Other titles: After Completion, The Symbol of What is Already Past, Already Fording, Already Completed, Settled, Mission Accomplished, Tasks Completed, After the End, A state of Climax
Judgment
Legge:Completion intimates progress and success in small matters. There is advantage in firm correctness. There had been good fortune in the beginning; there may be disorder in the end.
Wilhelm/Baynes: After Completion. Success in small matters. Perseverance furthers. At the beginning good fortune, at the end disorder.
Blofeld:After Completion -- success in small matters! Persistence in a righteous course brings reward. Good fortune at the start; disorder in the end. [Perhaps persistence may help to lessen the disorder that threatens to come upon us after some initial success.]
Liu: Completion. Success in the small. It benefits to continue. Good fortune at first; disorder in the end.
Ritsema/Karcher:Already Fording. Growing: the small. Harvesting Trial. Initially significant. Completing: disarraying. [This hexagram describes your situation in terms of an important move from one position to another. It emphasizes that actively proceeding with the crossing is the adequate way to handle it...]
Shaughnessy:Already Completed: Receipt; slightly beneficial to determine; initially auspicious, in the end disordered.
Cleary (1):Settlement is developmental, but it is minimized. It is beneficial to be correct. The beginning is auspicious, the end confused.
Cleary (2): Settlement is successful, even in small matters … etc.
Wu: Mission Accomplished indicates a small degree of pervasiveness and the advantage of being persevering. It is characterized by goodness in the beginning, but tumult in the end.
The Image
Legge: The image of water above fire formsCompletion. The superior man, in accordance with this, thinks of the evil that may come, and guards against it in advance.
Wilhelm/Baynes: Water over fire: the image of the condition in After Completion. Thus the superior man takes thought of misfortune and arms himself against it in advance.
Blofeld: This hexagram symbolizes water above fire. The Superior Man deals with trouble by careful thought and by taking advance precautions.
Liu: Water above fire symbolizes Completion. The superior man ponders danger and takes precautions against it.
Ritsema/Karcher: Stream located above fire. Already Fording. A chun tzu uses pondering distress and-also providing-for defending-against it.
Cleary (1): Water is above fire,Settled.Thus superior peopleconsider problems and prevent them.
Wu: There is water above fire; this is Mission Accomplished. Thus the jun zi conceives ways to prevent disaster.
COMMENTARY
Confucius/Legge: Progress and success in small matters, with advantage in firm correctness. The dynamic and magnetic lines are correctly arranged, each in its proper place. There has been good fortune in the beginning because the magnetic second line is in the center. In the end there is a cessation of effort, and disorder arises. The course that led to rule and order is now exhausted.
Legge: The two written Chinese characters translated here as Completion represent two ideas -- the symbol of being past or completed, and the symbol of crossing a stream -- with a secondary meaning of helping and completing. When combined, the two characters express the idea of successful accomplishment. The hexagram denotes the kingdom finally at rest -- the vessel of state has been brought safely across the great and dangerous stream, the distresses of the realm have been relieved and its disorders rectified. Small things need to be completed: the new government must be consolidated and its ruler must, without noise or clamor, go on to perfect what has been wrought with firm correctness and without forgetting the inherent instability of all human affairs. That every line of the hexagram is in its correct place, and has its proper correlate emphasizes the intimation of progress and success.
The K'ang-hsi editors compare this hexagram and the next with number eleven, Harmony, and number twelve, Divorcement, observing that the goodness of Harmony is concentrated, as here, in the second line. Disorder after completion is inevitable. All things move on with a constant process of change. Disorder succeeds to order, and again order to disorder.
NOTES AND PARAPHRASES
Judgment: All's well that ends well, but the new cycle demands as much willpower as the last. Make no drastic choices during a transition.
The Superior Man anticipates conflict and is prepared for it in advance.
The sixty-third hexagram is the reference hexagram which depicts the correlation of properly matched dynamic and magnetic lines. On the basis of this figure, all of the other hexagrams (except the first and second, which are their "parents"), are compared. Yet, despite the fact that every line is in its proper place, not one of them has an easy auspice, and both the Judgment and Image are subdued and cautionary. The general idea is that as long as we draw breath in this spacetime dimension, our lives and Work are incomplete. Cycles complete themselves, certainly, but Completion in that sense is the "completion" of the full moon, which as soon as it reaches maximum brilliance immediately begins to wane.
Among those engaged in psycho-spiritual work, there is a great deal of energy focused on "enlightenment," and the natural desire of each aspirant to attain that state of consciousness as soon as possible. Many there are who wander from one conception of the Work to another in the hope that this particular discipline, or that particular Guru will provide the transcendent answer that the last one didn't.
This is a very deceptive illusion, because the chances that any given individual will attain perfect enlightenment in any given lifetime are probably miniscule to the point of insignificance. (How many truly enlightened beings have you ever met in your life?)
But the first signs of this symbolism are far from indicating that unity has been attained. Just as alchemy has a great many procedures, ranging from the "work of one day" to the "the errant quest" lasting for decades, so the tensions between the psychic pair of opposites ease off only gradually; and, like the alchemical end- product, which always betrays its essential duality, the united personality will never quite lose the painful sense of innate discord. Complete redemption from the sufferings of this world is and must remain an illusion ... The goal is important only as an idea; the essential thing is the opus which leads to the goal: that is the goal of a lifetime. In its attainment "left and right" are united, and conscious and unconscious work in harmony. Jung-- Psychology of the Transference
The Work is a slow, organic process of transforming unconscious forces, which demands almost superhuman levels of discipline to accomplish. One can make a great deal of progress in one lifetime, but the Work can not be said to be complete until physical death “completes” it -- at that point, assuming the ego has acquired enough strength of will, perhaps one can facilitate a "permanent" synthesis of the forces one has spent a lifetime in training. Death is the doorway back to our Source, and if we enter that doorway consciously and correctly we can consolidate a great deal of power which will serve us well in the next cycle, in whatever dimension that cycle may take place.
It is even doubtful whether a man can arrive at the summit of all perfection as long as he lives in an imperfect physical form, because the imperfections of the form hamper the spirit, and only a spirit that has outgrown the necessity to live in a physical form may be said to have arrived at that high degree of perfection at which a perfect knowledge of self, and consequently a perfect knowledge of the universe is obtained. F. Hartmann --Paracelsus: Life and Prophecies
Line 3
Legge: The third line, dynamic, suggests the case of Kao Tsung who attacked the Demon region, but was three years in subduing it. Inferior men should not be employed in such enterprises.
Wilhelm/Baynes: The Illustrious Ancestor disciplines the devil's country. After three years he conquers it. Inferior people must not be employed.
Blofeld: The Illustrious Ancestor (namely, the Emperor Wu Ting, 1324 BC) carried out a punitive expedition in Kuei Fang (literally, the Land of the Devils) and conquered it after three years -- men of mean attainments would have been useless! [The Land of Devils was probably a territory inhabited by non-Chinese tribes. The implication is that only a man of outstanding capability should attempt any difficult task now.]
Liu: The emperor Kao Tsung chastised the barbarian country and conquered it in three years. The inferior man should no longer be employed.
Ritsema/Karcher: The high ancestor subjugating souls on-all- sides. Three years-revolved controlling it. Small People, no availing of.
Shaughnessy: The High Ancestor attacks the Devil-land, in three years conquering it; the little man should not use it.
Cleary (1): The emperor attacks the barbarians, and conquers them after three years. Do not employ inferior people.
Wu: Gao Zong took military actions against Guifan. After three years, he quelled the rebellion. Little men should not be trusted.
COMMENTARY
Confucius/Legge: He was three years in subduing it -- enough to make him weary. Wilhelm/Baynes: This is exhausting. Blofeld: His taking three years to conquer it indicates great fatigue. [Even if we do feel capable of undertaking an extremely difficult task, we must expect it to occupy us for so long as to make us feel exhausted.]Ritsema/Karcher: Weariness indeed. Cleary (2): He is weary. Wu: It was a tiresome campaign.
Legge: The dynamic third line at the top of the lower trigram suggests the idea of one undertaking a vigorous enterprise. The writer thinks of Kao Tsung, one of the ablest sovereigns of the Shang dynasty (B.C. 1364-1324), who undertook an expedition against the barbarian hordes of the cold and bleak regions north of the Middle States. His enterprise was successful, but it was tedious, and the line concludes with a warning.
NOTES AND PARAPHRASES
Siu: A correct subjugation policy is essential after the conquest. Inferior people, of no value at home, should not be sent to govern the colonies. Protracted struggles usually follow, and small men are inadequate to the task.
Wing: The attainment of a highly ambitious goal is possible. It will take a long time and will leave you spent. If it is worthwhile to you, success is indicated. However, be cautioned to employ only the most qualified persons in your endeavor.
Editor: In psychological terms, the Demon region is the unconscious psyche, and no new synthesis can take place therein until all of its autonomous complexes have been pacified and integrated. The will of the ego is the last line of defense against their constant pressure. Only one who has undertaken the Work can truly appreciate how exhausting it is -- a fact made more ominous by the realization that one can win most of the battles and still lose the war. "Inferior men should not be employed" means that it is a task not to be lightly undertaken by anyone.
When an individual in some contretemps discovers this primitive force alive within him, like a ruthless and cold-blooded daemon, he must find some method by which it can be transformed into a different kind of spirit, if he is to avoid a regression to a level of civilization far below his conscious standard. M.E. Harding -- Psychic Energy
A. Conquer your demons -- the integration of unbalanced forces is a long and exhausting process.
Line 4
Legge: The fourth line, magnetic, shows its subject with rags provided against any leak in her boat, and on guard all day long.
Wilhelm/Baynes: The finest clothes turn to rags. Be careful all day long.
Blofeld: Amidst the fine silk are ragged garments -- be cautious throughout the livelong day!
Liu: One has silk clothes but wears rags. Be cautious all day. [This line indicates that you can expect to have enough money to live comfortably.]
Ritsema/Karcher: A token: possessing clothes in-tatters. Completing the day, a warning. [Token, HSU: halves of a torn piece of silk which identify the bearers when joined.]
Shaughnessy: The short coat has jacket wadding; in winter days be warned.
Cleary (1): With wadding to plug leaks, one is watchful all day.
Cleary (2): There are rags in fine cloth – be alert all the time.
Wu: Rags are used to plug leaks. This is a matter of concern all day long.
COMMENTARY
Confucius/Legge: She is on guard all the day -- she is in doubt about something.
Wilhelm/Baynes: There is cause for doubt. Blofeld: This indicates that doubt and suspicion are now prevalent. Ritsema/Karcher: Possessing a place to doubt indeed.
Cleary (2): There is doubt. Wu: There are doubts.
Legge: Line four is magnetic and has advanced into the trigram symbolizing Water and Peril. She will be cautious and prepare for evil.
NOTES AND PARAPHRASES
Siu: Evils are occasionally uncovered but quickly glossed over during periods of prosperity and cultural advance. The man is not complacent about such readily hidden defects and takes earnest steps toward their correction.
Wing: Elements of decay can be found in the situation of your inquiry. Watch your step.
Editor: Wilhelm, Blofeld and Liu all juxtapose the image of rags with clothing, or fine silk. The message is to not be deluded by what seems to be a favorable situation. Maintain constant awareness and make your choices with extreme care. Regardless of appearances you're in a position of risk.
Complexes that are not granted reality by consciousness and are not dealt with as "powers" to be taken seriously, but are dealt with by repression, tend to take hold in an unadapted, primitive, regressive, compulsive and destructive fashion. This results in what we call neurotic or psychotic disturbances. E.C. Whitmont -- The Symbolic Quest
A. Something valuable is threatened -- extreme care is called for.
Line 5
Legge: The fifth line, dynamic, shows its subject as the neighbor in the east who slaughters an ox for his sacrifice; but this is not equal to the small spring sacrifice of the neighbor in the west, whose sincerity receives the blessing.
Wilhelm/Baynes: The neighbor in the east who slaughters an ox does not attain as much real happiness as the neighbor in the west with his small offering.
Blofeld: In terms of benefits, the neighbor to the east gained less from sacrificing an ox than the neighbor to the west obtained from carrying out the spring sacrifice.
Liu: The eastern neighbor sacrificed an ox; the western neighbor made a simple offering, but he received the blessing. [Many will succeed in small undertakings but fail in grand schemes.]
Ritsema/Karcher: The Eastern neighbor slaughters cattle. Not thus the Western neighbor's dedicated offering. The substance: acquiescing-in one's blessing.
Shaughnessy: The eastern neighbor kills an ox to sacrifice; it is not as good as the western neighbor's spring sacrifice in really receiving its blessing; auspicious.
Cleary (1): Slaughtering an ox in the neighborhood to the east is not as good as the ceremomy in the neighborhood to the west, really receiving the blessing.
Cleary (2): ... The genuine get the blessings.
Wu: The neighbor on the east side slaughters an ox. What he does is less rewarding than the neighbor on the west side, who makes simple offerings in the summer and receives an abundance of blessings.
COMMENTARY
Confucius/Legge: The large sacrifice of the eastern neighbor cannot equal the small sacrifice of the western neighbor because the latter is in harmony with the times. Wilhelm/Baynes: The eastern neighbor, who slaughters an ox, is not as much in harmony with the time as the western neighbor. The latter attains true happiness: good fortune comes in great measure. Blofeld: Because the former's sacrifice (though bigger) was less timely. The benefits obtained by the neighbor to the west betoken that good fortune is on its way to us. [This is one of the favorite themes of the Book of Change, namely the importance of timeliness. A small effort at the right time will win for us more benefit than a gigantic effort at the wrong time.] Ritsema/Karcher: Significant, the great coming indeed. Cleary (2): Good fortune comes in great measure. Wu: There comes great fortune.
Legge: The neighbor in the east is line five, and the neighbor in the west is line two -- his correlate. Five is dynamic, and two is magnetic, and magnetic passivity is more likely to be patient and cautious under the prevailing circumstances. They are compared to two men sacrificing. The one presents valuable offerings, the other very poor ones, but the second excels in sincerity, and his small offering is the more acceptable.
NOTES AND PARAPHRASES
Siu: Men are deceived by what the eyes see, but the gods are swayed by what the heart conceals.
Wing: This is an inappropriate time for ostentatious exhibitions of personal success and grandeur. Look for true happiness in the simplicity of your life. You will achieve more by small efforts than by large displays of power.
Editor: The superior neighbor is the magnetic line two in the middle of the trigram of Clarity, who understands the true difference between form and substance. The inferior neighbor is the dynamic and ego-centric line five in the middle of the trigram of Peril, who acts on his own initiative and wastes his effort. The image teaches the difference between acting from the ego or the Self: between pushing the river and flowing with it.
More acceptable is the character of one upright of heart than the ox of the evildoer ... The god is aware of him who acts for him. Instruction for king Meri-ka-re -- Egypt, C. 2000 B.C.
A. A modest but sincere effort is superior to a great show of force. Small increments of real advancement are worth more than illusions of completion.
B. Complexity fails; simplicity succeeds.
C. The situation requires a modest condescension of power or display of allegiance, not a grandiose expression of martyrdom.
Line 6
Legge: The sixth line, magnetic, shows its subject with even her head immersed. The position is perilous.
Wilhelm/Baynes: He gets his head in the water. Danger.
Blofeld: His head gets wet -- trouble!
Liu: His head gets wet. Danger. [Avoid evil persons lest you yourself become tainted.]
Ritsema/Karcher: Soaking one's head. Adversity.
Shaughnessy: Wetting his head; danger.
Cleary (1): When the head gets wet, one is in danger.
Cleary (2): Getting the head wet is dangerous.
Wu: The fox immerses his head in water. Perilous.
COMMENTARY
Confucius/Legge: How could such a state continue long? Wilhelm/Baynes: How can one endure this for long? Blofeld: But this sort of trouble can scarcely last long. [We must expect some trouble but perhaps not very serious and not likely to endure.] Ritsema/Karcher: Wherefore permitting lasting indeed? Cleary (2): How can one last long? Wu: How long can it last?
Legge: The topmost line is magnetic and on the outermost edge of the trigram of Peril. Her action is violent and dangerous, like that of one attempting to cross a ford and being plunged over her head in the water.
Anthony: We “look back” when we presume that the struggle is over, that we can relax and enjoy the situation. We must be firm and go forward, or the work will be undone.
NOTES AND PARAPHRASES
Siu: Needless violence and self-glorification upon completion of a difficult undertaking cause the man to fall back into misfortune.
Wing: You have initiated significant action. Do not assume that things will follow their course while you simply watch and wait. This type of attitude is both vain and perilous. You have created responsibilities for yourself. Shirking them will invite grave danger.
Editor: Wilhelm's commentary suggests the idea of not turning back after making a dangerous transition. The situation has not yet been consolidated and can easily deteriorate: what might be Completion can instead become an aborted synthesis and a regression to a lower level. Alternately, Legge’s image of the line with “even her head immersed” suggests wooly-headedness – you aren’t seeing things clearly. This prevents a transition to a clear state of consciousness. Symbolically to have one’s head immersed in water portrays thought overwhelmed by emotion.
Another said, "I will follow you, sir, but first let me go and say good-bye to my people at home." Jesus said to him, "Once the hand is laid on the plow, no one who looks back is fit for the kingdom of God." Luke 9: 61-62
A. You have passed the point of no return in the current cycle of growth -- regression now portends disaster.
B. You've gone too far to turn back now.
C. Your incomprehension prevents illumination in the matter at hand.
Other titles: Biting Through, Gnawing, The Symbol of Mastication and Punishment by Pressing and Squeezing, Gnawing Bite, Severing, Chewing, Punishment, Reformation, Reform, Differentiation, Discrimination, Making a Distinction, Getting the message "Something which should be, or has to be bitten through. This is essentially the legal hexagram. When asking about a man's intentions, he is probably married." -- D.F. Hook
Judgment
Legge: Success is found in Discernment. The restrictions of the law bring advantage.
Wilhelm/Baynes:Biting Through has success. It is favorable to let justice be administered.
Blofeld: Gnawing. Success! The time is favorable for legal processes. [The concept of gnawing is suggested by the component trigrams, which are regarded (owing to the arrangement of their lines) as not commingling; they are as separate from each other as the upper and lower jaw when something tough is being gnawed.]
Liu: Chewing: Success. It benefits to administer justice. [Chewing indicates success through hard work. Those who get this hexagram will have trouble in the beginning.]
Ritsema/Karcher:Gnawing Bite, Growing. Harvesting: availing of litigating. [This hexagram describes your situation in terms of confronting a tenacious obstacle. It emphasizes that biting through and picking things clean until the essential is revealed is the adequate way to handle it. To be in accord with the time, you are told to: gnaw and bite through!]
Shaughnessy: Biting and chewing: Receipt; beneficial to use a court case.
Cleary (1):Biting through is developmental. It is beneficial to administer justice.
Cleary (2): Biting through is successful. It is beneficial to apply justice.
Wu: Discernment is pervasive. It will be advantageous to exact punishments.
The Image
Legge: The images of thunder and lightning form Discernment. Thus the ancient kings promulgated their laws and framed their penalties with intelligence.
Wilhelm/Baynes: Thunder and lightning: The image of Biting Through. Thus the kings of former times made firm the laws through clearly defined penalties.
Blofeld: This hexagram symbolizes lightning accompanied by thunder. The ancient rulers, after making their legal code perfectly clear to all, enforced the laws vigorously. [The firm and yielding lines more or less alternate; or the lower trigram can be regarded as filled with the power of thunderous force, while the upper trigram, representing beauty, is soft and yielding. (Li, the upper trigram, stands for lightning as well as for fire, beauty, etc.) I do not know what the ancient Chinese views on thunder and lightning were; it appears from this that they were regarded as two forces which, like steel and flint, emitted brilliance when brought into sharp contact with each other. A pair of trigrams both with yielding centers is not felt to be a good arrangement; that it nevertheless favors the process of the law may have been suggested to the writer of the Text by the fact that the weak lines (morally weak people?) are fully contained by the strong (prison walls, warders and so forth?)]
Liu: Thunder and lightning symbolize Chewing. The ancient kings made the laws and clarified the penalties.
Ritsema/Karcher: Thunder, lightning. Gnawing Bite. The Earlier Kings used brightening flogging to enforce the laws.
Cleary (1): Thunder and lightning, biting through. Thus did the kings of yore clarify penalties and proclaim laws. [Those who administer laws should emulate the ancient kings in first clarifying them before executing them, in order to avoid mistakenly injuring life.]
Wu: Thunder and lightning form Discernment. Thus the ancient kings made just punishments and upheld the law of the land.
COMMENTARY
Confucius/Legge: The existence of something between the jaws gives rise to the name Discernment-- union by means of biting through the intervening article. The dynamic and magnetic lines are equally divided in the figure. Movement is denoted by the lower trigram, and Clarity by the upper -- thunder and lightning uniting in them, and having brilliant manifestation. The magnetic fifth line is in the center, and acts in her high position. Although she is not in her proper place, this is advantageous for the use of legal constraints.
Legge: Discernment means literally "union by gnawing." The figure consists of undivided lines in the top, bottom and fourth places -- giving the image of open jaws with something in them "being gnawed." When the object has been bitten through, the upper and lower jaws come together in union -- hence: " Union by gnawing." Remove the obstacles to union and high and low will meet together in understanding. The force exerted by gnawing suggests the idea of legal constraints.
The equal division of the dynamic and magnetic lines is seen by taking them in pairs, though the order of the first pair is different from the other two. The magnetic fifth line is the ruler of the hexagram, indicating that judgment is tempered by leniency.
Ch'eng-tzu says that thunder and lightning are always found together, and hence their trigrams go together to give the idea of union intended in Discernment: one trigram symbolizing majesty and the other intelligence.
Cleary (1): Practice of the Tao is like administering justice: Discerning true and false, right and wrong, is like the judge deciding good and bad; getting rid of falsehood and keeping truth, so as to preserve essence and life, is like the [just] administration rewarding the good and punishing the bad, so as to alleviate the burden of injustice.
NOTES AND PARAPHRASES
Judgment: Further the Work through careful Discernment between what is true and false, right and wrong, correct and incorrect.
The Image portrays the connection between cause and effect, where consequences are always based on the inexorable laws of nature.
To bite is to comprehend, and to bite through is to make distinctions. The top and bottom lines of the hexagram represent the upper and lower jaws, and both bear images of restriction and punishment. Each of the lines between them portrays some version of biting through flesh. Hence, the jaws define the general problem, and the teeth differentiate the details.
The symbol of losing teeth has the primitive meaning of losing one's grip because under primitive circumstances and in the animal kingdom, the teeth and mouth are the gripping organ. If one loses teeth, one loses the grip on something. Now this can mean a loss of self-control, etc. The English word grip is contained in the German word begriff (conception or notion). The Latin word conceptio means the same, i.e., catching hold of something, having a grip on something. Jung -- Letters
In I Ching symbolism, the "ancient kings” are always synonymous with spiritual authority. Analogous to gods or cosmic forces, their "laws" are like the laws of karma or of nature -- inexorable in their outcome. Therefore, the punishment theme in the hexagram warns us that a lack of Discernment in the matter at hand has built-in penalties: i.e., "Get the message or suffer the consequences.”
Behold, sin and punishment are one, and the fire of punishment is the fire that refines my works. Even in the sinner I am the actor, and I, too, am the sufferer in the experience of punishment. P.F. Case -- The Book of Tokens
To receive this hexagram without changing lines indicates a need to make some important distinctions in the matter at hand. “Figure it out” might make a good alternate title at such times. Cleary’s Taoist note on the image (“Those who administer laws should emulate the ancient kings in first clarifying them before executing them, in order to avoid mistakenly injuring life”) is a clear admonition to get all of your facts straight before proceeding with your inquiry. That you don’t know or understand something is implied.
SUGGESTIONS FOR MEDITATION
The twenty-first hexagram turned upside down becomes the twenty-second. The message for the superior man in the Image of each concerns the enforcement of law. What is the relationship between Discernmentand Persona in such a context? The component trigrams of these two figures also make up hexagrams number fifty-five, Expansion of Awareness and number fifty-six, Transition.The messages for the superior man in each of these figures also relate to litigation. Why? What do the four hexagrams suggest about the nature of the Work?