Step back with grace to harness inner strength and creative potential, transforming obstacles into opportunities for growth and fulfillment.
From
33
Retreat
To
50
The Cauldron
Revitalizing
One restores an old alarm clock so it sounds every morning. 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 2
A firm and gentle retreat is secure and cannot be easily disrupted.
↓ Line 5
Retreating in a friendly manner and maintaining perseverance ensures good fortune.
↓ The Cauldron50
Transformation and nourishment lead to inner and outer change. Embrace renewal by discarding the old and refining the new.
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 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 5
Legge: The fifth line, dynamic, shows its subject retiring in an admirable way. With firm correctness there will be good fortune.
Wilhelm/Baynes: Friendly retreat. Perseverance brings good fortune.
Blofeld: An admirably carried out withdrawal. Persistence in a righteous course brings good fortune.
Liu: Appropriate retreat. To continue brings good fortune.
Shaughnessy: Enjoyable wielding; determination is auspicious.
Cleary (1): Excellent withdrawal; correctness is auspicious.
Wu: The commendable retreat is auspicious if persevering.
COMMENTARY
Confucius/Legge: This is due to the rectitude of his purpose. Wilhelm/ Baynes: Because the will thereby reaches a correct decision. Blofeld: This results from a withdrawal carried out as a result of rectifying our aims. [I.e. revising them in the light of unfavorable circumstances.]Ritsema/Karcher: Using correcting the purpose indeed.) Cleary (2): Because of right aspiration. Wu: He needs to put his aims in the right perspective.
Legge: The K'ang-hsi editors refer to the words of I Yin as an illustration of what is said in line five: "The superior man will not for favor or gain continue in an office whose work is done." He advances or withdraws according to the character of the time. The strength and correct position of the fifth line show that he is able to maintain himself, and as he is responded to by the magnetic second line, no opposition would come from any of the others. Therefore, he is free to keep his place, but since he recognizes the advance of inferior men in lines one and two, he deems it better to withdraw from the field for a time. Thus there is successful progress even in his retreat.
NOTES AND PARAPHRASES
Siu: The man recognizes the proper time for an admirable retirement with necessary amenities and without disagreeableness. Firmness in the rectitude of his purpose is necessary to guard against being misled by irrelevant issues.
Wing: Make your Retreat friendly but firm. Do not be drawn into irrelevant discussions or considerations concerning your decisions. A persevering withdrawal brings good fortune.
Editor: Both Legge and Blofeld use the concept of rectification in their translations of the Confucian commentary. [Rectify: 1.a: to make or set right: remedy. 2.a: to restore to a healthy state.] The idea is that one must pleasantly but firmly disassociate oneself from an inferior alliance -- the only hope of improvement lies in withdrawal from the scene.
A faultless person is one who withdraws from affairs. This must be done with strength. Yamamoto Tsunetomo -- The Book of the Samurai
A. Withdraw to make correct – don’t make a big deal of it.
B. The integrity of the Work demands a withdrawal from an inferior alliance.
Other titles: The Cauldron, The Vessel, Rejuvenation, Cosmic Order, The Alchemical Vessel, "A complete transformation of a person or circumstance." -- D.F. Hook
Judgment
Legge: The Sacrificial Vessel means great progress and success.
Wilhelm/Baynes:The Cauldron. Supreme good fortune. Success.
Blofeld: A Sacrificial Vessel -- supreme success!
Liu:The Cauldron. Great good fortune. Success.
Ritsema/Karcher:The Vessel, Spring significant. Growing. [This hexagram describes your situation in terms of the imaginative capacity of a sacred vessel. It emphasizes that securing and imaginatively transforming the material at hand is the adequate way to handle it. To be in accord with the time, you are told to: hold and transform things in the vessel!]
Shaughnessy:The Cauldron: Prime auspiciousness; receipt.
Cleary (1): The cauldron is basically good; it is developmental.
Cleary (2): The Cauldron is very auspiciously developmental.
Wu: The Cauldron indicates great auspiciousness and pervasiveness.
The Image
Legge: Wood under a fire -- the image of a Sacrificial Vessel. The superior man maintains his correctness in every situation to secure the appointment of heaven.
Wilhelm/Baynes: Fire over wood: the image of The Cauldron. Thus the superior man consolidates his fate by making his position correct.
Blofeld: This hexagram symbolizes fire upon wood. The Superior Man, taking his stance as righteousness requires, adheres firmly to heaven's decrees.
Liu: Fire above wood symbolizes the Caldron. The superior man makes his destiny firm with a correct position.
Ritsema/Karcher: Above wood possessing fire. The Vessel. A chun tzu uses correcting the situation to solidify fate.
Cleary (1): There is fire on top of wood; a cauldron. Thus do superior people stabilize life in the proper position.
Cleary (2): Fire over wood -- The Cauldron . Leaders stabilize their mandate by correcting their position.
Wu: There is fire on wood; this is The Cauldron . Thus the jun zi rectifies his position and consecrates the mandate.
COMMENTARY
Confucius/Legge: The image of the Sacrificial Vessel shows us wood entering a fire, which suggests the idea of cooking. The sages cooked their sacrifices to God and nourished their able ministers with feasts. We have the trigrams of Flexible Obedience and Quick Intelligence, with the magnetic line advanced to the ruler's place and responded to by her dynamic correlate below. All these things give the auspice of successful progress.
Legge: The written Chinese character for Sacrificial Vessel represents a cauldron with three feet and two "ears" used for cooking and preparing food for both the table and the altar. The hexagram pictures this vessel -- the divided first line represents the feet, the three undivided lines above represent the body, the divided fifth line shows the ears (or carrying rings), and the top line is the handle by which the container is carried or suspended from a hook.
The lesson of the hexagram is that the nourishing of men of talent and virtue intimates great progress and success. The K'ang-hsi editors point out that the distinction between hexagram number forty-eight, The Well, and this one is the difference between the nourishment of the people in general and the specific nourishing of worthy men. They add that the reality of sacrifice is nourishing in this regard.
NOTES AND PARAPHRASES
Judgment: You are the Sacrificial Vessel.
The Superior Man holds to the principles of the Work to attain transcendence.
The usual name for this hexagram is The Cauldron -- specifically, a type of food-containing vessel which was used in ancient China for religious sacrifices. I prefer Blofeld’s title of the Sacrificial Vessel as more evocative of the ideas presented in the figure.
When the forty-ninth hexagram of Transformation is turned upside down, it becomes the fiftieth hexagram of the Sacrificial Vessel, thus giving us some valuable insights into the nuances of meaning in each of the figures. The combined ideas of transformation and a cauldron used for sacrifices remind us of the alchemical vessel or retort which "cooked" its contents and transformed them into a higher state of matter -- turned lead into gold in the popular conception. Of course, the true esoteric purpose of the alchemist was psychological, not physical.
The vessel of the alchemists, like the circle of the psyche and the mandala, must be closed if the transformation process is to proceed satisfactorily. For the alchemists, the process took place in the material substances collected in the retort. For us, this is a symbol representing a similar process taking place within the psyche. Thus it is said that a wall must be securely built about the psyche before the reconciliation of the opposites can take place within it, and before the new center of the individual can be created. ... For if anything is lost the process is nullified and the final product will be incomplete, imperfect. So long, for instance, as the individual continues to project his deficiencies, or his values, upon circumstances or upon another, he does not have an impervious vessel ... Thus the contents essentially involved in the transformation are seen to be the irrational, instinctual, not yet human factors of the psyche, the nonego. The human and civilized factors, those subject to the will, make up the wall of the vessel. M.E. Harding -- Psychic Energy
Now an ancient Chinese cauldron used to contain food intended for religious sacrifices is not the same thing as a hermetically sealed alchemical retort made to withstand extreme pressures, but symbolically they are identical images. The ego sacrifices its autonomy for the good of the Work in the same way that the alchemist devotes his entire life to the transformation of base metal into gold -- i.e., to transform his psyche by following the extreme discipline of the Work. Thomas Cleary’s Taoist I-Ching explicitly tells us that this is the meaning intended here:
The work of refinement is the means by which to sublimate earthly energy and stabilize celestial energy, causing the raw to ripen and the old to be renewed, whereby it is possible to illumine the mind and to solidify life. Therefore the cauldron is basically good and it has a developmental path. The basis is the potential of everlasting life of goodness; the cooking of the great medicine in the cauldron is the firing of this living potential to make it incorruptible and permanent. But in this path there is process and procedure; even the slightest deviation and the gold elixir will not form. Therefore people must first thoroughly investigate the true principle. Liu I-ming
SUGGESTIONS FOR MEDITATION
In his commentary Legge mentions that the Chinese see an analogy between this figure and hexagram number forty-eight, The Well. Compare the two figures, noting the similarities between the first, third, fifth and sixth lines. The component trigrams of the Sacrificial Vessel appear in reverse sequence in hexagram number thirty-seven, Family. What other similarities are there in the two figures? How is the idea of a family analogous to the idea of a sacrificial vessel?