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Above; pool of
water, joy
Below; pool of water, joy
This hexagram is
another of the eight which are made up of doubled
trigrams. Dui is the youngest daughter, whose gentleness
brings joy through the strength of the strong yang
lines in the fourth and fifth place.
Joy means success.
Righteous perseverance brings its just reward.
Dui signifies satisfaction
in gladness. In each of the trigrams there is a strong
yang line in the centre, with a weak yin line above
it. This shows that seeking joy through righteous
persistence is the right way to accord with the will
of heaven and to reach concordance with the feeling
of one’s fellow men. When the people are led
with gladness, they forget their burdens. as they
wrestle in joy with their difficulties, they even
forget that they must die. The great power of joy
lies in the encouragement that it can give to all.
The waters resting
one upon the other is the image of Joy. The Superior
Man, accordingly joins with his friends in discussion
and practices with them.
Line 1
Contented joy.
Good fortune.
Very little need
be said in explanation of the texts for the lines
of this hexagram. They are very clear in their meaning.
This line signifies the quiet, undemonstrative strength
that contented joy confers. Wordless, self-contained
and free from all envy.
Line 2
Sincere joy. Good
fortune. No regrets.
Confident in his
integrity, the sincerely joyous man will not be drawn
from his path by doubtful pleasures offered him by
inferior companions.
Line 3
Coming joy. Misfortune.
There is disagreement
in the interpretation of this text, but it seems probable
that it means that misfortune is experienced at a
time when a happy event is expected. It may be that
the coming joy is only postponed by a temporary setback.
Line 4
Calculating joys
to come he is restless. Close to misfortune he nevertheless
is happy.
Faced with the
choice of a variety of pleasures, some high and some
low, a man will enjoy no inner peace. But if he is
aware of the danger of indulgence, and makes his decision
accordingly, he will experience true joy.
Line 5
Putting one’s
trust in crumbling things means danger.
One may not be
aware that something is beginning to crumble away.
It may be an article of faith, a political system,
a business enterprise, or a relationship with another
person. It is important to be very much on one’s
guard, so as to be able to draw back when the first
signs of disintegration become apparent.
Line 6
Joy in seduction.
This is the weak
yin line at the top of the hexagram and it represents
one who gets his pleasures, both by attracting and
persuading others and by succumbing himself to all
kinds of meretricious attraction. He has abandoned
his spiritual advancement to give himself over to
the joys of the flesh and of material things.
© 1979 Neil
Powell
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