Other titles: The Joyous, Joyousness, Pleased Satisfaction, Encouraging, Delight, Open, Usurpation, Self-indulgence, Pleasure, Cheerfulness, Frivolity, Callow Optimism
Judgment
Legge:Joy intimates that under its conditions there will be progress and attainment, but it will be advantageous to be firm and correct.
Wilhelm/Baynes:The Joyous. Success. Perseverance is favorable.
Blofeld: Joy -- success! Persistence in a righteous course brings reward.
Liu: Joyousness. Success. Continuance is favorable.
Ritsema/Karcher:Open, Growing. Harvesting Trial. [This hexagram describes your situation in terms of interaction and exchange. It emphasizes that stimulating things through cheering and persuasive speech, the action of Open, is the adequate way to handle it. To be in accord with the time, you are told to: stimulate!]
Shaughnessy:Usurpation: Receipt; a little beneficial to determine.
Cleary (1): Joy is developmental, beneficial if correct. [This hexagram represents joy in practicing the Tao. Having one’s will in the Tao is finding joy in the Tao; when one delights in the Tao, then one can practice the Tao. This is why Joy is developmental.]
Cleary (2):Delight comes through, beneficial if correct.
Wu:Joy indicates pervasiveness. It is advantageous to be persevering.
The Image
Legge: Two images of the waters of a marsh, one over the other, form Joy. The superior man, in accordance with this, encourages the conversation of friends and the stimulus of their common practice.
Wilhelm/Baynes: Lakes resting one on the other: the image of The Joyous. Thus the superior man joins with his friends for discussion and practice.
Blofeld: This hexagram symbolizes two bodies of water conjoined. The Superior Man joins his friends in discussions and in practicing the various arts and virtues.
Liu: The beautiful lakes symbolize Joyousness. The superior man joins his fellows for teaching and study.
Ritsema/Karcher: Congregating marshes. Open. A chun tzu uses partnering friends to explicate repeating.
Cleary (1): Joined lakes are joyful. Thus do superior people explain and practice with companions. [As water provides moisture for myriad beings, joy develops myriad beings; joyful within and without, reaching the outer from within, communicating with the inner from without, inside and outside are conjoined, without separation between them – therefore it is called joy.]
Cleary (2): ... Thus do developed people study and practice with companions.
Wu: One marsh is adjacent to another; this is Joy. Thus the jun zi discusses and exchanges ideas with friends.
COMMENTARY
Confucius/Legge:Joy has the meaning of Pleased Satisfaction. We have the dynamic lines in the center and the magnetic lines on the outer edge of the two trigrams, indicating that in pleasure what is most advantageous is the maintenance of firm correctness. Through this there will be found an accordance with the will of heaven, and a correspondence with the feelings of men. When such pleasure goes before the people, and leads them on, they forget their toils; when it animates them in encountering difficulties, they forget the risk of death. How great is the power of this Pleased Satisfaction, stimulating in such a way the people!
Legge: The feeling of pleasure is the subject of this hexagram, which is made up of the doubled trigram of Cheerfulness, or Pleased Satisfaction. The progress and attainment of the figure are due to the one magnetic line surmounting each trigram and supported by the two dynamic lines. The idea is that of mildness which is energized by a double portion of strength.
The pleasure which leads the people to endure toil and risk death is the effect of the instructive example of their ruler. Fu Fan-hsien paraphrases this portion of the text as: "When the sage with this precedes them, he can make them endure toil without any wish to decline it, and go with him into difficulty and danger without their having any fear."
Anthony: This hexagram speaks, on the one hand, of that on which true joy depends, and on the other, of joy as desire, which leads to conflict. The essence of true joy is inner stability. Being firmly devoted to our path, we do not waver. When we think of the soft and comfortable path, on the other hand, self-conflict begins. Therefore, getting this hexagram indicates that we may be wavering or irresolute.
NOTES AND PARAPHRASES
Judgment: A cheerful attitude serves the will.
The Superior Man shares his thoughts and feelings. [Or, psychologically interpreted: observes, weighs and integrates his thoughts with his feelings.]
The title of this hexagram denotes joyousness and pleasure, and most people regard it as a good omen when they receive it. Yet, an analysis of the lines indicates that only the first two are particularly favorable, and the hexagram itself seldom seems to refer to anything remotely resembling “Joy” in a typical oracle consultation. The lessons to be learned from the figure are the differences between self-indulgence and maintaining emotional stability in one's conduct of the Work, which always demands a firm control over one’s affects. To receive this hexagram without changing lines requires the querent's careful discrimination -- it can mean simply: "Oh happy day!" Or, it can suggest that you examine an inclination toward lack of control in the situation at hand. The oracle is capable of brutal sarcasm when your query warrants it, so don't be too quick to accept the shallow meaning ofJoy – as often as not, Self-indulgence is the more appropriate title.
In light frivolity, the center is lost; in hasty action, self-mastery is lost. Lao Tse
The Image depicts an open interchange among “friends.” Intrapsychically, this suggests the normal give and take between thoughts and feelings for the purpose of reaching integration. The symbol of “two bodies of water conjoined” (Blofeld) might refer to the adjacent dimensions of thought and emotion within the psyche. When feelings are not in harmony with intellectual differentiation (a common phenomenon), give and take (“discussion and practice”), is essential to effect integration: i.e., harmony, or “joy.”"Practice" suggests cycles of time, and the notion that perfection is still to be achieved.
Shaughnessy’s seemingly anomalous title of Usurpation for this hexagram offers some subtle insights into the symbolism here. Emotions, feelings, affects, are often portrayed as daemonic forces which “usurp” ego consciousness and indulge themselves in the “joy” of expressing whatever they happen to represent in the psyche. This is often what is implied when receiving this hexagram.
Each of us is equipped with a psychic disposition that limits our freedom in high degree and makes it practically illusory. Not only is "freedom of the will" an incalculable problem philosophically, it is also a misnomer in the practical sense, for we seldom find anybody who is not influenced and indeed dominated by desires, habits, impulses, prejudices, resentments, and by every conceivable kind of complex. All these natural facts function exactly like an Olympus full of deities who want to be propitiated, served, feared and worshipped, not only by the individual owner of this assorted pantheon, but by everybody in his vicinity. Jung -- Psychology and Religion
Cleary’s Taoist commentary: “As water provides moisture for myriad beings, etc.,” supports this interpretation. Water symbolizes the emotional realm, and the “myriad beings” dwelling therein are emotional entities: creatures like untamed animals, which are never happier than when running free. To them it’s Joy; to the executive function in the psyche, it’s Self-indulgence. Usurpation has taken place.
Line 1
Legge: The first line, dynamic, shows the pleasure of inward harmony. There will be good fortune.
Wilhelm/Baynes: Contented joyousness. Good fortune.
Blofeld: Harmonious joy -- good fortune!
Liu: Harmonious joyousness -- good fortune!
Ritsema/Karcher: Harmonious Opening, significant.
Shaughnessy: Beneficent usurpation; auspicious.
Cleary (1): The joy of harmony is good.
Cleary (2): Harmonious delight is auspicious.
Wu: There is joy in harmony, Auspicious.
COMMENTARY
Confucius/Legge: This arises from there being nothing in the conduct of the subject of the line to awaken doubt. Wilhelm/Baynes: One's way has not yet become doubtful. Blofeld: This indicates our being able to act without being troubled by doubts. Ritsema/Karcher: Movement not-yet doubted indeed. Cleary (2): Action is not doubted. Wu: Absence of doubt.
Legge: Line one, dynamic in a dynamic place with no proper correlate above, is self-sufficient. He has as yet taken no action and there is therefore no cause for suspicion.
NOTES AND PARAPHRASES
Siu: At the outset, the man lives in quiet, self-contained joy.
Wing: A contented assurance about your path and principles leads to good fortune. With such an attitude, you do not need to rely upon external circumstances for your happiness.
Editor: The image here suggests a cheerful self-sufficiency in the matter at hand; in some sense the situation is obvious and under control. "Inward harmony" might relate to unconscious dynamics unavailable to conscious awareness.
If the individual mind is one with the Universal Mind, and if the possessor of the individual mind wishes to find out some secret of Nature, he does not require to seek for it outside of the sphere of his mind, but he looks for it in himself, because everything that exists in Nature (which is a manifestation of the Universal Mind) exists in, and is reflected by himself, and the idea of there being two minds is only an illusion; the two are one. F. Hartmann -- Paracelsus: Life and Prophecies
A. Have a simple faith in the unfolding of the Work and cheerfully accept the status quo.
B. "Don't worry. Be happy."
C. Inner harmony is sufficient unto itself.
Line 4
Legge: The fourth line, dynamic, shows its subject deliberating about what to seek his pleasure in, and not at rest. He borders on what would be injurious but there will be cause for joy.
Wilhelm/Baynes: Joyousness that is weighed is not at peace. After ridding himself of mistakes a man has joy.
Blofeld: Calculating future joys, he is restless and suffers from various small ills, yet he is happy.
Liu: Considering joyousness does not bring serenity. Once one corrects his conduct, one has joyousness.
Shaughnessy: Patterned usurpation; not yet at peace; a transitional illness has happiness.
Cleary (1): Joy after deliberation: If one is firm and wary without complacency, there will be happiness.
Cleary (2): Deliberating about delight, one is uneasy. If one is firm and swift, there will be happiness.
Wu: He is not at ease in pondering about joyousness, but he is glad to be able to distinguish what is correct from what he despises.
COMMENTARY
Confucius/Legge: The joy in connection with the subject of the fourth line is due to the happiness which he will produce. Wilhelm/Baynes: The joy brings blessing. Blofeld: There will be happiness in spite of this foolish anxiety because blessings [i.e., unexpected or seemingly unmerited happiness] will be received. Ritsema/ Karcher: Possessing reward indeed. Cleary (2): Celebration. Wu: There is something to celebrate.
Legge: The bordering on what is injurious has reference to the contiguity of line four to the magnetic third line. That might have an injurious effect, but he reflects and deliberates before he will yield to the seduction of pleasure, and there is cause for joy.
Anthony: In addition to the more literal meanings of this line, pleasure also means departing from our limits to indulge our self-importance, power, correctness, wit, intelligence, skill, sharpness or independence. Such luxuries of attitude are against our inner nature and create self-conflict.
NOTES AND PARAPHRASES
Siu: Indecision regarding the choice among pleasures temporarily robs the man of inner peace. After due reflection, he attains joy by turning away from the lower pleasures and seeking the higher ones.
Wing: You are suffering from indecision based upon a choice between inferior and superior pleasures. If you recognize this and then choose the higher and more constructive form of pleasure, you will find true happiness. Above all, make your decision soon.
Editor: Two kinds of "joy" are contrasted here: desire indulged vs. desire mastered, and the line depicts ambivalence about which one you'll choose. If this is the only changing line, the hexagram becomes number sixty -- Restrictive Regulations, with a corresponding line that counsels the acceptance of limitation as productive of peace of mind and contentment: "Shows its subject quietly and naturally attentive to all regulations. There will be progress and success."
By reflecting upon the uselessness of aimlessly frittering away thy life, mayest thou be incited to diligence in the treading of the Path. W.Y. Evans-Wentz -- Tibetan Yoga and Secret Doctrines
A. Rid yourself of ambivalence by accepting the limitations demanded by the Work: "Yield not unto temptation."
Line 5
Legge: The fifth line, dynamic, shows its subject trusting in one who would injure him. The situation is perilous.
Wilhelm/Baynes: Sincerity toward disintegrating influences is dangerous.
Blofeld: Faith in what is disintegrating leads to trouble. [Presumably, we put our trust in the continuance of something which, perhaps unknown to us, is already beginning to crumble away.]
Liu: Confidence in what is decaying is dangerous. [If you get this line, you should expect trouble caused by an unworthy person.]
Shaughnessy: Sincerity in flaying; there is danger.
Cleary (1): There is danger in trusting plunderers.
Cleary (2): There is inspiration in sincerity toward the fallen.
Wu: He shows confidence in the one that may strip him: a sign of danger.
COMMENTARY
Confucius/Legge: His place is that which is correct and appropriate. Wilhelm/ Baynes: The place is correct and appropriate. Blofeld: However, this line is suited to its position (hence the trouble will hardly amount to much). Ritsema/Karcher: Situation correcting appropriate indeed. Cleary (2): Being sincere toward the fallen, the position is indeed appropriate. Wu: “He shows confidence in the one that may strip him,” because of his position.
Legge: The danger to line five is from the magnetic line six above, in whom he is represented as trusting. Possibly his own strength and sincerity of mind may be perverted into instruments of evil; but possibly they may operate beneficially. The correctness of his position seems to contradict his trusting of the line above, who can only injure him. On the contrary, it should keep him from doing so. The commentators have seen this, and say that the paragraph is intended by way of caution.
Anthony: This means we are sincere in listening to negative ideas, such as the temptation to pursue self-advantage, or listening to doubt, impatience, fear, or pride, as in “having rights.”
NOTES AND PARAPHRASES
Siu: The man associates with destructive people and exposes himself to perils. There is the possibility that his own strength and sincerity may be perverted into instruments of evil.
Wing: You are contemplating a relationship with an inferior element. Such a commitment is dangerous, for you will be drawn into peril. You must now be more selective in order to protect yourself.
Editor: The message is unambiguous:A correct position is threatened by a negative influence. Cleary’s Buddhist translation: “There is inspiration in sincerity toward the fallen” is anomalous in my experience.
That happens when you get into a state in which you are not yourself, or into an emotional upset where you lose control of yourself, but afterwards wake up completely sober and look at the stupid things you did during your possessed state and wonder what got into you: something got hold of you, you weren't yourself, though while you were behaving like that you thought you were -- it was just as if an evil spirit or the devil had got into you. ... We would say, more neutrally, an autonomous complex temporarily replaces the ego complex; it feels like the ego at the time, but it isn't, for afterwards, when dissociated from it, one cannot understand how one came to do or think such things. M.L. Von Franz -- On Divination and Synchronicity
A. Overcome your fascination with forces that would spoil the Work.
B. You place your trust in illusions: "Stop indulging yourself."
Other titles: The Army, The Symbol of Multitude and of Army, Legions/ Leading, The Troops, Collective Force, Discipline, Soldiers, Group Action, A Disciplined Multitude, Ego Discipline, Willpower "Can refer to mourning but its essential meaning is Discipline." -- D.F. Hook
Judgment
Legge:Disciplineindicates that with firm correctness and a leader of age and experience, there will be good fortune and no error.
Wilhelm/Baynes:The Army. The army needs perseverance and a strong man. Good fortune without blame.
Blofeld: Persistence in a righteous course brings to those in authority good fortune and freedom from error. [If the enquiry is not concerned with military affairs, we must interpret this hexagram symbolically in the sense that life is a battle.]
Liu:The Army. The army demands perseverance and a strong person (leader). Good fortune. No blame.
Ritsema/Karcher: Legions: Trial. Respectable people significant. Without fault. [This hexagram describes your situation in terms of unorganized crowds or bunches of things. It emphasizes that organizing these things into functional units is the adequate way to handle it. To be in accord with the time, you are told to lead!]
Shaughnessy: The Troops: Determination for the senior man is auspicious; there is no trouble.
Cleary (1): For the leader of the army to be right, a mature person is good; then there is no error.
Wu: The Army indicates persevering. Led by the elder man, it will be auspicious.
The Image
Legge: Water in the midst of the earth -- the image ofDiscipline. The superior man nourishes and educates the people, and collects from among them a mighty army.
Wilhelm/Baynes: In the middle of the earth is water: the image of The Army. Thus the superior man increases his masses by generosity toward the people.
Blofeld: The symbol of water surrounded by land. The Superior Man nourishes the people and treats them with leniency.
Liu: Water in the earth symbolizes the Army. The superior man increases his followers by benevolence toward the people.
Ritsema/Karcher: Earth center possessing stream. Legions. A chun tzu uses tolerating commoners to accumulate crowds.
Cleary (1): There is water in the earth, The Army. Thus does the superior person embrace the people and nurture the masses.
Cleary (2): … Leaders develop a group by admitting people.
Wu: There is water underneath the ground; this is The Army. Thus the jun zi receives people and shelters them.
COMMENTARY
Confucius/Legge: Discipline describes the masses who make up the army, and the firm correctness referred to means a morally correct intent. When the leader uses the masses with such correctness, he may fulfill the ruler's will. The focus of strength in the second line is responded to by his proper correlate in the ruler's place. Although action is dangerous, it accords with the best sentiments of men, and although the leader may distress the country the people will still follow him -- there will be good fortune and no error.
Legge: Discipline is symbolized here by the conduct of a military expedition. The arrangement of the lines suggests the idea of a general surrounded by his troops. The dynamic yang line in the center of the lower trigram has the confidence of the magnetic ruler in the fifth place. Entire trust is reposed in him because he is strong and correct. He is referred to as an old and experienced man, hence all of his enterprises will succeed.
Perilousness is the attribute of the lower trigram, and Docility or Accordance with Others, that of the upper. War is like poison to a country -- painful, and potentially ruinous, and yet the people will endure it on behalf of the sovereign whom they love and respect.
In regard to the Image, Chu Hsi says: "As the water is not outside the earth, so soldiers are not outside the people. Therefore if a ruler is able to nourish the people, he can get the multitudes for his armies."
NOTES AND PARAPHRASES
Judgment: Discipline directed by willpower and serious intent advances the Work. Or: With experienced judgment and proper will and intent there will be a good outcome.
The Superior Man trains and nourishes his powers to build an invincible unity.
The English word "infantry," meaning foot soldiers (the backbone of any army), is derived from the French word enfant, meaning infant, or child. This ancient association was made because a good military officer was expected to treat his soldiers as if they were his own children -- with a stern but loving discipline designed to improve their character. This concept is what the Image alludes to when it says: “The superior man nourishes and educates the people, and collects from among them a mighty army.” Psychologically interpreted the idea is that the ego-complex is the general officer in the second line that nourishes, educates and controls the other complexes within the psyche. This can only be accomplished through discipline, and thus I have chosen that name for the hexagram rather than the more usual title of The Army.
With the only dynamic line of the hexagram placed in the center of the lower trigram we have an image of the position of the ego-complex in relation to the rest of the psyche. The magnetic ruler in line five represents the Self, isolated from direct physical involvement and dependent upon the dynamic ego to carry out the Work in the material dimension. The seventh hexagram, therefore, shows the Work from the ego's point of view.
Hexagram number eight, Holding Together, is the inverse of this image, and shows the Work from the Self's point of view outside of spacetime. There it is the dynamic fifth line ruler who is the focal point -- an image of the Self surrounded by its satellites. In that dimension the second line ego-complex is only another magnetic complex in the company of other magnetic complexes. Ideally, the lower complexes within the psyche should be magnetic in relation to a dynamic ego, but the ego is always magnetic in relation to the dynamic Self. From the Self's point of view all of its complexes are its magnetic "children," or "infantry." Hexagrams seven and eight should be studied together as reversed images to get a full comprehension of each.
The images in the lines of Discipline all deal with the management of forces as a coordinated whole -- as long as they are under the firm command of the ego (who is only a general carrying out the orders of the Self), things proceed successfully. If the Discipline breaks down and the ego- general loses control, defeat is certain.
Narutomi Hyogo said, "What is called winning is defeating one's allies. Defeating one's allies is defeating oneself, and defeating oneself is vigorously overcoming one's own body. It is as though a man were in the midst of ten thousand allies but not one were following him. If one hasn't previously mastered his mind and body, he will not defeat the enemy." Yamamoto Tsunetomo -- The Book of the Samurai