If you place your body in the realm
Of equanimity and non-contention,
And let your mind roam in the
Territory of evenness and non-disturbance,
And water them every day with
Fair words and fine deeds of sage worthies,
Then you are sure to progress.
Posts Tagged → equanimity
quiet strength insures success
An
unavoidable time of adversity.
Quiet strength insures a
later success.
It is a time
of oppression and exhaustion.
None of us escapes such moments; they are simply
a part of living. By meeting them in the correct spirit and
cheerfully bending instead of breaking, you weather
the adversity and meet with success
at a later time.
Inferior elements,
either in one’s self, another,
or the larger world, interfere now to
restrain the superior person. It is foolish to fight
against the restraint; success is simply not possible now.
Rid yourself of the desire to progress and return
to neutrality and acceptance. The stubborn
pursuit of results will bring
misfortune.
With others,
quietness and equanimity are
the watchwords of the moment. Say little,
and say it gently. A similar reticence and gentleness
should be applied to yourself. Do not lapse into
impatience or mistrust of the Deity. Accept
that the Creative often works in a way
that we cannot see or
understand.
A feeling of
despair or depression is a sign
that you are holding a false belief.
To perpetuate an untruth about yourself,
another, or the Sage is to block your own
happiness. Root out and remove any
idea or attitude which
causes negative
feelings.
By opening
your mind, quieting your heart,
and calmly holding to proper principles,
you make it possible for the Creative
to eliminate the oppression
that currently
exists.
from The I Ching, or Book of Changes
Hexagram 47, K’un / Oppression (Exhaustion)
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the proper basis for relationships
In fellowship with others,
embody the principles of the Sage.
This hexagram addresses the proper basis for relationships with others. It generally comes as a sign that some kind of self-correction is in order in this arena.
Proper relationships, whether in love, work, family, or friendship, must be founded on and conducted under proper principles in order to succeed. Our model for how to behave with others is the Sage: in relating we are obliged to practice kindness, humility, correctness, equanimity, and openness. Wherever we depart from these we lose the aid of the Higher Power and risk and encounter with misfortune.
The fundamental rule of the I Ching for the conduct of relationships is that they take place in the open. This means that every facet of a relationship should be seen as fair and correct by everyone concerned, not just yourself. It also means that it is improper to enter into or continue in relationships with unspoken reservations or hidden intentions.
Exceptional things can be accomplished by those who come together correctly in fellowship now under the guidance of an enlightened leader or leaders. Seek that role by patterning yourself after the Sage. Meet others halfway in a spirit of sincerity and receptivity. Give trust where it is due; where it is not, do not resort to harshness – reserve and reticence are adequate measures. Avoid the formation of factions and cliques, and correct your errors in relationships as soon as you become aware of them. In this way you can accomplish magnificent deeds now.
The I Ching, or Book of Changes
Hexagram 13, T’ung Jen / Fellowship with Others
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an object of esteem becomes a nest
Haven’t you seen the saying of Master Yantou that whenever you have an object of esteem, it becomes a nest?…
Those who get a taste for the sayings of people of old make extraordinary sayings and wonderful statements into a nest…Those who get a taste for a state of quiescent silence without words or speech make a nest of closing the eyes and sitting in a ghost cave in a mountain of darkness on the other side of the prehistoric Buddhas. Those who get a taste for the goings-on of daily activities make a nest of raising their eyebrows, blinking their eyes, and alerting attention…
If you do not have a strong will and discipline to step back and realize your error, you will imagine what you esteem to be extraordinary, imagine it to be mysterious and marvelous, imagine it to be peace and security, imagine it to be ultimate, imagine it to be liberation.
Those who entertain such imaginations could not be helped even if the Buddha appeared in the world. In the teachings this is called the confusion of ignorance and benightedness. Why? because you are ignorant you cling to error and consider it right. Because you are benighted you remain plunged into what you esteem and cannot budge.
If you do not produce anything in your mind, and are not fixated on anything, then you have no object of esteem. When you have no object of esteem, you naturally have no greed and no dependence on things, independent in the midst of things, with bare-boned strength.
If you want such accord right now, it is not difficult; just be equanimous in mind, unaffected by anything. What is affectation? Formulating concepts of sentient beings, concepts of Buddha, concepts of the mundane, concepts of the transcendental, concepts of seeking detachment, concepts of seeking enlightened knowledge. Those are all called affectations.
Just concentrate intensely on the brink of arousal, and leap out in one jump — this mind will be clear, independently liberated. Then as soon as you sense this, turn upward, and you will spontaneously be lucid everywhere; it will be evident in everything.
When you manage to reach such a state, don’t keep taking note of it. If you keep taking note of it, then you’ll have an object of esteem.
treasury of the eye of true teaching
the proper conduct of relationships
In relationships,
desires lead to misfortune.
Behave with discipline
and balance.
Kuei Mei is concerned with the guidelines for the proper conduct of relationships, whether they be social, romantic, or work related. The image here is of thunder roiling the surface of a lake, and it suggests that relationships can be disturbing to our peace of mind unless they are established and governed under proper principles.
The nature of relationships is that they lead us into the desire state: we begin to desire another, desire recognition, desire retribution, desire a particular outcome in a given situation. All of these desires lead us away from the equanimity that we aim to maintain as students of the I Ching. This hexagram often comes as a sign that you are in danger of sacrificing your composure in an effort to affect a relationship.
When someone does not treat you as you would like, you are faced with a choice as to what to do. While it may be tempting to abandon the relationship in anger or act aggressively to produce a result, neither of these is consistent with proper principles.
You are counseled instead to return to inner independence, acceptance, modestly, and gentleness. The greatest influence is always had through inner discipline and balance; less subtle measures may produce more immediate results, but they are seldom lasting.
This hexagram also teaches us that rushing into a relationship, rushing to resolve a relationship, or rushing to escape a relationship are all akin to rushing on ice: each invites a panful fall. Seek to establish relationships slowly and on proper principles, to allow them to evolve naturally, and to resolve disputes with patience and reserve.
If your primary relationship — that with the Sage — is open and ongoing and devoted, then all other relationships will fall into place.
The I Ching, or Book of Changes
Hexagram 54, Kuei Mei / The Marrying Maiden
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