20.4

[anemos]

I try to understand line 20.4.

According to Wilhelm, the subject of the line is eligible and offered a place in the palace. He is honored by the government and feels honored but he shouldn't let this lead his away from his path.

According to Bradford, who i think plays with the words insider and outsider to different perspectives that make the big picture, what it works and what not .. maybe ( language barriers here, not sure if splendor describes a real or fake value) The expression "all that glitter is not gold" comes in mind.

Hex 20 as the tower when one can get a wider view in line 4 seems that its not enough ? Does one need to see for a closer distance yet he should keep "objectivity" in mind ?

Lets say that one has in mind a plan that consists of a certain path . First A then B, and the "government's " response is : skip A and go straight to B , you are eligible.

What is then Line's 4 advise ? and what Hex 12 adds to the pot?

any thoughts?

 

[pocossin]

The topic of 20 when viewed in sequence is Supervision of Children. Look at ☴ as a bird (as in 53) and ☷ as eggs or chicks. Psalm 91:4 He shall cover thee with his feathers, and under his wings shalt thou trust: his truth shall be thy shield and buckler. By accepting office (becoming the guest of the king) an official is able to protect the people.

 

[anemos]

lovely visual thanks Tom

what makes me wonder is 12 and especially what Wilhelm says.

The great departs; the small approaches.
---------------------

In order to escape the difficulties.
He does not permit himself to be honored with revenue.
---------------------
he does not allow himself to be tempted by dazzling offers to
take part in public activities.

the light of the kingdom (20.4) ... dazzling offers... (12) what's the catch here ?

maybe what 20.4>12 asks is How one wishes to protect people, create a safe environment as the visual you shared , and accept or deny the King's offer ?

 

[chingching]

from wilhelm

He should be, so to speak, a guest-that is, he should be honored and act independently, and should not be used as a tool.

perhaps it is being honoured with revenue which would see him used as a tool, so he should refuse it...?

coming from 12.4 where one has the mandate I suppose if the one was to then follow the mandate for not just its own sake but for the sake of dazzling offers and/or revenue one is compromised, or more simply is missing the point (of the mandate).

In both 20.4 and the fan yao the purpose is not fulfillment. Doing ones duty is different to doing a job. But the line doesnt say dont take the dazzling offer, it just says , in bradfords word, be worthy of it. So not sure about the parallel to "all that glitters..." because that implies that something is an imitation.

Like pocossin said, the position of office is a place to look from, being worthy of it is to treat it as such with the care of washing ritual etc.

 

[pocossin]

maybe what 20.4>12 asks is How one wishes to protect people, create a safe environment as the visual you shared , and accept or deny the King's offer ?

I understand 12 (yin wood) as grass drying out -- a loss of vitality. As 12.1 says, "When ribbon grass is pulled up, the sod comes with it." This may be good or bad. In the fall and winter the tops of many plants dry out and vitality returns to the roots and is thereby preserved.12 Image, "Thus the superior man falls back upon his inner worth in order to escape the difficulties." To connect 12 to 20.4 visually, birds make a 'safe environment' for new life by making their nests of dried plant material.

 

[anemos]

thank you both for your help.

I'm gathering info about option X my initial route and option Y the one I was offered. Although I expect some clarifications from the person made that offer, reading the brochure, seems that I'm indeed eligible to follow the proposed route , yet in the long run, it diminishes some credentials its good to have. Option Y could leave me unprotected in some terms.

 

[heylise]

Some thoughts about hexagram 2...

The relating hex (here 12) tells me about the situation.

Hex.12 is the creativity of the earth (inner trigram Earth, manifesting through outer trigram Heaven): getting things done without doing. Letting life 'happen'. Don't press anything, "be" what is needed. The creativity of the Earth is the means to do something when the world tells you "no".

The line you got is what you can do.

20.4 if you want the best for the state - and you have the mandate, you know or feel what you want to happen - then the best position is to be the king's guest. Not an employee, slave, boss, or anyone else who "has to". The one who can do things because he just loves to do them, without any expectation from anyone, is the one who gets the most organic results.
Kings are the people who have power: friends, referees, a sympathizing group, a patron. Through them one can act without really acting. Often just telling them about it is enough to make things move. One of them just happens to have a construction company, or knowledge of finances, or can fly a plane, or has the big house for whatever has to happen, or knows someone who justfillinthedots.

 

[anemos]

Thank you LiSe

The relating hex (here 12) tells me about the situation.

Hex.12 is the creativity of the earth (inner trigram Earth, manifesting through outer trigram Heaven): getting things done without doing. Letting life 'happen'. Don't press anything, "be" what is needed. The creativity of the Earth is the means to do something when the world tells you "no".

.

This is very interesting But I don't grasp it completely. Earth moves away from heaven , the creative . usually 12 is about blockages and stagnation cause by them but still something can be created as you say here .

Could you elaborate a bit more ?

 

[heylise]

"Heaven and Earth moving away from each other" is a later interpretation. It might be right for lots of things, but the Yi does not say that nothing is possible. It is a description of the time, not a verdict.

The lines give advice for a situation in which everything blocks, stagnates and so on. But that does not mean that there are no posibilities at all. Might be that a totally different way is needed in such a time. Not 'trying' to get things done, but being such, that things 'happen'.

When it is dark, you get a torch, when it is cold, you make a fire, when everything stagnates, you have to find a way to deal with it.

 

[anemos]

thanks again LiSe.

Unless the reading refers to a future time, so far it doesn't feel like obstruction or stagnation just two different forces pulling to one direction or another. And the question is "which way?" This is why I found very interesting what you said about earth's creativity.