I Ching, Yijing or Zhou Yi
"Oracle of the moon": © 2000 LiSe
Yi Jing, Oracle of the Moon
The image of hexagram 46
Shēng, to ascend
What does it mean, 'inner' and 'outer trigram' (popup)
Xùn below Kūn: Xùn inside is 'your way', what you do with what you are, your direction, how you influence things. Or the roots of the situation at hand. Xùn is also about 'numbers': the fleeting time, how late, how long. Kūn outside means you are in the reality of things, of nature and 'the people' and solid results. In combination with Xùn also commitments and obligations.
Ideogram of the hexagram name: The drawing is a ladle for measuring units, especially for grain, of ±1 liter (10 shēng is a Dǒu, which also the name of the Big Dipper, the clockhand which indicates the time and seasons, the big units). The wages of officials were set at a certain number shēng of rice. The higher their rank, the more shēng they received. Therefore, shēng does not just mean climbing a staircase or moving forward inch by inch, but also promotion. The right 'measure' of the steps you take will cause Heaven to assist you.
Shēng: to mount, rise, raise, to present to, advance, promote.
Excellent article by Harmen Mesker: bringing an offering in a high place - to the constellation Běidǒu, Big Dipper, which "separates the yin from the yang and regulates the four seasons; it maintains balance between the 5 elements; it regulates the moving of the celestial objects; it determines the epoch of the calendar".
The Image says: Earth center gives birth to wood: ascending. The noble one, with devoted character, accumulates small things to become tall and big.
Hex.46 is the contrast of 25, which is about moving along with the flow of universe.
Hex.46 is about making things happen in accord with the time but also setting the flow of time right.
Setting the times right was extremely imporant, 3000 years and more ago - until right up into this time of computers. It is still important that no heavy autumn rain will destroy the crops. But also that the inner clock of the CEO aligns with the moment he has to lead a discussion about the future of the enterprise. Or that a mother is able to organize her hectic life in such a way that everything gets done at the right moment without skipping anything. Or the simple fact of eating at the right moment so your body is happy.
Living in accord with the time makes lives good and joyful. It also works the other way around, when the time moves according to the rhythm the universe is used to and you can depend on it. A change of climate, or a change of school hours or of government rules can upset life. Sometimes just as an irritation, other times disruptions which cause ruin.
In all times people tried to set the times right. To align the time with its right rhythm, or to align themselves with the rhythm of the time. In Stonehenge
in a big way, or by setting an alarm in a small way. By choosing a job or study for which there is a demand 'now', or choosing a president who can align the country with this century.
A king has to climb to the top of Mount Qi to get his timing perfect, because a country depends on him. But all along the endless stairs to the top of Mount Qi are smaller temples for those who don't have to be absolute. The elderly people who don't need to climb to the top anymore could set their own time straight in one of these. Or when you just want to make sure something will happen at the right moment.
Man wants to go one step ahead of what he is. It gives satisfaction, self-confidence, and a purpose in life. It makes life exciting and full of promises.
Don’t do it for others eyes. That may be rewarding too, but only temporarily.
Ascending is an act of growing. What is done by acquiring is something else, and by acquiring it is not one’s self that ascends. Acquiring cannot create stairs to Heaven, but ascending can. The number of steps does not matter. Every step is important - especially the first one.
Do not live past or future, but use the moment, developing itself step by step, like a plant, growing around obstacles. Its goal is not somewhere out there, but in itself, an inherent plan. It is the moment 'now' between past and future.