Spring message/Nourishment-I

[solun]

27. I / Corners of the Mouth (Providing Nourishment)

above KêN KEEPING STILL, MOUNTAIN
below CHêN THE AROUSING, THUNDER


"This hexagram is a picture of an open mouth; above and below are firm lines
of the lips, and between them the opening. Starting with the mouth, through
which we take food for nourishment, the thought leads to nourishment
itself. Nourishment of oneself, specifically of the body, is represented in the
three lower lines, while the three upper lines represent nourishment and
care of others, in a higher, spiritual sense.

THE JUDGMENT

THE CORNERS OF THE MOUTH.
Perseverance brings good fortune.
Pay heed to the providing of nourishment
And to what a man seeks
To fill his own mouth with.

In bestowing care and nourishment, it is important that the right people
should be taken care of and that we should attend to our own nourishment
in the right way. If we wish to know what anyone is like, we have only to
observe on whom he bestows his care and what sides of his own nature he
cultivates and nourishes. Nature nourishes all creatures. The great man
fosters and takes care of superior men, in order to take care of all men
through them. Mencius says about this:

If we wish to know whether anyone is superior or not, we need only observe
what part of his being he regards as especially important. The body has
superior and inferior, important and unimportant parts. We must not injure
important parts for the sake of the unimportant, nor must we injure the
superior parts for the sake of the inferior. He who cultivates the inferior parts
of his nature is an inferior man. He who cultivates the superior parts of his
nature is a superior man.

THE IMAGE

At the foot of the mountain, thunder:
The image of PROVIDING NOURISHMENT.
Thus the superior man is careful of his words
And temperate in eating and drinking.

"God comes forth in the sign of the Arousing": when in the spring the life
forces stir again, all things comes into being anew. "He brings to perfection in
the sign of Keeping Still": thus in the early spring, when the seeds fall to
earth, all things are made ready. This is an image of providing nourishment
through movement and tranquillity. The superior man takes it as a pattern
for the nourishment and cultivation of his character. Words are a movement
going from within outward. Eating and drinking are movements from
without inward. Both kinds of movement can be modified by tranquillity.
For tranquillity keeps the words that come out of the mouth from exceeding
proper measure, and keeps the food that goes into the mouth from exceeding
its proper measure. Thus character is cultivated."

From Akira Rabelais' Book of Changes


I thought this was a good reading for a time of renewal - Spring - to venerate and receive life/changes in tranquillity -
It goes nicely with the hexagram Ting/50. The Cauldron, which I did not receive by yao from 27,
but by intuition.

 

[rizinrico]

Well spring is indeed the time of nourishment when the resting phase of winter ends and the earth takes all that stored energy and begins to beget and expand in every direction. water the element of winter nourishes the wood the element of spring and all things grow. ting is a very interesting intuit.

 

[solun]

Why yes, rizinrico, it sure is.

Here's the Rabelais version of Ting 50 w/o the lines.

50. Ting / The Caldron

above LI THE CLINGING, FIRE
below SUN THE GENTLE, WIND, WOOD

The six lines construct the image of Ting, THE CALDRON; at the bottom are
the legs, over them the belly, then come the ears (handles), and at the top the carrying rings. At the same time, the image suggests the idea of nourishment.
The ting, cast of bronze, was the vessel that held the cooked viands in the
temple of the ancestors and at banquets. The heads of the family served the
food from the ting into the bowls of the guests.
THE WELL (48) likewise has the secondary meaning of giving nourishment,
but rather more in relation to the people. The ting, as a utensil pertaining to a refined civilization, suggests the fostering and nourishing of able men, which redounded to the benefit of the state.
This hexagram and THE WELL are the only two in the Book of Changes that
represent concrete, men-made objects. Yet here too the thought has its
abstract connotation.
Sun, below, is wood and wind; Li, above, is flame. Thus together they stand for the flame kindled by wood and wind, which likewise suggests the idea of preparing food.

THE JUDGMENT

THE CALDRON. Supreme good fortune.
Success.

While THE WELL relates to the social foundation of our life, and this
foundation is likened to the water that serves to nourish growing wood, the
present hexagram refers to the cultural superstructure of society. Here it is the wood that serves as nourishment for the flame, the spirit. All that is visible must grow beyond itself, extend into the realm of the invisible.
Thereby it receives its true consecration and clarity and takes firm root in the cosmic order.
Here we see civilization as it reaches its culmination in religion. The ting serves in offering sacrifice to God. The highest earthly values must be
sacrificed to the divine. But the truly divine does not manifest itself apart from man. The supreme revelation of God appears in prophets and holy
men. To venerate them is true veneration of God. The will of God, as
revealed through them, should be accepted in humility; this brings inner
enlightenment and true understanding of the world, and this leads to great
good fortune and success.

THE IMAGE

Fire over wood:
The image of THE CALDRON.
Thus the superior man consolidates his fate
By making his position correct.

The fate of fire depends on wood; as long as there is wood below, the fire
burns above. It is the same in human life; there is in man likewise a fate that lends power to his life. And if he succeeds in assigning the right place to life and to fate, thus bringing the two into harmony, he puts his fate on a firm footing. These words contain hints about fostering of life as handed on by oral tradition in the secret teachings of Chinese yoga.




It's interesting to me bcus i think of how many are looking for light and wisdom in dark times, and how we can allow ourselves to be deceived when we don't nourish the light in us, but rather focus on things which distract and consume our energy in not so great ways.
It seems a worthwhile effort to pay attention to what we entertain - to avoid being drawn off balance in a time of new life, which is the possibility of every moment I think. And to protect our truth, our path or way in light. I really liked the part about veneration of the holy ancestors, sages,etc. If we are maybe vigilant about the underpinnings of our consciousness in thought, our motives and relations, we can avoid pitfalls, we can recognize what is truly worthy of our contemplation.
It's really quite profound to think of the last part

assigning the right place to life and to fate

- reduces the moment to something really awesome, powerful, potent with the possiblity of real change.