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Above; a pool of
water, joy
Below; thunder and awakening.
Above is joy, the
youngest daughter; below is awakening, the eldest
son.
The awakening interest of the older man is excited
by the joyous movement of the young girl. He defers
to her and shows her consideration, but in due course
she will follow him.
Compliance in the
beginning leads to ultimate success. Firmness and
rectitude are advantageous and there is no blame.
In Sui, the strong
trigram places itself, below the weak. In the two
we see the combination of movement and pleasure. The
whole universe complies with what the hour dictates.
A leader must adjust his actions to the situation.
A follower must adjust his actions to those of his
leader. But just as the leader should not ask others
to follow him unless his path is the right one, so
his followers must assure themselves of his rectitude.
Thunder rumbles
below the surface of the pool. As darkness falls,
the Superior Man goes into his house to rest.
Line 1
He changes the
object of his pursuit. Persistence brings good fortune.
Going forth from his door and meeting those outside
he attains achievement.
The wise man will
not maintain his allegiance to a belief that is no
longer supportable. When the time is right, confidence
in his judgement will lead on to success. He must
be prepared to listen to the opinions of others and
so form his own. He must decide whether he will throw
in his lot with a leader or whether he himself will
lead.
Line 2
He who clings
to the little boy loses the strong man.
The ‘little
boy’ represents his first allegiance, which
may have been to principals not properly thought out,
or which were applicable to a situation that no longer
exists. It is a time to make more mature decisions
and transfer allegiance to a new leader or moral system.
Line 3
He who clings
to the strong man loses the little boy, but gains
what he desires. Persistence is advantageous.
In giving up an
old allegiance, one naturally loses something. The
joy of first experiencing a belief in a cause is like
the excitement of a first love that can never be recaptured.
With maturity, one gives up the unmixed happiness
of youth and the pleasure of absence of responsibility.
But the wise man is satisfied within himself as his
personality develops and he begins to understand what
he wants.
Line 4
Allegiance brings
success. But persisting in the same course brings
misfortune. Taking his own way with sincerity how
can he be blamed?
There are dangers
in blind allegiance, both for the followers and for
the followed. Those who follow are often not honest
in their intentions, seeking personal advancement
and maintaining their positions by flattery and subservience.
Their leader, becoming accustomed to their insincere
attentions will suffer misfortune and eventually lose
both his followers and his own position. His only
hope is to pursue his own course sincerely and with
conviction.
Line 5
Trusting in goodness.
Good fortune.
This line reiterates
the significance of the line before. He who knows
in his heart what is right must follow it without
deviation.
Line 6
Sincere, he secures
allegiance and is himself more firmly bound. The emperor
makes sacrifices upon the western mountain.
In the days of
the Chou dynasty, the rulers honoured great sages
by affording them, at their death, a place in the
royal family’s temple of ancestors. The first
part of the interpretation is usually taken to mean
that the sage, although, he himself has reached the
furthest stage of his development, is constrained
by the demands of his followers. It can also mean
the one who becomes the unchallenged leader will still
be bound to his followers by the responsibility he
has assumed.
© 1979 Neil
Powell
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