Stand firm in the storm of truth; your resolve illuminates the path to completion and balance.
From
43
Breakthrough
To
63
After Completion
One is wrong if they thought that others would help them to succeed effortlessly. taoscopy.com
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.
↓ Line 2
Stay vigilant and prepared, but do not let fear control you.
↓ Line 4
Struggles and difficulties are present, but following guidance can alleviate remorse.
↓ After Completion63
Completion; things fall into place, but remain cautious. Stability achieved, yet vigilance needed to sustain harmony.
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.
Line 2
Legge: The second line, dynamic, shows its subject full of apprehension and appealing for sympathy and help. Late at night hostile measures may be taken against him, but he need not be anxious about them.
Wilhelm/Baynes: A cry of alarm. Arms at evening and at night. Fear nothing.
Blofeld: Though disturbed by cries in the night, he who is armed knows no fear. [It is well to be forearmed.]
Liu: A cry of warning. One arms at night against the unexpected without fear.
Ritsema/Karcher: Awe, an outcry. Absolutely-no night-time, possessing arms. No cares.
Shaughnessy: Softly crying out; at dusk and at night there are belligerents; do not pity them.
Cleary (1): If one is cautious and alert, though there be armed troublemakers in the night, one need not worry.
Cleary (2): When there is a cry of alert, even if there are attackers in the night, there is no worry.
Wu: There is a warning of violence at night, but nothing to worry.
COMMENTARY
Confucius/Legge: He pursues the course of the due mean. Wilhelm/ Baynes: Despite weapons, no fear -- because one has found the middle way. Blofeld: Being armed and fearless is indicated by the central position of this line. Ritsema/Karcher: Acquiring centering tao indeed. Cleary (2): Because one has attained balance. Wu: Having the central position.
Legge: Line two is dynamic and central -- possessed with determination to do his part in the work of removal. But his eagerness is tempered by being in a magnetic place, and he is cautious. However artful they may be, no attempts to harm him will take effect.
NOTES AND PARAPHRASES
Siu: The man remains alert to unseen dangers at all times. Hostile measures against him will fail even at night because of his guarded alertness.
Wing: It is best now to develop a continuous caution and inner strength. Behave as though you are constantly in danger. Through intense awareness you gain in security and need not fear difficulties.
Editor: Psychologically, "late at night" is when consciousness is asleep and vulnerable and when autonomous forces within the psyche are most powerful. However, this line displays a strength that is balanced and conscientious: despite anxiety he is able to take care of himself. The line can be a warning to prepare yourself against approaching stress.
If by setting one's heart right every morning and evening, [a samurai] is able to live as though his body were already dead, he gains freedom in the Way. His whole life will be without blame, and he will succeed in his calling. Yamamoto Tsunetomo -- The Book of the Samurai
A. Vulnerable, yet protected: "Forewarned is forearmed."
B. Balanced perception protects the Work from the excesses of unconscious forces.
Line 4
Legge: The fourth line, dynamic, shows one from whose buttocks the skin has been stripped, and who walks slowly and with difficulty. If he could act like a sheep led after its companions, occasion for repentance would disappear. But though he hear these words, he will not believe them.
Wilhelm/Baynes: There is no skin on his thighs, and walking comes hard. If a man were to let himself be led like a sheep, remorse would disappear. But if these words are heard they will not be believed.
Blofeld: His haunches have been flayed and he walks falteringly, though he could put an end to his shame by allowing himself to be dragged along like a sheep. Moreover, he puts no faith in the words of others. [Having recently suffered, we advance with hesitation and are unwilling to accept useful but rather humiliating assistance.]
Liu: He injures his thighs. He walks with difficulty. If he were to follow like a sheep, remorse would vanish. People will not believe his words when they hear them.
Ritsema/Karcher: The sacrum without flesh. One moves the resting-place moreover. Hauling-along the goat, repenting extinguished. Hearing words, not trustworthy.
Shaughnessy: The lips do not have skin; his movement is herky-jerky, pulling sheep; regret is gone; you will hear words that are not trustworthy.
Cleary (1): No flesh on the buttocks, not making progress. Leading a sheep, regret disappears. Hearing the words but not believing.
Cleary (2): With no flesh on the buttocks, one walks haltingly. Leading the sheep, regret disappears. The words heard are not believed.
Wu: His buttocks have no skin. He hobbles along. If he would lead away the sheep, there will be no regret; but he does not trust what he hears.
COMMENTARY
Confucius/Legge: He is not in the place appropriate to him. He hears, but does not understand. Wilhelm/Baynes: There is no clear comprehension. Blofeld: Having no faith in the words of others shows lack of intelligence. Ritsema/ Karcher: Understanding not brightened indeed. Cleary (2): Being out of place. Not hearing clearly. Wu: His position is improper.He does not understand it.
Legge: Line four is not in the center, nor in a place appropriate for a dynamic line. He therefore will not be at rest, nor do anything to accomplish the work of the hexagram. He is symbolized as a culprit who has been whipped. Alone he can do nothing. If he could follow others, like a sheep led along, he might accomplish something, but he will not listen to advice.
NOTES AND PARAPHRASES
Siu: The man is restless and wishes to enforce his will by stubbornly pushing forward. But he meets with insuperable antagonisms. Advice to desist and to follow others is ignored.
Wing: As you continue to push forward, you meet with one obstacle after the next. Your resoluteness has reached a degree where you cannot stop yourself. If you would submit to the difficult times and allow others to lead, your problems would resolve themselves. Such advice is meaningless, however, since you cannot be led.
Editor: The image here is clearly one of willful stubbornness. The harsh indictment is mitigated somewhat by Legge's Confucian commentary -- "He hears, but does not understand.” With all of the goodwill in the world, it is still possible to receive this line, and the commentary takes some of the sting out of it by saying that you simply haven't gotten the message yet. The Self is a terrible archetype -- far more like the wrathful Yahweh than the forgiving Christ, and there are phases of the Work in which no matter what you do, it seems to be wrong. One must learn to live with this fact.
The Lord leads the willing; He drags the unwilling in his wake. A. Rothberg -- The Sword of the Golem
A. You create hardship for yourself through your own stubbornness.
B. You haven't gotten the message yet. You don't understand, yet insist on pushing ahead anyway.
Other titles: After Completion, The Symbol of What is Already Past, Already Fording, Already Completed, Settled, Mission Accomplished, Tasks Completed, After the End, A state of Climax
Judgment
Legge:Completion intimates progress and success in small matters. There is advantage in firm correctness. There had been good fortune in the beginning; there may be disorder in the end.
Wilhelm/Baynes: After Completion. Success in small matters. Perseverance furthers. At the beginning good fortune, at the end disorder.
Blofeld:After Completion -- success in small matters! Persistence in a righteous course brings reward. Good fortune at the start; disorder in the end. [Perhaps persistence may help to lessen the disorder that threatens to come upon us after some initial success.]
Liu: Completion. Success in the small. It benefits to continue. Good fortune at first; disorder in the end.
Ritsema/Karcher:Already Fording. Growing: the small. Harvesting Trial. Initially significant. Completing: disarraying. [This hexagram describes your situation in terms of an important move from one position to another. It emphasizes that actively proceeding with the crossing is the adequate way to handle it...]
Shaughnessy:Already Completed: Receipt; slightly beneficial to determine; initially auspicious, in the end disordered.
Cleary (1):Settlement is developmental, but it is minimized. It is beneficial to be correct. The beginning is auspicious, the end confused.
Cleary (2): Settlement is successful, even in small matters … etc.
Wu: Mission Accomplished indicates a small degree of pervasiveness and the advantage of being persevering. It is characterized by goodness in the beginning, but tumult in the end.
The Image
Legge: The image of water above fire formsCompletion. The superior man, in accordance with this, thinks of the evil that may come, and guards against it in advance.
Wilhelm/Baynes: Water over fire: the image of the condition in After Completion. Thus the superior man takes thought of misfortune and arms himself against it in advance.
Blofeld: This hexagram symbolizes water above fire. The Superior Man deals with trouble by careful thought and by taking advance precautions.
Liu: Water above fire symbolizes Completion. The superior man ponders danger and takes precautions against it.
Ritsema/Karcher: Stream located above fire. Already Fording. A chun tzu uses pondering distress and-also providing-for defending-against it.
Cleary (1): Water is above fire,Settled.Thus superior peopleconsider problems and prevent them.
Wu: There is water above fire; this is Mission Accomplished. Thus the jun zi conceives ways to prevent disaster.
COMMENTARY
Confucius/Legge: Progress and success in small matters, with advantage in firm correctness. The dynamic and magnetic lines are correctly arranged, each in its proper place. There has been good fortune in the beginning because the magnetic second line is in the center. In the end there is a cessation of effort, and disorder arises. The course that led to rule and order is now exhausted.
Legge: The two written Chinese characters translated here as Completion represent two ideas -- the symbol of being past or completed, and the symbol of crossing a stream -- with a secondary meaning of helping and completing. When combined, the two characters express the idea of successful accomplishment. The hexagram denotes the kingdom finally at rest -- the vessel of state has been brought safely across the great and dangerous stream, the distresses of the realm have been relieved and its disorders rectified. Small things need to be completed: the new government must be consolidated and its ruler must, without noise or clamor, go on to perfect what has been wrought with firm correctness and without forgetting the inherent instability of all human affairs. That every line of the hexagram is in its correct place, and has its proper correlate emphasizes the intimation of progress and success.
The K'ang-hsi editors compare this hexagram and the next with number eleven, Harmony, and number twelve, Divorcement, observing that the goodness of Harmony is concentrated, as here, in the second line. Disorder after completion is inevitable. All things move on with a constant process of change. Disorder succeeds to order, and again order to disorder.
NOTES AND PARAPHRASES
Judgment: All's well that ends well, but the new cycle demands as much willpower as the last. Make no drastic choices during a transition.
The Superior Man anticipates conflict and is prepared for it in advance.
The sixty-third hexagram is the reference hexagram which depicts the correlation of properly matched dynamic and magnetic lines. On the basis of this figure, all of the other hexagrams (except the first and second, which are their "parents"), are compared. Yet, despite the fact that every line is in its proper place, not one of them has an easy auspice, and both the Judgment and Image are subdued and cautionary. The general idea is that as long as we draw breath in this spacetime dimension, our lives and Work are incomplete. Cycles complete themselves, certainly, but Completion in that sense is the "completion" of the full moon, which as soon as it reaches maximum brilliance immediately begins to wane.
Among those engaged in psycho-spiritual work, there is a great deal of energy focused on "enlightenment," and the natural desire of each aspirant to attain that state of consciousness as soon as possible. Many there are who wander from one conception of the Work to another in the hope that this particular discipline, or that particular Guru will provide the transcendent answer that the last one didn't.
This is a very deceptive illusion, because the chances that any given individual will attain perfect enlightenment in any given lifetime are probably miniscule to the point of insignificance. (How many truly enlightened beings have you ever met in your life?)
But the first signs of this symbolism are far from indicating that unity has been attained. Just as alchemy has a great many procedures, ranging from the "work of one day" to the "the errant quest" lasting for decades, so the tensions between the psychic pair of opposites ease off only gradually; and, like the alchemical end- product, which always betrays its essential duality, the united personality will never quite lose the painful sense of innate discord. Complete redemption from the sufferings of this world is and must remain an illusion ... The goal is important only as an idea; the essential thing is the opus which leads to the goal: that is the goal of a lifetime. In its attainment "left and right" are united, and conscious and unconscious work in harmony. Jung-- Psychology of the Transference
The Work is a slow, organic process of transforming unconscious forces, which demands almost superhuman levels of discipline to accomplish. One can make a great deal of progress in one lifetime, but the Work can not be said to be complete until physical death “completes” it -- at that point, assuming the ego has acquired enough strength of will, perhaps one can facilitate a "permanent" synthesis of the forces one has spent a lifetime in training. Death is the doorway back to our Source, and if we enter that doorway consciously and correctly we can consolidate a great deal of power which will serve us well in the next cycle, in whatever dimension that cycle may take place.
It is even doubtful whether a man can arrive at the summit of all perfection as long as he lives in an imperfect physical form, because the imperfections of the form hamper the spirit, and only a spirit that has outgrown the necessity to live in a physical form may be said to have arrived at that high degree of perfection at which a perfect knowledge of self, and consequently a perfect knowledge of the universe is obtained. F. Hartmann --Paracelsus: Life and Prophecies