Clarity,
Office 17622,
PO Box 6945,
London.
W1A 6US
United Kingdom
Phone/ Voicemail:
+44 (0)20 3287 3053 (UK)
+1 (561) 459-4758 (US).
Sometimes one has to focus on the pretty trees and leave the rest of the forest to the loggers.
So, you say that sometimes "shortsightedness" is a choice, and not a wrong one ?
( if you are aware of what you are doing)
I still have no problem (God help me! ) with "grace" for 22, with its colors and melodies that make people smile. But I'm happy with using "beauty" for the 22 image.
I.
The word I've been using is nearsightedness, not shortsightedness,
There's a blaze of light
In every word
It doesn't matter which you heard
The holy or the broken Hallelujah
L. Cohen
So, you say that sometimes "shortsightedness" is a choice, and not a wrong one ?
( if you are aware of what you are doing)
Brad said:Closer to the core meaning is nearsightedness, but more literally, ornamentation or superficiality. The mountain goat needs to be nearsighted to pick his way up the mountain - he wants each of his steps to be real, so there is a place for nearsightedness in how graceful his ascent is.
Shortsightedness, by the way, movement too soon, haste,
the opposite of deferred gratification, not looking out for the
long-term consequences of action, is one of the central meanings
of 54, Gui Mei.
Why do they have to take me away from my 22 contemplation?
.
Lise:
Lots of men in this business
A performer is helped drawing paintings on his face to imitate tiger during the traditional Nuo ritual to exorcise evil spirits and pray for happiness in Shuangbai county, Yi Autonomous Prefecture of Chuxiong, southwest China's Yunnan Province, Oct. 10, 2008. The whole ritual procedure, with different kinds of dances as its main part, is the most ancient and well-preserved ritual for ethnic Yi people. [Xinhua]
fROM: http://www.showchina.org/en/CultureNews/Opinion/200810/t225460.htm
The main and objective message of 22, other than what everyone wants to subjectively attach to it contextually with any given situation, is "focused attention". IMO, most in the West have hung to Wilhelm's word of choice, "grace," and all its possible English meanings. However, if you compare the message of the Chinese text with Wilhelm/Baynes's translation, he appeared to have something very specific in mind for "grace" which anyone can find by looking in the dictionary:
3 a: a charming or attractive trait or characteristic b: a pleasing appearance or effect : charm <all the grace of youth — John Buchan> c: ease and suppleness of movement or bearingEverything else that has to do with the word "grace" in English is completely foreign to the meaning intended in the Chinese.
I was recently reading that (click for page):So, we appear to be hard-wired for attaching meaning where it doesn't intrinsically exists. That's why, when we find a word like "grace" our minds make all kinds of connections, perhaps totally meaningful for each of us, that have little to do with the reality of the author that used it. IMHO, in this particular case, if "grace" is going to be used as the preferred translation for 賁, they would do themselves a favor by sticking to the above meaning of the word and forget all the other English meanings attached to it.
Going back to "nearsightedness," the text of 22 is an ode to "focused attention" to small details. The goat example used by Brad is very good. When climbing a rocky mountain, the goat is not contemplating the breathtaking landscape but minding each step it takes, every detail and rock protrusion, lest it missteps and falls to its death. Another animal metaphor I can think of is a raven picking up bright objects to take to its nest because they are attractive to it; or picking at the eyes of a dead animal or person because is what it will nourish it faster and with the least effort.
Take Wilhelm/Baynes' text for the Image:
Fire at the foot of the mountain:"Current affairs," by definition, is what requires present attention to detail. "Controversial issues" (think of U.S. Supreme Court, for example) require a more holistic approach, a "big picture" of the consequences, present and future, of a decision.
The image of GRACE.
Thus does the superior man proceed
When clearing up current affairs.
But he dare not decide controversial issues in this way.
So, "nearsightedness" in this context isn't a hindrance but it is what's needed to complete a given task properly. It is "focused attention".
When I posted that comment about you-know-what I was playing the raven going for the bright object it spotted from up high...
We could go further along with explanations and branching but I'm short of time now.
"In the arts, grace arises out of adherence to form: the dancer becoming the form of the dance, the musician giving life to the form of a musical score, the painter becoming one with the brush and canvas. In human affairs, grace is also aligned with form – with mastery of aesthetic and cultural forms honed by time and honored by tradition. Through appreciation of graceful forms in human culture we apprehend the pure beauty of the ideal, of life raised above the mere struggle for survival."
Bamboo said:when one gets an oracle response, it is like a jewel rising to the surface of a pond, glittering for your focused attention. and reflecting a fragment of truth.
It seems as if this whole thread has been a 22 process in action, each looking at different facets of a jewel. ahhh, the blind men and the elephant.
."
how about the roll(s) of silk appearing in this hexagram and only here?
(BTW silk is the major capital production of females brought out after the long winter isolation and symmetrical to the harvest production of the men after the summer outings)
and whiteness?
"Hexagram 22 and the Symbolism of Beauty"
All original material © Michael McDonald, Ph.D., 2009
download at
http://www.hermetica.info/22,McDonald.pdf
Hey Luis - free, take one!
Michael is a new member of this group. He holds a PhD in
Philosophy from the University of Hawaii.
Reading this article again.
I find it really valuable in showing how one can bring together in-depth knowledge and breadth of ideas
great learning experience, thank you Bradford
Clarity,
Office 17622,
PO Box 6945,
London.
W1A 6US
United Kingdom
Phone/ Voicemail:
+44 (0)20 3287 3053 (UK)
+1 (561) 459-4758 (US).