Stay genuine, trust the flow, and embrace life's unpredictable dance with open arms and sincerity.
From
25
Innocence
To
54
The Marrying Maiden
Changing arguments
One amazes one's friends with one's way of doing things. taoscopy.com
Innocence 25
Embrace spontaneity and authenticity, avoiding needless complexity or pretense. Honor simplicity and genuine intentions, allowing truth to guide your actions without ulterior motives.
↓ Line 2
Focus on the process rather than the outcome, and success will follow naturally.
↓ Line 5
Sometimes, the best course of action is to let things resolve naturally without interference.
↓ Line 6
Even with good intentions, actions taken without understanding the situation can lead to negative outcomes.
↓ The Marrying Maiden54
Proceed cautiously, recognizing limitations and external influences. Adapt to circumstances with humility and patience, but remain aware of your own path and intentions.
Other titles: The Unexpected, The Unintentional, The Symbol of Freedom from Error, Integrity, Without Embroiling, Pestilence, Fidelity, No Error, Freedom from Vainness, Instinctive Goodness, The Simple, Correctness, Subconscious, "Whatever happens, keep calm and do what is right." -- D.F. Hook
Judgment
Legge:Innocenceindicates progress and success through firm correctness. If the action of its subject is incorrect, he will fall into error. In such a case it will not be advantageous to move in any direction.
Wilhelm/Baynes:Innocence. Supreme success. Perseverance furthers. If someone is not as he should be, he has misfortune, and it does not further him to undertake anything.
Blofeld: Integrity. (The Unexpected). [this hexagram has two widely different meanings, both of which occur in what follows.] Sublime success! Righteous persistence brings reward. Those opposed to righteousness meet with injury. It is not favorable to have in view any goal (or destination). [Usually this sentence may be taken to have a wide application; but, in this case, (the Confucian commentary) suggests that it applies only to the enemies of righteousness, though it does have a general application for those who receive a moving line for the sixth place.]
Liu: The Unexpected: sublime success. Benefit. Perseverance. Someone acts incorrectly: misfortune. No benefit for undertakings.
Ritsema/Karcher: Without embroiling. Spring Growing Harvesting Trial. One in-no-way correcting: possessing blunder. Not Harvesting: possessing directed going. [This hexagram describes your situation as being without confusion or fault. It emphasizes that acting while remaining free from entangling, vanity or recklessness is the adequate way to handle it. To be in accord with the time, you are told: act without becoming embroiled!]
Shaughnessy: Pestilence: Prime receipt; beneficial to determine. If it is not upright there will be an inspection; not beneficial to have somewhere to go.
Cleary (1):Fidelity is creative and developmental. It is beneficial to be correct; if it is not correct, there will be disaster, and it will not be beneficial to go anywhere.
Cleary (2):Freedom from error is very successful, beneficial for the upright. Denial of what is correct is mistaken, etc.
Wu:Freedom from Vainness is primordial, pervasive, prosperous and persevering. If it does not stay in the correct course, there will be calamities and there will be no advantage to have any undertaking.
The Image
Legge: Thunder rolls under heaven, and everything manifests its original nature, free from all insincerity. The ancient kings, in accordance with this, made their regulations in complete accordance with the seasons, thereby nourishing all things.
Wilhelm/Baynes: Under heaven thunder rolls: all things attain the natural state of innocence. Thus the kings of old, rich in virtue, and in harmony with the time, fostered and nourished all beings.
Blofeld: This hexagram symbolizes thunder rolling across the whole earth; from it, all things receive their integrity. [The lower trigram is pictured as thunder, but it acts through its power to quicken growth.] The ancient rulers gave abundant and timely nourishment to all.
Liu: Thunder rolls under heaven; everything is innocent. The ancient kings cultivated virtue and used the appropriate time to nourish all beings.
Without embroiling. The Earlier Kings used luxuriance suiting the season to nurture the myriad beings.
Cleary (2): Thunder travels under the sky; things accompany with no error. Ancient kings promoted flourishing appropriate to the time and nurtured myriad beings.
Wu: Thunder moves under heaven. All things participate in the spirit of Freedom from Vainness. The ancient kings acted in time to cause all people and things to flourish.
COMMENTARY
Confucius/Legge: Innocence shows the dynamic first line descending from the upper trigram to become the lord of the hexagram in the lower trigram. We see the attributes of Motive Power and Strength. The dynamic fifth line is central and responded to by the magnetic second line. It is the will of heaven that true progress can only proceed from correctness. If the action of the subject is incorrect he will fall into error, and it will be unfortunate for him to move in any direction. Where can one with the illusion of innocence proceed? Can anything be accomplished by someone without the assistance of heaven's will?
Legge: Of the two Chinese characters which symbolize Innocence, one is the symbol of being reckless, and often of being insincere; these two characters in combination describe a state of entire freedom from such a condition. The subject of the hexagram therefore, is one who is simple and sincere. This quality is characteristic of heaven, and of the highest style of humanity. The figure is an essay on this noble attribute. But an absolute rectitude is essential to it. The nearer one comes to the ideal of the quality, the more powerful will be his influence and the greater his success. But let him see to it that he never swerve from being correct.
Anthony: Innocence means to let go of the present, thereby letting the future become what it will and being at peace with it… When we have learned to do a thing for its own sake, we know the meaning of innocence… In keeping our minds open and free, we are able to meet unexpected events with the help of the Creative, which always points out the correct and most appropriate response.
NOTES AND PARAPHRASES
Judgment: Success is possible only if you are impeccably correct. If such is not the case, take no action at all. ("Let him who is without sin cast the first stone.")
The Superior Man acts in harmony with the times.
The ancient kings in the Image are mentioned by name in seven hexagrams. (See the commentary on hexagram number 20, Contemplation, for a fuller discussion of their symbolism.) Here, the Image shows them synchronizing their laws with the "laws of nature" -- an archetypal concept which is found in many mystical traditions. Here is the alchemical version:
The individual terrestrial life should correspond to the laws governing the universe; man's spiritual aspirations should be directed to harmonize with the wisdom of God. If we accomplish this, the inner consciousness will awaken to an understanding of the influences of the stars, and the mysteries of Nature will be revealed to his spiritual perception. Paracelsus
In terms of the hexagram of Innocence, the idea is that if you are truly synchronized with your inner cosmos, if you are truly "innocent" (i.e., perfect), you may succeed under the prevailing conditions, but if you are not in complete inner accord you would be well advised to sit tight and take no action. To paraphrase the last sentence of the Confucian commentary: "Can the ego do anything advantageously without the concurrence of the Self?"
“Be ye therefore perfect, even as your father which is in heaven is perfect.” Matthew 5: 48
To use the Christian injunction in illustration: the upper trigram of Heaven is perfect, and the lower trigram of Movement is asked to reflect on how far he conforms to this ideal. In psychological terms, how do the goals of the ego compare with those of the Self, the entity to whom the Work is dedicated?
Wilhelm has some interesting commentary on this hexagram, stating that it can indicate unexpected misfortune. In his book,Lectures on the I Ching, he comments:
Wu Wang is very peculiar, and its name is not easy to translate. I have used "Innocence," or the “Unintentional." Having meanwhile thought about the matter more, I would today render Wu Wang with the term “Subconscious," even though this expression seems somewhat too modern ... That which as [Divorcement] severs life enters here into unconscious realms ... Because the shock is within and is unconscious, it cannot take its course, and therefore causes the unexpected to happen. An unexpected disaster is afoot; something may be robbed or stolen.
See line three and its commentaries for further insights into Wilhelm's ideas here.
To receive this hexagram without changing lines is tantamount to being asked if you are perfect enough to take action without harm. Sometimes, depending on circumstances, it can also suggest that your position is correct and blameless. As always, the context of your query will leave no doubt when this latter interpretation is intended. If there is doubt, rephrase the question and ask until you understand. The oracle uses ambiguity to develop your intuition -- especially so on those occasions when all you want is a quick answer.
SUGGESTIONS FOR MEDITATION
Compare what is said here about the Ancient Kings with what is said about them in hexagrams 8, 16, 20, 21, 24, and 59. What common theme unites them, and how does it relate to the concept of the Work?
Line 2
Legge: The second line, magnetic, shows one who reaps without having
ploughed, and gathers the produce of her third year's fields without having cultivated them for that end. To such a one there will be advantage in whatever direction she may move.
Wilhelm/Baynes: If one does not count on the harvest while plowing, nor on the use of the ground while clearing it, it furthers one to undertake something.
Blofeld: Do not calculate the size of the harvest while the ploughing is still in progress, nor gloat over the third year's crop while still planting the virgin ground. It is favorable to seek some object (or destination).
Liu: Do not count the harvest while planting, nor plow the field that lies in fallow. There is advantage in undertaking something.
Ritsema/Karcher: Not tilling the crop. Not clearing the plow-land. By-consequence, Harvesting: possessing directed going.
Shaughnessy: Not sowing or reaping, not breaking new fields nor working old fields; beneficial to have someplace to go.
Cleary (1): Not plowing or harvesting, not making new fields, then it is beneficial to go somewhere.
Cleary (2): Not plowing for the harvest, it is beneficial to go somewhere.
Wu: If he does not expect to reap as he plows the field, or if he does not expect to harvest in a “ripe” field when he cultivates a raw land, he will have the advantage of moving ahead.
COMMENTARY
Confucius/Legge: She reaps without having ploughed -- the thought of riches to be gotten had not risen in her mind. Wilhelm/Baynes: One does not seek wealth. Blofeld: It is not meet to calculate profits as such an early stage, nor can we expect to become rich soon. Ritsema/Karcher: Not-yet affluence indeed. Cleary (2): One is not enriched. [This means aspiring only to attain enlightenment, not thinking of riches or rank. Then it is beneficial to go somewhere.] Wu: For he is not after material rewards.
Legge: Line two is magnetic, central, and in her correct place. She is entirely free from selfish or mercenary motives. She is good for the sake of goodness, and things are such that her action will be successful. She does what she does because it is right, not because of any gain it might bring to her.
NOTES AND PARAPHRASES
Siu: The man succeeds in everything he undertakes. He does not proceed with mercenary or selfish interests in mind but does good things for their own sake. Unsought wealth will come his way.
Wing: Do not dream about the results of your work or the attainment of your goal. Instead, take action for its own sake and devote your full attention to what you are now doing. Only in this way can you achieve your aim.
Anthony: Innocence means to answer the duty required by the moment, regardless of consequences, looking neither forward nor backward. If we have hopes and expectations, we are disappointed when things do not work out on our imagined schedule.
Editor: The idea here is that the times are favorable to undertake something only if you are free of ulterior motives. Because Wilhelm's translation of this line is conditional, there is a suggestion that there may be some temptation toward selfishness within the situation. Keep an open mind and remain receptive to your experience.
Think of the flowers; they never have to spin or weave; yet, I assure you, not even Solomon in all his regalia was robed like one of these... You must not set your hearts on things to eat and things to drink; nor must you worry... Your Father well knows you need them. No; set your hearts on his kingdom, and these other things will be given to you as well. Luke 12: 27-32
A. You aren't out to make a point, but to do something for its own sake.
B. "Don't count your chickens before they're hatched."
Line 5
Legge: The fifth line, dynamic, shows one who is free from insincerity, and yet has fallen ill. Let him not use medicine, and he will have occasion for joy in his recovery.
Wilhelm/Baynes: Use no medicine in an illness incurred through no fault of your own. It will pass of itself.
Blofeld: Unexpected illness, but it will be best not to treat it.
Liu: For an unexpected illness, use no medicine. Good fortune will follow.
Ritsema/Karcher: Without Embroiling's affliction. No medicinal herbs, possessing rejoicing.
Shaughnessy: The pestilence's illness: there is no medicine but there is happiness.
Cleary (1): For sickness without error don’t use medicine; there will be joy.
Wu: He feels sick being free from vainness. He will be happy for having taken no medicine.
COMMENTARY
Confucius/Legge: Medicine in the case of one who is free from insincerity should not be tried at all. Wilhelm/Baynes: One should not try an unknown medicine. Blofeld: What this really means is that we should avoid applying untried remedies. Ritsema/Karcher: Not permitting testing indeed. Cleary (2): Medicine should not be tried when nothing is wrong. Wu: No medicine should be taken for being free from vainness.
Legge: Line five is dynamic in the central place of honor, and has a proper correlate in line two. Hence he must possess the qualities of the hexagram in perfection. Nevertheless, he is sick or in distress. He need not be anxious -- without his efforts a way of escape will be opened for him. The idea is that sickness shouldn't happen to one who is perfectly sincere, and if it does happen it must refer to some inexplicable will of Heaven. If such is the cause, then so shall it cure.
NOTES AND PARAPHRASES
Siu: Unexpected evil comes to the man through no fault of his own. He should not anxiously resort to hasty remedies. Nature will overcome the evil in her own way and at her own pace.
Wing: What may appear as an unfortunate turn of events has internal causes. External remedies will not solve the problem. What is occurring is an inner process. Let nature take its course. The solution will come of itself.
Editor: Wilhelm observes: "That he appears ill comes from his way of taking the illnesses of others upon himself.” This can refer to both other people in the outer world, or to "others" in the inner world of the psyche -- our autonomous drives, appetites, emotions, etc. The psychological concept of "co- dependence” often applies to this line.
I have reflected a great deal upon the magical powers of the soul of man, and I have discovered a great many secrets in Nature, and I will tell you that he only can be a true physician who has acquired this power. If our physicians did possess it, their books might be burnt and their medicines be thrown into the ocean, and the world would be all the more benefited by it. Paracelsus
A. Do nothing and things will improve by themselves.
B. You bear the illusions of others as if they were your own. Co-dependence helps nobody.
C. "If it ain't broke, don't fix it."
Line 6
Legge: The sixth line, dynamic, shows its subject free from insincerity, yet sure to fall into error if he takes action. His action will not be advantageous in any way.
Blofeld: If it is unexpected, a journey now would be injurious. This is a time favorable for those with no destination in view.
Liu: Innocent action brings disaster. No advantage.
Ritsema/Karcher: Without Embroiling. Moving possessing blunder. Without direction: Harvesting. [Without direction: Harvesting, WU YU Li: no plan or direction is advantageous; in order to take advantage of the situation, do not impose a direction on events.]
Shaughnessy: The pestilence's motion; there is an inspection; there is no place to benefit.
Cleary (1): If fidelity in action has faults, there is no benefit. [This is fidelity not knowing when enough is enough.]
Cleary (2): Even if there is no error, action involves misfortune, so no benefit is gained. [This refers to clinging to a constant and not knowing how to change adaptively.]
Wu: Even without vainness, he will face calamities if he chooses to act. There is nothing to gain. [The sixth is not a position for doing anything aggressively. There is nothing sensible for the sixth to undertake. Doing what is not supposed to be done is an overextension.]
COMMENTARY
Confucius/Legge: Action is inappropriate now because the time for it has passed. Wilhelm/Baynes: Action without reflection brings about the evil of bewilderment. Blofeld: An unexpected journey now would plunge us into a state of dangerous exhaustion. Ritsema/Karcher: Exhaustion's calamity indeed. Cleary (2): Action without error involves misfortune when it comes to an impasse. Wu: the action taken without vainness will result in calamities from overextension.
Legge: Line six is at the top of the hexagram, and comes into the field when the action has run its course. He should be still, and not initiate any fresh movement. When a thing is over and done, submission and acquiescence are what are required -- not renewed attempts at action.
Anthony: When innocent action begins to meet with resistance, it is best to disconnect and fall back on acceptance. We should work with a situation only when it works with us, going only so far as openness in the other person allows. Waiting quietly without ulterior designs means to truly disconnect, inwardly, and go on our way.
NOTES AND PARAPHRASES
Siu: The time is not ripe for further progress. The man keeps still. Activities in opposition to fate will not help him in any way.
Wing: Progress is impossible. Even innocent actions will create chaos. Do not attempt anything new, nor try to improve upon your surroundings. Do not do anything at all.
Editor: Wilhelm compares the import of this line to line six of The Dynamic:"Arrogant dragon will have cause to repent.” Ritsema/Karcher’s “In order to take advantage of the situation, do not impose a direction on events” puts a slightly different spin on the meaning, suggesting that circumstances will improve if you can keep from meddling.
Today's achievement is only tomorrow's confusion. -- W. D. Howells
A. Ignorant choices create confused consequences.
B. Sit tight -- allow the situation to unfold without taking action.
Other titles: The Marrying Maiden, The Symbol of the Marriage of the Younger Sister, Marriageable Maiden, The Marrying Girl, Subordinate, The Second Wife, Converting Maidenhood, Returning maiden, Making a young girl marry, Marrying a young girl, Marrying a Maiden, Unilateral Action, Impropriety, Improper Advances, "Deals with life and death, sex and birth. It contains a warning about a person or situation. It deals essentially with discrimination. The first step on the Path without which we are useless." -- D.F. Hook
Judgment
Legge:Propriety indicates that action will be evil, and in no wise advantageous.
Wilhelm/Baynes: The Marrying Maiden. Undertakings bring misfortune. Nothing that would further.
Blofeld:The Marriageable Maiden. Advance brings misfortune. No goal (or destination) is now favorable.
Liu: The Marrying Girl. Undertaking leads to misfortune. Nothing benefits.
Ritsema/Karcher: Converting Maidenhood, chastising: pitfall. Without direction: Harvesting. [Without direction: Harvesting: ... In order to take advantage of the situation, do not impose a direction on events.] [This hexagram describes your situation in terms of the changing status of someone who cannot control their circumstances. It emphasizes that finding a real field of activity through accepting this imposition is the adequate way to handle it...]
Shaughnessy:Returning maiden: To be upright is inauspicious; there is no place beneficial.
Cleary (1): Making a young girl marry: To go on will lead to misfortune; no profit is gained.
Cleary (2):Marrying a young girl. To go on an expedition leads to misfortune, with nothing gained.
Wu: Marrying a Maiden indicates that it will be foreboding to make moves. There is nothing to be gained.
The Image
Legge: The waters of a Marsh with Thunder over it form the hexagram of Propriety. The superior man, in accordance with this, having regard to the far-distant end, knows the mischief that may be done at the beginning.
Wilhelm/Baynes: Thunder over the lake: the image of The Marrying Maiden. Thus the superior man understands the transitory in the light of the eternity of the end.
Blofeld: This hexagram symbolizes thunder over a pool. The Superior Man knows that, to achieve an enduring end, he must be aware of his mistakes at the beginning.
Liu: Thunder over the lake symbolizes the Marrying Girl. The superior man knows the cause of error, and persists in his virtue to the end.
Ritsema/Karcher: Above marsh possessing thunder. Converting Maidenhood. A chun tzu uses perpetually completing to know the cracked.
Cleary (1): There is thunder above a lake, making a young girl marry. Thus superior people persist to the end and know what is wrong.
Cleary (2): Thunder over a lake – Marrying a young girl. Developed people consider lasting results and know what is wrong. [The way developed people handle things is that before they take the time to ask how to start something, they first consider lasting results. If they think of lasting results, they know what is wrong with acting prematurely, like marrying an immature girl. If you understand the meaning of this, you can apply it to government and to contemplating mind as well.]
Wu: There is thunder above the marsh; this is Marrying a Maiden. Thus, the jun zi in the pursuit of lasting excellence realizes the flaws and corrects them.
COMMENTARY
Confucius/Legge: In the marriage of a young bride the proper relationship between heaven and earth is seen. Nothing could grow or flourish if heaven and earth did not unite. The marriage of a young bride is therefore both the commencement and goal of humanity. But here the desire of pleasure employs movement to attain union. This action will be evil because the lines are in inappropriate places, and the magnetic three and five are mounted on dynamic lines.
Legge: The Chinese phrase for this hexagram might be equivalent to the English "giving in marriage,” but there are some special meanings in this case which must be understood. The Judgment gives a bad auspice because the trigram of the Youngest Daughter is beneath the trigram of the Eldest Son. Since the action of the hexagram begins with the lowest trigram, we have two violations of propriety. First, the marriage is initiated by the woman and her friends. She goes unilaterally to her future home instead of the bridegroom coming to fetch her. Second, the parties are unequally matched -- there is too great a disparity in their ages. In addition, all the lines in the hexagram except the top and the bottom are in places inappropriate for them. Some commentators insist that the symbol of the contracting of a marriage in this hexagram sets forth some principles which should obtain in the relation between a ruler and his ministers.
The growth of things in nature from the interaction of heaven and earth is analogous to the increase of mankind through the interaction between male and female in marriage. The K'ang-hsi editors reconcile this good auspice with the unfavorable Judgment by saying: "The interaction of the yin and yang cannot be dispensed with, but we ought to be careful about it in the beginning in order to prevent mischief in the end.” The error here is that the desire for the marriage originated with the lady, and that she is heedless of the disparity in their ages.
NOTES AND PARAPHRASES
Judgment: Propriety means that unilateral action is inappropriate.
The Superior Man understands that the Work is guided from within, and that choices which ignore this truth can only retard its progress. (Present actions originate future consequences: pay heed to your choices.)
The traditional name for this hexagram is The Marrying Maiden -- a title which does not convey to modern western readers the subtlety of its symbolism. Blofeld says: "This hexagram is, on the whole, a most unfortunate omen ... We must not suppose that it deals only with marriage. What is said about the maiden symbolizes in some way or other what we may expect for ourselves within the context of our enquiry." The figure is certainly difficult, but "unfortunate" only if its import is resisted or denied: any portrayal of our situation which eliminates illusion (however painful the realization), must be regarded as a positive lesson.
Although the Confucian commentary describes this hexagram in terms of self-seeking aspiration, the wretched protagonist of the figure is not invariably culpable, and neither Judgment nor Image imply this. In addition to being at the very bottom of the social pecking order, the maiden is portrayed as half-blind, crippled and a "slave." Although condemned by the commentators for importuning a marriage that would raise her status, a close reading of the lines reveals that only the sixth place suggests possible impropriety -- the others all contain advice about how one of extremely low status should cope with restricted circumstances. The hexagram therefore can deal with either of two possible conditions: those involving Proprietyand those involving Making-do as an adaptation to adversity.
In the first instance, it is useful to compare the symbolism here with that of the preceding hexagram of Gradual Progress. There we see the organic progression of the Work allegorized as the proper marriage of a young woman. In this case, Gradual Progress has been turned upside down and the symbolism reversed: this young woman improperly pursues a marriage on her own initiative. Psychologically interpreted, it can be regarded as an image of the ego pushing its own agenda or desire for union.
The ego may move in directions and toward actions that are at variance with the intentions and standards of the Self ... The mature adult needs to recognize eventually his or her relative limitedness vis-à-vis the "Self- field" and the cosmic organism of which s/he is but a cell. We are subject to the ordering and growth intents of the entelechy of the whole. E. C. Whitmont -- The Alchemy of Healing
To recognize our `relative limitedness “vis-à-vis the Self-field” is to renounce our claim to unilateral action. Though the ego ardently desires a marriage with the Self, only the Self can initiate such a union. Chou Tun I, an early Neo-Confucian, makes an observation which illuminates Legge's Image:
"The superior man, in accordance with this, having regard to the far-distant end, knows the mischief that may be done at the beginning. The most important things in the world are tendencies. Tendencies may be strong or weak. If a tendency is extremely strong, it cannot be controlled. But it is possible to control it quickly if one realizes that it is strong. To control it requires effort. If one does not realize early enough, it will not be easy to apply effort.”
To receive this hexagram without changing lines can be an admonition to examine your motives and actions in the matter at hand. Where are you out of line? If no obvious impropriety is involved, it could also portray an essentially impotent predicament. At such times Ritsema/Karcher's synopsis bears repetition: "This hexagram describes your situation in terms of the changing status of someone who cannot control their circumstances. It emphasizes that finding a real field of activity through accepting this imposition is the adequate way to handle it.”
SUGGESTIONS FOR MEDITATION
Compare Propriety with hexagram number fifty-three, Gradual Progress, then compare them both with hexagram number thirty-one,Initiative. What are the similarities in their ideas? Now look at hexagrams number eleven, seventeen and twenty-two and observe the over-all philosophy which begins to emerge.