the mountain, Ken, stands still; above it fire,
Li, flames up and does not tarry. Therefore the two trigrams do not
stay together. Strange lands and separation are the wanderer's lot.
THE JUDGMENT
The Wanderer. Success through smallness. Perseverance
brings good fortune To the Wanderer.
When a man is a wanderer and stranger, he should not
be gruff nor overbearing. He has no large circle of acquaintances,
therefore he should not give himself airs. He must be cautious and
reserved; in this way he protects himself from evil. If he is obliging
toward others, he wins success. A wanderer has no fixed abode; his
home is the road. Therefore he must take care to remain upright and
steadfast, so that he sojourns only in the proper places, associating
only with good people. Then he has good fortune and can go his way
unmolested.
THE IMAGE
Fire on the mountain: The image of THE WANDERER.
Thus the superior man Is clear-minded and cautious In imposing penalties,
And protracts no lawsuits.
When grass on a mountain takes fire, there is bright
light. However, the fire does not linger in one place, but travels
on to new fuel. It is a phenomenon of short duration. This is what
penalties and lawsuits should be like. They should be a quickly passing
matter, and must not be dragged out indefinitely. Prisons ought to
be places where people are lodged only temporarily, as guests are.
They must not become dwelling places.
THE LINES
Six at the beginning means: If the wanderer busies
himself with trivial things, He draws down misfortune upon himself.
A wanderer should not demean himself or busy himself
with inferior things he meets with along the way. The humbler and more
defenseless his outward position, the more should he preserve his inner
dignity. For a stranger is mistaken if he hopes to find a friendly
reception through lending himself to jokes and buffoonery. The result
will be only contempt and insulting treatment.
Six in the second place means: The wanderer comes
to an inn. He has his property with him. He wins the steadfastness
of a young servant. The wanderer her described is modest and reserved.
He does not lose touch with his inner being, hence he finds a resting
place. In the outside world he does not lose the liking of other people,
hence all persons further him, so that he can acquire property. Moreover,
he wins the allegiance of a faithful and trustworthy servant-a thing
of inestimable value to a wanderer.
Nine in the third place means: The wanderer's inn
burns down. He loses the steadfastness of his young servant. Danger.
A truculent stranger does not know how to behave properly.
He meddles in affairs and controversies that do not concern him; thus
he loses his resting place. He treats his servant with aloofness and
arrogance; thus he loses the man's loyalty. When a stranger in a strange
land has no one left on whom he can rely, the situation becomes very
dangerous.
Nine in the fourth place means: The wanderer rests
in a shelter. He obtains his property and an ax. My heart is not glad.
This describes a wanderer who knows how to limit his
desires outwardly, though he is inwardly strong and aspiring. Therefore
he finds at least a place of shelter in which he can stay. He also
succeeds in acquiring property, but even with this he is not secure.
He must be always on guard, ready to defend himself with arms. Hence
he is not at ease. He is persistently conscious of being a stranger
in a strange land.
Six in the fifth place means: He shoots a pheasant. It drops with the
first arrow. In the end this brings both praise and office.
Traveling
statesman were in the habit of introducing themselves to local princes
with the gift of a pheasant, killing it at the first shot. Thus he
finds friends who praise and recommend him, and in the end the prince
accepts him and confers an office upon him. Circumstances often cause
a man to seek a home in foreign parts. If he knows how to meet the
situation and how to introduce himself in the right way, he may find
a circle of friends and a sphere of activity even in a strange country.
Nine at the top means: The bird's nest burns up. The wanderer laughs at
first, Then must needs lament and weep. Through carelessness he loses
his cow. Misfortune.
The
picture of a bird whose nest burns up indicates loss of one's resting
place. This misfortune may overtake the bird if it is heedless and
imprudent when building its nest. It is the same with a wanderer.
If he lets himself go, laughing and jesting, and forgets that he
is a wanderer, he will later have cause to weep and lament. For if
through carelessness a man loses his cow- i.e., his modesty and adaptability-evil
will result.
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