Let go of what's heavy and embrace the small steps; progress is found in the gentle breeze of subtle change.
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Dispersion
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Small Powers
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Dispersion59
Adapt to situations by letting go of rigidity; dissolve obstacles through openness and flexibility.
↓ Line 2
Seeking support and guidance during times of uncertainty brings relief and clarity.
↓ Line 3
Letting go of ego and personal desires leads to harmony and peace.
↓ Line 4
Breaking away from limiting associations can lead to greater opportunities and success.
↓ Line 5
Expressing oneself openly and honestly can lead to resolution and understanding.
↓ Line 6
Removing oneself from harmful situations or influences is wise and leads to safety.
↓ Small Powers62
Focus on the details. Embrace humility and small steps to achieve success. Avoid overreaching or taking on too much to prevent failure.
Other titles: Dispersion, Dissolution, Disintegration, Dispersal, Overcoming Dissension, Scattering,Dispersing, Unintegrated, Reuniting, Evaporation, Reorganization, New Deal, Re-Shuffle, Course Correction, Catharsis
Judgment
Legge: Expansion intimates that there will be progress and success. The king goes to his ancestral temple. It will be advantageous to cross the great stream. It will be advantageous to be firm and correct.
Wilhelm/Baynes:Dispersion. Success. The king approaches his temple. It furthers one to cross the great water. Perseverance furthers.
Blofeld:Scattering -- success! The King has approached his temple. [An omen of safety.] It is advantageous to cross the great river (or sea). [I.e., to go on a long journey.] Persistence in a righteous course brings reward.
Liu: Dispersion. Success. The king approaches the temple. It is of benefit to cross the great water. It benefits to continue.
Ritsema/Karcher: Dispersing , Growing. The king imagines possessing a temple. Harvesting: wading the Great River. Harvesting Trial. [This hexagram describes your situation in terms of confronting obstacles, illusions and misunderstandings. It emphasizes that clearing away what is blocking the light is the adequate way to handle it. To be in accord with the time, you are told to: disperse what obstructs awareness!]
Shaughnessy: Dispersal: Receipt; the king approaches into the temple; beneficial to ford the great river; beneficial to determine.
Cleary (1): In Dispersal there is development. The king comes to have a shrine. It is beneficial to cross great rivers . It is beneficial to be correct.
Cleary (2):Dispersal is successful. The king goes to his ancestral temple. The benefit crosses great rivers. It is beneficial if correct.
Wu: Dispersion indicates pervasiveness. The king does homage to his ancestral temple. It will be advantageous to cross the big river, but only with perseverance.
The Image
Legge: The image of wind moving over water forms Expansion. The ancient kings, in accordance with this, presented offerings to God and established the ancestral temple.
Wilhelm/Baynes: The wind drives over the water: the image of Dispersion. Thus the kings of old sacrificed to the Lord and built temples.
Blofeld: This hexagram symbolizes wind blowing across the face of the waters. The kings of old built temples in which to sacrifice to the Supreme Lord of Heaven. [A temple is a place of safety from the ills of the world. The symbolism here is that the upper trigram forms a temple in which people are safe from the pit (the lower trigram); its middle line (five) signifies the King. The implication is that we should employ spiritual or moral means to preserve ourselves from the danger threatened by the lower trigram.]
Liu: Wind blowing over water symbolizes Dispersion. The ancient kings offered sacrifices to the Deity, then built temples.
Ritsema/Karcher: Wind moves above stream. Dispersing. The Earlier Kings used presenting tending-towards the supreme to establish the temples.
Cleary (1): Wind blows above water, Unintegrated. Thus ancient kings honored god and set up shrines.
Cleary (2): Wind travels over the water, dispersing. Ancient kings honored God and set up shrines.
Wu: The wind moves above water; this is Dispersion. Thus, the ancient kings made offerings to the Supreme Being and consecrated their ancestral temple.
COMMENTARY
Confucius/Legge: The dynamic line is central in the lower trigram, and the magnetic fourth line is correct in the upper trigram, uniting with the dynamic ruler above her. The king's mind is without any deflection as he goes to his ancestral temple. He rides over water in a vessel of wood, and will cross the great stream with success.
Legge: The hexagram of Expansion denotes a state of dissipation or dispersion. It shows men's minds alienated from correctness and sure to go on to disorder. Here an attempt is made to show how the situation should be remedied.
The lower trigram represents Water, and the upper, Wind. Wind moving over water evaporates it, and suggests the idea of dispersion. Success is intimated because there are dynamic lines occupying the central places in the trigrams. The king's piety moves the spirits by its sincerity -- when the religious spirit rules men's minds, there will be no alienation from what is right and good. Under such conditions even hazardous enterprises may be undertaken.
The second sentence of the Confucian commentary literally begins: "The king is indeed in the middle..." This means that his heart and mind are set on the central truth of what is right and good. The ancestral temple signifies the recognition that sincere religious practices counteracted the tendency to mutual alienation and selfishness among men. The wooden vessel refers to one of the attributes of the upper trigram, which is Wood. It suggests a boat riding on water (the lower trigram), hence: crossing the great water.
NOTES AND PARAPHRASES
Judgment: Focus on the ideals of the Work and maintain your will. A major synthesis is possible.
The Superior Man subdues his ego to attain his latent potential.
Because of the intimate relationship between this figure and hexagram number 45, Contraction, I have chosen the title of Expansionto best emphasize their polarity.
The "ancient kings and sages" are more mythical than historical, so we can assume that they symbolize archetypal forces ("gods") within the psyche -- of whom the ego is only the current spacetime representative (i.e., servant- facilitator). The Self is the focal point, the center of this multidimensional awareness complex.
In both timeless and spaceless experiences, the mundane world is virtually excluded. Of course, the converse is true of the mundane state of daily routine, in which the oceanic unity with the universe, in ecstasy and Samadhi, is virtually absent. Thus, the mutual exclusiveness of the "normal" and the exalted states, both ecstasy and Samadhi, allows us to postulate that man, the self- referential system, exists on two levels: as "Self" in the mental dimension of exalted states; and as "I" in the objective world, where he is able and willing to change the physical dimension "out there.” R. Fischer -- "A Cartography of the Ecstatic and Meditative States," Science:174, 1971
The symbol of a temple, where one worships one's ancestors may be taken as the perfect gestalt of the Work as it exists outside of spacetime, as well as the karmic repository of all previous incarnations. It represents both the completed Work and the Work in progress. That the family temple was regarded in China as symbolic of an ideal standard of perfection such as this, is implied in the following passage:
Diplomatic negotiations were carried on in the ancestral temple, in the veritable presence, it was believed, of the ancestors; diplomatic banquets were given there, also. Even a proposal of marriage was received by the father of the prospective bride in his ancestral temple, in the presence of the spirits ... (The world of Confucius), we must remember, was one in which there was a nearly complete breakdown of moral standards ... Only in the performance of religious ceremonies could there still be found, consistently, a type of conduct regulated by a socially accepted norm of behavior, in which men's actions were motivated by a pattern of cooperative action, rather than swayed by the greed and passions of the moment. H.G. Creel -- Confucius and the Chinese Way
Psychologically, Expansion depicts a state of inner pressure capable of fruitful resolution if it can be properly guided. The king in the Image (in this case, the ego) sacrifices for a high ideal: the good of the Work. Legge's commentary tells us that the "second sentence of the Confucian commentary literally begins: `The king is indeed in the middle...'" This suggests a combination of his second and third sentences into the paraphrase: "The king steers a middle course when crossing the water to the ancestral temple." This gives the image of a vessel and the proper way to guide it toward a destination. Anyone who has ever steered a boat with a rudder knows that to over-correct on either side is a mark of poor seamanship: the goal is to maintain a dynamic balance in our guidance of the Work. Lines two and five represent proper course-correction because they are both in the middle of their respective trigrams.
Expansionis the inverse of the following hexagram of Restrictive Regulations. What is there confined and hoarded is here dispensed -- but this dispensation must conform with the ultimate good of the Work. Not just any release of tension will do -- it must recombine itself into a new and better organization, as imaged in the fourth line. If this new order is a proper one, the released tension precipitates a catharsis, as imaged in line five.
The form, then, in which our complexes confront us is the form in which the fundamental materials of our human structure come into our here-and-now existence. Like crystals they are always imperfect to some extent and often unrecognizable or grossly disfigured in comparison with the “ideal” shape, the shape that would represent the “pure” incorporation of the crystal scheme. But we have to meet them in this more or less imperfect or distorted form and out of this form we have to transform them into something that may be more akin to the aboriginal “intent” inherent in their archetypal cores. This undertaking, this process, is what Jung calls individuation. E.C. Whitmont -- The Symbolic Quest
SUGGESTIONS FOR MEDITATION
The Judgment of hexagram number forty-five, Contraction, also mentions the king going to his ancestral temple. A close comparison of this figure with Expansion will reveal much about the dynamics of the Work.
Line 2
Legge: The second line, dynamic, shows its subject, amid the dispersion, hurrying to his contrivance for security. All occasion for repentance will disappear.
Wilhelm/Baynes: At the dissolution he hurries to that which supports him. Remorse disappears.
Blofeld: When disintegration is in process, hasten to the altar and regret will vanish.
Liu: At the dispersion he hastens to the opportunity. Remorse vanishes.
Shaughnessy: Dispersal rushes its stairs; regret is gone.
Cleary (1): Running to support upon dispersal, regret vanishes.
Wu: At the time of Dispersion, he rushes to where the couch is. The regret will disappear.
COMMENTARY
Confucius/Legge: He gets what he desires. Wilhelm/Baynes: And thus attains what he wishes. Blofeld: We shall obtain what we desire. Ritsema/Karcher: Acquiring desire indeed. Cleary (2): Running to support on dispersal is attaining what is wished. Cleary (2): Attaining what is wished. Wu: He gets what he wishes.
Legge: Line two is dynamic, but in a magnetic place, and although that place is central, it is in the trigram of Peril. These conditions indicate evil, and action will be dangerous. But line two looks to line one below him, and takes shelter in union with it. Line two desires success in counteracting the prevailing tendency to disunion, and the Confucian commentary suggests that he attains his desire.
NOTES AND PARAPHRASES
Siu: The man finds himself alienated from others because of the prevailing ill humor and misanthropy. However, he revises his judgment of humanity and takes shelter in his strong position. His moderate and just view of mankind removes the causes for repentance later.
Wing: Your problems originate from within. You must modify your attitudes and overcome any feelings of alienation. If you can improve your opinions and feelings toward your fellow man you will find peace of mind and avoid unnecessary suffering.
Editor: Legge renders the object of security here as a "contrivance.” Other translations of this are: "Altar,” "Opportunity,” "Bench,” "Stairs” "Shelter,” “Couch,” and “That which supports him.” Wilhelm and Blofeld say that this object is not line one, but line five. Blofeld's commentary on the Image is appropriate to this second line as well: "The symbolism here is that the upper trigram forms a temple in which people are safe from the pit (the lower trigram); its middle line (five) signifies the king. The implication is that we should employ spiritual or moral means to preserve ourselves from the danger threatened by the lower trigram.” In other words: when confusion prevails rely on the principles of the Work to guide your choices.
In the market place of every Chinese town there were a few I Ching priests who would throw coins for you or take the yarrow stalks, and get answers to your questions, but then it was forbidden. In 1960 Mao thought of slightly releasing the rationalistic political pressures on the masses and found out that there were two possibilities: either to give more rice, or to allow the use of the I Ching, and all those whom he consulted told him that the people were more eager to use the I Ching again than to get more food. Spiritual food, and the I Ching was their spiritual food, was more important to them, so it was allowed for I think one or two years and then he strangled it again. M.L. Von Franz -- On Divination and Synchronicity
A. When things fall apart, maintain your center. (“The [Self] is indeed in the middle...”)
B. Have faith in the principles of the Work.
Line 3
Legge: The third line, magnetic, shows its subject discarding any regard to her own person. There will be no occasion for repentance.
Wilhelm/Baynes: He dissolves his self. No remorse.
Blofeld: Self-centered thoughts are dispersed -- no regret!
Liu: He dissolves his egotism. No remorse. [A person should be wary of disaster: if it occurs, he may not be able to escape its results.]
Ritsema/Karcher: Dispersing one's body. Without repenting.
Shaughnessy: Dispersing his torso; there is no trouble.
Cleary (1): Dispersing the self, there is no regret.
Wu: He distributes his personal belongings to others. There will be no regret.
COMMENTARY
Confucius/Legge: She has no regard for her own person. Her aim is directed to what is external to herself. Wilhelm/Baynes: His will is directed outward. Blofeld: The will is fixed upon something external to our own well-being. Ritsema/Karcher: Purpose located outside indeed. Cleary (2): The aim is outside. Wu: His goal is to reach out.
Legge: Line three is magnetic in a dynamic place. Although we might fear an excessive self-regard which would render her useless in the work of the hexagram, she discards selfishness and will do nothing shameful. There is a change of style in the Chinese text at this point. As Wang Sheng-tzu (Yuan dynasty) says -- "Here and henceforth the scattering is of what should be scattered, that which should not be scattered may be collected."
NOTES AND PARAPHRASES
Siu: The man disregards his own personal interests in order to work for the benefit of others.
Wing: The proposed task is so great and difficult that you will need to put all personal concerns aside. Working toward common goals will greatly benefit your inner strength; there is no regret in such selflessness.
Editor: This line changes the hexagram to number fifty-seven, translated by Blofeld as Willing Submission. The idea of selfless devotion to the Work is clearly implied. Liu's version is the most concise, depicting "the sacrifice of egotism (in favor of the higher possibilities within the situation)." Note that Wang Sheng-tzu’s commentary (see Legge above) suggests the alchemical principle of solve et coagula – a profound concept from the Perennial Philosophy.
The actual realization or living incarnation of the Self, however, requires the presence of a disciplined ego to function as a responsible and conscious executor, in the limited world of the here and now, of the Self's intentions and visions. E.C. Whitmont --Return of the Goddess
A. Subdue your ego -- the Work takes precedence over your limited, divisive fixations.
Line 4
Legge: The fourth line, magnetic, shows its subject scattering the different parties in the state, which leads to great good fortune. From the dispersion she collects again good men standing out, a crowd like a mound, which is what ordinary men would not have thought of.
Wilhelm/Baynes: He dissolves his bond with his group. Supreme good fortune.
Dispersion leads in turn to accumulation. This is something that ordinary men do not think of.
Blofeld: He disperses his group of companions [Namely a group of people who have proved themselves inimical to the public good] -- sublime good fortune! Dispersion leads to accumulation, but this is not something that ordinary people understand. [This is an auspicious time to "cast our bread upon the waters." Acts of great generosity are now essential to our success.]
Liu: He disperses his group. Great and fortune. (Sic.) He disperses his hills (property). Ordinary people do not think of this.
Ritsema/Karcher: Dispersing one's flock, Spring significant. Dispersing possessing the hill-top. In-no-way hiding, a place to plunder.
Shaughnessy: Dispersing his flock; prime auspiciousness. Dispersal has a hillock; it is not that about which the younger sister thinks.
Cleary (1): Dispersing the crowd is very auspicious. On dispersal there is gathering, inconceivable to the ordinary.
Wu: He disbands cliques. Great fortune. A few mounds remain. This is not what ordinary people can anticipate.
COMMENTARY
Confucius/Legge: Brilliant and great are her virtue and service. Wilhelm/Baynes: His light is great.Blofeld: In this context, sublime good fortune connotes glory. Ritsema/Karcher: Shining great indeed. Cleary (2): The illumination is great. Wu: What he does is right and brilliant.
Legge: Line four, though magnetic, is in its correct place, and adjoins the dynamic fifth-line ruler. The subject of four therefore fitly represents the minister, whose task is to assume a great part in remedying the evil of dispersion. She brings divisive partisanship to an end, and re-assembles those who had been divided into a great body so that they stand out conspicuously like a hill.
NOTES AND PARAPHRASES
Siu: The man brings dissent and partisanship to an end by his transcendent view of life's interrelationships. He rises above personal friendships to assemble good men from near and far.
Wing: Here you can bring dissent and discord to an end. The perspective that comes with far-reaching ideals and concerns for the general welfare will allow you to transcend partisan interests. In this way you will find extraordinary success.
Editor: Psychologically interpreted, "parties in the state" can symbolize obsolete attitudes and limiting beliefs held by complexes within the psyche. The image suggests a process of psychic re-organization. One is reminded of the alchemical aphorism: Solve et coagula, et habebis magisterium. (“Separate and recombine, and you will have the masterpiece.”) This refers to the differentiation of all the aspects of a situation for the purpose of recombining them into a totally new entity.
Ultimately all conflicts of man are not only created by his, let us say, wrong conscious attitude, but by the unconscious itself in order to reunite the opposites on a higher level. Therefore this situation, where some religious doctrine or teaching or tradition is poisonous and destructive to the physical instinctuality of man, is not only to be viewed as a catastrophe or as a deviation from the original pattern, but just as much a device of the unconscious psyche to bring forth higher consciousness. M.L. Von Franz -- Alchemical Active Imagination
A. Breaking up old patterns of perception makes room for new ideas.
Line 5
Legge: The fifth line, dynamic, shows its subject amidst the dispersion issuing his great announcements as the perspiration flows from his body. He scatters abroad also the accumulations in the royal granaries. There will be no error.
Wilhelm/Baynes: His loud cries are as dissolving as sweat. Dissolution! A king abides without blame.
Blofeld: Scattering perspiration, he issues his royal command. The King disperses the treasures in his palace among the people -- no blame. [One additional commentary suggests that perspiration comes from illness and anxiety and that the meaning is: "The King rids himself of cause for anxiety by ordering that his goods be dispersed among the needy.” Again, large generosity is required for our success.]
Liu: Dispersion is like sweat pouring from the body, with loud cries. Separation from the king's palace. No blame.
Ritsema/Karcher: Dispersing sweat, one's great crying out. Dispersing. Kinghood residing, without fault.
Shaughnessy: Dispersing his liver with a great cry. Dispersing the king's residence; there is no trouble.
Cleary (1): Dispersing defilement, that is a great directive. The dispersing king remains impeccable.
Cleary (2): Scattering sweat; the great call scatters. The king abides. There is no fault.
Wu: At the time of dispersion, he proclaims with loud voice until he perspires. He distributes the contents in the royal residence. No error.
COMMENTARY
Confucius/Legge: The accumulations of the royal granaries are dispersed, and there is no error -- this is due to the correctness of the position. Wilhelm/Baynes: He is in his proper place. Blofeld: The correct position of this ruling line. Ritsema/ Karcher: Correcting the situation indeed. Cleary (2): This is the right position. Wu: His position is correct.
Legge: Line five shows us the proclamations and benevolent actions of the ruler himself. Canon McClatchie gives an ingenious and original note upon the symbol of the perspiration: “As sweat cures fevers, so do proclamations cure rebellions.”
NOTES AND PARAPHRASES
Siu: The man announces a great policy during a period of disunity and deadlock which serves as a rallying point for reforms. Misunderstanding is thereby dissipated by his proclamation.
Wing: During times of discord and disunity a great proclamation or inspiring idea is necessary to again reunify the situation. In this way, others put aside their factionalism and work together once again.
Editor: Perspiration is a healing release of energy in response to somatic disequilibrium: a catharsis. The definition of catharsis is: "Any purification or purgation that brings about a spiritual renewal or a satisfying release of tension.” Wilhelm interprets this as an idea or concept: “In times of general dispersion and separation, a great idea provides a focal point for the organization of recovery.” Psychologically interpreted, "royal granaries” (or "treasures”) are wellsprings of libido or Chi (Qi). The line thus suggests psychic energy being redistributed as the result of the elimination of a previously blocked condition. The keywords are redistribution/ reorganization -- showing how the forces symbolized in this hexagram and Number 45, Contraction, comprise the expansion and contraction phases of a larger evolutionary process. At its most neutral, the line can depict any sudden release of energy, such as conversational enthusiasm.
Shaughnessy’s rendering: “Dispersing his liver with a great cry…” suggests a connection with Chinese medicine which may be useful in interpreting the symbolism of this line:
“Traditional Chinese physiology tells us that the healthy liver establishes a smooth and soothing flow of energy through the whole person, in both body and mind … When obstructed, stagnant, or overheated, the energy flow in the liver and throughout the body is hampered, resulting in myriad physical and emotional problems … Mood swings as well as emotional excesses in general are liver-related … From the Five Element perspective, an excessive and “greedy” liver not only steals from its mother, the kidneys, but…also refuses to give sufficient energy to its own son, the heart. One of the most efficient ways of improving the condition of the liver is to give its excess a place to go, and the obvious place is where it naturally flows – to its son, the heart. By strengthening the heart and encouraging it to receive energy, the liver is encouraged to release its excess .” P. Pitchford – Healing with Whole foods
A. Release of tension ("letting-go") creates a nourishing catharsis.
B. Image of a beneficial reorganization of some kind: perhaps of ideas or beliefs.
C. "You can't make an omelet without breaking eggs."
Line 6
Legge: The sixth line, dynamic, shows its subject disposing of what may be called his bloody wounds, and going to separate himself from his anxious fears. There will be no error.
Wilhelm/Baynes: He dissolves his blood. Departing, keeping at a distance, going out, is without blame.
Blofeld: Dispersing blood (i.e. fending off injury or violence), he keeps it at a distance -- no blame! [The text of the original is so unclear that the additional commentaries all disagree as to the meaning of dispersing blood, but the general idea is perfectly clear from the commentary on the line.]
Liu: Dissolving his (coagulated) blood. Departing to a remote place. No blame.
Ritsema/Karcher: Dispersing one's blood. Departing far-away, issuing-forth. Without fault.
Shaughnessy: Dispersing his blood, he departs, warily exiting.
Cleary (1): Dispersing the blood, going far away, there is no fault.
Wu: At the time of dispersion, he disperses what hurts himand alleviates what worries him. No error.
COMMENTARY
Confucius/Legge: His bloody wounds are gone. He is far removed from the danger of injury. Wilhelm/Baynes: He keeps at a distance from injury. Blofeld: This means keeping evil at a distance. Ritsema/Karcher: Distancing harm indeed. Cleary (2): Scattering the blood means avoiding harm. Wu:“He disperses what hurts him,” because he is able to distance it.
Legge: Line six is dynamic, with a magnetic third line correlate. However, because three is at the top of the trigram of Peril, six avoids her company. He does this in the spirit of dispersion, and therefore incurs no blame.
NOTES AND PARAPHRASES
Siu: The man removes the sources of danger and bloodshed.
Wing: Avoidance of danger is necessary at this time, both for yourself and especially for those of your concern. This should be accomplished in whatever way possible. Depart the situation if necessary. You will not be blamed for such action.
Editor: Wilhelm emphasizes in his commentary the idea of one who helps his kin avoid danger. Psychologically, this means to keep your "inner family” from harm. If this is the only changing line, the hexagram becomes number twenty-nine, Danger, suggesting a serious situation demanding a careful choice of options. Wu’s translation seems to convey the idea most succinctly.
ONE STEP BACKWARD TAKEN
Not only sands and gravels
Were once more on their travels,
But gulping muddy gallons
Great boulders off their balance
Bumped heads together dully
And started down the gully.
Whole capes caked off in slices.
I felt my standpoint shaken
In the universal crisis.
But with one step backward taken
I saved myself from going.
A world torn loose went by me.
Then the rain stopped and the blowin g
And the sun came out to dry me.
Robert Frost
A. For the good of the Work avoid any confrontation with disruptive elements.
B. Protect the psyche from harm. Avoid danger.
C. Disperse your anger, righteous indignation, etc.
Other titles: Preponderance of the Small, The Symbol of Excess in Small Things, The Small get by, Slight Excess, Small Exceeding, Small Surpassing, Excess of the Small, Small gains, Conscientiousness, Smallness in Excess, Exceeding the Mean, Proliferation of Details, "Like a bird, do not fly too high or attempt too much because this will lead to disaster." -- D.F. Hook
Judgment
Legge:Small Powers indicates that there will be progress and attainment in small affairs, but not in great affairs. It will be advantageous to be firm and correct. It is like the song of a flying bird: It is better to descend than to ascend. In this way there will be good fortune.
Wilhelm/Baynes:Preponderance of the Small. Success. Perseverance furthers. Small things may be done; great things should not be done. The flying bird brings the message: It is not well to strive upward, it is well to remain below. Great good fortune.
Blofeld:The Small Get By -- success! Persistence in a righteous course brings reward. Small things can be accomplished now, but not great ones. When birds fly high, their singing is out of tune. The humble, but not the mighty, are favored now with great good fortune. [To aim high now would be to put ourselves out of accord with the times.]
Liu:Slight Excess. Success. Continuing is of benefit. Undertaking small things, not great things. The song of the flying bird. It is not good to go up; it is good to stay below. Great good fortune. [Slight Excess signifies the slight excess or small mistake that can prevent the achievement of great things.]
Ritsema/Karcher:Small Exceeding, Growing. Harvesting Trial. Permitting Small
Affairs. Not permitting Great Affairs. Flying bird: abandoning's sound. Above not proper, below proper. The great significant. [This hexagram describes your situation in terms of an overwhelming variety of encounters and details. It emphasizes that an excessive concern with adapting yourself to these inner and outer events is the adequate way to handle it...]
Shaughnessy: Small Surpassing : Receipt; beneficial to determine; possible for little service, but not possible for great service. The sound left by the flying bird is not proper for ascent but is proper for descent; greatly auspicious.
Cleary (1):Predominance of the small is developmental, beneficial if correct. It is suitable for a small affair but not for a great one. The call left by a flying bird should not rise but descend. This is very auspicious.
Cleary (2):Small excess turns out all right. It is beneficial to be correct. It is all right for small matters, not for great matters. A flying bird leaves its cry; it should not ascend but descend – then there will be great good fortune.
Wu: Excess of the Small indicates pervasiveness and the advantage of being persevering. One may succeed in doing small business, but not big one. Like the lingering sound of a bird flying by, it is not suitable to go upward, but suitable to go downward. Great fortune.
The Image
Legge: The image of thunder above a hill forms Small Powers. The superior man, in accordance with this, in his conduct exceeds in humility, in mourning exceeds in sorrow, and in his expenditure exceeds in economy.
Wilhelm/Baynes: Thunder on the mountain: the image of Preponderance of the Small. Thus in his conduct the superior man gives preponderance to reverence. In bereavement he gives preponderance to grief. In his expenditures he gives preponderance to thrift. [The superior man derives an imperative from this image: he must always fix his eyes more closely and more directly on duty than does the ordinary man, even though this might make his behavior seem petty to the outside world. He is exceptionally conscientious in his actions.]
Blofeld: This hexagram symbolizes thunder over the mountains. The Superior Man now acts with too much reverence, experiences too much sorrow from bereavement and is overly thrifty in satisfying his needs.
Liu: Thunder over the mountain symbolizes Slight Excess. The superior man's conduct is overly humble; In mourning he laments exceedingly, and he is stingy in his spending.
Ritsema/Karcher: Above mountain possessing thunder. Small Exceeding. A chun tzu uses moving Exceeding to reach-to courtesy. A chun tzu uses losing Exceeding to reach-to mourning. A chun tzu uses availing of Exceeding to reach-to parsimony.
Cleary (1): There is thunder over a mountain, exessively small. Thus superior people are excessively deferential in conduct, excessively sad in mourning, excessively frugal in consumption.
Cleary (2): Thunder over a mountain – small excess. Genteel people are exceedingly deferential in conduct, exceedingly sad in mourning, and exceedingly abstemious in consumption.
Wu: Thunder rolls over the mountain; this is Excess of the Small. Thus the jun zi conducts himself with a little excess in respect to others, a little excess in sorrow at mourning, and a little excess in frugality in expenditure.
COMMENTARY
Confucius/Legge: In Small Powers we see the magnetic lines exceeding the others, and giving the intimation of progress and attainment. To be advantageous, such excesses must be associated with firm correctness, and must always be in harmony with the requirements of the time. The magnetic lines are in the central places, and hence it is said that small excesses may be done in small affairs with good effect. Of the dynamic lines, one is not in its proper place, and the other is not central; thus it is said that small excesses should not be done in great affairs. In the hexagram we have the symbol of the flying bird, whose song reminds us that it is better to descend than ascend. To ascend is contrary to what is reasonable in the case, while to descend is natural and right.
Legge: The meaning of this hexagram in which an excess of yin lines prevails, may be grasped by contrasting its image with that of hexagram number twenty-eight, Critical Mass, in which an excess of yang lines prevails. Here the idea is the prevalence of small or inferior powers, and the lesson to be learned is how to distinguish essentials from non-essentials. Is it ever good to deviate from the established course of procedure? The answer is that it is permissible only in small matters, but never in matters of import. Sometimes form may be dispensed with, but never substance, and the thing must always be done responsibly and with appropriate humility. The symbol of the bird is to teach humility -- it is better for it to descend, keeping near to where it can perch and rest, than to ascend into the homeless regions of the upper air.
NOTES AND PARAPHRASES
Judgment: Ground your flights of fancy.
The Superior Man bends over backwards to be correct.
Small Powers shows the preceding figure of Inner Truth turned inside-out. Here the magnetic lines are all on the outside -- uncontained and uncontrolled. The hexagram often reflects a situation in which the "archetypes": the passions, appetites, emotions, drives and instincts have left their proper places within the psyche and are flying free like birds escaped from the zoo. Most of the lines either depict the danger of such a situation or warn about how to control it.
In this inflated, compulsive state of identity, we and the drive are at our most harmful; the drive will unfold and we will act out its extreme, inappropriate and destructive side. In the process we get the worst of it, along with the other people involved. The wrong thing usually happens at the wrong time and in the wrong place. A capacity for moving toward differentiation and transforming the drive will not arise until the state of identity has been dissolved. This requires a confrontation of the drive as a Thou, as something that is not I, as something separate from ourselves. Only at this point can the inner dialogue begin. Until then the drive remains unconscious, primitive and destructive. Only after the identity has been dissolved by learning to experience the drive as an autonomous entity that is separate from the ego, do we get a chance to choose a right time and place and to develop the positive potential of the drive. E.C. Whitmont --The Symbolic Quest
Interestingly, the only line that seems to be correctly "out of its cage" is the second -- suggesting a situation in which an intuitive inner wisdom takes proper precedence over the usual firm correctness of "reason."