Memorizing the I Ching 26. Ta Ch'u / The Taming Power of the Great

[rosada]

Sounds like a 16.4 to me!

 

[bruce_g]

Yeah, and maybe a Precision Room for Chris, too.

And a Fortune Telling Room for the soothsayers.

How 'bout a Tea Leaf Room?

Or, The Smoke and Mirrors Lounge?

Then we must have a Study Hall, for the academics.

Ah, The Skeptics' Quarters.

We also need something sexy and kinky in the basement for Luis. Maybe The Dungeon?

 

[martin]

I'm still experiencing a little conflict with 26 in like do we have what we need or not ?

Bruce says we have the power stored there like in an engine but we expend it a controlled intelligent way - yes so we have the power/capacity in us. Yes but if we have it in us why do we have to go out to get it ? Bruce and you seem to be saying opposite things to me - Bruce has his food in his house/engine, you have to go out to get it. Oh but then later in your post you say the food is there within you ? (so why you have to go out )

I ate in the past and Bruce might run out of petrol, especially when he drives all the way up to the Hall of Secrets on top of Clarity Hill.
But I think that that is a question that goes with this hexagram: do I have to store/accumulate more (in which case I will need to 'eat' more) or do I have enough?
Of course, this all assumed that my interpretation of 'not eating at home' is correct, Rosada has another take on it that also makes sense to me.

 

[martin]

Let's have a poll.
Suppose you are driving (all the way up to ..) and you see a petrol station along the (long winding) road.
You have no idea how far it is till the top of Clarity Hill and you don't know if there are more stations further on, so you ask the Yi 'do I need to pump gas now?'
The Yi says 26, no changing lines.
What will you do?

 

[jesed]

'do I need to pump gas now?'
The Yi says 26, no changing lines.
What will you do?

Since it is a yes/no question; I would use wen wang gua method... so.. what would I do? it depends on the day and month when that happens

 

[martin]

Well, you are already quite high, high on that hill and also 'high' in another sense. You don't know anymore what day or month or year it is and your watch has become a Dali watch, it is dripping from your wrist.
You have lost all sense of time, eternity beckons ...
But, odd as it may seem, you are still worried that you might run out of petrol and the Yi didn't say 22.1, so ...

 

[Trojina]

Let's have a poll.
Suppose you are driving (all the way up to ..) and you see a petrol station along the (long winding) road.
You have no idea how far it is till the top of Clarity Hill and you don't know if there are more stations further on, so you ask the Yi 'do I need to pump gas now?'
The Yi says 26, no changing lines.
What will you do?

Thats the trouble Martin, I don't know. Real life example - I recently had a small health problem, which due to holiday period I would either have to see a doctor next day or wait a long time. I consulted about it, was this thing worth seeking help over, and got 26 unchanging. Hmm to me it could have meant seek out a wiser more knowledgable person, ie the doctor - or to restrain my impulse to seek help. As it happened I'd just read something about restraint and 26 by the illustrious Dobro so I decided to restrain the impulse, maybe I was fretting too much. As it turned out restraint was the right course there but it was a bit of a shot in the dark.

But I get it I think. Is what you are saying is that 26 asks you to consider if you have enough or not - if you need to seek further or not, it doesn't tell you, it asks you ? I asked in effect 'can I handle this illness myself or do i need to go outside for help' and the 26 i received didn't tell me which, just advised me to consider ?

Hmm re your poll, well if you are a sensible person you check the petrol gauge and to be on the safe side you get more fuel anyway. I can't tell you how often I've run out of petrol - well my gauge was broken

Perhaps 26 is indeed a very sensible hexagram, running out of petrol is a very 25 thing to do isn't it.

 

[Trojina]

Well, you are already quite high, high on that hill and also 'high' in another sense. You don't know anymore what day or month or year it is and your watch has become a Dali watch, it is dripping from your wrist.
You have lost all sense of time, eternity beckons ...
But, odd as it may seem, you are still worried that you might run out of petrol and the Yi didn't say 22.1, so ...

What have you done to poor Jesed ? Is he concussed or drugged ?

 

[rosada]

I feel like we're all a bunch of kindegardeners (25) standing at the school yard gate waiting for the bell to ring and the first day of school to begin (26).

The unique thing about this School of Life is we design and build it ourselves as we go along. (Thanks to Bruce for this, I like a school with a yi-jam room etc.!) There is no minister/teacher (line 4 is yin) and there is no prince/principal (ditto line 5), the only way we'll rise will be determined by how well we can follow our inner guidance. The only way we can follow our inner guidance is to calm down enough to receive it, (26.1.2) and then to practice following it (26.3).
--

I earlier drew down the wrath of Chris by suggesting 25 meant "Ignorance". Sorry if the word was so far from the mark as to be offensive. Perhaps "Random Motion vs. Recognizable Pattern" would be closer to the idea I'm working on. And trojan, I shouldn't have implied hex.26 is "superior" to 25, I think it suggests the inevitable next step. Whether that step is an improvement is debatable, I suppose! But to try to give a practical example, if a person starts doodling, at first the drawings will appear to be random movements, but overtime the lines will reveal a very definite predictable style, so much so that if you were to compare the doodlings of one person to those of another, you would be able to recognize who drew which ones. So Random Movement becomes Recognizable Pattern. So in life, a child bouncing on the bed while spilling a glass of milk might first seem to be "Innocent" having an "Accident", but if it happens a second time, it's no longer an Innocent Accident, but a Recognizable Pattern, and hopefully he will recognize the need to calm down!

In the example of the car I say 26 tends to be conservative. It urges you to slow down but keep moving. So slow down (especially if you're pretty gassed yourself, hardeharhar.) and coast to the nearest gas station.

 

[bruce_g]

Let's have a poll.
Suppose you are driving (all the way up to ..) and you see a petrol station along the (long winding) road.
You have no idea how far it is till the top of Clarity Hill and you don't know if there are more stations further on, so you ask the Yi 'do I need to pump gas now?'
The Yi says 26, no changing lines.
What will you do?

I'd buy gas, of course. But I wouldn't ask Yi about something so obvious. If I did, and received 26, I'd read it as a sign that I'm stressing over it too much.

 

[Sparhawk]

Hi Luis

I usualy like your postcards on the hexs.. but this one is not only lovely but spot on the core.

Thanks

Hi, Rodrigo,

I'm glad you liked it. Those cards were a nice find, indeed.

Best

L

 

[Sparhawk]

So much for artistic license, huh!

Hey, Rosada, maybe you and I can convince Hilary to create a Yi-jam room. The only rule is to groove, baby.

View attachment 282

Looks like my son in jazz band...

L

 

[rosada]

Say Sparhawk, would you feel to go back into the old Memorizing threads and post the appropriate pictures? They are so terrific, plus this does seem to be the perfect time to be reviewing the old postings of antiquity.

 

[rosada]

THE JUDGEMENT

THE TAMING POWER OF THE GREAT.

Perseverance furthers.
Not eating at home brings good fortune.
It furthers one to cross the great water.
-Wilhelm

 

[Sparhawk]

Say Sparhawk, would you feel to go back into the old Memorizing threads and post the appropriate pictures? They are so terrific, plus this does seem to be the perfect time to be reviewing the old postings of antiquity.

Done!

L

 

[Trojina]

In the second half of Wilhelm (pg. 515 in my book under Commentary on the Decision) he says, "'Not eating at home brings good fortune,' for people of worth are honored." Seems to be saying not to worry about finding one's way in life, that if one goes out into the world to seek his fortune he will be successful, he will be fed.

If I were asking about a project and received 26 I would interpret it to mean I ought to make a start and watch for guidance along the way. Particularly if I were going to visit a foreign country, I would feel 26 meant I should try to learn something about the history of the place, a bit of the language before going, but that ultimately I would be okay once I just hit the road, as long as I didn't go too far without stopping to ask for directions.

Interesting that we are discussing the whole hexagram here at the beginning, more so than we have in our previous examinations. It's like we're eager to understand it all, yet this is the very hexagram that says take it one day at a time.

Ah missed this last night in crossed post - yup makes sense

 

[bruce_g]

Done!

L

erm... but they are now out of Hilary's sticky folder. I guess they all return to the top when someone posts something after it's been added to the folder.

I didn't know your son plays sax?

 

[Sparhawk]

erm... but they are now out of Hilary's sticky folder. I guess they all return to the top when someone posts something after it's been added to the folder.

I didn't know your son plays sax?

They are not really out of the sticky folder. Only thing is that when one writes in an old thread, they come up on top again until they are pushed down by newer ones.

Yes, about my son, he plays tenor sax. He played the whole middle-high school in the marching band, concert band and Jazz band. Here is a year old picture of him in a school jazz concert:

http://www.sorocabana.net/sparhawk/archives/004446.html#004446



L

 

[bruce_g]

Very cool, Luis. Do I also recall that you play sax?

 

[Sparhawk]

Very cool, Luis. Do I also recall that you play sax?

I wish! My musical skills are limited to following a tune by finger drumming and tapping with my heels... Growing up I never had an opportunity to learn music and I promised myself that I would give my children at least that opportunity. My daughter also plays, the violin.

L

 

[bruce_g]

Never too late to take it up, my friend.

Ok, sorry for going OT.

 

[rosada]

I asked the IChing to give me a hexagram discribing "Off Topic."

I received 13.6:
Fellowship with men in the meadow.
No remorse.

I thought that was pretty appropriate. To me it's saying that what happens is when folks get into intense conversations, they form an energy, a vibration, that is faster, that is out of sync with the larger group energy. We call it being Off Topic as in being off the larger group topic. But IC says this is apprpriate At This Time. Have No Remorse.

 

[rosada]

I think it's interesting we've had this little OT about music at this point. I Wonder if 25 could be seen as the tune and 26 now being putting words to the music? Hmm...wonder how Sparkler's poetry reading went last night?..Went back and reread a bunch of the Memorization threads to see Sparhawk's cards. Wow, fabuous! Really stimulates the old right brain to see all that...Alright, getting back ON topic now. I didn't post what all Wilhelm had to say about THE JUDGEMENT above so I'm going to post it now...

THE JUDGEMENT

THE TAMING POWER OF THE GREAT.
Perseverance furthers.
Not eating at home brings good fortune.
It furthers one to cross the great river.

To hold firmly to great creative powers and store them up, as set forth in this hexagram, there is need of a strong clearheaded man who is honored by the ruler.

The trigram Ch'ien points to strong creative power; Ken indicates firmness and truth. Both point to light and clarity and to the daily renewal of character.

Only through such daily self-renewal can a man continue at the height of his powers.

Force of habit helps us keep order in quiet times; but periods when there is a great storing up of energy, everything depends on the power of the personality.

However, since the worthy are honored, as in the case of the strong personality entrusted with leadership by the ruler, it is an advantage not to eat at home but rather to earn one's bread by entering the public office.

Such a man is in harmony with heaven; therefore even great and difficult undertakings, such as crossing the great water, succeed.

Commentary on the Decision

THE TAMING POWER OF THE GREAT.

Firmness and strength.

Genuineness and truth.

Brilliance and light.

Daily he renews his virtue.

The firm ascends and honors the worthy.

He is able to keep strength still, this is great correctness.

"Not eating at home brings good fortune," for people of worth are nourished.

"It furthers one to cross the great water," because one finds correspondence in heaven.

The upper trigram Ken is firm, the lower, Chien, is strong; the upper is genuine, the lower is true: the upper is brilliant, the lower light.

Thus the two trigrams complement each other.

Through keeping still (Ken), the powers of character (Ch'ien) are so strengthened that a daily renewal takes place. This refers to the effect of the personality.

Here the first meaning of the hexagram is given - keeping still and collecting oneself.

The firm element that ascends is the nine at the top. It mounts above the six in the fifth place - the place of the ruler - and this ruler honors it in its ascent because it is worthy.

The upper trigram Ken, Keeping Still, is able to hold fast the lower, Chien, the strong. This explains the words of the Judgement: "Perseverance furthers." Here we have the second meaning of the hexagram - holding fast and keeping still.

Not eating at home, that is, entering public service, brings good fortune, because the six in the fifth place represents a ruler who nourishes people of worth. This gives the third meaning - holding fast and nourishing.

"It furthers one to cross the great water." this idea is suggested by the two nuclear trigrams - Chen, which also means wood, over Tui, lake. This dangerous action is possible because the ruler of the hexagram, the six in the fifth place, is in the relationship of coorespondence to the nine in the second place, the central line of the lower trigram, heaven (Ch'ien).

---
Some have questioned using Wilhelm as our text. I've only selected it because it is the text of choice here at onlineclarity and thus is accessible for everyone. However, if folks would like to post their own IChing translation preferance, that would only add to our understanding. So please feel free to post the words you would like to memorize here. Put your own words to the music...

 

[bruce_g]

I'm glad you use Wilhelm, Rosada. Despite the beating that ole boy takes around here, it's still the most beautiful rendition I've ever heard. Abundant pearls throughout, even if it isn't a perfect translation.

 

[getojack]

GREAT BUILDUP
Great buildup benefits the upright and true.
Not eating at home is lucky.
It is worthwhile crossing great rivers.

OVERALL JUDGMENT
In great buildup there is firm strength and earnest genuineness, with shining light daily renewed. Its virtues place strength on top, with esteem for the wise. To be powerful yet controlled is great rectitude. Not eating at home is lucky in the sense of nurturing the wise. It is worthwhile crossing great rivers, in response to Nature.

-Thomas Cleary

 

[Trojina]

I asked the IChing to give me a hexagram discribing "Off Topic."

I received 13.6:
Fellowship with men in the meadow.
No remorse.

I thought that was pretty appropriate. To me it's saying that what happens is when folks get into intense conversations, they form an energy, a vibration, that is faster, that is out of sync with the larger group energy. We call it being Off Topic as in being off the larger group topic. But IC says this is apprpriate At This Time. Have No Remorse.

I see it very simply as people being friendly in a casual, easy kind of way.

 

[rosada]

Okay, I've gone back and filled in the rest of what Wilhelm has to say in THE JUDGEMENT.

I think this whole hexagram starts to make sence if you think of it as guidance in how to tame the the will so you can chose a goal and focus and practice and master something. I think of the upper trigram Ken, Keeping Still, as like a father who wants to keep his son focused, but not squelch him. Today my four year old friend's father was teaching him how to use a bow and arrow. He couldn't manipulate his fingers for him, but by showing him and then sitting quietly - keeping still - as the son practiced, the boy stayed focused and is making good progress. Like the two trigrams, the father and son complement each other. The father guides the son's "ascent" because the son is worthy. The ruler, the father, is nourishing "people of worth", the son. "It furthers one to cross the great river" suggests to me that it is good to stretch one's boundries, learn something new.

 

[bruce_g]

Today my four year old friend's father was teaching him how to use a bow and arrow.

Funny that you should mention the bow and arrow, as I almost posted this analogy to 26 yesterday. The bow stores energy, and the arrow is released outwardly.

 

[rosada]

We're a gettin' good, folks!

 

[rosada]

More musings about 25 > 26 ...

I'm thinking how 25 suggests this singular ball of energy vibrating off and on, the moment, the moment, the moment, each moment separate from the last, no memory, no connection, just spontaneous NOW, but with each moment, the ball of energy becomes bigger, requiring more attention, more nourishment. To a baby each day is even more fabulous than the one before. Today I breathe air, tomorrow I have fingers, the day after that I can walk. Each day brings a new miracle. But...as time goes by there needs to be more time between each miracle. But a baby used to being surprised everyday becomes cranky because the miraculous surprizes are no longer so surprising. Through no fault of his own, the baby is simply no longer so impressed by the same old same old. So by the end of 25 the same innocent behavior that started out bringing good fortune now brings misfortune. Why? Because over time, Innocence, repeated random spontaneous action, falls into a predictable pattern. And as it is no longer unpredictable. it is no longer Innocent. (Like I know what will happen if I throw jump in the air, show me something I don't know...) We are out of the garden. Nothing left to do but grow old. So...I think 26 is about Sustaining the Moment. Making Childhood Innocence, amazement, The Moment last. Getting into the NOW not just as a brief state of Grace as in 22., but as a sustained life experience. So how to experience and live in the present, the eternal NOW? I suspect it has to do with being able to find a focus for our attention, or training our attention to stay focused.

I think 26 also has something to say about raising the kundalini up from the root chakra to the crown chakra and I'm guessing that the way to raise the energy has to do with not using, expressing it. at the lower chakra. Not repeating the pattern that we've gotten tired of. Fasting from complaining say, and thus forcing the mind to come up with a different responce than the habitual one.

I think a key mark of my own higher chakra experiences is an awareness of other concousnesses. Like one time I took a yoga class and as we held the various positions I could hear in my mind the thoughts of the other people in the room. I think the experience came about because we were all holding a similar position, breathing in unison, and KEEPING STILL, that is, not revealing our thoughts to each other in the usual way with words. By keeping still and doing the postures in sync, I think the individual conciousness, the individual NOWS, linked together formed a group NOW and raised the energy up to the higher chakras. And we were so in sync our thoughts flowed as easily between our bodies as they did in our own individual minds.

Anyway, this is where I am at tonight.