbolizes Observation. The ancient kings visited their territories, observed the people, and gave instruction.
Ritsema/Karcher: Wind moving above earth. Viewing. The Earlier Kings used inspecting on-all-sides, viewing the commoners to set-up teaching.
Cleary (1): Wind is over the earth, observing. Thus did the kings of yore set up education after examination of the region and observation of the people.
Cleary (2): Wind travels over the earth – observing.Kings of yore examined the regions and observed the people to set up education. [In Buddhist terms, the ancient Buddhas examined the “regions” of possible experience and observed the people in various states of being, then set up various teachings to accommodate them, just as the wind travels over the earth reaching everywhere.]
Wu: The wind pervades above the earth; this is Admiration. Thus the ancient kings inspected various regions of the country, observed the sentiments of the people, and laid down their instructions.
COMMENTARY
Confucius/Legge:Observation from above -- from the trigram of Flexibility surmounting the trigram of Docility. The ruler is in his correct central position, and thus exhibits his lessons to all below. He has purified himself, but not yet sacrificed. All beneath look to him and are transformed. When we contemplate the spirit-like way of heaven, we see how the four seasons proceed without error. The sages, in accordance with this spirit-like way, laid down their instructions, and all under heaven yield submission to them.
Legge: The Chinese character from which this hexagram is named is used in the sense of both seeing and being seen. The theme is the sovereign and his people -- how he shows himself to them, and how they in turn perceive him. The two dynamic lines at the top belong to the ruler, and the four magnetic lines below represent his subjects. In the Judgment the ruler is portrayed as a worshipper at the commencement of a sacrifice. He is the great Manifester in line five.
The lower trigram symbolizes earth, with the attribute of Docility; the upper trigram symbolizes wind, with the attributes of Flexibility and Penetration. Wind moving above the earth has the widest sweep, and nothing escapes its influence. The personal influence of the ruler effects much, but the ancient kings wished to add to that the power of published instructions which were specially adapted to the character and circumstances of the people.
The spirit-like way of heaven is the invisible order underlying the laws of nature. [Ed. Note: Ritsema/Karcher use the phrase: "Viewing Heaven's spirit tao... The all-wise person uses spirit tao to set-up teaching." Spirit(s), SHEN: independent spiritual powers that confer intensity on heart and mind by acting on the soul, KUEI; gods, daimons. Tao: way or path; ongoing process of being and the course it traces for each specific person or thing; keyword. The ideogram: go and head, leading and the path it creates.]
NOTES AND PARAPHRASES
Judgment: Contemplate your motivations and discern the purity of your intent. "Put your money where your mouth is.” or "Walk your talk.”
The Superior Man evaluates and rectifies his attitudes.
The "ancient kings” in the Image symbolize the creators of an original state of perfection -- an archetypal model toward which the superior man aspires. This idea is common to all mystical traditions, many of which depict this state in the image of an ideal or prototypical man. Here is a summary of the Gnostic conception:
Not only the body but also the "soul" is a product of the cosmic powers, which shaped the body in the image of the divine Primal (or Archetypal) Man and animated it with their own psychical forces: these are the appetites and passions of natural man, each of which stems from and corresponds to one of the cosmic spheres [i.e., planets] and all of which together make up the astral soul of man, his "psyche." H. Jonas -- The Gnostic Religion
In the Kabbalah, the template of this archetypal man (named Adam Kadmon) exists in each of the four realms of consciousness corresponding to intuition, intellect, emotion and sensation, and "he" is perceived as androgynous in all of these worlds except the last -- the "sensation” world of our physical spacetime reality.
The Adam of these first three worlds was androgynous. The Adam of the fourth world is the Adam of the expulsion, the Adam of flesh traversing the desert of his exile, and the Adam capable of reproducing himself now that he is no longer androgynous. C. Ponce -- Kabbalah
Considering that androgyny is one of the symbols used in the Western Mystery Tradition to depict the correct union of male and female forces within the psyche, we quickly recognize that the properly matched male and female correlate lines in theI Ching are a Chinese depiction of the identical concept. Note that the messages of the following three quotations are in complete accord with the goal of the Work as outlined in theI Ching:
Somewhere there is an Adam within each of us in need of restoration, in exile from the Garden. The aim of Kabbalism is the restoration of the divine man in the medium of mortal man. We are the laboratory and we are the workers who work in that space. C. Ponce --Kabbalah
Within our six-foot body we must strive for the form which existed before the laying down of heaven and earth. The Secret of the Golden Flower
The destiny of man is to build the Heavenly Jerusalem on Earth. In other words, to civilize a planet. It is the aim of the occultist, in consort with all men of good will, to bring about this heavenly fact into earthly reality. And the only way it will come about is by every man doing the right thing at the right time for twenty-four hours a day. Gareth Knight -- The Work of a Modern Occult Fraternity
The ancient kings in hexagram number-20 base their laws upon their recognition of diversity among the various forces which make up the kingdom of the psyche. Their divine regulations therefore represent the proper ecology existing between heaven and earth, yin and yang, male and female, Logos and Eros. In this regard, theI Ching's version of the Archetypal Man might be seen as hexagram number-63, Completion, in which the polarity of each of the lines is in perfect correlation. (See the editor's commentary on Hexagram number 11 for further insights into this idea.)
The theme of the hexagram is Contemplationof your situation to see if your attitude meets the archetypal standards of the Work. The worshipper in the Judgment has purified himself for sacrifice but has not yet carried it out. Wilhelm uses the word "ablution” in his translation of the Judgment. An ablution is a ritual cleansing associated with a religious rite:
Ablution: In alchemy ... the adept worker achieves [success] only by purifying his soul of all that commonly agitates it. Washing, then, symbolizes the purification not so much of objective and external evil as of subjective and inner evils ... The principle involved in this alchemic process is that implied in the maxim "Deny thyself." J. E. Cirlot --Dictionary of Symbols
It is important to note that the sacrifice has yet to be performed: preparation is meaningless until it is acted upon. Psychologically, this refers to intellectual "gnosis" which still needs to be grounded in behavior.
Wisdom is achieved very slowly. This is because intellectual knowledge, easily acquired, must be transformed into `emotional,' or subconscious, knowledge. Once transformed, the imprint is permanent. Behavioral practice is the necessary catalyst of this reaction. Without action, the concept will wither and fade. Theoretical knowledge without practical application is not enough ... Intellectually the answers have always been there, but this need to actualize by experience, to make the subconscious imprint permanent by `emotionalizing' and practicing the concept, is the key. Brian L. Weiss, MD -- Many Lives, Many Masters
Without changing lines, Contemplation is an oracular invitation for you to consider your situation and especially your motivations in regard to it. One way of doing this is to reduce everything to a brief written statement, including your best conscious conclusions. Then ask for a comment from the oracle -- often it will become apparent that you have been undergoing a kind of examination.
SUGGESTIONS FOR MEDITATION
The ancient kings are mentioned in the Images of both this figure and number twenty-one, Discernment, immediately following. What are the differences between Contemplation and Discernment, as depicted in these images? How does the concept of sacrifice relate to this, as mentioned in the Judgment? Compare the Judgment of this hexagram with hexagrams and lines 17:6, 45:2, 46:2, 46:4, 47:2, 47:5 and 63:5 for further insights on this extremely important tenet of the Work.
Line 4
Legge: La quatrième ligne, magnétique, montre quelqu'un contemplant la gloire du royaume. Il sera avantageux pour elle, étant telle qu'elle est, de chercher à être l'invitée du roi.
Wilhelm/Baynes: Contemplation de la lumière du royaume. Il est bénéfique d'exercer une influence en tant qu'invité d'un roi.
Blofeld: Contempler les conditions d'un royaume nous guide pour savoir si nous devrions devenir les invités du souverain. [Dans la Chine ancienne, de nombreux érudits, tels que Confucius lui-même, erraient de royaume en royaume et de principauté en principauté à la recherche d'un souverain assez sage et vertueux pour profiter de leurs enseignements. C'est en observant les splendeurs ou les misères de chaque royaume qu'ils pouvaient former des jugements préliminaires et ainsi décider si le souverain valait la peine d'être approché ou non. L'implication est que nous ne devons pas accepter quelque chose comme bon sans attendre de découvrir si les prétendues bonnes qualités sont authentiques.]
Liu: Observation de la gloire du pays. Il est bénéfique d'exercer une influence en tant qu'invité du dirigeant.
Ritsema/Karcher: Voir la brillance de la ville. Récolter : profiter d'être invité tendant vers la royauté.
Shaughnessy: Regarder la radiance de l'État ; bénéfique ici d'être reçu en audience par le roi.
Cleary (1): Observer la gloire du pays, il est bénéfique d'être un invité d'un roi.
Wu: Il admire les gloires de la nation. Il sera avantageux d'être un invité honoré du roi.
COMMENTAIRE
Confucius/Legge: Elle contemple la gloire du royaume. De là naît le désir d'être invitée à la cour. Wilhelm/Baynes: On est honoré en tant qu'invité. Blofeld: Ceux qui s'engagent de cette manière jouissent d'une estime universelle. Ritsema/
Karcher: Honorer l'invitation en effet. Cleary (2): Estimer l'hospitalité. Wu: Et le roi honore son invité.
Legge: La ligne quatre, dans une place correctement magnétique, est juste en dessous du souverain de la cinquième ligne correctement dynamique. Elle est donc émue et poussée à l'ambition. La "gloire du royaume" est la vertu du souverain et le noble caractère de son administration.
NOTES ET PARAPHRASES
Siu: La personne qui est consciente des facteurs menant à la gloire de la nation devrait être nommée par le roi à une position d'autorité. Elle devrait être honorée plutôt qu'utilisée comme un outil.
Wing: Vous pouvez maintenant progresser en contemplant la société et en déterminant la meilleure cause, le meilleur leader ou la meilleure organisation que vous pouvez rejoindre ou soutenir. Cette conscience sociale et sa mise en œuvre favoriseront votre croissance, car vous pouvez transcender votre position en tant que membre de la masse et exercer une influence significative.
Éditeur: La première ligne de cet hexagramme est ignorante et superficielle, et n'est pas un corrélat approprié. La ligne quatre tourne correctement ses yeux vers le haut, voit la magnificence de l'Œuvre et accepte ses responsabilités comme un honneur et une confiance sacrée. La différence entre les lignes un et quatre est la différence entre l'ignorance naïve et la sagesse. La différence entre les lignes trois et quatre est la différence entre les problèmes d'ego et le dévouement à l'Œuvre.
Alors que dans certaines traditions l'objectif est de se détacher du monde, la Kabbale affirme que tant que nous sommes en exil, nous faisons le travail donné à Adam, c'est-à-dire cultiver la terre et attendre la venue du Messie. Cela se produira lorsque nous serons aptes à le recevoir, et il peut arriver à tout moment pour chacun de nous. Ainsi, notre position est claire. Nous sommes là où nous sommes nécessaires. Personne ne peut remplir notre place. Chacun de nous a un travail particulier dans l'univers, et nous avons la capacité de remplir ce destin. Mais avant de pouvoir l'accomplir avec une efficacité maximale, nous devons savoir ce que nous sommes et quelle est notre capacité. À cette fin, la Kabbale est étudiée. Z.B.S. Halevi -- Adam and the Kabbalistic Tree
A. Examinez la situation actuelle et faites ce qui doit être fait conformément aux objectifs de l'Œuvre.
B. On accepte la responsabilité de l'Œuvre comme un honneur.
C. Le Soi est la source de votre vérité -- comment pouvez-vous mieux servir ses objectifs maintenant ?
Line 5
Legge : La cinquième ligne, dynamique, montre son sujet contemplant le cours de sa propre vie. Un homme supérieur, il ne tombera ainsi dans aucune erreur.
Wilhelm/Baynes : Contemplation de ma vie. L'homme supérieur est sans reproche.
Blofeld : L'Homme Supérieur ne fait pas de mal en surveillant nos vies. [Il n'est pas mal d'être curieux des affaires des autres si notre motif est de leur être plus utile.]
Liu : Observation de nous-mêmes. Pas de reproche pour l'homme supérieur.
Ritsema/Karcher : Voir ma naissance. Un chun tzu : sans faute.
Shaughnessy : Regarder ma vie ; pour le gentleman, il n'y a pas de problème.
Cleary (1) : Observer la croissance personnelle, une personne supérieure est irréprochable.
Cleary (2) : … Les personnes développées sont impeccables.
Wu : Il examine sa propre vie. Le jun zi est sans reproche.
COMMENTAIRE
Confucius/Legge : Il devrait à cette fin contempler la condition du peuple. Wilhelm/Baynes : "Contemplation de ma vie", c'est-à-dire contemplation du peuple. Blofeld : Dans ce passage, "nos vies" signifie les vies du peuple. Ritsema/Karcher : Voir les gens du commun en effet. Cleary (2) : Ce qui est approprié pour un grand leader est l'équilibre dans l'action. Wu : Il s'occupe en fait de son peuple.
Legge : La ligne cinq est dynamique, et à la place du dirigeant. Il est un homme supérieur, mais cela ne le dispense pas du devoir de contemplation ou d'examen de soi.
NOTES ET PARAPHRASES
Siu : L'homme en position de pouvoir étudie l'impact de sa vie sur le bien-être des autres. S'il se conduit de telle manière que la condition du peuple est toujours bonne, il ne tombera pas dans l'erreur.
Wing : Vous comprendrez ce que l'avenir vous réserve en contemplant l'effet de votre vie sur les autres. Si votre influence et votre exemple sont bons, alors vous êtes sans reproche. Cela, vous le trouverez, est sa propre récompense.
Éditeur : Remarquez que le commentaire confucéen assimile la contemplation du cours de la vie du dirigeant à la contemplation de la condition du peuple. Psychologiquement, "le peuple” représente les divers composants de la psyché, et la ligne est une injonction à comparer notre situation actuelle avec l'image idéale du Travail évoquée dans le Jugement. En d'autres termes, l'oracle ne répondra pas à votre question tant que vous n'aurez pas fait un effort sincère pour analyser votre situation. Souvent, cela entraînera une perspective différente, et annulera soit la question initiale, soit en évoquera une entièrement nouvelle.
Les mouvements semblables à la partie divine en nous sont les pensées et les révolutions de l'univers ; ceux-ci, donc, chaque homme devrait les suivre, et en corrigeant ces circuits dans la tête qui étaient dérangés à la naissance, en apprenant à connaître les harmonies et les révolutions du monde, il devrait amener la partie intelligente, selon sa nature originelle, à la ressemblance de ce que l'intelligence discerne, et ainsi gagner l'accomplissement de la meilleure vie fixée par les dieux devant l'humanité tant pour le temps présent que pour le temps à venir. Platon -- Le Timée
A. Différenciez vos pensées et vos sentiments et comparez votre situation avec l'idéal vers lequel vous aspirez.
Line 6
Legge : La sixième ligne, dynamique, montre son sujet contemplant son caractère pour voir s'il est vraiment celui d'un homme supérieur. Il ne tombera pas dans l'erreur.
Wilhelm/Baynes : Contemplation de sa vie. L'homme supérieur est sans reproche.
Blofeld : Ce ne sera pas non plus une erreur pour l'homme supérieur de contempler sa propre vie.
Liu : Observation de la vie des autres. Pas de reproche pour l'homme supérieur. [C'est un temps de mécontentement.]
Ritsema/Karcher : Observer sa naissance. Un chun tzu : sans faute.
Shaughnessy : Regarder sa vie ; pour le gentleman, il n'y a pas de problème.
Cleary (1) : Observer la croissance, la personne supérieure est irréprochable.
Cleary (2) : … Les personnes développées sont impeccables.
Wu : Il regarde pensivement la vie des gens. Le jun zi est sans reproche.
COMMENTAIRE
Confucius/Legge : Il ne peut pas encore laisser son esprit être en repos. Wilhelm/Baynes : La volonté n'est pas encore apaisée. Blofeld : Il contemple sa propre vie lorsqu'il est troublé quant à la voie à suivre. Ritsema/Karcher : But pas encore égalisé en effet. Cleary (2) : L'esprit n'est pas encore en paix. Wu : Ses aspirations ne sont pas toutes réalisées.
Legge : Il y a une légère différence dans la sixième ligne par rapport à la cinquième qui ne peut guère être exprimée dans une traduction. En modifiant la ponctuation, cependant, la signification différente peut être mise en évidence. La ligne six est dynamique et devrait être considérée en dehors du travail de l'hexagramme, mais il est encore possédé par son esprit et est conduit à l'auto-examen.
NOTES ET PARAPHRASES
Siu : Le sage, qui vit en dehors de la routine du monde, contemple son propre caractère, non pas comme une manifestation égoïste isolée, mais en relation avec les lois de la vie. Il juge que l'absence de reproche est le plus grand bien.
Wing : Vous êtes quelque peu au-delà de la situation et capable de contempler votre vie sans implication égoïste. Vous découvrirez ici que l'absence d'erreur et de reproche est le plus grand bien. La contemplation sans ego est la clé.
Éditeur : Interprété psychologiquement, la cinquième ligne représente un ego contemplant son psychisme multifacette ; ici, la sixième ligne s'est élevée au-dessus de ce point de vue pour contempler la nature de la réalité entière avec laquelle elle souhaite s'unir. La ligne cinq nous demande de regarder à l'intérieur pour voir si les motivations du psychisme sont en accord avec les objectifs du Travail ; la ligne six nous demande d'examiner notre compréhension du processus d'individuation lui-même pour voir si elle est correcte.
Notez que Liu traduit cela comme contemplant "la vie des autres" et Wu "la vie des gens" – dans ces versions, l'objet de la contemplation est placé en dehors du psychisme de l'observateur. En différenciant la ligne 5 de la ligne 6, cette interprétation de leur légère divergence a le plus de sens. Parfois, il y a une implication que vous pourriez mal comprendre quelque chose concernant le Travail.
Le Soi, étant individuel et unique, se manifeste dans le processus d'individuation de l'individu. Mais le Soi est aussi universel et éternel, et sous cet aspect, il se manifeste dans un processus que nous ne pouvons appeler que l'individuation de l'humanité. C'est un processus collectif qui prend la forme d'une extension et d'une différenciation graduelles de la conscience au fil des millénaires. Le drame a commencé dans les brumes grises de l'antiquité et se poursuit à travers les siècles dans un avenir lointain. A. Jaffe -- Le Mythe du Sens
A. Vos motivations sont-elles claires ? Obtenez une vue d'ensemble.
B. Différenciez votre véritable relation avec la question en jeu.
Other titles: The Symbol of Harmonious Joy, Repose, Happiness, Providing-for/Provision, Excess, Merriment, Self-confidence, Contentment, Harmonize, Excitement, Intemperance, Self-deception "Repose in the absolute confidence that the action now being taken is right. Also refers to music." -- D.F. Hook
Judgment
Legge: Enthusiasm indicates that feudal princes may be set up and the army advantageously mobilized.
Wilhelm/Baynes:Enthusiasm. It furthers one to install helpers and to set armies marching.
Blofeld:Repose profits those engaged in building up the country and sending forth armies. [This means that perfect certainty as to the rightness of our cause is of great value under the conditions mentioned. The usual meaning of this character is "beforehand" or "happiness." In the English translation of Wilhelm's version, it appears as "enthusiasm." "Repose" was suggested by the Chinese experts who kindly vetted this manuscript. At first I felt hesitant about adopting it, until I realized that, where it is used favorably, it must be understood as the kind of mental repose which follows absolute confidence that the action now being taken is the right one. In lines one, three and six, however, it clearly means failure to act when action is essential; in line five, failure to act owing to incapacity.]
Liu:Happiness. It is of benefit to build up the country (or business), and send the army forth. [Receivers of this hexagram should be wary of exhibiting excessive enthusiasm when beginning a new undertaking. If they are not, there will be misfortune. The hexagram also advises that everything necessary for advancement should be made ready. Then if an opportunity presents itself, it should be seized immediately, without hesitation.]
Ritsema/Karcher: Providing-for , Harvesting: installing feudatories to move legions. [This hexagram describes your situation in terms of what is needed to meet the future. It emphasizes that accumulating strength through foresight and prudence so things can be fully enjoyed is the adequate way to handle it. To be in accord with the time, you are told to: provide-for!]
Shaughnessy: Excess: Beneficial to establish a lord and to move troops.
Cleary (1):Joy. It is advantageous to set up a ruler and mobilize the army.
Wu:Merriment indicates the advantage of establishing principalities and taking military actions.
The Image
Legge: Thunder exploding out of the Earth -- the image of Enthusiasm. The ancient kings, in accordance with this, composed their music and honored virtue, offering it especially to God when they worshipped him at the service of their ancestors.
Wilhelm/Baynes: Thunder comes resounding out of the earth: the image of Enthusiasm. Thus the ancient kings made music in order to honor merit, and offered it with splendor to the Supreme Deity, inviting their ancestors to be present.
Blofeld: This hexagram symbolizes thunder over the earth. The ancient rulers venerated heaven's gifts with solemn music and they sacrificed abundantly to the Supreme Lord of Heaven in order to be worthy of their ancestors.
Liu: Thunder arising from the earth symbolizes Happiness. The ancient kings composed music to honor virtue, offering it to God and the spirits of their ancestors.
Ritsema/Karcher: Thunder issuing-forth-from earth impetuously. Providing-for. The Earlier Kings used arousing delight to extol actualizing-tao. Exalting worship's Supreme Above. Using equalizing the grandfather predecessors. [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): When thunder emerges the earth stirs: Thus did the kings of yore make music to honor virtue, offering it in abundance to God, thereby to share it with their ancestors.
Wu: Thunder breaks out above the earth with a boom; this is Merriment. Thus the ancient kings used music to praise virtuous accomplishments and made grand offerings to the Supreme Being to be accompanied by their ancestors.
COMMENTARY
Confucius/Legge: Enthusiasm shows one dynamic line inspiring responsive obedience in all the others: devoted obedience takes action. Such obedient action conforms to natural law and creates order and discipline in the people. The planets and the seasons follow their natural cycles. The sages similarly obey the laws of their nature and the people acknowledge their regulations and punishments as just.
Legge:Enthusiasm shows harmony and contentment throughout the kingdom -- a time when the people rejoice in their sovereign and readily obey him. At such a time his appointments and any military undertakings would be hailed and supported. Because he is close to the fifth place of dignity, the dynamic fourth line is seen as the chief executive officer of the ruler. The ruler has confidence in him, and all of the magnetic lines yield their obedience. Obedience is the attribute of the lower trigram which here takes the initiative and uses Movement, which is the attribute of the upper trigram.
The symbolism of the Image is more obscure than usual. The use of music at sacrifices is supposed to assist in producing the union between God and his worshippers as well as the present and past generations.
NOTES AND PARAPHRASES
Judgment: Delegate authority and gather your forces.
The Superior Man synchronizes his will with the intent of the Self via the principles of the Work.
Enthusiasm is the reverse of the preceding hexagram of Temperance. In Temperance we saw the calm strength of a mountain concealed within the earth. In Enthusiasm we see thunder exploding out of the ground into the sky: the strength that was formerly tempered and restrained is now released. It is significant to note that while every line of Temperance is more or less "favorable,” every line of Enthusiasm is either negative or cautionary -- even the generally positive fourth line carries a hint of warning about “doubt.”
Negatively, Self-Deception (the passion of True Believers) seems to be what this hexagram is portraying. The figure often suggests a callow or deluded buoyancy -- the kind of outlook associated with romantic idealists. In its most negative aspect, Enthusiasm is Intemperance -- the exact opposite of the moderation and restraint shown in the preceding hexagram. The behavior of an untrained Great Dane puppy suddenly bursting into a formal dinner party could be described as "enthusiasm,” but hardly a desirable form thereof. The lower trigram of Obedient Devotion has suddenly employed the action and energy of the upper trigram of Thunderous Shock to express itself. This is inconsistent with the code of the superior man.
Conversely, in its most positive sense, Enthusiasm suggests the surety of total self-confidence. Blofeld translates this as Repose, explaining that the name was suggested to him by his Chinese advisors. We begin to understand this subtle distinction when we compare the seemingly obscure connection with music in the Image with a passage from Chuang- tse:
He who understands the music of heaven lives in accordance with nature in his life and takes part in the process of change of things in his death. In repose, his character is in harmony with the yin principle; in activity, his movement is in harmony with the yang principle. Therefore he who understands the music of heaven is not blamed by heaven or criticized by men ... It is said, "In action he is like heaven. In repose he is like the earth ... Because his mind has found repose, therefore the creation pays homage to him.”
To understand “the music of heaven” is to attain Repose, which is another way of describing the tranquility that comes with furthering the intent of the Self. The only dynamic line in the hexagram is in the minister's place just below the fifth-line ruler. He has the confidence of his sovereign and his actions therefore accord with heaven. We can turn to the Stoics to find an illustration of this idea:
My will is simply that which comes to pass. For I esteem what God wills better than what I will. To Him will I cleave as His minister and attendant; having the same movements, the same desires, in a word the same will as He. -- Epictetus
Thus we see that the hexagram can describe either one of two opposite conditions -- the intemperate Enthusiasm of ego-confidence (a synonym for Self-Deception), or the calm Repose of true SELF-confidence. The fifteenth and sixteenth hexagrams, each the inverse of the other, represent magnetic and dynamic aspects of the same general idea: Enthusiasm, when it emanates from the Self, is just Temperance in action.