The I Ching, or Book of Changes: Hexagram 12, P’i (Standstill, or Stagnation)

January 27th, 2012

In times of stagnation, attend to your attitude.

It is an unavoidable fact of life that inferior influences sometimes prevail: improperly motivated people ascend to power, there is injustice and conflict and poverty, and spiritual life in general descends into darkness and decay. While these difficult times are inevitable – and the arrival of this hexagram indicates that this is such a time – this does not mean that we have to stagnate personally as well. By turning inward and realigning ourselves with proper principles, we initiate the return to light, truth and progress.

The image of P’i is of heaven moving away from the earth. When this happens, the inferior qualities in ourselves and in others come to the surface and seek expression. It is unlikely now that you can affect what others do and say or that your activities will bear much fruit. While it is natural to feel anxious and disappointed about this state of affairs, it is essential to disengage from these inferior emotions now. To indulge in them is to abandon your superior self and plunge into a state of disintegration.

What is wise now is to accept that external progress is unlikely. Turn your attention inward and examine your own thoughts and attitudes for inferior influences and departures from the principles of the Sage. By withdrawing into solitude and refining your higher nature, you continue to grow while all else around you stagnates.

The I Ching, or Book of Changes