Wiki I Ching

Development 53.1.4.5.6 55 Abundance

Grow steadily and naturally, allowing your journey to bring you into the brilliance of fulfillment.

From
53
Development
To
55
Abundance

One looks gullible, but is a real cunning one.
taoscopy.com

Development 53
Steady progress through gradual development.


Line 1
Initial steps may be uncertain and bring challenges, but they are necessary for progress.
Stay cautious and avoid blame.


Line 4
Seek stability and a secure position.
Progress is steady and without fault.


Line 5
Persistence through challenges leads to eventual success.
Patience and perseverance bring good fortune.


Line 6
Reaching the highest potential brings honor and recognition.
Your achievements are celebrated and bring good fortune.


Abundance 55
Abundance and prosperity surround you, but be mindful not to let them lead to arrogance or distraction.
Stay focused and genuine in the present moment to make the most of your opportunities.



Continue Reading

Original Readings

53
Development


Other titles: Development, The Symbol of Progressive Advance, Gradual Development, Infiltrating, Advancing, Growth, Developing, Gradualness, Dialectical Progression, Step by Step, "The slower the stronger." -- D.F. Hook

 

Judgment

Legge:Gradual Progressshows the good fortune attending the marriage of a young lady. Firm correctness brings advantage.

Wilhelm/Baynes: Development. The maiden is given in marriage. Good fortune. Perseverance furthers.

Blofeld: Gradual Progress. The marriage of a maiden brings good fortune. Persistence in a righteous course brings reward.

Liu: Gradual Development. The marriage of a girl -- Good Fortune. It benefits to continue.

Ritsema/Karcher:Infiltrating, womanhood converting significant. Harvesting Trial. [This hexagram describes your situation in terms of gradually achieving a goal. It emphasizes that advancing through diffuse but steady penetration is the adequate way to handle it. To be in accord with the time, you are told to: infiltrate!]

Shaughnessy:Advancing: For the maiden to return is auspicious; beneficial to determine.

Cleary (2):Gradual Progress in a woman’s marriage is auspicious. It is beneficial to be chaste.

Wu: Gradualness indicates that it is auspicious for a woman to get married and it is advantageous for her to be persevering.

 

The Image

Legge: A tree on the mountain -- the image of Gradual Progress. The superior man attains and nourishes his extraordinary virtue to improve the manners of the people.

Wilhelm/Baynes: On the mountain, a tree: the image of Development. Thus the superior man abides in dignity and virtue, in order to improve the mores.

Blofeld: This hexagram symbolizes a tree upon a mountain. The Superior Man, abiding in holiness and virtue, inclines the people towards goodness.

Liu: A tree on the mountain symbolizes Gradual Development. The superior man, in maintaining his virtue, improves society's customs.

Ritsema/Karcher: Above mountain possessing wood. Infiltrating. A chun tzu uses residing-in eminent actualizing-tao to improve the vulgar. [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 become what it is meant to be.]

Cleary (1): There are trees on the mountain, growing gradually. Thus do superior people abide in sagacity and improve customs.

Cleary (2): …Developed people improve customs by living wisely and virtuously.

Wu: There are trees on the mountain; this is Gradualness. The jun zi chooses to live in the neighborhood known for its high moral standards and exemplary custom.

 

COMMENTARY

Confucius/Legge: The ascent of Gradual Progress resembles the fortunate marriage of a young lady. The lines ascend to their proper places, indicating achievement. Because the ascent is made correctly the subject of the hexagram is empowered to rectify his country. He is shown as the dynamic ruler in line five, central and correct. The alternation of Keeping Still and Flexible Penetration ensure that the advance is continuous.

Legge: The written character for Gradual Progress is ordinarily used in the sense of gradually, but there is connected with it also the idea of advance. The whole of it denotes a gradual advance like the soaking in of water. The other two hexagrams that contain the idea of advance are number thirty-five, Advance of Consciousness and number forty-six,Pushing Upward-- each expresses its own nuance of meaning, and here the nuance is the gradual manner in which the advance takes place.

The theme of the hexagram is the advance of men to offices in the state -- how it should take place gradually and by successive steps. Lines 2, 3, 4 and 5 are all in their proper places as dynamic or magnetic, and we ascend them as by regular steps to the top of the hexagram.

The marriage of a young lady illustrates an important event which takes place according to various preliminary steps which must be correctly done in an orderly sequence. So must it be with the advance of a man in the service of the state.

The K'ang-hsi editors say: "A tree springing up on the ground is a tree as it begins to grow. A tree on a hill is high and large. Every tree when it begins to grow shows its branches and twigs gradually becoming long. Every morning and every evening show some difference; and when the tree is high and great, whether it be of an ordinary or extraordinary size, it has taken years to reach its dimensions."

Added Commentary: Blofeld appends the following footnote to each line in this hexagram: it is easier to read it here as his general commentary. [The additional Chinese commentaries explain that the wild goose is a bird which moves toward the sun. Now, a commonly used Chinese term for the sun is YANG, namely the male principle. So the bird obviously (sic) betokens a maiden seeking a husband. Its movement from river bank to rock, dry land, a tree, a hillock and the mainland (which is said in one commentary to mean peninsula) signifies gradual movement in an unchanging direction. From the point of view of divination, this is the best course for us, even if marriage is not our objective. Regarding marriage: the first line betokens gossip, although the marriage is not unsuitable; the second, a materially successful marriage; the third, an unfortunate marriage; the fourth, marriage to someone exceedingly kind and thoughtful; the fifth, a blissful marriage; the sixth, marriage to a public figure who has some responsibility for good order within the realm and who succeeds in his task.]

 

NOTES AND PARAPHRASES

Judgment: The proper union of forces within the psyche is a matter of slow maturation.

The Superior Man maintains his will and transforms the psyche. "Example is the school of mankind, and they will learn at no other." -- Burke

This is one of the most hierarchical of the hexagrams -- each line represents a clear advance from the position of the preceding line, thus giving an image of Gradual Progress. The vehicle of this progression is the wild goose, which also appears in every line. A goose is a bird -- primarily a creature of the air, or realm of thought; but because it also thrives on either water or land, the goose symbolizes thought which permeates the lower two categories of consciousness -- emotion (water), and sensation (earth).

Another traditional interpretation of the goose motif is that of the universal aspect of the soul. The wild goose is able to move about everywhere, on firm land, in water and in the air. It is the bird of Hermes, who is the leader of souls.
E.C. Whitmont -- The Symbolic Quest

The progress of the goose is a gradual one, from the shore, or threshold of awareness in line one, to the mountain heights, or realm of the Spirit in line six. The fact that this progress is linked with the idea of marriage in the Judgment is a clear hint that we are dealing here with the idea of the union of opposites within the psyche. (See commentary on hexagram number eleven.) The message is unambiguous: the process of psycho-spiritual growth is one of slow maturation. There are no short-cuts to enlightenment.

Evils and falsities must be removed, to the intent that a new life which is the life of heaven may be implanted. This can in nowise be done hastily; for every evil enrooted with its falsities has connection with all evils and their falsities; and such evils and falsities are innumerable, and their connection is so manifold that it cannot be comprehended ... From this it is plain that the life of hell in man cannot be suddenly destroyed, for if it were suddenly done he would straightway expire; and that the life of heaven cannot be suddenly implanted, for if this were done suddenly he would also expire.
Swedenborg -- Arcana Coelestia


Line 1

Legge: The first line, magnetic, shows the wild geese gradually approaching the shore. A young officer in similar circumstances will be in a position of danger, and be spoken against; but there will be no error.

Wilhelm/Baynes: The wild goose gradually draws near the shore. The young son is in danger. There is talk. No blame.

Blofeld: The wild goose moves gradually towards the river bank. The younger son is in trouble. There is talk, but no error.

Liu: The wild goose gradually approaches the shore. The boy is in danger. There is gossip. No blame. [This line indicates difficulty, but you will ultimately be able to achieve your undertaking.]

Ritsema/Karcher: The wild-swan Infiltrating tending-towards the barrier. The small son, adversity possessing words. Lacking fault.

Shaughnessy: The wild goose advances to the depths; for the little son dangerous; there are words; there is no trouble.

Cleary (1): Geese gradually proceed on the shoreline. The small ones are in danger; there is criticism, no fault.

Cleary (2): Geese gradually proceed to the shoreline. If humble people are diligent and speak up, there is no blame.

Wu: The wild goose flies in gradually to rest by the riverbank. The little fellow is in jeopardy and he is being talked about, but without fault.

 

COMMENTARY

Confucius/Legge: The danger is owing to no fault of hers in the matter of what is right. Wilhelm/Baynes: The danger besetting the little son implies no blame. Blofeld: `The younger son is in trouble' is just a way of saying that there is trouble for which we are not to blame. Ritsema/Karcher: Righteous, without fault indeed. Cleary (2): The diligence of humble people is dutiful and blameless. Wu: In principle he is faultless.

Legge: In line one the geese appear for the first time in the season approaching the shore. Then comes the real subject of the line -- she is magnetic in a dynamic place and without a proper correlate above. The difficulty and danger of her situation are seen as the result of circumstances -- the young officer has not brought it on herself.

 

NOTES AND PARAPHRASES

Siu: At the outset, the young man begins to make his way in the world. He is subjected to criticisms because his inexperienced steps are slow and hesitant. These will help prevent future errors on his part.

Wing: Your position is one of the classic beginner. Criticism is now unavoidable, however -- it can be used to your advantage in refining your skills. You can lay down the early foundations for later successes.

Editor: Air (thought) is more abstract than water (emotion); water is more abstract than earth (sensation). Of the three elements, earth is the most solid and the shore is where they all meet. As a creature at home in air, water or on land, the goose symbolizes a force which grounds an abstraction where it can be seen, grasped and understood. The young officer is inexperienced awareness coping with a new situation. "Danger" and being "spoken against" suggest confusion and conflicting emotions within the psyche as one deals with something new and unfamiliar. Remembering that the symbol of marriage in the Judgment relates to the union of thought and feeling within our physical vehicle, we can see that this first line represents a new synthesis of some sort.

It is the firmness, the effort and the skillfulness of the conscious ego's position that finally decide whether the onrush from the deep will bring about chaos and meaningless suffering or whether the suffering can instead provide the dark background from which the light of a new order may arise.
E.C. Whitmont --The Symbolic Quest

A. Expect confusion and difficulty in coping with a developing situation.

B. Inexperience with new concepts necessitates careful differentiation of all the factors involved.

Line 4

Legge: The fourth line, magnetic, shows the geese gradually advanced to the trees. They may light on the flat branches. There will be no error.

Wilhelm/Baynes: The wild goose gradually draws near the tree. Perhaps it will find a flat branch. No blame.

Blofeld: The wild goose moves gradually towards a tree and may find a suitable branch on which to perch -- no error!

Liu: The wild goose gradually approaches the tree, seeking a safe branch. No blame. [This is a time of contentment in your personal life, without fear or sadness.]

Ritsema/Karcher: The wild-swan Infiltrating tending-towards the trees. Maybe acquiring one's rafter. Without fault.

Shaughnessy: The wild goose advances to the tree: perhaps getting what the robbers rejected; there is no trouble.

Cleary (1): Geese gradually proceed in the trees, and may reach a level roost. No fault.

Wu: The wild goose flies in gradually to rest in the wood. It may find a flat branch. No error.

 

COMMENTARY

Confucius/Legge: There is docility in the line going on to flexible penetration.

Wilhelm/Baynes: It is devoted and gentle. Blofeld: Its finding a suitable branch augurs willing acceptance and gentleness. Ritsema/Karcher: Yielding using Ground indeed. Cleary (2): Following docilely. Wu: It may find a flat branch if the approach is favorable.

Legge: The web-footed goose is not suited for taking hold on the branches, but on flat branches it can rest. Line four is the first line in the upper trigram of Humility, and it is concluded that she will not fall into error. Ch'eng-tzu says that humility and right-doing will find rest and peace in all places and circumstances.

 

NOTES AND PARAPHRASES

Siu: The man attains a safe position through docility and pliancy.

Wing: You must remain flexible now. It may be necessary to sidestep difficulties, yield to obstacles, or retreat from danger. These, of course, are only temporary measures. The important thing is to maintain your safety now so that you can develop the conditions for later successes.

Editor: The image suggests a temporary compromise.

But between the starting point in the lowlands of our ordinary consciousness and the shining peak of Self- realization there are intermediate phases, plateaus at various altitudes on which a man may rest or even make his abode, if his lack of strength precludes or his will does not choose a further ascent.
Roberto Assagioli -- Psychosynthesis

A. Adapt to circumstances.

B. A temporary position provides support through a transition.

C. "Any port in a storm."

D. "On hold."

Line 5

Legge: The fifth line, dynamic, shows the geese gradually advanced to the high mound. It suggests the idea of a wife who for three years does not become pregnant: but in the end the natural issue cannot be prevented. There will be good fortune.

Wilhelm/Baynes: The wild goose gradually draws near the summit. For three years the woman has no child. In the end nothing can hinder her. Good fortune.

Blofeld: The wild goose moves gradually towards the hillock. In the end, the results will be incomparable -- good fortune!

Liu: The wild goose gradually approaches the top of the hill. The woman is not pregnant for three years. In the end, nothing can overcome her. Good fortune. [There will be confusion in the beginning, but understanding later; after overcoming obstacles, things will go smoothly in your life.]

Ritsema/Karcher: The wild-swan Infiltrating tending-towards the mound. The wife, three year's-time not pregnant. Completing: absolutely-nothing has mastering. Significant.

Shaughnessy: The wild goose advances to the mound: the wife for three years does not get pregnant; in the end nothing overcomes it; auspicious.

Cleary (1): Geese gradually proceed onto a mountain top. The wife does not conceive for three years, but in the end nothing defeats her. Good fortune.

Cleary (2): … After all, no one could overcome her. This is auspicious.

Wu: The wild goose flies in gradually to rest on a hill. The woman has not been pregnant for three years, but she finally overcomes her disadvantages. Auspicious.

 

COMMENTARY

Confucius/Legge: The subject of the line will get what she desires. Wilhelm/

Baynes: In the end nothing can hinder good fortune. One attains one's wish. Blofeld: Good fortune in the form of complete fulfillment of our desires. Ritsema/Karcher: Acquiring the place desired indeed. Cleary (2): Getting what was wished for. Wu: She gets what she wishes.

Legge: Line five is a dynamic line in the ruler's seat, and yet appears here as the symbol of a wife. Somehow she has been at variance with, and kept in disgrace by, calumniating enemies such as the plunderers of line three; but things come right in the end. The wife, childless for three years, becomes at last a mother, and there is good fortune. The wife will have a child; minister and ruler will meet happily.

 

NOTES AND PARAPHRASES

Siu: Because of the calumny of deceitful people, the man is misjudged while advancing into a high position. Although reconciliation and progress result eventually, nothing is achieved in the interim.

Wing: As you gain an ever greater position of influence, you become more and more a target for attack. Deceitful people may slander you, or you may even be misjudged by those closest to you. Because you are isolated, nothing meaningful can be accomplished. Eventually communications will be established and good fortune will follow.

Editor: The image is of a peak or goal which is somewhat subordinate to the extreme heights of line six. The rewards of this attainment require more time to become consolidated.

On the biological plane the irreconcilable elements of father and mother, of male and female, are reconciled on a new level in the child, who carries in his own person physical characteristics and psychological components derived from both parents. It is not surprising, therefore, that in the images of the unconscious a child frequently appears as the symbol of reconciliation on the psychological plane within the individual.
M.E. Harding -- Psychic Energy

A. A delayed issue comes in due time.

B. Protracted labor brings forth an eventual synthesis.

Line 6

Legge: The sixth line, dynamic, shows the geese gradually advanced to the large heights beyond. Their feathers can be used as ornaments. There will be good fortune.

Wilhelm/Baynes: The wild goose gradually draws near the cloud heights. Its feathers can be used for the sacred dance. Good fortune.

Blofeld: The wild goose moves gradually towards the mainland. Its feathers can be used for ritual purposes -- good fortune!

Liu: The wild goose gradually approaches the cloudy heights. Its feathers can be used in ritual decoration. Good fortune. [You will carry out a significant undertaking with someone’s help.]

Ritsema/Karcher: The wild-swan Infiltrating tending-towards the highlands. Its feathers permit availing-of activating fundamentals. Significant.

Shaughnessy: The wild goose advances to the land: its feathers can be used to be emblems; auspicious.

Cleary (1): Geese gradually proceed to level ground; their feathers can be used for ceremonies. Good fortune.

Wu: The wild goose flies gradually into the clouds. Its feathers may be used for decorum. Auspicious.

 

COMMENTARY

Confucius/Legge: The object and character of the subject of the line cannot be disturbed. Wilhelm/Baynes: He is not to be disconcerted. Blofeld: The sentence about the feathers indicates that now disorder cannot prevail. [The traditional Chinese conception of good government, good order within the family and so on, allots an important role to ritual because of its efficacy in making people inclined to regard their duties with solemnity and because it helps to make everything seem orderly.]Ritsema/Karcher: Not permitting disarray indeed. Cleary (2): They cannot be put in disarray. Wu: Don’t mess it up.

Legge: The subject of line six has reached the top of the hexagram. There is no more advance for him, and he has no correlate. He will work for the state and verify the auspice derived from the ornamental plumes of the geese.

 

NOTES AND PARAPHRASES

Siu: The man reaches the pinnacle, completes his work, and leaves inspiration for the world to follow.

Wing: As you achieve the greatest heights in your upward climb, you become an example for others. You are emulated by those who admire you, and this in itself is the greatest praise. There is good fortune for all concerned.

Editor: Most translations emphasize that the use of the feathers is for ritual or sacred purposes. A feather used in religious ritual suggests spiritual thoughts, concepts, truths, aspirations, ideals, etc. "The large heights beyond" would be the realm of ultimate realities and eternal truths to which one aspires. Since one of the central ideas of the hexagram is the contracting of a marriage, this line suggests the consummation of that marriage, and the religious references indicate that it is a hieros gamos, or holy marriage. If we combine Legge's image of ornaments with the idea of religious rites, the Chinese concept of the proper attitude for sacrifice emerges:

In religious sacrifice ... the important thing is one’s attitude, especially sincerity, in the performance. These sacrifices are "ornaments" or refined manifestations of an inner attitude.
D.H. Smith --Confucius

A. The image suggests a spiritual synthesis. Energy has been transformed -- the dialectical progression has been successful.

B. The line can suggest the idea of a sacrifice which one makes on behalf of the Work.

C. A successful union of opposites.

55
Abundance


Other titles: Abundance, Fullness, The Symbol of Prosperity, Greatness, Abounding, Richness, Prolific, Fruitful, Luxuriant, Zenith, Affluence, Correct Action, Lucid Behavior, "Generally means that one will have enough for one's needs with a little over. Does not mean large wealth as a rule." -- D.F. Hook

 

Judgment

Legge: Expansion of Awareness means progress and development. When the king is enlightened there is no need to fear a change. Let him be as the sun at noon.

Wilhelm/Baynes:Abundance has success. The king attains abundance. Be not sad. Be like the sun at midday.

Blofeld:Abundance -- success! The King inspires them. Do not be sad; it is fitting to be like the sun at its zenith. [Abundance in itself is often good; but it is generally followed by the waning of what was abundant; moreover, as we shall see, there can be abundance of darkness, or anything else unpleasant. (The Judgment itself) may be taken as an auspicious omen.]

Liu: Greatness. Success. The king attains greatness, without sadness; he should be like the sun at midday.

Ritsema/Karcher:Abounding, Growing. The king imagining it. No grief. Properly sun centering. [This hexagram describes your situation in terms of profusion and abundance reaching culmination. It emphasizes that exuberantly increasing things to their fullest is the adequate way to handle it...]

Shaughnessy: Abundance: Receipt; the king approaches it; do not be sad. It is proper for the middle of the day.

Cleary (1): Richness is developmental. Freedom from worry when the king is great is suited to midday.

Cleary (2):Richness is success; a king attains this. Do not worry. Take advantage of the sun at noon.

Wu: A sage king will attain abundance. There is no need to worry, for he knows the expedience of observing the midday sun.


The Image

Legge: The superior man, in accordance with this, decides cases of litigation, and apportions punishments with exactness.

Wilhelm/Baynes: Both thunder and lightning come: the image of Abundance. Thus the superior man decides lawsuits and carries out punishments.

Blofeld: This hexagram symbolizes thunder and lightning occurring simultaneously. The Superior Man decides law suits and inflicts the necessary penalties.

Liu: Thunder and lightning coming together symbolize Greatness. The superior man judges lawsuits and imposes punishments.

Ritsema/Karcher: Thunder, lightning, altogether culminating. Abounding. A chun tzu uses severing litigating to involve punishing.

Cleary (1): Thunder and lightning both arrive, abundant. Thus do superior people pass judgment and execute punishment.

Cleary (2): Thunder and lightning both come in richness. Thus do leaders pass judgments and execute punishments.

Wu: Thunder and lightning come together; this is Abundance. Thus the jun zi decides the verdicts and exacts the punishments.

 

COMMENTARY

Confucius/Legge: The greatness of Expansion of Awareness is due to Movement directed by Clarity. Although the king has attained this state, he must still make it greater. But there is no need for anxiety -- let him be as the sun at noon: let his clarity shine on all under the sky. As soon as sun and moon reach zenith their light begins to wane. The intercourse of heaven and earth alternates between abundance and scarcity. It waxes and wanes according to the seasons. How much more so with men or spiritual forces! [Ritsema/Karcher translate "spiritual forces" [Kuei Shen] as: "The whole range of imaginal beings both inside and outside the individual; spiritual powers, gods, demons, ghosts, powers, fetishes." -- Ed.]

Legge: The written Chinese character denoting Expansion of Awarenessis the symbol of being large and abundant -- a condition of prosperity. In human affairs, prosperity often gives place to its opposite. The lesson of the hexagram is to show how the ruler may preserve the prosperity of his state and people. The component trigrams show Motive Force under the direction of Intelligence. A ruler with these attributes will not fail to maintain the progress and development of his kingdom. He is told not to be anxious, but to study how he may always be like the sun at its zenith, cheering and enlightening all.

It must be noted that a change has been introduced in this hexagram in explaining the symbolism of the lines. Normally, for two lines to have a correct relationship one must be female (magnetic) and the other male (dynamic). Here two dynamic male lines make a proper correlation in the first and fourth places.

In the Image, lightning appears as the natural phenomenon of which Clarity is the symbol in the lower trigram. The virtues of Clarity and Movement are required of the superior man in judging litigation.

 

NOTES AND PARAPHRASES

Judgment: Don't grieve when the truth hurts: a loss of illusion is a gain in awareness. Once truly attained, enlightenment cannot be lost, it can only be increased.

The Superior Man acts with clarity by accurately evaluating cause and effect. [Or: The objective assessment of any contradiction is the road to comprehending it.]

The fifty-fifth hexagram is very intriguing in that it appears to have a misleading title in the original Chinese, which is usually translated as Abundance,Fullness, Prosperity, etc. All of the internal clues, plus empirical experience with the figure have convinced me that the title Expansion of Awareness is a more accurate description of the forces operating in this hexagram. Here is my reasoning:

First, the component trigrams of Clarity and Movement portray action directed by clear comprehension, as well as awareness itself in motion or expansion. The title of Abundance seems misleading because it suggests a relatively static condition, whereas the combined trigrams in the figure symbolize Clear Movement. These trigrams appear in reverse sequence in hexagram number twenty-one, Discernment, which symbolizes the act of comprehending -- a dynamic function of consciousness described in the Image here as a quest for justice: "Thus the superior man decides lawsuits and carries out punishments." (Wilhelm) Notice also that the message for the superior man in this Image is almost identical with that in Discernment:"Thus the kings of former times made firm the laws through clearly defined penalties." (Wilhelm) The ancient kings can always be taken as symbolic of archetypal forces (the "gods"), so their laws are those of nature, not of humankind. Interpreted broadly, both messages counsel us to: "Comprehend the law of Tao, or suffer the penalties of ignorance." Which is to say: "expand your awareness."

Second, note the message in the Judgment. Most of the translators render this by comparing the king at the peak of his power with the sun at the peak of its illumination at noon. The sun is the symbol of clarity and enlightenment, and the sun at its zenith therefore symbolizes a high point of awareness.

Third, notice that lines two, three and four depict an eclipse of the sun through its waxing, full and waning phases. This suggests ignorance gradually evolving toward comprehension, which is finally attained in line five. The progression in the hexagram is from ignorance to clarity, and then in line six, ignorance within clarity -- i.e., an image of one who remains obtuse while surrounded by the light of illumination.

Fourth, the combined trigrams of shock and light (thunder and lightning) suggest a sudden and numinous illumination: the sort of en-light-enment (expansion of awareness) described by Yogis:

Suddenly, with a roar like that of a waterfall, I felt a stream of liquid light entering my brain through the spinal cord ... The illumination grew brighter and brighter, the roaring louder, I experienced a rocking sensation and then felt myself slipping out of my body, entirely enveloped in a halo of light ... I was no longer myself, or to be more accurate, no longer as I knew myself to be, a small point of awareness confined in a body, but instead was a vast circle of consciousness in which the body was but a point, bathed in light and in a state of exaltation and happiness impossible to describe.
Gopi Krishna --Kundalini, the Evolutionary Energy in Man

It is possible that the written character translated into English as Abundance has these associations in Chinese. Unfortunately, the title of Abundance itself does not immediately suggest in the English language the ideas that are integral in the symbolism of the hexagram.