Step back to regain strength and clarity, then boldly voice your truth to empower meaningful change.
From
33
Retreat
To
43
Breakthrough
Transmitting one's requirements to whoever it concerns.
One promises others to be silent if they are willing to pay the sum agreed upon. taoscopy.com
Retreat33
Step back and reassess. Retreat to gain strength and clarity. Focus on inner resources, conserve energy, and observe quietly. Let go gracefully, avoid confrontation, and prepare for future action.
↓ Line 1
At the beginning of retreat, it is important to recognize the danger and avoid taking action that could lead to entanglement.
↓ Line 2
A firm and gentle retreat is secure and cannot be easily disrupted.
↓ Line 6
A joyful and willing retreat leads to progress and success in all endeavors.
↓ Breakthrough 43
Break through obstacles with determination and clarity. Confront negativity openly while maintaining integrity and wisdom. The truth must be revealed, yet patience is required.
Other titles: The Symbol of Retirement, Yielding, Withdrawal, Retiring, Wielding, Strategic Withdrawal, Inaccessibility, Disassociation from Inferior Forces, “When an opportunity for something better comes along, do not quarrel with an impossible situation.” -- D. F. Hook
Judgment
Legge:Retreatmeans successful progress. Advantage comes from firm correctness and attention to details.
Wilhelm/Baynes: Retreat . Success. In what is small, perseverance furthers.
Blofeld: Yielding. Success! Persistence in small things wins advantage. [Much of the teaching of the Book of Change is concerned with the wisdom of restraint or withdrawal as the best way of achieving our goal under certain circumstances; so this hexagram is not necessarily unfavorable to the wise. This is not a time when we can hope to achieve much; but attention to small matters will stand us in good stead later.]
Liu: Retreat. Success. To persist in small matters is of benefit.
Ritsema/Karcher:Retiring, Growing. The small: Harvesting Trial. [This hexagram describes your situation in terms of conflict and consequent seclusion. It emphasizes that withdrawing from the affairs at hand to conceal yourself in obscurity is the adequate way to handle it. To be in accord with the time, you are told to: retire!]
Shaughnessy: Wielding: Receipt; little beneficial to determine.
Cleary (1): Withdrawal is developmental. The small is beneficial and correct.
Cleary (2): Withdrawal is successful. Small benefit is correct.
Wu: Retreat indicates pervasion. It will be advantageous for the little men to be persevering.
The Image
Legge: A mountain beneath the sky -- the image of Retreat. The superior man keeps inferior men at a distance by his dignified bearing rather than hostility.
Wilhelm/Baynes: Mountain under heaven: the image of Retreat. Thus the superior man keeps the inferior man at a distance, not angrily but with reserve. [He does not hate him, for hatred is a form of subjective involvement by which we are bound to the hated object.]
Blofeld: This hexagram symbolizes mountains beneath the sky. The Superior Man, by keeping his distance from men of inferior character, avoids having to display wrath and preserves his dignity. [The component trigrams, symbolizing mountain and sky, indicate withdrawal to a solitary place when circumstances are unfavorable.]
Liu: The mountain beneath the sky symbolizes Retreat. The superior man keeps his distance from the inferior, not with anger, but with dignity.
Ritsema/Karcher: Below heaven possessing mountain. Retiring. A chun tzu uses distancing Small People. A chun tzu uses not hating and-also intimidating.
Cleary (1): There are mountains under heaven, which is inaccessible. Thus do superior people keep petty people at a distance, being stern without ill will.
Cleary (2): … Being strict without ill will.[Petty people can be useful, so there is no ill-will, but their pettiness cannot wield authority, so be strict. In terms of learning to be a sage, the celestial ruler is the master, and the physical body takes orders from it, so that the desires of the various parts of the body cannot cause disturbance.]
Wu: There is a mountain under heaven; this is Retreat. Thus the jun zi distances himself from the little men, not because of despising them, but because of maintaining his own esteem. [The difference between the jun zi and the little men is one of education and not of birth. Confucius was a teacher first and a philosopher second, for he said: “Education is classless.” Every one of us has the potential of becoming a sage.]
COMMENTARY
Confucius/Legge: There is progress in Retreat. The dynamic ruler in the fifth place receives a proper response from his correlate in line two. The action is in accordance with the requirements of the time because what is inferior is gradually increasing and advancing. The actions required during a Retreat are of great significance.
Legge: Retreat is the hexagram of the sixth month when the yin influence, represented by the two magnetic lines, has established a foothold. This suggests the growth of inferior and unprincipled men in the state, before whose advance superior men are obliged to retire. Yet the auspice of Retreat is not all bad. By firm correctness the threatened evil may be arrested to some extent. Ch'eng-tzu says: “Below the sky is the mountain. The mountain rises up below the sky, and its height is arrested, while the sky goes up higher and higher, till they come to be apart from each other. In this we have an emblem of retiring and avoiding.”
Anthony: The correct time for retreat comes when others are not receptive to us, when delicacy of feeling is lost, when we begin to be attacked by doubt, or when our actions no longer yield progress. The person who can hold his ego in check has many creative moments open to him.
NOTES AND PARAPHRASES
Judgment: When carried out with shrewd discernment, Retreat is a strategy for success.
The Superior Man removes himself from disintegrating forces without calling attention to himself. He controls his weaknesses by maintaining his serious purpose.
With the possible exception of line two, there is very little ambiguity in the hexagram of Retreat. Without changing lines it is a clear injunction to remove yourself from an inferior situation, influence, emotion or way of thinking. The figure has certain affinities with hexagram number forty- four: Temptation which also depicts an inferior element encroaching from below.
To yield is to be preserved whole. Lao-tse
SUGGESTIONS FOR MEDITATION
Compare hexagrams number forty-four, Temptation; number thirty-three, Retreat; and number twelve, Divorcement; in that order. What are the next three logical hexagrams in the sequence, and what are the implications of the series as a whole?
Line 1
Legge: The first line, magnetic, shows a retiring tail. The position is perilous. No movement in any direction should be made.
Wilhelm/Baynes: At the tail in retreat. This is dangerous. One must not undertake anything. [Since the hexagram is the picture of something that is retreating, the lowest line represents the tail and the top line the head. In a retreat it is advantageous to be at the front.]
Blofeld: Withdrawal to the hindermost point -- trouble! It is useless to seek any goal or destination at such a time.
Liu: The tail in retreat. (Someone closely following.) Danger. No undertakings.
Ritsema/Karcher: Retiring tail, adversity. No availing-of possessing directed going.
Shaughnessy: Wield the tail; danger; do not herewith have any place to go.
Cleary (1): Withdrawing the tail is dangerous; don’t go anywhere with this.
Wu: To retreat in the rear is perilous. He should not undertake it.
COMMENTARY
Confucius/Legge: If no movement is made, what disaster can there be? Wilhelm/Baynes: If one undertakes nothing while exposed to the danger of the retreating tail, what misfortune could befall one? Blofeld: If you refrain from moving back so far what misfortune can overtake you? Ritsema/ Karcher: Not going wherefore calamity indeed. Cleary (2): If you do not go anywhere, what trouble will there be? Wu: How can retreat in the rear be perilous if he does not undertake it?
Legge: A retiring tail suggests the idea of the subject of the line hurrying away, which would only aggravate the evil and danger of the time.
NOTES AND PARAPHRASES
Siu: At the outset, the man is in a perilous position at the end of the retreating column still in contact with the enemy. No action should be undertaken under such circumstances.
Wing: Your position in the situation is in close proximity to an adversary. It would have been to your advantage to Retreat earlier. Do not take any action now, as it will only invite danger.
Anthony: Our ego keeps engaged with the negative power through looking at and examining the issue. We may be considering a compromise with the evil element, or remain involved with desire, fear, anger, impatience or anxiety. We must disconnect, not looking at the situation with our mind’s eye.
Editor: In vulgar English: "Your ass is exposed!" This suggests the analogy of being threatened by a barking dog -- the surest way to be bitten is to show fear and run. The best strategy is to remain as calm as possible, and then slowly back off. Ritsema/Karcher's definition of "adversity" includes the idea of a malevolent spiritual force: "pacifying or exorcizing such a spirit can have a healing effect."
The discreet man sees danger and takes shelter, the ignorant go forward and pay for it. Proverbs 22:3
A. You are exposed and vulnerable. Stay calm -- do nothing rash when exposed to threatening forces and you'll survive.
Line 2
Legge: The second line, magnetic, shows its subject holding her purpose as if by a thong made from the hide of a yellow ox, which cannot be broken.
Wilhelm/Baynes: He holds him fast with yellow ox-hide. No one can tear him loose.
Blofeld: He bound it with thongs of yellow ox-hide and no one could untie it.
Liu: If his will is strong, like yellow ox-hide, no one can dissuade him.
Shaughnessy: Uphold it using a yellow ox's bridle; no one will succeed in overturning it.
Cleary (1): Use the hide of a yellow ox to fasten this; no one can loosen it.
Wu: He holds fast to his decision with the hide of a yellow cow. Nobody can dissuade him.
COMMENTARY
Confucius/Legge: Her purpose is firm. Wilhelm/Baynes: This means a firm will. Blofeld: This symbolizes a powerful will.Ritsema/Karcher: Firm purpose indeed. Cleary (2): (This) means making the will firm. Wu: Indicates a firm will.
Legge:"Her purpose" in line two is the purpose to withdraw. The magnetic two responds correctly to the dynamic fifth line, and both are central. The purpose therefore is symbolized as in the text. The yellow color of the ox is introduced because of its being correct, and of a piece with the central place of the line.
NOTES AND PARAPHRASES
Siu: The man holds fast to the purpose of withdrawal but with due moderation.
Wing: You lack sufficient strength to make a complete withdrawal. If you can maintain a strong desire to Retreat or align yourself with one in a position to guide you, you can make your escape.
Anthony : Our own inferiors want, and ultimately have a right to justice. Justice may not, however, be procured through the demands and leadership of our ego. It will come about only through the firm leadership of our superior self, which through perseverance and disengagement, wins the help of the hidden world.
Editor: There is a fair amount of ambiguity in this line, and the meaning can fluctuate according to circumstances. Most translations refer to "will" or "purpose" in either the line or its Confucian commentary -- this is a reference to the strong ox-hide. Because the meaning of the hexagram is derived from the symbolism of inferior forces encroaching from below (which includes this line), it could be interpreted as a tenacious negative influence operating in the situation. "Will" associated with an inferior entity could relate to the uncanny power of instincts and passions within the psyche. On the other hand, the ox-hide is yellow, and this is the color of the mean. The line is also central with a proper correlate, so the auspice can also be positive. Wilhelm comments that it symbolizes an inferior man who wants to change his status, and holds fast to the superior man above him. He likens the situation to Jacob's battle with the angel in Genesis 32:
And there was one that wrestled with him until daybreak who seeing that he could not master him, struck him in the socket of his hip, and Jacob's hip was dislocated as he wrestled with him. He said, "Let me go, for day is breaking." But Jacob answered, "I will not let you go unless you bless me." He then asked, "What is your name?" "Jacob," he replied. He said, "Your name shall no longer be Jacob, but Israel, because you have been strong against God, you shall prevail against men."
A. By holding fast to a superior principle, a weak element escapes from danger.
B. The image of an entrenched inferior power.
Line 6
Legge: The sixth line, dynamic, shows its subject retiring in a noble way. It will be advantageous in every respect.
Wilhelm/Baynes: Cheerful retreat. Everything serves to further.
Blofeld: A "sleek" withdrawal -- everything is favorable! [The Chinese commentators suggest that this means going to live in retirement. They add that the phrase also implies excellent health.]
Liu: Retreat after success. Everything is favorable.
Ritsema/Karcher: Rich Retiring, without not Harvesting.
Shaughnessy: Fattened wielding; there is nothing not beneficial.
Cleary (1): Rich withdrawal is wholly beneficial.
Cleary (2): Withdrawal of the rich is beneficial to all.
Wu: Retreat at his leisure is never disadvantageous.
COMMENTARY
Confucius/Legge: He who does so has no doubts about his course. Wilhelm/ Baynes: Because there is no longer any possibility of doubt. Blofeld: In this case, there cannot be the smallest doubt. [I.e. not the smallest doubt as to the wisdom of withdrawal.] Ritsema/Karcher: Without a place to doubt indeed. Cleary (2): Wu: His mind is free from doubt.
Legge: Line six is dynamic, with no correlate in line three to detain him. He vigorously and happily carries out the idea of the hexagram.
NOTES AND PARAPHRASES
Siu: No doubt exists as to the need for retirement. The man resigns in a gracious manner.
Wing: You are sufficiently removed from the situation and able to Retreat without guilt or doubt. Here you are blessed with great good fortune. You will find rewarding success in your endeavors.
Editor: The image suggests that you already know what to do in the situation at hand -- remove yourself without further ado.
It is because [the Sage] does not contend that no one in the world can contend against him. Lao-Tse
A. You can remove yourself from the situation at hand with a clear conscience.
B. Do not hesitate to abandon an inferior idea immediately.
C. Image of a high-minded or spiritually motivated withdrawal.
Other titles: Break-through, The Symbol of Decision, Resolution, Determination, Parting, Removing Corruption, Eradication
Judgment
Legge: Recognizing the risks involved in criminal prosecution, justice demands a resolute proof of the culprit's guilt in the royal court. One informs one's own city that armed force is not necessary. In this way progress is assured.
Wilhelm/Baynes:Break-through. One must resolutely make the matter known at the court of the king. It must be announced truthfully. Danger. It is necessary to notify one's own city. It does not further to resort to arms. It furthers one to undertake something.
Blofeld: Resolution. When a proclamation is made at the court of the King, frankness in revealing the true state of affairs is dangerous. [In vital matters, frankness may prove dangerous.] In making announcements to the people of his own city, it is not fitting for the ruler to carry arms. [It is better to repose trust in our own people.] It is favorable to have some goal (or destination).
Liu: Determination. Someone is proud in the king's court, and the king trusts him. If one exposes the truth, danger. It must be told to one's own people. Using force does not benefit. It does benefit to do something else. [You must decide how to deal with a situation before it reaches a dangerous point, or things will take their own course and overwhelm you.]
Ritsema/Karcher:Parting, displaying tending-towards kingly chambers. Conforming, crying-out, possessing adversity. Notifying originates from the capital. Not Harvesting: approaching arms. Harvesting: possessing directed going. [This hexagram describes your situation in terms of separation and diverging directions. It emphasizes that resolutely dividing your energies is the adequate way to handle it...]
Shaughnessy:Resolution: Raised up at the royal court, returning crying out; there is danger. Announcing from the sky; not beneficial to regulate the belligerents; beneficial to have someplace to go.
Cleary (1): Parting is lauded in the royal court. The call of truth involves danger. Addressing one’s own domain, it is not beneficial to go right to war, but it is beneficial to go somewhere. [The royal court is the abode of the mind-ruler, where true and false are distinguished.]
Cleary (2): Decision is brought up in the royal court. A sincere statement involves danger, etc.
Wu:Eradication indicates a conceited pronouncement in the royal court on the one hand, and a concerted call for vigilance on the other. It is essential to make the danger known to the people, but not to resort to force now. It is advantageous to have undertakings.
The Image
Legge: The image of the waters of a marsh mounting over heaven forms Resoluteness. The superior man, in accordance with this, does not hoard his wealth, but shares it with his subordinates.
Wilhelm/Baynes: The lake has risen up to heaven: the image of Break-through. Thus the superior man dispenses riches downward and refrains from resting on his virtue.
Blofeld: This hexagram symbolizes a marshy lake being drawn (sucked) towards the sky. The Superior Man distributes his emoluments to those below; dwelling in virtue, he renounces them.
Liu: The lake ascends to heaven, symbolizing Determination. The superior man distributes wealth below him, without displaying his favors.
Ritsema/Karcher: Above marsh with-respect-to heaven. Parting. A chun tzu uses spreading-out benefits to extend to the below. A chun tzu uses residing-in actualizing tao, by- consequence keeping-aloof. [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 what it is meant to be.]
Cleary (1): Moisture ascends to heaven, which parts with it. Thus do superior people distribute blessings to reach those below, while avoiding presumption of virtue. [After people get mixed up in temporal conditioning, the discriminatory consciousness takes charge of affairs; wine and sex distract them from reality, the lure of wealth deranges their nature, emotions and desires well forth at once, thoughts and ruminations arise in a tangle, and the mind-ruler is lost in confusion. Because habituation becomes second nature over a long period of time, it cannot be abruptly removed. It is necessary to work on the matter in a serene and equanimous way, according to the time: Eventually discrimination will cease, and the original spirit will return; the human mind will sublimate and the mind of Tao will be complete – again you will see the original self.]
Cleary (2): … If they presumed on their virtue, they would be resented.
Wu: The marsh rises to heaven; this is Eradication. Thus the jun zi distributes his emolument to those below and is loath to monopolize virtues.
COMMENTARY
Confucius/Legge: Resoluteness is the symbol of displacing or removing. We see the dynamic lines displacing the magnetic line. The figure displays the attributes of Strength and Cheerfulness. There is displacement, but harmony continues. The exhibition of the criminal's guilt in the royal court is shown by the magnetic line mounted on five dynamic lines. The awareness of danger and appeal for justice makes the matter clear. If he has recourse to arms, what he prefers will soon be exhausted. When the advance of the dynamic lines is complete, there will be an end to displacement.
Legge:Resoluteness represents the third month when the last vestige of winter, represented by the sixth line, is about to disappear before the advance of summer. The single yin line at the top symbolizes an inferior man, a feudal prince or high minister who is corrupting the government. The five yang lines below are the representatives of good order. The lesson of the hexagram is how to remove corruption from the kingdom. He who would do this must do so by the force of his character more than the force of arms. Never forgetting the dangerous nature of his undertaking, he must openly denounce the criminal in the court and awaken general sympathy to his cause. Among his own adherents ("In his own city") he must prevent any tendency to resort to armed conflict. As a worthy statesman he is not motivated by private feelings.
Hu Ping-wen says: "If but a single inferior man is left, he is sufficient to make the superior man anxious; if but a single inordinate desire be left in the mind, that is sufficient to disturb the harmony of the heavenly principles. The eradication in both cases must be complete, before the labor is ended."
NOTES AND PARAPHRASES
Judgment:Resoluteness involves astute discernment of what is wrong and a discreet re-establishment of order without polarizing the situation. Be clear in your own strategy, but let common sense be your guide about how much you need to disclose to others. Avoid aggression at all costs.
The Superior Man maintains equilibrium by distributing his energy equitably -- he smoothes things out.
The forty-third hexagram is an image of the eradication of an inferior force from the situation at hand: five yang lines resolutely advance on the single yin line, which is about to be pushed out of the hexagram at the top. This is a negative image of the twenty-third hexagram, Disintegration, which shows the opposite situation of five lower yin lines undermining one upper yang line. It is instructive to compare the nearly identical message for the superior man in the Images of each of these figures. The idea is one of fostering an equitable distribution of energy within the situation -- Disintegration and the Resoluteness required to rectify it are extreme situations requiring extreme measures. Such extremes must always be neutralized through a justly distributed balance of forces.
It's not the concern of law that any one class in the city fare exceptionally well, but it contrives to bring this about for the whole city, harmonizing the citizens by persuasion and compulsion, making them share with one another the benefit that each class is able to bring to the commonwealth. And it produces such men in the city not in order to let them turn whichever way each wants, but in order that it may use them in binding the city together. Plato --The Republic
Compare the nuances of meaning in each translation of the Judgment. Wilhelm's is most radical, advising a direct (albeit dangerous), expose of what is wrong. Most of the others imply room for discretion about what needs to be revealed. Diplomacy is the art of knowing when full- disclosure only prevents resolution of the problem. Ritsema/Karcher allude to the proper mind-set required to manage such situations: "[A chun tzu uses] residing-in actualizing tao, by-consequence keeping-aloof." To "reside in actualizing tao," is to live directly from one's essence, and when this is associated with "keeping-aloof" we get an image of quietly rectifying a situation without revealing our purpose or strategy.
Psychologically interpreted,Resoluteness, like Disintegration, depicts an extreme situation which must first be rectified, then prevented from re-occurring through the maintenance of a just balance of power which is administered by the ego under the will of the Self.