Other titles: Exhaustion, The Symbol of Repression and Confinement, Adversity, Weariness, Confining, Entangled, Hardship, Depression, Tiresome Restriction, Dried Up, "Actions speak louder than words." -- D.F. Hook
Judgment
Legge: Oppression means that successful progress is still possible. The perseverance of the truly great man brings good fortune without error; but if he relies on words, no one will believe them.
Wilhelm/Baynes: Oppression . Success. Perseverance. The great man brings about good fortune. No blame. When one has something to say, it is not believed.
Blofeld:Adversity leading to success thanks to persistence in a righteous course; good fortune for the truly great and freedom from error! Though words be spoken, they will not inspire confidence. [`Great' refers to high moral qualities. This hexagram is of evil omen for most people, but success can be won through tremendous persistence in doing what is right.]
Liu: Oppression. Success. Persistence. Good fortune for the great man. No blame. If one indicates with words only, no one will believe.
Ritsema/Karcher:Confining, Growing. Trial: Great People significant. Without fault. Possessing words not trustworthy. [This hexagram describes your situation in terms of restriction and distress. It emphasizes that turning inward through accepting enclosure is the adequate way to handle it...]
Shaughnessy: Entangled: Receipt; determination for the great man is auspicious; there is no trouble. There are words that are not trustworthy.
Cleary (1): Exhaustion develops the righteous. Great people are fortunate and blameless. If one complains, one will not be trusted.
Cleary (2): Exhausted but coming through successfully, upright great people are fortunate and impeccable. Mere words are not believed.
Wu: Hardship indicates pervasion and perseverance. There will be good fortune for the great men. No error. But their words do not make impressions on people.
The Image
Legge: An abyss beneath the marsh that drains its water -- the image ofOppression. Thus the superior man will sacrifice his life to attain his purpose.
Wilhelm/Baynes: There is no water in the lake: the image of Exhaustion. Thus the superior man stakes his life on following his will.
Blofeld: This hexagram symbolizes a marsh in which no water (appears). The Superior Man risks his life to carry out his will.
Liu: The lake with no water symbolizesOppression.The superior man would give up his life to achieve his purpose.
Ritsema/Karcher: Marsh without stream. Confining. A chun tzu uses involving fate to release purpose.
Cleary (1): A lake with no water is exhausted. Therefore superior people use life to the full and achieve their aim. [When people lack purpose their path is at an end. Therefore they use life to the full to achieve their aim… Using life to the full means to get to the end of conditioned life; achieving one’s aim means to achieve the primordial life… Using the temporal to restore the primordial, ending false life and establishing real life, producing being in the midst of nothingness, seeking life within death, getting through an exhausting impasse, is like a lake without water again being filled with water.]
Cleary (2): …Developed people accomplish their will by living out their destiny. [Developed people only live out their destiny; they do not willingly try to avoid following and accepting it. Being strong and balanced, they are able to be joyful even in danger; this is the will that is up to oneself. Developed people intend to accomplish their will and do not vacillate just because they run into problems.]
Wu: The marsh has no water; this is Hardship. Thus the jun zi is prepared to dedicate his life to fulfill his commitments. [A marsh devoid of water is like a man deprived of his intellectual pursuits. This is unacceptable to a jun zi. He would rather fight to the end than surrender to idiocy.]
COMMENTARY
Confucius/Legge: In Oppressionwe see the dynamic lines covered and obscured by the magnetic. We see the attribute of Perilousness in the lower trigram going on to Cheerfulness in the upper. Who but the superior man is still able to advance although straitened by circumstances? The central position of the dynamic lines explains the good fortune of the great man who is firm and correct. As regards speech making, to be fond of argument or persuasion is the way to be reduced to extremity.
Legge: The written Chinese character of Oppression presents us with the picture of a tree within an enclosure. "A plant," according to Williams, "fading for want of room." "A tree," according to T'ai Tung, "not allowed to spread its branches." The image conveys the idea of being straitened and distressed, and the hexagram indicates how skilful management may relieve it.
The two central places in the figure are occupied by dynamic lines, but line two is confined between one and three, which are magnetic; and line five (the ruler), as well as four (his minister), are covered by the magnetic sixth line. These conditions indicate the repression of good men by adversity. The K'ang-hsi editors imply that "actions and not words" are what are required in the case.
Perilousness is the attribute of the lower trigram, and Cheerfulness that of the upper. The superior man, no matter how straitened, remains master of himself, and pursues his principled intent. The idea of speech making is found in the upper trigram, one of the attributes of which is the mouth, or speech, as well as Pleased Satisfaction. The pleading of the oppressed party still tries to make others pleased with him.
Literally translated, the first sentence of the Image reads: "A marsh with no water is Oppression." Chu Hsi says: "The water descending and leaking away, the marsh above will become dry."
Anthony: Our belief in the ruling power as beneficial is shaken by doubt. This lack of steadfastness is a problem because it obstructs acceptance and its corrective power. We often receive this hexagram when we feel tired. The oppressiveness of doubt exhausts our inner resources.
NOTES AND PARAPHRASES
Judgment: With enough will, success can be won. "Actions speak louder than words.” (i.e., The answer lies beyond the realm of reason and logic -- intuition furthers.)
The Superior Man stakes everything he's got on his will to succeed.
In Oppressionwe have the image of a dry lake bed. Anyone who has ever seen alkali flats in the desert can easily understand this metaphor for Oppression -- almost nothing can live in such an environment. The following hexagram, The Well, is an upside-down image of Oppression depicting the opposite case of an unending source of nourishment flowing from deep beneath the surface of the earth. (A comparison of these two figures will reveal a great deal about the meaning of each.)
To be under Oppression then, is to be cut off from all sustenance -- although there is water down below, it is presently inaccessible, and there is no nourishing flow of inner forces to the surface. This is a common, inevitable and potentially defeating experience for anyone doing serious inner work:
People who try to practice the Tao can all keep steadfast when they are in easy circumstances, but many of them waver in determination when they are in difficult or perilous situations. They may change their minds because of the pressures of making a living, or they may slack in determination due to illness; their spirits may flag because of old age, or they may stop work because of obstruction by some obsession. All these are cases in which people do not exert the mind of Tao and are hindered by exhaustion, so they ultimately do not attain the Tao. T. Cleary – The Taoist I Ching
Obviously, this is a dangerous situation, and we are told how to cope with it in the Confucian commentary, where it is observed that the lower trigram of Peril goes on to the upper trigram of Cheerfulness. These two trigrams are found in reversed sequence in hexagram number sixty, Restrictive Regulations, where a cheerful attitude is described as absolutely essential for the furtherance of the Work. The observations made there also apply here, and we see the superior man thereby enabled to advance under conditions that would utterly defeat lesser individuals.
This Cheerfulness cannot be underestimated. When it comes naturally and isn't forced, it is a gift of grace. Suddenly one is enabled to face the most incredible hardships with a light heart. It isn't that you no longer care -- you still do the best you can to further the Work, but you do it with bemused detachment.
The one thing the Jewish mystics never lost sight of was the suffering experienced in the arena of the profane. They did not retreat from this suffering, but sought instead to find meaning in it by living it. This is the core of mysticism. The temple in which the sacred marriage takes place is the world. C. Ponce -- Kabbalah
Lines 2 and 5 specifically mention sacrifice: an important concept in theI Ching. Sacrifice is mentioned in lines 17:6, 45:2, 46:2, 46:4, 47:2, 47:5, 63:5, and in the Judgment of hexagram 20. Note that in each case sincerity is specifically cited as essential to success.
Sincere 1: marked by genuineness: as a: free of dissimulation: not hypocritical: REAL, TRUE, HONEST...
Very often, the “sincerity” of our sacrifices involves following the dictates of the Work whether we fully understand them or not. Much that takes place in the Work is incomprehensible to ego consciousness; for example, changes often occur within the psyche which we only experience as strange dreams. Yet somehow, perhaps months later, we suddenly realize that we no longer act in a certain way or have lost interest in something that used to be of compelling importance. Our sacrifices are necessary for these changes to take place, even if they don't immediately make sense to us.
"With sacrifice shall you nourish the gods; and may the gods nourish you. Thus nourishing one another, you will obtain the Highest Good. "The gods, nourished by sacrifice, will bestow on you the enjoyments you desire." He is verily a thief who enjoys the things that they give without offering to them anything in return. The Bhagavad-Gita
Each of Cleary’s Taoist (1) and Buddhist (2) commentaries provides valuable insights into how much courage is required to follow the dictates of the Work at its more advanced levels. Take comfort that others before you have persevered and survived: “Developed people accomplish their will by living out their destiny.”
Line 3
Legge: The third line, magnetic, shows its subject straitened before a frowning rock. He lays hold of thorns. He enters his palace, and does not see his wife. There will be evil.
Wilhelm/Baynes: A man permits himself to be oppressed by stone, and leans on thorns and thistles. He enters his house and does not see his wife. Misfortune.
Blofeld: Faced by rock-like difficulties and with naught to lean upon but thistles and briars, he entered his dwelling but could not find his wife -- misfortune! [This line may be taken to presage insuperable difficulties; the word “wife" does not necessarily have any special application to our case, as can be seen from the commentary on the line.]
Liu: The man is oppressed by stone. He sits on thorns and thistles. When he enters his home, he cannot find his wife. Misfortune. [One should be prepared to meet with insult or difficulty.]
Ritsema/Karcher: Confined, tending-toward petrification. Seizing tending-towards star thistles. Entering tending- towards one's house. Not visualizing one's consort. Pitfall.
Shaughnessy: Entangled in stone, and crying out in the thistles: Entering into his palace, and not seeing his wife; inauspicious.
Cleary (1): Stymied by rocks, resting on thorns, going into the house without seeing the wife – inauspicious.
Cleary (2): Exhausted on a rock, resting on thorns, going into a house but not seeing the wife is not a good sign.
Wu: He is surrounded by rocks and leaning on thorny shrubs. He enters his house and does not find his wife. Foreboding.
COMMENTARY
Confucius/Legge:"He lays hold of thorns" -- this is suggested by the position of the line above the dynamic line. To enter one's palace and not see one's wife is inauspicious. Wilhelm/Baynes: He rests on a hard line. This bodes misfortune. Blofeld: The firm line just below him. His not finding his wife symbolizes bad luck. Ritsema/Karcher: Riding a solid indeed. Not auspicious indeed. Cleary (2): Not seeing the wife is not a good sign. Wu: An unfortunate omen.
Legge: For a full explanation of the third line, Chu Hsi refers the reader to what Confucius said on it: "If one be distressed by what need not distress him, his name is sure to be disgraced; if he lay hold on what he should not touch, his life is sure to be imperiled. In disgrace and danger, his death will soon come; is it possible for him in such circumstances to see his wife?" The K'ang-hsi editors say here: "The subjects of the three magnetic lines (one, three and six) are all unable to cope correctly with the oppression of their circumstances. The first is at the bottom, sitting and distressed. The third line, able either to advance or retreat, advances and is distressed. Wounded abroad, he returns to his family and finds no one to receive him: a graphic portrayal of the results of reckless action."
NOTES AND PARAPHRASES
Siu: The man is indecisively unable to deal with adversity and is oppressed by something which should not oppress him. He leans on things like thorns and thistles, which are hazardous yet cannot support him.
Wing: You allow yourself to become oppressed by things that are not oppressive.
You put your faith in things that cannot support you. You are unable to see your priorities although they are obvious. This brings misfortune.
Editor: This line does not lend itself to the usual gender symbolism. The rock is often a symbol of eternity, and is seen as a dwelling place for spiritual beings, hence: a transcendental reality or "eternal verity." In fairy tales a barrier of thorns is often created by an evil witch or other negative magnetic force -- the feminine principle in its destructive aspect. This barrier is usually what separates the hero from the sleeping maiden, his unconscious anima or feminine soul. A house or palace is the whole psyche. ("In my father's house are many mansions." -- John 14:2) The wife of course, is the contra-sexual correlate: in a man, the anima, or emotional-feeling component of his psyche. (A woman receiving this line should just reverse the symbolism and see it as the animus, or logical-thinking component of her psyche.) Putting all these symbols together we receive an image of a situation which is somehow contrary to "the laws of nature." Both the frowning rock (yang) and the thorns (yin) are opposed to the situation, so no union can possibly take place: "He does not see his wife." If this is the only changing line, the new hexagram created is number twenty-eight, Critical Mass, with a corresponding line which indicates a position of extreme vulnerability to danger. This line is an unambiguous warning that your situation is untenable -- both dynamic and magnetic forces are against you. Ritsema/Karcher translate "pitfall" as: "Leads away from the experience of meaning; stuck and exposed to danger, unable to take in the situation; flow of life and spirit is blocked..." Wilhelm alludes to "immanent death," which, of course, should be interpreted symbolically in most cases.
He disowned the God who made him, dishonored the Rock, his salvation. Deuteronomy 32: 15
A. You are out of touch with reality -- resisting a situation that you should accept.
B. Your ego-indulgence in illusion prevents psychic unity; your action, intention or attitude is in opposition to psychic unification.
Line 4
Legge: The fourth line, dynamic, shows its subject proceeding very slowly to help the subject of the first line, who is straitened by the carriage adorned with metal in front of him. There will be occasion for regret, but the end will be good.
Wilhelm/Baynes: He comes very quietly, oppressed in a golden carriage. Humiliation, but the end is reached.
Blofeld: A slow arrival. Trouble in a golden carriage. Shame, but not for long. [Trouble in a golden carriage coupled with shame suggests that we get into difficulty through our presumption, or through placing too much confidence in someone of much higher station than ourselves.]
Liu: He comes slowly, oppressed in a golden carriage. Embarrassment, but good results in the end.
Shaughnessy: Coming slowly, entangled in the metal chariot; distress; there is an end.
Cleary (1): Coming gradually, exhausted in a golden cart; shame has an end.
Cleary (2): Coming slowly, exhausted in a gold car, there is shame, but there is a conclusion.
Wu: Walking slowly and leisurely, he is distressed in seeing a golden carriage and feels humiliated, but he will complete his assignments.
COMMENTARY
Confucius/Legge: His aim is directed to help the lower line. Although he is not in his appropriate place, he and his correlate will in the end be together. Wilhelm/ Baynes: His will is directed downward. Though the place is not appropriate, he nevertheless has companions. Blofeld: The tardy arrival implies that our will-power is at a low ebb. However, though the line is not suitably placed, it does not stand alone. [At least we may hope for a little aid from others.]Ritsema/Karcher: Purpose located below indeed. Although not an appropriate situation, possessing associating indeed. Cleary (2): The mind is on something lower. There is a partner. Wu: He wishes to be with the one below. He is responsive to the other.
Legge: Lines four and one are proper correlates, but four is dynamic in a magnetic place and therefore slow to give assistance. Then line one is run over by line two, which is represented as a chariot of metal. It is difficult for one and four to come together and effect much, but four is near the ruler, also dynamic, and through this common sympathy a measure of success is attained.
NOTES AND PARAPHRASES
Siu: The man in a high position proceeds hesitantly to help the lower class. He encounters difficulty in breaking loose from the circle of the wealthy and the powerful. The original intention of his good resolution eventually brings favorable results.
Wing: Your progress is slowed by your position in the situation. Although your intentions are good, you are diverted from your path by temptations. There is some humiliation, but you will accomplish your aim.
Editor: Most translations render this line as a golden carriage (a luxurious vehicle), slowly transporting the subject of the fourth line to his destination. The implication is that our unhurried progress may be due to self-indulgence, but the position is not totally improper and a delayed relief of oppression is assured.
In each of us there is another whom we do not know. He speaks to us in dreams and tells us how differently he sees us from the way we see ourselves. When, therefore, we find ourselves in a difficult situation to which there is no solution, he can sometimes kindle a light that radically alters our attitude -- the very attitude that led us into the difficult situation. Jung -- Civilization in Transition
A. Resolution of the situation is slow in coming: "Better late than never."
B. Illusions of ease and pleasure retard your progress. Nevertheless, mediocre performance does not necessarily portend failure.
Other titles: Welling, Potentialities Fulfilled, The Source, The Deep Psyche, "A resurrection or transformation. Generations coming and going and the continuance of life and development." -- D.F. Hook
Judgment
Legge: Although a town site may be altered, The Well remains the same. Its water level neither disappears nor receives any great increase, and the people can draw from it freely. Misfortune ensues if the rope breaks or the bucket is broken before it reaches the water.
Wilhelm/Baynes:The Well. The town may be changed, but the well cannot be changed. It neither decreases nor increases. They come and go and draw from the well. If one gets down almost to the water and the rope does not go all the way, or the jug breaks, it brings misfortune.
Blofeld: A Well. A city may be moved, but not a well. [The building of a city depends upon ourselves; but wells cannot be moved to places where nature supplies no water. The implication is that our activities are limited by natural conditions.] A well suffers from no decrease and no increase; but often, when the people come to draw water there, the rope is too short or the pitcher gets broken before reaching the water -- misfortune! [What we desire is there for the taking, but we may not succeed in getting it.]
Liu: The Well. The city might be moved; but not the well. It neither overflows nor runs dry. People come and go, drawing from the well. The rope nearly reaches the water, but not quite; the jug breaks -- misfortune.
Ritsema/Karcher: The Well: amending the capital, not amending the Well. Without losing, without acquiring. Going, coming: Welling, Welling. Muddy culmination: truly not-yet the well- rope Well. Ruining one's pitcher: Pitfall. [This hexagram describes your situation in terms of the life water coming from the depths that everyone may draw on. It emphasizes that maintaining access to this central source is the adequate way to handle it. To be in accord with the time, you are told to go to the well!]
Shaughnessy: The Well: Changing the city but not changing the well; there is no loss, there is no gain. Going and coming so orderly; when the drying up arrives one also has not yet drawn from the well; burdening its formed earthenware jug; inauspicious.
Cleary (1):The Well: Changing the village, not changing the well; no loss, no gain. Those who come and go use the well as a well. If the rope does not reach all the way into the well, of if the bucket breaks, that is unfortunate.
Cleary (2): … People come and go, but the well remains a well. Lowering the bucket to the water, if you overturn the bucket before drawing it up from the well, this is unlucky.
Wu:The Well indicates that the planning of a district may be changed, but the location of the well may not. The water level of a well will neither increase nor decrease from use. There are wells here and there. When one is drawing water from a well, if he tangles the rope and damages the bucket just before it clears the well, it will be foreboding.
The Image
Legge: The image of water over wood forms The Well. The superior man comforts the people and stimulates their mutual cooperation.
Wilhelm/Baynes: Water over wood: the image of The Well. Thus the superior man encourages the people at their work and exhorts them to help one another.
Blofeld: This hexagram symbolizes water over wood. The Superior Man encourages the people with advice and assistance.
Liu: Water on wood symbolizes The Well. The superior man inspires people to work diligently, and advises them to help each other.
Ritsema/Karcher: Above wood possessing stream. The Well. A chun tzu uses toiling commoners to encourage mutualizing.
Cleary (1): There is water above wood – A Well. Thus do superior people comfort the people and encourage reciprocity.
Wu: There is water above wood; this is The Well. Thus, the jun zi encourages people to work for the good of the public and to help one another for a better life.
COMMENTARY
Confucius/Legge: Wood penetrates the water and raises it, giving the image ofThe Wellwhich gives nourishment yet is not exhausted. The dynamic central lines in the second and fifth places indicate that the town site may change, but the well does not. If the rope does not reach the water the well does not serve its purpose. A broken bucket brings about evil.
Legge: The upper trigram represents Water, and the lower symbolizes Wood, giving the image of a wooden bucket in the water of a well. What is said on this hexagram might be styled: "Lessons to be learned from a well for the proper government of a country." A well is to its users what a government is to its subjects, and if rulers would only apply the ancient precepts of government to the present circumstances, they and their people would benefit greatly.
In the Judgment we see the well remaining substantially the same through many changes of society -- a dependable source of refreshment to its users. As the fashion of the well remains changeless, so do the principles of human nature and good government. The value of the well depends upon the water being drawn up and used -- and so must the principles of good government be implemented.
Anthony: This hexagram usually indicates that we have a hidden doubt or fear. We may secretly disbelieve our path.
NOTES AND PARAPHRASES
Judgment: Amid the changes of life the only constant is the psyche itself -- to be alive is to draw upon its energy. The ego’s challenge lies in the correct comprehension of its images.
The Superior Man promotes the harmonious interplay of his thoughts and feelings. (Works on the integration of his complexes.)
A well is a universal symbol of a source of inner truth, and is often associated with a place that is sacred to the gods:
There he built an altar and invoked the name of Yahweh. There he pitched his tent, and there Isaac's servants sank a well. Genesis 26: 25
From the first well, which is of animal nature and deep, the father drinks, together with his children and cattle; from the second, which is yet deeper and on the very margin of nature, there drink only the children of men, namely those whose reason has awakened and whom we call philosophers; from the third, the deepest of all drink the sons of the All-Highest, whom we call gods and true theologians. Cardinal Nicholas of Cusa
Psychologically interpreted, a well symbolizes the continuously flowing unconscious psyche, the fountain of all awareness. In this hexagram each line represents a level within the well -- by extension suggesting a hierarchy of value in the unconscious. It is important to remember that not all of our inner images, intuitions or impulses come from the Self. Note that lines one through four all show the water of the well not being utilized for one reason or another -- only in lines three, five and six is it actually available for use.
In some sensitive individuals there is an awakening of para-psychological perceptions. They have visions, which they believe to be of exalted beings; they may hear voices, or begin to write automatically, accepting the messages at their face value and obeying them unreservedly. The quality of such messages is very varied. Sometimes they contain fine teachings, but they should always be examined with much discrimination and sound judgment, and without being influenced by their uncommon origin or by any claim by their alleged transmitter. No validity should be attributed to messages containing definite orders and commanding blind obedience, and to those tending to exalt the personality of the recipient. Roberto Assagioli --Psychosynthesis
The ego's point of view in relation to The Well is from the outside looking in – the insights emerge from beneath the surface of awareness and can be held in the light of consciousness only if one’s comprehension is able to contain them. If "the bucket breaks," our understanding is unequal to our observation and the insights are lost. (One might plausibly find the image for a cancer cure within one's psyche, but without a conscious frame of reference to acknowledge it, it would be unrecognized and lost.) Those who closely monitor their dreams know that there is an endless outpouring of strange images within the psyche which might be of inestimable value if only we knew what they referred to.
Wilhelm emphasizes the idea of "nourishing the people," which psychologically means that the role of the ego is to facilitate the cooperation of intra-psychic forces.
The solution lies, rather, along the lines of a harmonious integration of all drives into the total personality, first through the proper subordination and coordination, and then through the transformation and sublimation of the excessive or unused quota of energy. Roberto Assagioli --Psychosynthesis