Clarity,
Office 17622,
PO Box 6945,
London.
W1A 6US
United Kingdom
Phone/ Voicemail:
+44 (0)20 3287 3053 (UK)
+1 (561) 459-4758 (US).
Gou--encountering, unexpected, without approach, dropping in, a stranger encountering many who are friends.
A king seated in his court, looking for a woman to marry, a king sitting in his court surrounded by his servents. A young woman comes into the palace, the woman is strong and bold, this is why she approaches--the king finds her too willful, too strong, too ambitious, and so she will bring the king trouble and regret--the king is wise, the woman is rejected. If she remains she will be destroyed.
One yin element lying low, one yin element rising up to face five shining stars.
Two people encountering one another, suddenly, without warning, thrust together. A man and a woman, coming together, finding harmony and coming closer, finding discord and coming closer, for better or for worse they are bound together-they are bound by the need to create, they are bound by the need to love, they are bound by the need for a companion.
The heavens seeking the earth, should the earth rise up to meet heaven, she will be scorned. It is the many that meet the few, the great who comes to the small. Heaven above, wind below--the winds that come from heaven encounter everything below. To seek the heavens directly and go behind the wind is to uncover ones own destruction and fall victim to childish shame.
Gou;Song--in this place one becomes immobile, uncomfortable, restlessly unable to proceed. Too eager to make progress, too ambitious, distracted. One here is blessed by indecision, one here is protected by the entanglements of this place, for to proceed unfettered is to expose great danger.
A king who rejects a bold woman. She remains in the court, tempting the king to do evil against her. The weak pushes forward, becoming more bold, growing in number, seeking to take the highest position, to act against it now is to become its victim. Fortunately the difficult nature of this path, and the uncertainty it is frought with make it so it is impossible to follow it with reckless abandon.
Gou;Xun--Still being distracted by ones own goal, again, too ambitious, looking too far ahead, neglecting the present and forsaking the future. Only by being attentive to each step made can one hope to move forward.
A weak one made weak by pride, a weak one made helpless by the height of his position, he cannot handle what he seeks, he cannot control what he has come to posess. If he continues to be proud he will starve. Casting a net into the sea, it becomes filled with fish, he needs the help of others to haul it in, if this one does not become humble, and ask for help, he will go hungry.
Suffering under ones own hard head, in need of help, driving help away. Encountering an obstacle, unable to move forward, unable to accept a helping hand.
Gou;Da Guo--a terrible place, a place that should not be, regret without root, regret without bound, regret without reason. What is weak coming to tempt what is strong. An evil thing crying out, the upright and strong hearing the cry, the living hearing the call of the dead--considering their plight, but unable to respond, truely misfortunate.
A place without measure, no boundaries exist, no form, no color, only substance. To suffer without reason is to truely suffer.
What is high being called to by what is low, the weak discover they cannot reach the heavens, the heavens are cursed to lament the position of the weak, in this the heavens become weak. A thing of strong will, a thing of boldness, chasing after its every desire, it cannot follow one, so it follows them all, tearing itself into countless pieces as it does this. Unable to reunite, for what goes above becomes too proud to descend low, what has gone low is too weak to rise up.
The king, refusing the advances of a bold woman, she does not leave. The king scorning a willful woman, she does not leave. The king flogging a persistent woman, the king being flogged by her screams.
Song;Huan--A truely bitter place. Once strong and great, being broken down and corrupted. Wavering, stumbling, teetering, falling over. A cold chill blowing into a room, it persists and makes everyone in the room shiver in notice.
A king, approached by a willful woman, he rejects her, she remains and convinces others to act on her behalf. She cannot sway the king, so she turns to his trusted servents, convincing some to follow her ambitions. She conspires to have the throne through murder if not by marriage. Again a weak one tempting the strong to be corrupt, tempting with the danger that they posess. An evil one standing in defiance of the heavens, finding its way to the base of the throne, presenting itself as an enemy, seeking to tempt those who are upright to strike it down. What should not be seen, begining to take form. A voice unheard seeking a carelessly watched breath to steal.
Attacked with whispers, if one counters with shouts he will be seen as a lunatic. One in this position is struck on the cheek for no reason, the one who strikes him seeks only to start a conflict. To proceed here is to escalate ones troubles, there is only peace if one turns back.
Song;Kun--All hangs in the balance, all eyes are on the king. Evil looms like stalking lions, hunger drives them to strike, they are skilled and well practiced, they look for the weakest one in the herd. To stumble or falter in thier presence is to solicit their attack, they are without mercy, their desperation causes them to sieze what is ungaurded without hesitation.
Here the kings court has become corrupted. The weak have come and found they could not take the throne, but by this time they have taken a third of the court, a third of the kings servents now follow the stranger.
Darkness, creeping in like water, slowly, inevitably coming to cover the floor. Very bold now, emboldened and growing in number, emboldened more and more. Tempting the upright to lash out, the weak begin to make claims for what belongs to the strong. To engage in the conflict offered would be to previal for certain, but it is truely a triumph that is bound to decay. A weak one biting a strong one, the strong one would be made weak should he crush his opponent now. To acknowledge evil is to become evil, to ignore evil is to fall victim to evil--A strong one made weak by his strength, for the evil that resdies here is cunning and well trained.
If one is strong and engages in conflict with the weak he will find conflict to be pleasing. For those who come to enjoy conflict, evil awaits.
Xun;Huan--A proud person persuades many to follow, a proud person does this by pretending to be humble and wise. And yet this one cannot refrain from venting his words once he finds breath. If this path is allowed to run its course undisturbed the liar will be exposed, and he will be isolated--his arrogance will bleed through the veneer he has constructed, his following will fall away from him, his motives will be made plain by his own nature. One can come to learn how to hide the truth with great skill and ease, but one who attempts to silence the same is destined to fail.
Xun;Jing--The way in which a liar is exposed. A pround heart cannot feign humiilty for too long, and an arrogant spirit cannot wear the mask of meekness and forever resist the urge to show its face. Even a liar can fall victim to his own deciet.
If one takes up humility but does not derive from it strength then one is bound to bear it as an awkward burden. If one cloaks himself in meekness and it is unfamilair to him he will eventually loose his confidence and become crippled by his disguise.
DaGho;Kun--this is much like the situation presented in song;huan. As in song;huan, we have a weak one coming up in boldness, seeking to have the highest place. Upon discovering it cannot reach this palce it comes to establish a growing presence at the foot of the summit. Until finally the one who is highest is made aware of the looming presence of what came from below. If the highest one responds to the weak one in the way he is tempted to respond, he himself will become weak, even as he crushes the influence that tempts him. The one who is high, the one who is strong is unyielding in his position for he is correct and should not bend, and yet he is nagged by the growing danger presented by the weak one to turn and face the depths. If he looks now he will not be able to look away. Being rigid, if he seeks to bend he will break. Yet if the strong one does not do anything to mitigate the weak ones efforts, then he stands to loose everything under his feet. This is the nature of the conflict evil seeks to create, for it is a conflict without resolution, and it is a conflict that will only grow if one engages in it.
DaoGho;Jing--this position expounds again on the nature of the overall situation and the conflict that resdies within its heart. The weak one has made significant progress, but he knows that he is unable to attain his final goal. He presses onward, knowing it is futile to do so, for he is lead blindly by his desire. Once one becomes filled with spite he seeks the quickest route to his end, this search inevitably leads to endless wandering. Once one grows so proud that he finds life to be unpleasing, the only peace one can find is in death, but he is cursed by his pride which does not allow him to die. His suffering will grow until it crushes him, his humiliation will ferment into shame and drive him still deeper into the ground, he will suffer greatly until he is humble, or until he is destroyed.
Another aspect of this place revolves around the efforts of one who acts in spite. He is arrogant and afraid to fail, he will boast and tempt others into conflict, but will stop himself short of actually engaging in a fight himself--he is cunning and crafty, and so he convinces others to emerse themselves in the discord he inspires. A stranger who enters a court and turns some of the kings own servents against him.
Not able to tempt the king into a fight, not willing to fight the king should he answer the call, this weak one begins to turn the kings beloved servents against each other, hoping the strife will spread to engulf the king in its flames. The one who starts this fire does so knowing he himself will be consumed by the flames he released.
Huan;Kan--The message by now is clear and simple--evil comes, and even ascends, and it will take all it finds that it can take--it did this to the heavens and it does this to man. Be inspired by the heavens, for they did not fall, look and learn from what heaven did when it encountered evil, then do the same and live unharmed. Evil, darkness, it presents a great danger, it approaches, but it cannot reach, do not be fooled, do not be shaken, do not find yourself within its grasp by meeting it half way. There is no conflict that cannot be resolved peacefuly, one does not engage in conflict unless one decides to do so freely. The warning here is clear: when evil calls, and when evil comes, find that it is unfamilair, find it to be a stranger and remain in the place the heavens found you in.
Kun;Kan--regarding the way in which even virtues can become burdens if one clings to them too tightly. Even if one finds himself to have just ambitions and dwells in a situation conducive to realizing those ambitions it is best to proceed with caution, never losing sight of ones own intentions and motivations. Nothing should be taken to the extreme, else it is bound to sour and ferment into an intoxicating or crippling burden. The I ching often stresses the importance of watching ones own behavior and maintaining disciplined control over ones every action-thought be the most vigorous action of all. Complacency often leads to misfortune, corruption and evil--only by realizing that one will never become perfect like heaven is how one becomes driven to continually strive to be perfect like heaven. Understand then why heaven itself is never to remian without motion, for in this way it inspires the great dance.
Jing;Kan--again this path ends in shedding some valuable insight. If one feels he is surrounded by evil people he should consider if it is not because he has done nothing to solicit kindness from those around him. The imagery used here in this change of the gua is that of water being confused with mud, when the people grow thirsty enough they will look more closely at the water and see that it is fit for drinking.
This then is the path that exists between gou and kan. Describing the nature and result of the encounter between heaven and darkness, revealing a lesson for anyone who might encounter the same.
A king seated in his court, looking for a woman to marry, a king sitting in his court surrounded by his servents. A young woman comes into the palace, the woman is strong and bold, this is why she approaches--the king finds her too willful, too strong, too ambitious, and so she will bring the king trouble and regret--the king is wise, the woman is rejected. If she remains she will be destroyed.
One yin element lying low, one yin element rising up to face five shining stars.
Two people encountering one another, suddenly, without warning, thrust together. A man and a woman, coming together, finding harmony and coming closer, finding discord and coming closer, for better or for worse they are bound together-they are bound by the need to create, they are bound by the need to love, they are bound by the need for a companion.
The heavens seeking the earth, should the earth rise up to meet heaven, she will be scorned. It is the many that meet the few, the great who comes to the small. Heaven above, wind below--the winds that come from heaven encounter everything below. To seek the heavens directly and go behind the wind is to uncover ones own destruction and fall victim to childish shame.
Gou;Song--in this place one becomes immobile, uncomfortable, restlessly unable to proceed. Too eager to make progress, too ambitious, distracted. One here is blessed by indecision, one here is protected by the entanglements of this place, for to proceed unfettered is to expose great danger.
A king who rejects a bold woman. She remains in the court, tempting the king to do evil against her. The weak pushes forward, becoming more bold, growing in number, seeking to take the highest position, to act against it now is to become its victim. Fortunately the difficult nature of this path, and the uncertainty it is frought with make it so it is impossible to follow it with reckless abandon.
Gou;Xun--Still being distracted by ones own goal, again, too ambitious, looking too far ahead, neglecting the present and forsaking the future. Only by being attentive to each step made can one hope to move forward.
A weak one made weak by pride, a weak one made helpless by the height of his position, he cannot handle what he seeks, he cannot control what he has come to posess. If he continues to be proud he will starve. Casting a net into the sea, it becomes filled with fish, he needs the help of others to haul it in, if this one does not become humble, and ask for help, he will go hungry.
Suffering under ones own hard head, in need of help, driving help away. Encountering an obstacle, unable to move forward, unable to accept a helping hand.
Gou;Da Guo--a terrible place, a place that should not be, regret without root, regret without bound, regret without reason. What is weak coming to tempt what is strong. An evil thing crying out, the upright and strong hearing the cry, the living hearing the call of the dead--considering their plight, but unable to respond, truely misfortunate.
A place without measure, no boundaries exist, no form, no color, only substance. To suffer without reason is to truely suffer.
What is high being called to by what is low, the weak discover they cannot reach the heavens, the heavens are cursed to lament the position of the weak, in this the heavens become weak. A thing of strong will, a thing of boldness, chasing after its every desire, it cannot follow one, so it follows them all, tearing itself into countless pieces as it does this. Unable to reunite, for what goes above becomes too proud to descend low, what has gone low is too weak to rise up.
The king, refusing the advances of a bold woman, she does not leave. The king scorning a willful woman, she does not leave. The king flogging a persistent woman, the king being flogged by her screams.
Song;Huan--A truely bitter place. Once strong and great, being broken down and corrupted. Wavering, stumbling, teetering, falling over. A cold chill blowing into a room, it persists and makes everyone in the room shiver in notice.
A king, approached by a willful woman, he rejects her, she remains and convinces others to act on her behalf. She cannot sway the king, so she turns to his trusted servents, convincing some to follow her ambitions. She conspires to have the throne through murder if not by marriage. Again a weak one tempting the strong to be corrupt, tempting with the danger that they posess. An evil one standing in defiance of the heavens, finding its way to the base of the throne, presenting itself as an enemy, seeking to tempt those who are upright to strike it down. What should not be seen, begining to take form. A voice unheard seeking a carelessly watched breath to steal.
Attacked with whispers, if one counters with shouts he will be seen as a lunatic. One in this position is struck on the cheek for no reason, the one who strikes him seeks only to start a conflict. To proceed here is to escalate ones troubles, there is only peace if one turns back.
Song;Kun--All hangs in the balance, all eyes are on the king. Evil looms like stalking lions, hunger drives them to strike, they are skilled and well practiced, they look for the weakest one in the herd. To stumble or falter in thier presence is to solicit their attack, they are without mercy, their desperation causes them to sieze what is ungaurded without hesitation.
Here the kings court has become corrupted. The weak have come and found they could not take the throne, but by this time they have taken a third of the court, a third of the kings servents now follow the stranger.
Darkness, creeping in like water, slowly, inevitably coming to cover the floor. Very bold now, emboldened and growing in number, emboldened more and more. Tempting the upright to lash out, the weak begin to make claims for what belongs to the strong. To engage in the conflict offered would be to previal for certain, but it is truely a triumph that is bound to decay. A weak one biting a strong one, the strong one would be made weak should he crush his opponent now. To acknowledge evil is to become evil, to ignore evil is to fall victim to evil--A strong one made weak by his strength, for the evil that resdies here is cunning and well trained.
If one is strong and engages in conflict with the weak he will find conflict to be pleasing. For those who come to enjoy conflict, evil awaits.
Xun;Huan--A proud person persuades many to follow, a proud person does this by pretending to be humble and wise. And yet this one cannot refrain from venting his words once he finds breath. If this path is allowed to run its course undisturbed the liar will be exposed, and he will be isolated--his arrogance will bleed through the veneer he has constructed, his following will fall away from him, his motives will be made plain by his own nature. One can come to learn how to hide the truth with great skill and ease, but one who attempts to silence the same is destined to fail.
Xun;Jing--The way in which a liar is exposed. A pround heart cannot feign humiilty for too long, and an arrogant spirit cannot wear the mask of meekness and forever resist the urge to show its face. Even a liar can fall victim to his own deciet.
If one takes up humility but does not derive from it strength then one is bound to bear it as an awkward burden. If one cloaks himself in meekness and it is unfamilair to him he will eventually loose his confidence and become crippled by his disguise.
DaGho;Kun--this is much like the situation presented in song;huan. As in song;huan, we have a weak one coming up in boldness, seeking to have the highest place. Upon discovering it cannot reach this palce it comes to establish a growing presence at the foot of the summit. Until finally the one who is highest is made aware of the looming presence of what came from below. If the highest one responds to the weak one in the way he is tempted to respond, he himself will become weak, even as he crushes the influence that tempts him. The one who is high, the one who is strong is unyielding in his position for he is correct and should not bend, and yet he is nagged by the growing danger presented by the weak one to turn and face the depths. If he looks now he will not be able to look away. Being rigid, if he seeks to bend he will break. Yet if the strong one does not do anything to mitigate the weak ones efforts, then he stands to loose everything under his feet. This is the nature of the conflict evil seeks to create, for it is a conflict without resolution, and it is a conflict that will only grow if one engages in it.
DaoGho;Jing--this position expounds again on the nature of the overall situation and the conflict that resdies within its heart. The weak one has made significant progress, but he knows that he is unable to attain his final goal. He presses onward, knowing it is futile to do so, for he is lead blindly by his desire. Once one becomes filled with spite he seeks the quickest route to his end, this search inevitably leads to endless wandering. Once one grows so proud that he finds life to be unpleasing, the only peace one can find is in death, but he is cursed by his pride which does not allow him to die. His suffering will grow until it crushes him, his humiliation will ferment into shame and drive him still deeper into the ground, he will suffer greatly until he is humble, or until he is destroyed.
Another aspect of this place revolves around the efforts of one who acts in spite. He is arrogant and afraid to fail, he will boast and tempt others into conflict, but will stop himself short of actually engaging in a fight himself--he is cunning and crafty, and so he convinces others to emerse themselves in the discord he inspires. A stranger who enters a court and turns some of the kings own servents against him.
Not able to tempt the king into a fight, not willing to fight the king should he answer the call, this weak one begins to turn the kings beloved servents against each other, hoping the strife will spread to engulf the king in its flames. The one who starts this fire does so knowing he himself will be consumed by the flames he released.
Huan;Kan--The message by now is clear and simple--evil comes, and even ascends, and it will take all it finds that it can take--it did this to the heavens and it does this to man. Be inspired by the heavens, for they did not fall, look and learn from what heaven did when it encountered evil, then do the same and live unharmed. Evil, darkness, it presents a great danger, it approaches, but it cannot reach, do not be fooled, do not be shaken, do not find yourself within its grasp by meeting it half way. There is no conflict that cannot be resolved peacefuly, one does not engage in conflict unless one decides to do so freely. The warning here is clear: when evil calls, and when evil comes, find that it is unfamilair, find it to be a stranger and remain in the place the heavens found you in.
Kun;Kan--regarding the way in which even virtues can become burdens if one clings to them too tightly. Even if one finds himself to have just ambitions and dwells in a situation conducive to realizing those ambitions it is best to proceed with caution, never losing sight of ones own intentions and motivations. Nothing should be taken to the extreme, else it is bound to sour and ferment into an intoxicating or crippling burden. The I ching often stresses the importance of watching ones own behavior and maintaining disciplined control over ones every action-thought be the most vigorous action of all. Complacency often leads to misfortune, corruption and evil--only by realizing that one will never become perfect like heaven is how one becomes driven to continually strive to be perfect like heaven. Understand then why heaven itself is never to remian without motion, for in this way it inspires the great dance.
Jing;Kan--again this path ends in shedding some valuable insight. If one feels he is surrounded by evil people he should consider if it is not because he has done nothing to solicit kindness from those around him. The imagery used here in this change of the gua is that of water being confused with mud, when the people grow thirsty enough they will look more closely at the water and see that it is fit for drinking.
This then is the path that exists between gou and kan. Describing the nature and result of the encounter between heaven and darkness, revealing a lesson for anyone who might encounter the same.