Divination

“An Allegory of Prudence” by Titian 1576, with the words "From the past, the present acts prudently, lest it spoil future action.”

CHIEH

LIMITATION

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The Chinese word for limitation really denotes the joints that divides a bamboo stalk.  In relation to ordinary life it means the thrift that sets fixed limits upon expenditures.  In relation to the moral sphere it means the fixed limits that the superior man sets upon his actions — the limits on loyalty and disinterestedness.  

   This hexagram is a picture of an open mouth, above and below are the firm lines of the lips, and between them the opening.  Starting with the mouth through which we take in food for nourishment, the thought leads to nourishment itself.      

THE JUDGMENT 

LIMITATION.  Success.

Galling limitation must not be persevered in.

Limitations are troublesome, but they are effective.  If we live economically in normal times, we are prepared for times of want.  To be sparing saves us from humiliation.  Limitations are also indispensable in the regulation of world conditions.  In nature there are fixed limits for summer and winter, day and night, and these limits give the year its meaning.  In the same way, economy, by setting fixed limits on expenditures, acts to preserve property and prevent injury to the people.

  But in limitation we must observe due measure.  If a man should seek to impose galling limitations upon his own nature, it would be injurious.  And if he should go too far in imposing limitations on others, they would rebel.  Therefore it is necessary to set limits even on limitation.

THE IMAGE:

Water over the lake: the image of LIMITATION.

Thus the superior man

Creates number and measure,

And examines the nature of virtue and correct conduct.

A lake is something limited.  Water is inexhaustible.  A lake can contain only a definite amount of the infinite quantity of water; this is its peculiarity.  In human life too the individual achieves significance through discrimination and the setting of limits.  Therefore what concerns us here is the problem of clearly defining these discriminations, which are, so to speak, the backbone of morality.  Unlimited possibilities are not suited to man.  If they existed, his life would only dissolve in the boundless.  To become strong, a man’s life needs limitations ordained by duty and voluntarily accepted.  The individual attains significance at a free spirit only by surrounding himself with these limitations and determining for himself what his duty is.

THE LINES

THE LINES

Nine in the second place means:

Not going out of the gate and the courtyard

Brings misfortune.

When the time for action has come, the moment must be quickly seized.  Just as water first collects in a lake without flowing out, yet is certain to find an outlet when the lake is full, so it is in the life of man.  It is a good thing to hesitate so long as the time for action has not come, but no longer.  Once the obstacles to action have been removed, anxious hesitation is a mistake that is bound to bring disaster, because one misses one’s opportunity.

Six in the third place means:

He who knows no limitation

Will have cause to lament.

No blame.

If an individual is bent only on pleasures and enjoyment, it is easy for him to lose his sense of the limitations of the limits that are necessary.  If he gives himself over to extravagance, he will have to suffer the consequences, with accompanying regret.  He must not seek to lay the blame on others.  Only when he realizes that our mistakes are of our own making will such disagreeable experiences free us of errors.

 (See below for the specific line’s significance and how to interpret it.) 

SIGNIFICANCE OF SPECIFIC LINES DETERMINES

ITS STATUS AND FUNCTION IN A HEXAGRAM

LINE 1

Lines one and two are of the earth’s domain.

Line 1 represents an ordinary intellectual or a commoner.

In present times, it is perceived as the people.

At the position difficult to understand: as it just arrives at a hexagram, what will happen later is unknown at this point.

LINE 2

Lines one and two are of the earth’s domain.

Line 2 represents the courtier of the duke, or a domestic official, or a low ranking official

In present times, it is interpreted as the elite of civilians.

At the position for starting action: it possesses the principle of moderation.  It is ready for the assigned mission, but what it can do is still limited.

LINE 3

Lines three and four are of the human domain.  

Line three represents the feudal lord, i.e., the duke.   

In present times, it is interpreted as a civilian leader. 

The line is at a position full of ill omens, but it teems with ambition and is very active.

LINE 4

Lines three and four are of the human domain. 

Line four represents the courtier of the king, or the official of the central government, or a high-ranking official.

In present times, it can be interpreted as the official.

At a position full of fear it stays next to the king and acts as a courtier

Its mode of conduct is at a position of resting, as it just arrives at the upper trigram after a hard march. 

LINE 5

Lines five and six are of the heavenly domain.

Line five represents the king

In present times, it can be interpreted as the president

It is at the core of a hexagram and possesses the principle of moderation; or at the peak of a hexagram where the line reaches its full development.

LINE 6

Lines five and six are of the heavenly domain.  

At the top position: the shrine, line six is the symbol of a clan or dynasty.  Or is some cases, position six refers to a very honored position, but without title, power, responsibility or obligation.  

In present times, it may be interpreted as the country, or a retired official.  

Its characteristic is easy to understand.  It is at the end of a hexagram, what has happened at each phase is known to it. 

Mode of conduct: At the top and end, the mission of the hexagram is going to be completed, and its norm is about to change.

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