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Hexagram 32 and Laozi

I first learned from Nina Correa of Your Dao De Jing that in the first lines of the Daodejing –

‘The dao that can be told of is not the constant dao,
The name that can be named is not the constant name’

– the word ‘constant’ in the Mawangdui version is heng – the name of Hexagram 32. She explained that hengwas more likely to be the original word used, and that chang (the word used in the received version) would probably have been substituted because the character heng became taboo in the time of an Emperor Heng (179BC).

I just fell over an article about
Heng and temporality of dao. It’s written by a philosopher, but very interesting for Yi-ist(e)s also. Especially in light of what Stephen K said about heng in the last webinar: that’s actually in one of the free clips you can watch here.

One response to Hexagram 32 and Laozi

  1. We can always refer to the universal level to aid in fleshing-out what the locals were trying to describe in that we are free of historical activities that can distort.

    The generic qualities of 32 are of a context of sharing time with another/others within (related inwards – wind bottom), in which is operating a text of sharing time with others without (relate outwards – thunder top). The overall focus is temporal and so on covering the generic of BINDING.

    Thunder is associated with the new, the immediate, the coming forth fully formed. Wind is associated with a gestatory period, a need for cultivation prior to coming-forth. This can be interpreted as a focus on the new in the context of taking time and so on perpetual renewal and so links to the concept of commitment with an air of ‘forever’.

    32 shares structural space with 50 and the emphasis overall is on commitement and transformation – 32 is unconditional, 50 is conditional.

    The skeletal from of 32, extracted from its spectrum, is described by analogy to hexagram 14 – with a focus on a proactive centre moving outwards.

    The beginnings of 32 are described by 34 – a focus on ivigorating ‘something’ or ‘someone’.

    The completion of 32 is described by analogy to 58 – an intensity in expression (joyous, reflective etc)

    For the full spectrum see:
    http://www.iimetro.com.au/~lofting/myweb/lofting/x001110.html

    Chris.

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