Hello All,
I am posting here for the first time after rejoining Clarity after an absence.
I have been studying and contemplating the I Ching for a few years and have found many wise and thoughtful comments from members on this site.:bows:
Therefore, I am hopeful that some of you may have insight into a question that is puzzling me.

In Hex 51.4 -- Hua-Ching Ni -- "Book of Changes" -- writes:
......"This entire hexagram shows various levels or situations in which one experiences Shock. This line (51.4 ) has the ability to improve itself and can become the source of thunder....

That statement really intrigues and puzzles me. It seems quite different than other commentaries that I am familiar with.
So,...
Why does this line have the abiity to improve itself ? AND ESPECIALLY
How can it become the source of Thunder???

Other commentaries seem to speak about being mired, stuck in the mud,confused etc.
Is this commentary considering perhaps the position or relationship of the lines or the attributes of the trigrams or some thing else?

I am appreciative of any insights you may have.

Hi chushel,

You may have to email Hua-Ching Ni to ask him why he made those remarks; however, they make sense to me.

The fourth line place is about the heart and feelings. It is an even place while the line is Yang. It is preceded and followed by Yin lines thus the usual bad commentary attached to this line (cf. Wilhelm book III for more).

Remember most commentary is textual and ignores divination. As a moving line, hex 51.4 expresses and exhausts its heart feelings tending then towards the resultant hex 24 which is the Victory of the Light. This would support the commentary you quote.

Frank

chushel said:

In Hex 51.4 -- Hua-Ching Ni -- "Book of Changes" -- writes:
......"This entire hexagram shows various levels or situations in which one experiences Shock. This line (51.4 ) has the ability to improve itself and can become the source of thunder....

That statement really intrigues and puzzles me. It seems quite different than other commentaries that I am familiar with.
So,...
Why does this line have the abiity to improve itself ? AND ESPECIALLY
How can it become the source of Thunder???

Click to expand...

Line position 4 is representative of the Minister/Advisor to the court (5th line) and as such can have an air of self-improvement and use of foresight and so ability to plan. In general line position 4 is 'ruled' by hexagram 16 with ITS focus on issues of foresight etc - where such includes warnings of what is to come, as thunder is a warning of what is to come. IOW there is both positive and negative present and the local context will determine which is favoured (and the bottom trigram sets the general context out of which particulars emerge)

hi chushel,

I'm not as well read in the inner workings of the Yi as others here but I'd like to share my thoughts on this line since it has been puzzling me too . .

thinking about analogies to nature, this line is like the moment when the thunder gets grounded . . seems like the effectiveness or quality of the 'grounding mechanism' we might have devised to protect ourselves get tested in this very line . . maybe a very literal description of what happens with thunder grounding is helpful here . .

A sharp metallic point will produce large potential gradients near its tip, perhaps creating a corona discharge that sucks electrons out of the surrounding air molecules to neutralize the positive charge. Such a lightning arrester can discharge the surrounding area if it is properly grounded, reducing the general electric field in the vicinity. It can also be a good place to begin a positive streamer upwards to meet a lightning leader, so it is best for it to be well-grounded. A lightning discharge will create large earth currents in the immediate neighborhood, which actually do most of the damage.
http://mysite.du.edu/~etuttle/weather/tstorm.htm

Click to expand...

I also find interesting how this line turns from yang to yin, opening up a clear way for the shocking experience to be absorbed without producing harmful outcomes (the dangerous element involved in shock) and how lightning arresters need to have a good and unobstructed connection to the ground, the earth, so that they can be useful . . a blocked conduit -in human terms, a response to shock that is clogged by too much thought or other obstructions does not seem to produce much in terms of positive results, it will just make the potential of shock to burn out causing a whole lot of ash . . if, though, on the other hand, I let the shock get through, if I accept it openly and really listen to what it is about (which might be an issue with all the shocking noise going on) while keeping my feet on the ground, then I get there's a chance of finding the best way to respond to it in a productive way, keeping its empowering potential alive and well

I know this is not really answering your question of Hua Ching-Ni's commentary, but maybe if others join their heads together here we can find the key to unlock the heart of thunder . .


:bows:

chushel said:

In Hex 51.4 -- Hua-Ching Ni -- "Book of Changes" -- writes:
......"This entire hexagram shows various levels or situations in which one experiences Shock. This line (51.4 ) has the ability to improve itself and can become the source of thunder....

.

Click to expand...

Hi Chushel,

Perhaps the writer takes into consideration the relating hex 24 which among other thing refers to recovery also.

have to thing more about it though...

maria

Nature abhors a vacuum. When one reaches the end of one's rope, doesn't "know" what to do, and fully accepts it , there is the possibility of something new appearing, a different energy, a fresh movement.

----- A quick reply before rushing off to work ----

There is an an amazing synergism for me in these responses!! Thank you all.

Rodaki -- As I read your ideas about the " grounding mechanism" , I found myself dropping into a much deeper layer of experiencing the energies involved in this line. Many thoughts arise in me ( Ground of Being , Rupert Sheldrakes "Morphogenetic Field", even Paradigm Shifts etc.) I don't see yet the common thread so I need to think more deeply

Hi chushel,

As you are thinking consider that this hexagram 51 is not referring to actual thunder that appears with lightning and marked for ancient China the season of spring rains that began the growing season.

Hex 51.4 is about the sense of being thunderstruck in your heart by an emotional or life changing bolt from the blue upsetting your prior situation and lifestyle.

There are many factors going into various interpretations for this line. It is a Yang line with a good relationship to the Yin lines in first and fifth places. It is also a Yang line hemmed in by Yin lines before and after it. It is not the ruler of the hexagram yet the hexagram can not be hex 51 without its contribution.

Frank

This line has always puzzled me. Like being hit on the head by a box of chocolates. I like chocolate and being hit on the head by something I like is not nice.... do I really like chocolates - I want to eat them, so it brings up odd emotions. That is how I have always thought of this line until tonight.

My son, he has been in an odd mood recently, starting term - I have been worrying about him. He has been out late, being secretive, and usually he is quite open but now he is quite closed. Tonight when he came back home, he had a phone call and said he was going to walk his girlfriend home as she was a bit drunk. On the one hand I was cross that he would be out even later, but part of me felt that he was being quite nice in taking her home. He has not had a girlfriend before, so the whole thing is just like Frank has said,
it is about the sense of being thunderstruck in your heart by an emotional bolt upsetting your prior situation and lifestyle.

Rather like being hit on the head with the chocolates then....