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◈ Primary hexagram: 50—Integration.

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Name from “Language of the Lines”

Integration.

Lines

Image created from the lines

With lines 3 and 4 both yang the outer world is not our concern just now and the active life force emerges unseen by line 2 and does not change our inner being—line 6 is yang also. Line 5 is actively accepting the quietness of our intuitive feeling so this is the activity that we experience, turning inwards to our feeling and separate from the world.

Image created from the trigrams

The life force emerges as structure, as the trigram Sun, and the flow that takes place here is between our identity and our inner being; our identity is expectant of change in the image of Tui and our inner being hesitant in accepting it, having the image of Li. Transition and hesitation lead to an inner ferment or, more gently, an inner dialogue, about changing the firm structure of Sun. These are fundamental issues for us.

The Chinese Oracle

> The cauldron.

> Greatest good fortune.

> Success.

Comments

The Chinese used a great rotund cauldron for cooking the sacrifice, called a Ting. We have a phrase “into the melting pot”, meaning to put our previous ideas into complete reconsideration, and this is the symbolism of the Ting, the sacrificial vessel; greatest good fortune because we are made anew; success because change is brought about when existing structure is sacrificed.

Manifestations

The pattern

Steady unwavering preparation

makes enlightenment possible.

For humans

He persists constantly

in melding together

his life’s ingredients.

This alchemy

transforms his awareness.

In nature

The bird carefully chooses

when building its nest

in which to nurture its young.

In forms we make

Continuous interaction

of individuals in society

nourishes an awareness

of the whole.

Moving lines

Line 1 goes yang — life force shows less change

The emerging life force ceases to provide new activity for us to identify. Interaction goes on within us (the Ting) acting upon itself; our attitudes change.

> The Ting is turned upside down

> to remove decaying matter.

> A concubine for the sake of sons.

To have sons, a re-birth of our line, we must mate. To clear out old ways we have we must invert the sacrificial vessel. In both these we change our judgement of rules as to what is important—that the sacred vessel should be venerated no matter what it contains, or that to take a concubine is an indulgence. This is the root of changing ourselves, we no longer assume what we have previously taken as our law.

❧

Line 2 goes yin — intuitive feeling more active

When feeling is active there is activity within the Ting, for it is we who are the sacrificial cooking pot in this tao. It is within, not dependent upon the other, an internal fermentation which will produce a new compound of ourselves. In this we resolve problems that have seemed insoluble.

> The Ting is full.

> The others are in trouble

> and cannot harm me.

> Good fortune.

For “the others” some translators have used “the enemy” and others “the comrades”; the important idea is that this is an inner state undisturbed by what goes on outside.

❧

Line 3 goes yin — outer world changes more

Our particular inner activity in this tao is not related to outer activity, hence the image of it going on within a pot, so the increase of outer activity in this line is a distraction from the tao, a misunderstanding of it.

> The handles of the Ting are changed.

> Progress is stopped.

> The fat of the pheasant is not eaten.

> Regret ends with the coming of rain.

> In the end good fortune.

When we embark on outer action our movements are governed by outer factors (we change the outside of the Ting) and the inner changes (the fat of the pheasant) are not experienced. Rain produces new growths, so progress, the lack of which we regret, returns when conditions become suitable again.

❧

Line 4 goes yin — accepting the outer state more

In this tao we have an inactive outer reality; If identity becomes involved there we remove our support of the changes going on within.

> The legs of the Ting break.

> The prince’s meal is spilled

> and his person soiled.

> Misfortune.

The Ting has three short legs upon which it stands, supporting it off the ground, the world, and these symbolize our connection with the outer. In this line we reject our separation from the outer reality and so start projecting our reality upon it which has the image of spilling ourselves.

❧

Line 5 goes yang — less awareness of intuition

Here we become less involved in the inactivity of intuitive feeling (line 2); as we cease to judge it and so tie it down we can move with the tao (our circumstances) once more.

> The Ting has yellow handles

> with gold rings.

> Continuance in the way

> brings good fortune.

This change enables the movement of the Ting to be active (yellow handles), we are centred in our inner self and outer value (gold) is one with eternal value (the rings). Continuing with this brings good fortune, which is remaining centred so that, in the image, we carry our Ting always without spilling it—without identifying ourselves outside.

❧

Line 6 goes yin — our inner being accepts more

To be involved in the emerging life force here is to actually be the change that the tao represents; we do not accomplish change, we are changed, we become change itself as our mode of being.

> The Ting has rings of jade.

> Great good fortune.

> Everything is favourable.

Jade has the illusive quality of perfection, of just-so-ness, a quality that cannot quite be captured in words and if so captured does not sing. This quality is similarly undefinable here where we are so centred that we are the centre.

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