Hexagram 04

Méng, not knowing

Gua Poem (the invocation):
Ignorance, expansion
Not me seeking the young and ignorant
The young and ignorant seeking me.
The first oracle-consulting is informing Two or three times: confusing.
Confusing and therefore not informing
Fruitful to determine.

The great image says: At the foot of the mountain a spring wells up: Ignorance.
A noble one nurtures virtue by reliable conduct.

Méng: the ideogram and the story (NEW) What does it mean for your question?
This hexagram is complementary to hex.49. In 4 things are not clear yet, in 49 one has clear ideas how things should be.

Top line: Beating the ignorant. Fruitless to behave hostile. Fruitful to prevent violence.
As ye sow, so shall ye reap. Trying to educate using violence will raise to violence. One passes on what one is, a balanced teacher makes stable minds, arbitrariness rears to unseemliness. The same applies to your mind and body: do not force your muscles and brain to do something, just show them the way.
(hex.4's 7 Leader: Use the best means you have and avoid anything less) Mirror

Line 5: Youthful ignorance. Auspicious.
Complete openness makes learning and development incredibly fast and large. Every thought, knowledge, even admiration, close this gate. Then one will need teachers and effort.
(hex.4's : 59 Dissolve: No need to worry about what is out of your grasp) Mirror

Line 4: Restricting ignorance. distress.
One teaches to make the right choices by showing all choices. Hiding the dark makes choosing for light impossible, and limiting choices hinders the ability to oversee and evaluate.
(hex.4's : 64 Not Yet: When the right circumstances present themselves, then make use of them) Mirror

Line 3: No benefit of taking a woman who, when she sees a rich man, loses control of herself. Nothing bears fruit.
Only connect with what is true and has values. Everything else causes loss of one's own character and dignity. Do not choose what depends on you without the power to be itself or to respect boundaries. And you: never let your need exceed you empathy.
(hex.4's 18 Decay) Mirror

Line 2: To care for the ignorant, auspicious. To enjoy the woman, auspicious. Children sustain the family.
To care for the immature - actually for anyone - is an investment for the future. Always look for new possibilities and develop them, even if they do not pay yet. The first steps of creating the future are crucial.
(hex.4's 23 Stripping: Use your understanding to strip your life of anything wrong) Mirror

Initial line: Enlighten ignorance, fruitful to make criminals work as punishment, take off shackles and manacles, because they hinder movement.
One can learn a lot of one's faults, but one must have the freedom to make them. The quickest way to learn is by experience, which is a severe master, and with freedom and an open mind. Learning can be fun.
(hex.4's 41 Decrease: Make your own stuff in order but don't be its slave. Mirror

More about the lines and their characters