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Hi again,
I've been becoming growingly uncomfortable with the way in which Yi talks of surrounding people in my readings. K
I utilize it as an entirely subjective and non-judgmental phrase. Just like when Hexagram 1 refers to dragons, it doesn't actually mean you're going to see a dragon in the sky (but how nice would that be), it's just a metaphor. In my case, I see it as the superior person is the person who utilizes the situation correctly, the inferior person is the person who doesn't. That's why when the text says inferior people are in charge, it implies that they're going to screw things up. But nobody is stuck being a superior person or an inferior person. Again, it's just a metaphor, and these things defer back to yang and yin, which as we see in the I Ching, are in constant flux.
Also, I think it's very apt and yet another upon many cases where "synchronicity" prevails that you got 63 in response, because it shows yin and yang in perfect accord and also in their proper places. Showing that the distinction of superior and inferior all boils down to yin and yang mechanics.
Ms. kkappa I agree with mryou1 -
more like Superior hangs out with the Sage, looks at the bigger picture and/or from a higher perspective.
Inferior hangs out with the blinkers on society.
Also as mryou1 says - utilizing the situation correctly, using the resources of the Sage.
Hex 48>8 means
Line 2 - time to leave Denmark
Line 3 - means come to Australia and hang out with people like me
But seriously I believe it means, the way you've been doing things has worn out (yep we already know that Yi) and keep your eyes, ears and intuition open for new opportunities to meet and hang out with people who are thinkin' like you.
It's easy to fall back into our old pattenrs when we personally decide to move forward and a lot of our friends and family etc. feel uncomfortable about it so they will try to convince you (or belittle you) into staying back with them.
It doesn't mean you have to drop all 'inferiors' it just means be aware they are doin' it their way and you're doing it yours. I have a number of friends who have no idea but there are other sides to them I really enjoy. Hope that sheds some light for you chick.
- Liss
You need to be careful about which translation you are using and which word is being translated. You can always cross-check in my Matrix translation to see.
You do need to understand that the Yi wasn't written for a classless or egalitarian society - it was written for the king and the nobility, but these people regarded themselves as having a duty to the people they ruled, a noblesse oblige.
The word Jun, incorrectly translated as superior, means noble. The idea of Superior Man (Jun Zi) didn't crop up until many centuries after the Yi was written. It originally meant Young Noble. The "Superior Man" is a misunderstanding of the Yi translators.
The common or little people, the Xiao Ren, are sometimes called inferior, but the term isn't all that pejorative. They are simply political underlings, inferior in status.
They are, however, not regarded as having as much ethical character or virtue, or self-determination, as the nobility.
The bad or truly inferior people, the criminals and miscreants, the people not worth your time, are the Fei Ren. This term only occurs a few times.
Great people or Da Ren may be defined by characteristics other than noble birth - moral excellence, savvy, wealth, power, maturity, etc.
Finally, the term Sheng Ren, or wise person, does not yet occur in the original Yi. It makes its appearance in the Ten Wings of the Han Dynasty.
The tricky thing is that, what Homer sees as his superior side may turn out to be only his projection of his stereotypes of good/evil, superior/inferior. Pentrating preponderance of that requires stripping away the appearances of either. In the Tibetan Book of the Dead, it is the benevolent appearing deities which are the most deceptive and misleading, while the malevolent deities just scare the hell out of you. But it's all going on in his mind, or if in the case of a hereafter, his soul.
Hi again,
I've been becoming growingly uncomfortable with the way in which Yi talks of surrounding people in my readings. So many times the word inferior comes up and telling me to work on myself so that the right people could come to me. It seems that despite my efforts at eliminating bad influences and distancing myself from people that really do not support my best interests (including even my mother?!), people I consider my best friends or people with whom I enjoy talking to are still described as "inferiors holding on to me". What on Earth is up with this?
I asked Yi today how do I recognize these right people that you keep telling me of? And I got 63 unchanging.
This has been a hex that's been following me (together with 44) for a couple of weeks now, and it makes sense because if I went into all the details about the changes I've gone through in the last year alone, you would put my picture next to hex 63 in an I Ching dictionary. So that's fair and square to tell me to be extra cautios right now with regards to this new era, but HOW does that relate to my question? Does anyone have any personal experience?
To be more proactive about this, I asked what I can actually do to attract these right people and got 48.2.3>8. Hmm...
48 I have all the resources in me (well that's a good start), perhaps also a twist on, let people come and go as they please, but that's the essence of 8.5
48.2 I'm slacking off (really?) and not making the best of the situation? And as you can see... still associating with inferior people...
48.3 and there's something that I am really missing here, because if I understood the full picture, I would see what I would need to do.
8 either a context for wanting a union, or telling me to keep it together
Well, I can't say I got much smarter, just Yi reflecting my feelings back to me. In all honesty, I've always found 48 a little hard to interpret, I never get it, so I would love to hear of your experiences!
Your help is, as always, much appreciated. :bows:
K
furthermore I realise I have more or less ditched the whole notion of inferior/superior as far as it relates to others in my own readings. For example in 33 we are told something along the lines we keep inferiors at a distance through detachment....and yet you may be asking a question about someone you greatly respect...so they are not in any way inferior but merely may be enacting something you personally need to keep away from for a time, in some way. In hexagram 12 those you are trying to engage with merely do not understand you, aren't on your wavelength....but doesn't mean they are in any objective way inferior to you.
I thought it was funny you felt Yi descibed your mother as an inferior...I have had that too. Well the universe thought she was good enough to give birth to me so she can't be that bad so I take it that at that time she can't relate to you, won't understand you or be able to support the growth of your highest goals or ideals....she remains however truly equal as a human being.
Mother's Day is coming up....we won't be sending cards with
"Happy Inferior persons Day"
on.....although actually there could be a market for those sorts of cards
Last year I saw a "buy one get one free " offer on mothers day cards i guess you could send one to your inferior mother and one to your superior mother
This describes the situation of a person who possesses good qualities but
neglects them. No one bothers about him. As a result he deteriorates in
mind. He associates with inferior men and can no longer accomplish
anything worth while.
People really overestimate the Wilhelm translation, mainly because of its age, popularity and support of Princeton. But in fact it is not very reliable or accurate.
It's dated, heavy in Western misunderstanding and carries a lot extraneous ideas.
I have no idea where the "inferior men" statement comes from, unless it evolved from comments in the Wang Bi commentary, which relies on an apocryphal dimension called Correspondence that was invented in the Han Dynasty. And even there the word inferior isn't used. This says simply: But Second Yang has no resonant partner above, so it turns downward and instead responds to First Yin.
Oh, that's interesting. I have not looked too deeply into all the different translations available, I've just gone with the one that has made most sense to me. What other alternatives would you recommend in this case which wouldn't be as "Western influenced"?
Hahah, Trojan, you crack me up with your "Happy Inferior Day". My mother has never been described as an inferior, just someone who doesn't have my best interests in mind. And in this particular instance where I've tried to give a general background for why I'm even asking this question (and it did lead me to an AHA moment of having to get over my stubborness and consider moving after all because I just don't seem to understand or be able to relate with the Danes), I've put together a lot of readings I've had during my getting-my-life-together phase where I've kept getting a kind of scolding from Yi for hanging out with the inferiors. Once my best friend was described as the inferior in 33.2, but I hear what you're saying that this can be completely situation-based and not because she is an inferior. I would rather shoot myself in the foot than call such a beautiful person an inferior.
As per the reading I did share with you guys, Wilhelm says this:
Nine in the second place means:
At the well hole one shoots fishes.
The jug is broken and leaks.
The water itself is clear, but it is not being used. Thus the well is a place
where only fish will stay, and whoever comes to it, comes only to catch fish.
But the jug is broken, so that the fish cannot be kept in it.
This describes the situation of a person who possesses good qualities but
neglects them. No one bothers about him. As a result he deteriorates in
mind. He associates with inferior men and can no longer accomplish
anything worth while.
So all in all, I see your point and I will keep that in mind in future readings. But I did end up discovering something about this whole inferior business.
Oh K I may have patronised you as you do most likley know the difference between translation and commentary but alot of people don't .
See this Blog post of hilary's on Wilhelm http://onlineclarity.co.uk/answers/2006/06/25/thoughts-on-wilhelm/
There's lots of good stuff in the Blog and in other parts of the forum....you don't have to only cleave to Wilhelm and then you can keep more friends and relatives ....
....mind you Karchers commentaries can be absurdly directive....things like "you are involved with cruel people intent on their mastery " for 43.4 has always made me laugh.....especially if it's a question about my mum
I like your answers here to others anyhow as you seem to have developed your own relationship with the I Ching anyway Wilhelm or no Wilhelm
Clarity,
Office 17622,
PO Box 6945,
London.
W1A 6US
United Kingdom
Phone/ Voicemail:
+44 (0)20 3287 3053 (UK)
+1 (561) 459-4758 (US).