“If there is happiness there is going to be sadness. If there is sadness there is going to be happiness. Sadness attracts happiness, happiness attracts sadness. This is the cycle. Night is followed by day, clouds are followed by sunshine, youth is followed by old age.” Yogi Bhajan
Tao Te Ching – Verse 76 – Men are born soft and supple; dead, they are stiff and hard. Plants are born tender and pliant; dead, they are brittle and dry.
Tao Te Ching – Verse 76
Men are born soft and supple;
dead, they are stiff and hard.
Plants are born tender and pliant;
dead, they are brittle and dry.
Thus whoever is stiff and inflexible
is a disciple of death.
Whoever is soft and yielding
is a disciple of life.
The hard and stiff will be broken.
The soft and supple will prevail.
(translation by Stephen Mitchell, 1995)
-+-+-+-
While alive, the body is soft and pliant
When dead, it is hard and rigid
All living things, grass and trees,
While alive, are soft and supple
When dead, become dry and brittle
Thus that which is hard and stiff
is the follower of death
That which is soft and yielding
is the follower of life
Therefore, an inflexible army will not win
A strong tree will be cut down
The big and forceful occupy a lowly position
While the soft and pliant occupy a higher place
(translation by Derek Lin, 2006)
-+-+-+-
Be soft and be immortal.
Be the bully and be destroyed.
How many times must this lesson be taught?
(translation by Jeremy M. Miller, 2013)
-+-+-+-
Today: “A reckoning is at hand. Justice will have its due. Prepare for a challenging time.” From the I Ching
A reckoning is at hand. Justice will have its due. Prepare for a challenging time.
Meditation: LA046 – 780614 – Hari Shabad Meditation – Use the Wind to Produce Trance and Dissolve Negativity
Meditation: Milarepa
Meditation: Breath to Conquer Time Space and Destiny
Meditation: LA088 790222 Egyptian Meditation
Meditation: Magic Mantra-19760426
Read the text from Richard Wilhelm's, Thomas Cleary's, Brian Arnold's and other translations of the I Ching
21 – Twenty-One. Shih Ho / Biting Through
The merciless, searing judgement of Lightning fulfills the warning prophecies of distant Thunder.
Sage rulers preserved Justice by clearly defining the laws, and by delivering the penalties decreed.
Though unpleasant, it is best to let justice have its due.
SITUATION ANALYSIS:
A terrible reckoning is due.
A wrong will be righted — and even if it has been you who has been wronged, you will tremble at the terrible power of Justice untempered by Mercy.
Pray for your oppressor, that his punishment will fit his crime.
 |
||
 |
above: Li / The Clinging, Fire | |
|
||
|
||
|
below: Chên / The Arousing, Thunder | |
|
||
| This hexagram represents an open mouth (cf. hexagram 27) with an obstruction (in the fourth place) between the teeth. As a result the lips cannot meet. To bring them together one must bite energetically through the obstacle. Since the hexagram is made up of the trigrams for thunder and for lightning, it indicates how obstacles are forcibly removed in nature. Energetic biting through overcomes the obstacle that prevents joining of the lips; the storm with its thunder and lightning overcomes the disturbing tension in nature. Recourse to law and penalties overcomes the disturbances of harmonious social life caused by criminals and slanderers. The theme of this hexagram is a criminal lawsuit, in contradistinction to that of Sung, CONFLICT (6), which refers to civil suits.
Squirrel – Ede Holland 2009 – photo Lex van den Bos |
|
THE JUDGEMENT BITING THROUGH has success. However, it is important to proceed in the right way. The hexagram combines Li, clarity, and Chên, excitement. Li is yielding, Chên is hard. Unqualified hardness and excitement would be too violent in meting out punishment; unqualified clarity and gentleness would be too weak. The two together create the just measure. It is of moment that the man who makes the decisions (represented by the fifth line) is gentle by nature, while he commands respect by his conduct in his position. |
|
|
|
|
THE IMAGE Thunder and lightning: |
Today: “Host those who have been your enemies, respect those who have slandered you, and communicate with those who have been all your life angry with you.” – Yogi Bhajan
“Host those who have been your enemies, respect those who have slandered you, and communicate with those who have been all your life angry with you.” Yogi Bhajan
Tao Te Ching – Verse 75 – When taxes are too high, people go hungry. When the government is too intrusive, people lose their spirit
Tao Te Ching – Verse 75
When taxes are too high,
people go hungry.
When the government is too intrusive,
people lose their spirit.
Act for the people’s benefit.
Trust them; leave them alone.
Continue reading “Tao Te Ching – Verse 75 – When taxes are too high, people go hungry. When the government is too intrusive, people lose their spirit”
Today: “In this time, as danger approaches, it is important not to take premature action, especially hostile ones. Wait in contemplation to see more clearly more viable and less costly alternatives.” From the I Ching
In this time, as danger approaches, it is important not to take premature action, especially hostile ones. Wait in contemplation to see more clearly more viable and less costly alternatives.
You’ll be glad you did.
Today: “There is no doubt that we are all very wise.” – Yogi Bhajan
Meditation: LA544 – 870610 – Know and Experience the Unknown
Meditation: Milarepa
Meditation: Breath to Conquer Time Space and Destiny
Meditation: LA088 790222 Egyptian Meditation
Meditation: Magic Mantra-19760426
Today: “There is no doubt that we are all very wise.” – Yogi Bhajan
“There is no doubt that we are all very wise. If anybody doubts that he is wise, he is only doubting the exercise of that wisdom, not the wisdom itself.” Yogi Bhajan
Meditation: NM0337-Bujung Kriya – For Wisdom and Understanding
Tao Te Ching – Verse 74 – If you realize that all things change, there is nothing you will try to hold on to.
Tao Te Ching – Verse 74
If you realize that all things change,
there is nothing you will try to hold on to.
If you aren’t afraid of dying,
there is nothing you can’t achieve.
Trying to control the future
is like trying to take the master carpenter’s place.
When you handle the master carpenter’s tools,
chances are that you’ll cut your hand.
Continue reading “Tao Te Ching – Verse 74 – If you realize that all things change, there is nothing you will try to hold on to.”
Today: “Running headlong into a quagmire, despite your formidable power, stop and contemplate the situation. Do not proceed until a viable solution has emerged. This will allow you to merge with the cosmic flow, resolving all resistance.” From the I Ching
Running headlong into a quagmire, despite your formidable power, stop and contemplate the situation. Do not proceed until a viable solution has emerged. This will allow you to merge with the cosmic flow, resolving all resistance.
Tao Te Ching – Verse 73 – The Tao is always at ease.
Meditation: LA860-960131-Increase the Flow of Earth Within You
Meditation: Release obstacles in your path
Meditation: Milarepa
Meditation: Breath to Conquer Time Space and Destiny
Meditation: LA088 790222 Egyptian Meditation
Meditation: Magic Mantra-19760426
Read the text from Richard Wilhelm's, Thomas Cleary's, Brian Arnold's and other translations of the I Ching
34 – Thirty-Four. Ta Chuang / Awesome Power
Thunder fills the Heavens with its awful roar, not out of pride, but with integrity; if it did less, it would not be Thunder:
Because of his Great Power, the Superior Person takes pains not to overstep his position, so that he will not seem intimidating or threatening to the Established Order.
Opportunity will arise along this course.
SITUATION ANALYSIS:
The Awesome Power available in this hexagram stems from what the Taoists call your Te, a term not perfectly translated into English.
Roughly, it is your Integrity — not in the Western sense of honor — but more in the psychological definition of a full integration of Who You Are.
This Awesome Power is achieved only by fully embracing both the good and the bad, the strong and the weak, the masculine and the feminine — all polarities within you.
Such self-knowledge spawns a Mastery tempered with the humility necessary to rein in and harness this Awesome Power.
|
Six at the top means: If the ram butts into the hedge, the entangling thorns will prevent both advance and retreat.
|
| If we venture too far we come to a deadlock, unable either to advance or to retreat, and whatever we do merely serves to complicate things further. Such obstinacy leads to insuperable difficulties. But if, realizing the situation, we compose ourselves and decide not to continue, everything will right itself in time. |
50 – Fifty. Ting / The Caldron
Fire rises hot and bright from the Wood beneath the sacrificial caldron:
The Superior Person positions himself correctly within the flow of Cosmic forces.
Supreme Accomplishment.
SITUATION ANALYSIS:
Your needs are coming into harmony with the requirements of the Cosmos.
Blending brilliantly with the Dance of Life, you are becoming an actual element of Cosmic Law.
Your goals will now be realized because you no longer cut against the Cosmic grain; you are no longer swimming against the flow of the Tao.
You are acquiring an intuitive sense of what can and cannot be, and aligning your efforts accordingly.
Today: “Life is an unsolved mystery. Those who solve it don’t talk about it. Those who don’t solve it talk a lot.” – Yogi Bhajan
“Life is an unsolved mystery. Those who solve it don’t talk about it. Those who don’t solve it talk a lot.” Yogi Bhajan
Tao Te Ching – Verse 56 – Those who know don’t talk. Those who talk don’t know.
Tao Te Ching – Verse 73 – The Tao is always at ease.
Tao Te Ching – Verse 73
The Tao is always at ease.
It overcomes without competing,
answers without speaking a word,
arrives without being summoned,
accomplishes without a plan.
Its net covers the whole universe.
And though its meshes are wide,
it doesn’t let a thing slip through.
Continue reading “Tao Te Ching – Verse 73 – The Tao is always at ease.”
Today: “When a seemingly insurmountable obstacle arises, you must look inward. See within you what must give. That is, literally, compassion.” From the I Ching
When a seemingly insurmountable obstacle arises, you must look inward. See within you what must give. That is, literally, compassion. In this case, what must be given is simply what incapable of being given by external agents to resolve the impasse.
Today: “Your deeds shall decide whether God is near to you or away from you.” – Yogi Bhajan
Meditation: LA135-19791029 Resolve Inner Conflict
Meditation: Release obstacles in your path
Meditation: Milarepa
Meditation: Breath to Conquer Time Space and Destiny
Meditation: LA088 790222 Egyptian Meditation
Meditation: Magic Mantra-19760426
Read the text from Richard Wilhelm's, Thomas Cleary's, Brian Arnold's and other translations of the I Ching
39 – Thirty-Nine. Chien / Obstacle
Ominous roiling in the Crater Lake atop the Volcano:
When meeting an impasse, the Superior Person turns his gaze within, and views the obstacle from a new perspective.
Offer your opponent nothing to resist.
Let a sage guide you in this.
Good fortune lies along this course.
SITUATION ANALYSIS:
The Obstacle lies in obstinance.
An insistence on only one way of proceeding has brought things to an impasse.
You may either continue banging your head with irresistible force against this immovable object, or you might step back and survey this situation from a fresh perspective.
Which is immobile here — the obstruction or your attitude?
|
Click on any hexagram line below to read the original Richard Wilhelm translation for that line… |
|
||
|
above: K’an / The Abysmal, Water | |
|
||
|
||
|
below: Kên / Keeping Still, Mountain | |
|
||
The hexagram pictures a dangerous abyss lying before us and a steep, inaccessible mountain rising behind us. We are surrounded by obstacles; at the same time, since the mountain has the attribute of keeping still, there is implicit a hint as to how we can extricate ourselves. The hexagram represents obstructions that appear in the course of time but that can and should be overcome. Therefore all the instruction given is directed to overcoming them. THE JUDGEMENT OBSTRUCTION. The southwest furthers. THE IMAGE Water on the mountain: |
|
|
Heaven Lake, Baekdu Mountain – a crater lake on the border separating China and North Korea |
Difficulties and obstructions throw a man back upon himself. While the inferior man seeks to put the blame on other persons, bewailing his fate, the superior man seeks the error within himself, and through this introspection the external obstacle becomes for him an occasion for inner enrichment and education. |
Today: “Your deeds shall decide whether God is near to you or away from you.” – Yogi Bhajan
“Your deeds shall decide whether God is near to you or away from you.” Yogi Bhajan
Meditation: NM142 19940615 – Bless the Planet Earth and Let the Heavens Descend in You
Tao Te Ching – Verse 72 – When they lose their sense of awe, people turn to religion. When they no longer trust themselves, they begin to depend upon authority.
Tao Te Ching – Verse 72
When they lose their sense of awe,
people turn to religion.
When they no longer trust themselves,
they begin to depend upon authority.
Therefore the Master steps back
so that people won’t be confused.
He teaches without a teaching,
so that people will have nothing to learn.
Continue reading “Tao Te Ching – Verse 72 – When they lose their sense of awe, people turn to religion. When they no longer trust themselves, they begin to depend upon authority.”
Today: “If you have veered from your life path and the new direction is not working for you, return to your old life. You are assured good fortune.” From the I Ching
If you have veered from your life path and the new direction is not working for you, return to your old life. You are assured good fortune.
Tao Te Ching – Verse 71 – Not-knowing is true knowledge. Presuming to know is a disease.
Meditation: Release obstacles in your path
Meditation: Milarepa
Meditation: Breath to Conquer Time Space and Destiny
Meditation: LA088 790222 Egyptian Meditation
Meditation: Magic Mantra-19760426
Read the text from Richard Wilhelm's, Thomas Cleary's, Brian Arnold's and other translations of the I Ching
9 – Nine. Hsiao Ch’u / Gentle Restraint
Winds of change high in the Heavens:
Air currents carry the weather.
Dense clouds blow in from the West, but still no rain.
The Superior Person fine tunes the image he presents to the world.
Small successes.
SITUATION ANALYSIS:
No matter what you do, the fruit of your labors never seems to ripen.
Your reward remains just out of reach.
Men have gone mad from such anticipation.
Don’t lose your balance lunging for the brass ring.
While the Fates continue to restrain you, go them one better and display a self-generated restraint and grace.
Look for the humor in the situation.
Nine at the beginning [yang at bottom] means:
He turns back to his proper course.
No harm done.
In fact, good fortune comes of this return.
Return to the way.
How could there be blame in this?
Good fortune.
‘Enjoy the Time You Have’ – 王文華 (Wang Wen-Hua)
It lies in the nature of a strong man to press forward. In so doing he encounters obstructions. Therefore he returns to the way suited to his situation, where he is free to advance or to retreat. In the nature of things this will bring good fortune, for it is wise and reasonable not to try to obtain anything by force.
57 – Fifty-Seven. Sun / The Penetrating Wind
Wind follows upon wind, wandering the earth, penetrating gently but persistently:
The Superior Person expands his influence by reaffirming his decisions and carrying out his promises.
Small, persistent, focused effort brings success.
Seek advice from someone you respect.
SITUATION ANALYSIS:
Gentle persuasion is the key in this instance.
Though the words are soft, their speaker must be firm, calm and confident.
Gentle words are worthless if spoken with trepidation.
Wordless influence by example is also effective in this situation.
All persuasion should be almost unfelt, yet consistent and persistent.
Ask for feedback from someone you know to be an effective persuader.
Today: “You have to be you, but you can only be you when you understand that you are a part of infinity.” – Yogi Bhajan
“If you are not aware for you and aware of you, then your existence will be damaged. If you want to be great, then you will have to feel great and act great. Many people think they have to seek approval. All you have to do is approve of yourself.” Yogi Bhajan
Meditation: NM249 971230 theorem of the Kundalini Yoga; control your micro & macro consciousness