Today: “Tread lightly in a dangerous situation.  Kindness and politeness will keep you safe.” – from the I Ching

Tread lightly in a dangerous situation.  Kindness and politeness will keep you safe.

See Yogi Bhajan’s quote for today

Tao Te Ching – Verse 8 – The supreme good is like water, which nourishes all things without trying to.

Meditation: NM0163 – Feel God Within You, The Kindness in You

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Read the text from Richard Wilhelm's, Thomas Cleary's, Brian Arnold's and other translations of the I Ching
10 – Ten  Lü / Worrying the Tiger

Heaven shines down on the Marsh which reflects it back imperfectly:
Though the Superior Man carefully discriminates between high and low, and acts in accord with the flow of the Tao, there are still situations where a risk must be taken.

You tread upon the tail of the tiger.
Not perceiving you as a threat, the startled tiger does not bite.
Success.

SITUATION ANALYSIS:

You have reached a perilous point in your journey.
This is a real gamble — not a maneuver, not a calculated risk.
The outcome is uncertain.
If it goes as you hope, you will gain — but if it turns against you it will cause serious injury, at least to your plans.
The best tack is extreme caution and a healthy respect for the danger involved.

yang
yang above: Ch’ien / The Creative, Heaven
yang
yin
yang below: Tui / The Joyous, Lake
yang

 

The name of the hexagram means on the one hand the right way of conducting oneself. Heaven, the father, is above, and the lake, the youngest daughter, is below. This shows the difference between high and low, upon which composure, correct social conduct, depends. On the other hand, the word for the name of the hexagram, TREADING,1 means literally treading upon something. The small and cheerful [Tui] treads on the large and strong [Ch’ien]. The direction of movement of the two primary trigrams is upward. The fact that the strong treads on the weak is not mentioned in the Yi Jing, because it is taken for granted. For the weak to take a stand against the strong is not dangerous here, because it happened in good humor [Tui] and without presumption, so that the strong man is not irritated but takes it all in good part.

THE JUDGEMENT

TREADING. Treading upon the tail of the tiger.
It does not bite the man. Success.

Worrying the Tiger

The situation is really difficult. That which is strongest and that which is weakest are close together. The weak follows behind the strong and worries it. The strong, however, acquiesces and does not hurt the weak, because the contact is in good humor and harmless.

In terms of a human situation, one is handling wild, intractable people. In such a case one’s purpose will be achieved if one behaves with decorum. Pleasant manners succeed even with irritable people.

THE IMAGE

Heaven above, the lake below:
The image of TREADING.
Thus the superior man discriminates between high and low,
And thereby fortifies the thinking of the people.

Tiger in water

Heaven and the lake show a difference of elevation that inheres in the natures of the two, hence no envy arises. Among mankind also there are necessarily differences of elevation; it is impossible to bring about universal equality. But it is important that differences in social rank should not be arbitrary and unjust, for if this occurs, envy and class struggle are the inevitable consequences. If, on the other hand, external differences in rank correspond with differences in inner worth, and if inner worth forms the criterion of external rank, people acquiesce and order reigns in society.


1. [Auftreten, the German word used for the name of the hexagram, means both “treading” and “conduct.”]

Today: “In any relationship, when there is any desire or exploitation involved, this relationship is known as living at someone…” Yogi Bhajan

“In any relationship, when there is any desire or exploitation involved, this relationship is known as living at someone. Living with people is when you join forces with people to inspire other people toward happiness. Living for people is when you are willing to sacrifice your material, mental, and energetic spiritual strength to raise and elevate another man. These are the three types of relationships. The third type which makes you live for other people makes you immortal, the second type of relationship makes you happy, the first kind of relationship makes you miserable. And this pattern of behavior decides our destiny.” Yogi Bhajan

Lecture: The meaning of love

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