Clarity,
Office 17622,
PO Box 6945,
London.
W1A 6US
United Kingdom
Phone/ Voicemail:
+44 (0)20 3287 3053 (UK)
+1 (561) 459-4758 (US).
Excessive smallness:
The noble one meets misfortune with respect.
XIAO GUO: The first character, xiao: 3 grains of rice or sand - small. The second, guo, is a pass in a mountain, also meaning the completion of an action. 2 the steps, 3 the foot, together the crossing. 4 Is a skeleton, maybe the cut in the mountain-ridge. GUO4: to pass, to pass by, cross over, sign of past or perfect tense, beyond the ordinary or proper limit, transgress, excess, fault, to blame.
Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil
Meng:...
Anyhoo, going to throw this line out here for Brad, LiSe, Charly or anyone else who enjoys translation questions.
... There's also a shamanistic (21) side to this, in that the scorpion stings instilled a deep and profound respect in me for this prehistoric being; a fellowship, as odd as that might sound.
Charly and Brad, appreciate your interesting points and stories. Have to say, though, not much seems to be connecting with the specifics of 1) bad luck (other than bad luck isn't really bad luck, it's a matter of perspective, etc.) or 2) meeting misfortune with respect.
Going back to 62, taking in consideration the whole of the text, for me describes, more than misfortune or bad luck, a call to be on guard for what's to come, or might come, and thus adjust one's behavior and actions accordingly. A call to be mindful of the background of a situation and not to focus narrowly on the forefront of it and thus risking missing its root causes or possible outcomes.
In your specific case with the scorpion stings--perhaps not yet over in its consequences--, next time something like this happens, where judgment could be impaired by pain, concern or fear, it is advisable that you deffer to "other authorities" in the matter and be treated. For me, this is what the Image could be telling you about showing "respect in excess": deferring judgment to another party.
I wish you get well soon.
the respect for powers and forces greater than ourselves.
The village is infested with cobras. They can be found lying next to a person on his bed or curled up on the kitchen stool. The people are not scared of them. Even when bitten, the victim does not go to a doctor. Instead he or she takes a dip in the local pond, rubs the mud taken from the pond into the wound and fasts for a day. The next morning the victim is fit to work in the fields.
Burt, those subtle things you mention have been also a part of my 62 experiences. :bows:
Luis: "Going back to 62, taking in consideration the whole of the text, for me describes, more than misfortune or bad luck, a call to be on guard for what's to come, or might come, and thus adjust one's behavior and actions accordingly." I agree, but I don't think that is the whole story of 62. One of the meanings of Xiao Guo is "small transgression". That is something which happened. You did (sometimes didn't) cause it yourself and now you have to bear the consequences. Or something or someone did it to you, committed an offense towards you. Obviously universe does not see scorpion stings as a Da Guo, big offense (hex. 28) because scorpions only sting as defense. You were the victim of a "Xiao Guo", even though the result was a big distress to you.
No question misfortune lurks all around us, but also does fortune. I don't believe misfortune has the upper hand in life, although many might feel so (heck, even I wonder at times...). In the example of the bird, where being hunted down is a misfortune for it, it is an unquestionable fortune for the hunter. Things find a way to balance. On a micro scale, fortune and misfortune are perceptual constructs of our minds. Big natural disasters spell misfortune for many but on a macro scale is just change happening and the planet finding a new balance.Misfortune is all around us, any moment something can hit us. The bird which is pursued by hunters has bad luck, but if it is clever and stays low, it will survive.
My mistake. I actually thought Bruce was quoting somebody and kind of puzzled me that someone would translate that sentence so. However, although misfortune is not specifically cited in the Da Xiang of 62, I do agree with you that at least a big part of the spirit of the hexagram is to meet challenges with due respect.[FONT="]君子以行過乎恭[/FONT]
The noble one exceeds in respect in actions
Word by word: Junzi use move exceed at respect.
Meng's "meeting misfortune with respect" may not be the exact translation of this sentence, but I think it applies very well to the whole of 62.
Thanks!! Didn't know these translations for guo.Yes, guo4 is used in lots of compounds indicating past events. However, it could also indicate present and even future events. For example, some of the meanings for guo4, absent in the glossing of your post, are: to celebrate, to live, to get along. My question is, would it be wise to fix the meaning of Xiao Guo, in a context vacuum, as a past event? Not saying it doesn't apply--hindsight is always 20/20, and context is king--but I believe a biased sense of it meaning occurred events could close the door to other possibilities that may be in our present and/or future and be as important.
Yes.. but either the bird (or me as bird) or the hunter casts the coins, so the answer is just for one of them. I know, good and bad luck are relative, but when you sit right in one of them, it doesn't feel that way.No question misfortune lurks all around us, but also does fortune. I don't believe misfortune has the upper hand in life, although many might feel so (heck, even I wonder at times...). In the example of the bird, where being hunted down is a misfortune for it, it is an unquestionable fortune for the hunter. Things find a way to balance. On a micro scale, fortune and misfortune are perceptual constructs of our minds. Big natural disasters spell misfortune for many but on a macro scale is just change happening and the planet finding a new balance.
Old character Guo (just one version of it I think):My mistake. I actually thought Bruce was quoting somebody and kind of puzzled me that someone would translate that sentence so. However, although misfortune is not specifically cited in the Da Xiang of 62, I do agree with you that at least a big part of the spirit of the hexagram is to meet challenges with due respect.
I know, good and bad luck are relative, but when you sit right in one of them, it doesn't feel that way.
I never had a bad memory of any conversation with you.LiSe (I'll add the "Hi" right here not to bring bad memories of recent conversations... ):
Clarity,
Office 17622,
PO Box 6945,
London.
W1A 6US
United Kingdom
Phone/ Voicemail:
+44 (0)20 3287 3053 (UK)
+1 (561) 459-4758 (US).