I Ching 60 Hexagram jié (Articulating)

I Ching 60 Hexagram jié (Articulating)

I Ching 60 Hexagram jié (Articulating)

Keywords
Discipline. Rules. Limit.
Short Interpretation of Hexagram 60 – The Delimitation
Do not act instinctively, carefully plan the measures to be taken at this moment, with rationality and discipline.

I Ching – General Description

The lake has a limited extension. As more water enters it, it overflows. It is therefore necessary to place limits on it. In the image are the waters above and the waters below, those between which the solidity of the sky is placed as a barrier. The Chinese word for delimitation really means the solid sections from which the bamboo stems are divided. In common life we ​​mean thrift which has fixed limits on its expenses. In the moral life are the fixed limits to which the nobleman commensurate his actions, the barriers of fidelity and disinterest.

I Ching – Comment on sentence

The delimitation: successful. Bitter delimitation should not be exercised perseveringly.

Barriers are painful. But they have great effect. Being thrifty in common life, one is armed in times of need. By holding back you save yourself from shame. But barriers are just as indispensable for bringing order to universal relationships. Nature has fixed limits for summer and winter, day and night, and from these limits the year receives its meaning. Thus parsimony serves so that goods are preserved by means of fixed limits in spending, and so that men are not harmed. It is only necessary to keep the measure even in the limitation. If one wanted to impose too bitter limits on one’s nature, it would suffer. If one wanted to push too far the limitation of others they would turn. Therefore limits are also needed in limiting.

I Ching – Image

Above the lake there is water: The image of the boundary. Thus the noble establishes number and measure and investigates What virtues and right path are.

The lake is a finite thing; water is inexhaustible. The lake can only comprise a certain measure of infinite water. In this lies its peculiarity. By delimiting and erecting barriers, the individual acquires its meaning also in life. Here it is now a question of fixing with all clarity these separations, which are, so to speak, the backbone of morality. Unlimited possibilities are not made for man. With this his life would only dissipate into the unlimited. To become strong, spontaneous barriers of duties must be established. Only by surrounding himself with these barriers and by freely setting the commandments of duty for himself can every man acquire value as a free spirit.

I Ching – Series

Things cannot be lost forever. This is why the sign follows: the Delimitation.

I Ching – Single Lines

Analytical description of each individual line

I Ching – First line:

Nine at the beginning means:
Do not go out of the door and courtyard is not a stain.

Often one would like to undertake something, but there are insurmountable barriers. Then it is appropriate to understand at what point we must stop. If we understand this well and do not want to overcome the barriers placed on us, then we build up the strength that enables us to act vigorously when the time has come. Taciturn reticence is of paramount importance in the preparation of important actions. Kung Tse says: ″ Where disorder arises, words are its first steps. If the prince is not discreet, he loses the servant. If the servant is not discreet, he loses his life. If germinating things are not dealt with in silence, this impairs completion. This is why the noble is accurate in keeping silent and does not go beyond ″.

I Ching – Second line:

Nine in the second place means:
Not going out of the door and courtyard brings misfortune.

When the time has come for action, it is about seizing the moment. As the water in a lake initially accumulates without flowing out of it but a path certainly opens up when the lake is full, so it also happens in human life. It is very well done to hesitate until the time has come, but no longer. When impediments are removed so that action can be taken, hesitation is a mistake that brings certain misfortune, having missed the opportunity.

I Ching – Third line:

Six in the third place means:
Whoever does not know the delimitation will have to complain. No stains.

By seeking only entertainment and pleasures, it is easy to lose the sense of the necessary limits. But giving oneself to lavishness, one will have to suffer the consequences with regret. You don’t have to look for mistakes from others. Only by realizing one’s own errors, through such unpleasant experiences, will one become free from errors

I Ching – Fourth line:

Six in the fourth place means:
Happy boundary. Successful.

Each limitation has its value. But when this limitation still requires constant effort, then it is combined with too much energy expenditure. However, where the limitation is a spontaneous thing, as it is for example inherent in the nature of water to flow down, there it necessarily leads to success, because in this case it means a saving of forces. The energy, which otherwise is exhausted in the vain struggle with the object, is all for the benefit of the thing, and success cannot be lacking.

I Ching – Fifth line:

Nine in the fifth place means:
Soft delimitation brings health. Going there brings respect.

The restriction must be done in the right way for it to act. If you only want to impose barriers on others and take yourself away from them, these barriers will always be bitterly felt, and will generate opposition. If, on the other hand, someone in a managerial position begins by limiting himself by requiring little work from his people and managing to do something with modest means, health results. Where such a model is in operation it is followed, so that what one undertakes must succeed.

I Ching – Sixth line:

Six above means:
Bitter delimitation: perseverance brings misfortune. Repentance fades.

If you are too strict in your limitations, people cannot bear it. The more consequent one is in such severity, the more one hurts; since in the long run, setbacks cannot be avoided. Thus also the tormented body takes revenge when one wishes to proceed to too severe an ascesis. However, even if this ruthless severity is not something that can be applied regularly for a long time, there may also be times when it is the only means of guarding against guilt and repentance. These are the situations in which the complete lack of regard for one’s person is the only means to save the soul, which otherwise would be shipwrecked between half measures and temptations.