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Cast Hexagram:

41 - Forty-one

Sun / Decrease

The stoic Mountain drains its excess waters to the Lake below: The Superior Person curbs his anger and sheds his desires.

To be frugal and content is to possess immeasurable wealth within. Nothing of value could be refused such a person. Make a portion of each meal a share of your offering.

SITUATION ANALYSIS:

This is an occasion for downsizing to fighting trim. Simplicity and economy are strong defenses against the slings and arrows of Outrageous Fortune. Whether this is a time of want or a time of plenty, it is an auspicious time to shed a dependency.

above: Kên / Keeping Still, Mountain below: Tui / The Joyous, Lake

This hexagram represents a decrease of the lower trigram in favour of the upper, because the third line, originally strong, has moved up to the top, and the top line, originally weak, has replaced it.1 What is below is decreased to the benefit of what is above. This is out-and-out decrease. If the foundations of a building are decreased in strength and the upper walls are strengthened, the whole structure loves its stability. Likewise, a decrease in the prosperity of the people in favour of the government is out-and-out decrease. And the entire theme of the hexagram is directed to showing how this shift of wealth can take place without causing the sources of wealth in the nation and its lower classes to fail.

THE JUDGEMENT

DECREASE combined with sincerity Brings about supreme good fortune Without blame. One may be persevering in this. It furthers one to undertake something. How is this to be carried out? One may use two small bowls for the sacrifice.

Decrease does not under all circumstances mean something bad. Increase and decrease come in their own time. What matters here is to understand the time and not to try to cover up poverty with empty pretence. If a time of scanty resources brings out an inner truth, one must not feel ashamed of simplicity. For simplicity is then the very thing needed to provide inner strength for further undertakings. Indeed, there need be no concern if the outward beauty of the civilisation, even the elaboration of religious forms, should have to suffer because of simplicity. One must draw on the strength of the inner attitude to compensate for what is lacking in externals; then the power of the content makes up for the simplicity of form. There is no need of presenting false appearances to God. Even with slender means, the sentiment of the heart can be expressed.2

THE IMAGE

At the foot of the mountain, the lake: The image of DECREASE. Thus the superior man controls his anger And restrains his instincts.

The lake at the foot of the mountain evaporates. In this way it decreases to the benefit of the mountain, which is enriched by its moisture. The mountain stands as the symbol of a stubborn strength that can harden into anger. The lake is the symbol of unchecked gaiety that can develop into passionate drives at the expense of the life forces. Therefore decrease is necessary; anger must be decreased by keeping still, the instincts must be curbed by restriction. By this decrease of the lower powers of the psyche, the higher aspects of the soul are enriched.

1. [The present hexagram and the following one, INCREASE, are regarded as formed by changes in T'ai, PEACE (11), and P'i, STANDSTILL (12), respectively.] 2. Cf. the story of the widow's mite in the Gospel of Luke.

Hexagram Forty-One/Line Four:

Once he recognizes and admits his wound, walls tumble down and others can get through to offer the balm he needs for healing.

Transformed Hexagram:

38 - Thirty-Eight

K'uei / Estrangement

Fire distances itself from its nemesis, the Lake: No matter how large or diverse the group, the Superior Person remains uniquely himself.

Small accomplishments are possible.

SITUATION ANALYSIS:

You are working at cross-purposes with another. The distance between you is very wide. The gap can be closed, however, with no compromise of your integrity. You are not adversaries in this case -- just two persons addressing individual needs. Ask yourself: are these needs mutually exclusive? Is there common ground here? Must there be one winner and one loser? Could you become partners in seeking a solution that would allow for two winners?

This hexagram is composed of the trigram Li above, i.e., flame, which burns upward, and Tui below, i.e., the lake, which seeps downward. These two movements are in direct contrast. Furthermore, Li is the second daughter and Tui the youngest daughter, and although they live in the same house they belong to different men; hence their wills are not the same but are divergently directed.

THE JUDGEMENT

OPPOSITION. In small matters, good fortune.

When people live in opposition and estrangement they cannot carry out a great undertaking in common; their points of view diverge too widely. In such circumstances one should above all not proceed brusquely, for that would only increase the existing opposition; instead, one should limit oneself to producing gradual effects in small matters. Here success can still be expected, because the situation is such that the opposition does not preclude all agreement. In general, opposition appears as an obstruction, but when it represents polarity within a comprehensive whole, it has also its useful and important functions. The oppositions of heaven and earth, spirit and nature, man and woman, when reconciled, bring about the creation and reproduction of life. In the world of visible things, the principle of opposites makes possible the differentiation by categories through which order is brought into the world.

THE IMAGE

Above, fire; below, the lake. The image of OPPOSITION. Thus amid all fellowship The superior man retains his individuality.

The two elements, fire and water, never mingle but even when in contact retain their own natures. So the cultured man is never led into baseness or vulgarity through intercourse or community of interests with persons of another sort; regardless of all commingling, he will always preserve his individuality.