Other titles: The Army, The Symbol of Multitude and of Army, Legions/ Leading, The Troops, Collective Force, Discipline, Soldiers, Group Action, A Disciplined Multitude, Ego Discipline, Willpower "Can refer to mourning but its essential meaning is Discipline." -- D.F. Hook
Judgment
Legge:Disciplineindicates that with firm correctness and a leader of age and experience, there will be good fortune and no error.
Wilhelm/Baynes:The Army. The army needs perseverance and a strong man. Good fortune without blame.
Blofeld: Persistence in a righteous course brings to those in authority good fortune and freedom from error. [If the enquiry is not concerned with military affairs, we must interpret this hexagram symbolically in the sense that life is a battle.]
Liu:The Army. The army demands perseverance and a strong person (leader). Good fortune. No blame.
Ritsema/Karcher: Legions: Trial. Respectable people significant. Without fault. [This hexagram describes your situation in terms of unorganized crowds or bunches of things. It emphasizes that organizing these things into functional units is the adequate way to handle it. To be in accord with the time, you are told to lead!]
Shaughnessy: The Troops: Determination for the senior man is auspicious; there is no trouble.
Cleary (1): For the leader of the army to be right, a mature person is good; then there is no error.
Wu: The Army indicates persevering. Led by the elder man, it will be auspicious.
The Image
Legge: Water in the midst of the earth -- the image ofDiscipline. The superior man nourishes and educates the people, and collects from among them a mighty army.
Wilhelm/Baynes: In the middle of the earth is water: the image of The Army. Thus the superior man increases his masses by generosity toward the people.
Blofeld: The symbol of water surrounded by land. The Superior Man nourishes the people and treats them with leniency.
Liu: Water in the earth symbolizes the Army. The superior man increases his followers by benevolence toward the people.
Ritsema/Karcher: Earth center possessing stream. Legions. A chun tzu uses tolerating commoners to accumulate crowds.
Cleary (1): There is water in the earth, The Army. Thus does the superior person embrace the people and nurture the masses.
Cleary (2): … Leaders develop a group by admitting people.
Wu: There is water underneath the ground; this is The Army. Thus the jun zi receives people and shelters them.
COMMENTARY
Confucius/Legge: Discipline describes the masses who make up the army, and the firm correctness referred to means a morally correct intent. When the leader uses the masses with such correctness, he may fulfill the ruler's will. The focus of strength in the second line is responded to by his proper correlate in the ruler's place. Although action is dangerous, it accords with the best sentiments of men, and although the leader may distress the country the people will still follow him -- there will be good fortune and no error.
Legge: Discipline is symbolized here by the conduct of a military expedition. The arrangement of the lines suggests the idea of a general surrounded by his troops. The dynamic yang line in the center of the lower trigram has the confidence of the magnetic ruler in the fifth place. Entire trust is reposed in him because he is strong and correct. He is referred to as an old and experienced man, hence all of his enterprises will succeed.
Perilousness is the attribute of the lower trigram, and Docility or Accordance with Others, that of the upper. War is like poison to a country -- painful, and potentially ruinous, and yet the people will endure it on behalf of the sovereign whom they love and respect.
In regard to the Image, Chu Hsi says: "As the water is not outside the earth, so soldiers are not outside the people. Therefore if a ruler is able to nourish the people, he can get the multitudes for his armies."
NOTES AND PARAPHRASES
Judgment: Discipline directed by willpower and serious intent advances the Work. Or: With experienced judgment and proper will and intent there will be a good outcome.
The Superior Man trains and nourishes his powers to build an invincible unity.
The English word "infantry," meaning foot soldiers (the backbone of any army), is derived from the French word enfant, meaning infant, or child. This ancient association was made because a good military officer was expected to treat his soldiers as if they were his own children -- with a stern but loving discipline designed to improve their character. This concept is what the Image alludes to when it says: “The superior man nourishes and educates the people, and collects from among them a mighty army.” Psychologically interpreted the idea is that the ego-complex is the general officer in the second line that nourishes, educates and controls the other complexes within the psyche. This can only be accomplished through discipline, and thus I have chosen that name for the hexagram rather than the more usual title of The Army.
With the only dynamic line of the hexagram placed in the center of the lower trigram we have an image of the position of the ego-complex in relation to the rest of the psyche. The magnetic ruler in line five represents the Self, isolated from direct physical involvement and dependent upon the dynamic ego to carry out the Work in the material dimension. The seventh hexagram, therefore, shows the Work from the ego's point of view.
Hexagram number eight, Holding Together, is the inverse of this image, and shows the Work from the Self's point of view outside of spacetime. There it is the dynamic fifth line ruler who is the focal point -- an image of the Self surrounded by its satellites. In that dimension the second line ego-complex is only another magnetic complex in the company of other magnetic complexes. Ideally, the lower complexes within the psyche should be magnetic in relation to a dynamic ego, but the ego is always magnetic in relation to the dynamic Self. From the Self's point of view all of its complexes are its magnetic "children," or "infantry." Hexagrams seven and eight should be studied together as reversed images to get a full comprehension of each.
The images in the lines of Discipline all deal with the management of forces as a coordinated whole -- as long as they are under the firm command of the ego (who is only a general carrying out the orders of the Self), things proceed successfully. If the Discipline breaks down and the ego- general loses control, defeat is certain.
Narutomi Hyogo said, "What is called winning is defeating one's allies. Defeating one's allies is defeating oneself, and defeating oneself is vigorously overcoming one's own body. It is as though a man were in the midst of ten thousand allies but not one were following him. If one hasn't previously mastered his mind and body, he will not defeat the enemy."
Yamamoto Tsunetomo -- The Book of the Samurai
Legge: The first line, magnetic, shows the army going forth according to the rules for such a movement. If these be not good, there will be evil.
Wilhelm/Baynes: An army must set forth in proper order. If the order is not good, misfortune threatens.
Blofeld: An army is built up through discipline; without it, corruption leading to disaster occurs.
Liu: An army should be put in correct order. If not, there will be disaster.
Ritsema/Karcher: Legions issuing-forth using ordinance. Obstructing virtue: pitfall. [Ordinance, LU: Law, fixed regulation; regulate by law, divide into right and wrong.]
Shaughnessy: Troops go out in ranks; it is not good; inauspicious.
Cleary (1): The army is to go forth in an orderly manner: Otherwise, even good turns out bad.
Cleary (2): … Negating the good leads to misfortune.
Wu: The army going to war requires strict observance of discipline. When the discipline is not enforced, there will be disaster.
COMMENTARY
Confucius/Legge: If the rules aren't observed there will be evil. Wilhelm/
Baynes: Losing order is unfortunate. Blofeld: The disaster indicated in this passage results from a breakdown of discipline. Ritsema/Karcher: Letting-go ordinance: pitfall indeed. Cleary (2): If it loses order, there will be misfortune. Wu: Lack of discipline means disaster.
Legge: The rules are twofold: First, the war must be justified, and second, that the manner of conducting it, especially at the outset, must be correct.
NOTES AND PARAPHRASES
Siu: At the outset, a righteous cause, as well as a proper method for conducting the war is essential for military success.
Wing: Before you take action, be certain that what you propose is worthwhile, for otherwise you cannot sustain yourself. Be sure as well that you are organized. Without order, your affairs will end in chaos and misfortune. Discipline is the key here.
Editor: There is a certain ambiguity in this line, and an implicit warning to maintain total awareness. It doesn't tell you that you are right or wrong -- it only makes a general observation: a truism. The image portrays the necessity of a correct hierarchy of forces (ideas, concepts) to attain any goal. (If you don't know the proper sequence of numbers you cannot open a combination lock.) Crudely, make sure you thoroughly understand your situation before taking action. The implication is that you may not apprehend some crucial aspect of the matter at hand, hence need more or better data. In some contexts, "ordinances" or "law" may refer to the laws of nature. Compare with line 6.
The senses of the wise man obey his mind, his mind obeys his intellect, his intellect obeys his ego, and his ego obeys the Self.
Katha UpanishadA. Proper comprehension, organization and discipline is essential for success. Bring order to your thoughts and feelings.
B. Take no action until you are absolutely confident that your strategy is the correct one.
Legge: The third line, magnetic, shows how the army may possibly have many inefficient leaders. There will be evil.
Wilhelm/Baynes: Perchance the army carries corpses in the wagon. Misfortune.
Blofeld: The army carries wagon-loads of corpses -- disaster!
Liu: The army carries corpses. Misfortune. [This is a time of sudden mourning.]
Ritsema/Karcher: Legions maybe carting corpses. Pitfall.
Shaughnessy: Of the troops some join with the corpses; inauspicious.
Cleary (1): The army has casualties; bad luck.
Cleary (2): The army may have casualties; misfortune.
Wu: The army may have to cart back corpses. This will be foreboding.
COMMENTARY
Confucius/Legge: Possibly the army has idle leaders -- great will be its want of success. Wilhelm/Baynes: This is quite without merit. Blofeld: This indicates a serious defeat. Ritsema/Karcher: The great without achievement indeed. Cleary (2): When the army has casualties, that is a great lack of success. Wu: Despite its large number, it does not succeed.
Legge: Canon McClatchie translates this as: "Represents soldiers as it were lying dead in their baggage carts, and is unlucky." Line two is the only legitimate leader of the army. Line three is magnetic in a dynamic place, as if she had jumped over the leader and perched herself above him to take command. In military operations there must be one ruling will and mind. A divided authority is sure to bring failure.
NOTES AND PARAPHRASES
Siu: Defeat ensues when others interfere with the authority of the chosen ruler. Divided command is often fatal.
Wing: There is an absence of vision and leadership. Whether it is a matter of divergent goals or whether the acting leader is simply inept, the result is the same: misfortune.
Editor: Psychologically interpreted, this line describes one of the most fundamental, yet least recognized truths of human consciousness -- the fact that "unity" of awareness is mostly illusory. Indeed, the whole goal of the Work is to actually attain this unity which we think we already possess. Legge's metaphorical equation of "corpses" with "inefficient leaders" is not always apt -- in its most neutral interpretation, the line can depict a situation of (as Liu says) "sudden mourning" or overwhelming grief.
Man has no individual I. But there are, instead, hundreds and thousands of separate small I's, very often entirely unknown to one another, never coming into contact, or, on the contrary, hostile to each other, mutually exclusive and incompatible ... And each separate small I is able to call itself by the name of the whole, to act in the name of the whole, to agree or disagree, to give promises, to make decisions, with which another I or the whole will have to deal.
– GurdjieffA. Are you in charge of your thoughts and feelings, or do they make your choices for you?
B. Be on guard against inferior elements within yourself or the situation.
C. Suggests dead weight, useless baggage (beliefs, etc.)
Legge: The fourth line, magnetic, shows the army in retreat. There is no error.
Wilhelm/Baynes: The army retreats. No blame.
Blofeld: The army retreats and halts -- no error!
Liu: The army retreats at the proper time. No blame.
Ritsema/Karcher: Legions: the left resting. Without fault.
Shaughnessy: The troops camp on the left; there is no trouble.
Cleary (1): The army retreats and camps, there is no error.
Wu: The army halts its advance and chooses to camp. It will be blameless.
COMMENTARY
Confucius/Legge: There has been no failure in the regular course. Wilhelm/ Baynes: It does not deviate from the usual way. Blofeld: No error is involved because retreating and halting are a normal part of military activity. Ritsema/ Karcher: Not-yet letting-go the rules indeed. Cleary (2): One has not lost the constant. Wu: It does not violate the normal course of action.
Legge: Line four is magnetic and not central. Therefore to retreat is natural to her. Since the place is proper for a yielding line, the retreat is correct under the circumstances. Retreat is no evidence of failure in a campaign. When advance would lead to defeat, retreat is the regular course to pursue.
NOTES AND PARAPHRASES
Siu: The man is confronted by a superior enemy. Orderly retreat to preserve the army is his correct course of action.
Wing: The obstacles ahead are insurmountable. Struggling against them is useless. Therefore the intelligent maneuver is retreat.
Editor: Regarded objectively, any withdrawal from an incorrect position can only be a strategy for success.
But even when these forces within ourselves are temporarily stronger, when the conscious personality is at first overwhelmed by their violence, the vigilant self is never really conquered. It can retire to an inner fortress and there prepare for and await the favorable moment in which to counter-attack. It may lose some of the battles, but if it does not give up its arms and surrender, the ultimate issue is not compromised, and it will achieve victory in the end.
Roberto Assagioli -- PsychosynthesisA. Strategic withdrawal is not surrender.
Legge: The fifth line, magnetic, shows birds in the fields, which it will be advantageous to seize and destroy. In that case there will be no error. If the oldest son leads the host, and younger men idly occupy offices assigned to them, however firm and correct he may be, there will be evil.
Wilhelm/Baynes: There is game in the field. It furthers one to catch it.
Without blame. Let the eldest lead the army. The younger transports corpses; then perseverance brings misfortune.
Blofeld: Wild beasts roam the field. To avoid error, speech should be guarded. The eldest son is in command; the younger son carts away the corpses. Persistence would lead to calamity.
Liu: Much game in the field. It benefits to capture it. No blame. The army is led by the eldest son. The younger son carries corpses. Continuing brings misfortune.
Ritsema/Karcher: The fields possess wild-fowl. Harvesting: holding-on-to words. Without fault. The long-living son conducting Legions. The junior son carting corpses. Trial: pitfall.
Shaughnessy: In the fields there is game; beneficial to shackle prisoners; there is no trouble. The eldest son leads the troops, the younger son carts corpses; determination is inauspicious.
Cleary (1): There are animals in the fields. It is beneficial to take up words. A mature person is to lead the army; if it is an immature person, there will be casualties, for even if he is righteous the outlook is bad.
Cleary (2): … A mature person leads the army. If the leader is immature, there will be casualties, and even if the leader is right, the prospects are bad.
Wu: There are prisoners of war in the field. It will be advantageous to uphold the mission of the military action. No blame. The eldest son commands the army. A younger son carts back corpses. Even with perseverance, it will be foreboding. [The fifth is a ruler’s position, but it is now occupied by a yin. Hence, the occupant becomes a weak administrator. The elder man and the eldest son … refer to the same second nine, the commander.]
COMMENTARY
Confucius/Legge: The army's movements are directed by the oldest son in accordance with his position in the center. The employment of younger men who idly occupy their posts is improper. Wilhelm/Baynes: "Let the eldest lead the army," because he is central and correct. "The younger transports corpses." Thus the right man is not put in charge. Blofeld: The moving line in the center of the upper trigram indicates that the elder son is in command. The younger son is put in charge of carrying away the corpses because he is unsuited to worthier employment. [This line may refer to the suitability or otherwise of a person required to fill an important post in any sort of organization or in carrying out some scheme.] Ritsema/Karcher: Using centering movement indeed. Commissioning not appropriate indeed. Cleary (2): A mature person leads the army, with balanced action. The immature sustain casualties because their mission was not appropriate. Wu: His orders are given from the center. Because the appointment is a poor choice.
Legge: In line five we have an intimation of the important truth that only defensive war, or war waged by the rightful authority to put down rebellion and lawlessness is right. The birds in the fields symbolize parties attacking for plunder. The fifth line symbolizes the ruler, who is humble and magnetic, and in the center. She cedes the use of all her power to the general in line two. Line two is the "oldest son" and lines three and four are the younger brother and son -- i.e., the younger men who would cause evil if allowed to share the command. In military operations there must be one ruling will and mind. A divided authority is sure to be a failure.
NOTES AND PARAPHRASES
Siu: Invasion occurs. A seasoned soldier is chosen to lead the army to victory and to prevent needless slaughter of the defeated people.
Wing: Rely on an experienced person to lead the way in correcting the situation. He must be moderate in his behavior and not over reactive, for this would lead to misfortune. Inexperienced and enthusiastic persons are now inappropriate for the job of deliberate and controlled leadership.
Editor: This line contains ambiguities, yet the general image is clear enough. It is a re-statement of lines two and three: a strong leader is essential for success. Nevertheless, all except Legge's translation contain a final sentence stating that perseverance leads to misfortune, which seems to contradict the earlier advice to "pursue the game." As written, it is not clear whether this applies to the situation in general or only in the case of incompetent leadership. If this is the only changing line, the hexagram thus created is number twenty-nine,Danger -- suggesting that you carefully examine the situation at hand, consolidate your control and advance cautiously.
Know you not that the thing is a warfare? One man’s duty is to mount guard, another must go out to reconnoiter, a third to battle; all cannot be in one place, nor would it even be expedient. But you, instead of executing your Commander's orders, complain if aught harsher than usual is enjoined; not understanding to what condition you are bringing the army, so far as in you lies. If all were to follow your example, none would dig a trench, none would cast rampart around the camp, none would keep watch, or expose himself to danger; but all turn out useless for the service of war. Thus it is here also. Every life is a warfare, and that long and various. You must fulfill a soldier's duty, and obey each order at your commander's nod: aye, if it be possible, divine what he would have done: for between that Commander and this, there is no comparison, either in might or in excellence.
EpictetusA. There is work to be done, but if you allow inferior elements to influence your judgment, disaster will ensue.
Other titles: Break-through, The Symbol of Decision, Resolution, Determination, Parting, Removing Corruption, Eradication
Judgment
Legge: Recognizing the risks involved in criminal prosecution, justice demands a resolute proof of the culprit's guilt in the royal court. One informs one's own city that armed force is not necessary. In this way progress is assured.
Wilhelm/Baynes:Break-through. One must resolutely make the matter known at the court of the king. It must be announced truthfully. Danger. It is necessary to notify one's own city. It does not further to resort to arms. It furthers one to undertake something.
Blofeld: Resolution. When a proclamation is made at the court of the King, frankness in revealing the true state of affairs is dangerous. [In vital matters, frankness may prove dangerous.] In making announcements to the people of his own city, it is not fitting for the ruler to carry arms. [It is better to repose trust in our own people.] It is favorable to have some goal (or destination).
Liu: Determination. Someone is proud in the king's court, and the king trusts him. If one exposes the truth, danger. It must be told to one's own people. Using force does not benefit. It does benefit to do something else. [You must decide how to deal with a situation before it reaches a dangerous point, or things will take their own course and overwhelm you.]
Ritsema/Karcher:Parting, displaying tending-towards kingly chambers. Conforming, crying-out, possessing adversity. Notifying originates from the capital. Not Harvesting: approaching arms. Harvesting: possessing directed going. [This hexagram describes your situation in terms of separation and diverging directions. It emphasizes that resolutely dividing your energies is the adequate way to handle it...]
Shaughnessy:Resolution: Raised up at the royal court, returning crying out; there is danger. Announcing from the sky; not beneficial to regulate the belligerents; beneficial to have someplace to go.
Cleary (1): Parting is lauded in the royal court. The call of truth involves danger. Addressing one’s own domain, it is not beneficial to go right to war, but it is beneficial to go somewhere. [The royal court is the abode of the mind-ruler, where true and false are distinguished.]
Cleary (2): Decision is brought up in the royal court. A sincere statement involves danger, etc.
Wu:Eradication indicates a conceited pronouncement in the royal court on the one hand, and a concerted call for vigilance on the other. It is essential to make the danger known to the people, but not to resort to force now. It is advantageous to have undertakings.
The Image
Legge: The image of the waters of a marsh mounting over heaven forms Resoluteness. The superior man, in accordance with this, does not hoard his wealth, but shares it with his subordinates.
Wilhelm/Baynes: The lake has risen up to heaven: the image of Break-through. Thus the superior man dispenses riches downward and refrains from resting on his virtue.
Blofeld: This hexagram symbolizes a marshy lake being drawn (sucked) towards the sky. The Superior Man distributes his emoluments to those below; dwelling in virtue, he renounces them.
Liu: The lake ascends to heaven, symbolizing Determination. The superior man distributes wealth below him, without displaying his favors.
Ritsema/Karcher: Above marsh with-respect-to heaven. Parting. A chun tzu uses spreading-out benefits to extend to the below. A chun tzu uses residing-in actualizing tao, by- consequence keeping-aloof. [Actualize-tao: Ability to follow the course traced by the ongoing process of the cosmos... Linked with acquire, TE: acquiring that which makes a being what it is meant to be.]
Cleary (1): Moisture ascends to heaven, which parts with it. Thus do superior people distribute blessings to reach those below, while avoiding presumption of virtue. [After people get mixed up in temporal conditioning, the discriminatory consciousness takes charge of affairs; wine and sex distract them from reality, the lure of wealth deranges their nature, emotions and desires well forth at once, thoughts and ruminations arise in a tangle, and the mind-ruler is lost in confusion. Because habituation becomes second nature over a long period of time, it cannot be abruptly removed. It is necessary to work on the matter in a serene and equanimous way, according to the time: Eventually discrimination will cease, and the original spirit will return; the human mind will sublimate and the mind of Tao will be complete – again you will see the original self.]
Cleary (2): … If they presumed on their virtue, they would be resented.
Wu: The marsh rises to heaven; this is Eradication. Thus the jun zi distributes his emolument to those below and is loath to monopolize virtues.
COMMENTARY
Confucius/Legge: Resoluteness is the symbol of displacing or removing. We see the dynamic lines displacing the magnetic line. The figure displays the attributes of Strength and Cheerfulness. There is displacement, but harmony continues. The exhibition of the criminal's guilt in the royal court is shown by the magnetic line mounted on five dynamic lines. The awareness of danger and appeal for justice makes the matter clear. If he has recourse to arms, what he prefers will soon be exhausted. When the advance of the dynamic lines is complete, there will be an end to displacement.
Legge:Resoluteness represents the third month when the last vestige of winter, represented by the sixth line, is about to disappear before the advance of summer. The single yin line at the top symbolizes an inferior man, a feudal prince or high minister who is corrupting the government. The five yang lines below are the representatives of good order. The lesson of the hexagram is how to remove corruption from the kingdom. He who would do this must do so by the force of his character more than the force of arms. Never forgetting the dangerous nature of his undertaking, he must openly denounce the criminal in the court and awaken general sympathy to his cause. Among his own adherents ("In his own city") he must prevent any tendency to resort to armed conflict. As a worthy statesman he is not motivated by private feelings.
Hu Ping-wen says: "If but a single inferior man is left, he is sufficient to make the superior man anxious; if but a single inordinate desire be left in the mind, that is sufficient to disturb the harmony of the heavenly principles. The eradication in both cases must be complete, before the labor is ended."
NOTES AND PARAPHRASES
Judgment:Resoluteness involves astute discernment of what is wrong and a discreet re-establishment of order without polarizing the situation. Be clear in your own strategy, but let common sense be your guide about how much you need to disclose to others. Avoid aggression at all costs.
The Superior Man maintains equilibrium by distributing his energy equitably -- he smoothes things out.
The forty-third hexagram is an image of the eradication of an inferior force from the situation at hand: five yang lines resolutely advance on the single yin line, which is about to be pushed out of the hexagram at the top. This is a negative image of the twenty-third hexagram, Disintegration, which shows the opposite situation of five lower yin lines undermining one upper yang line. It is instructive to compare the nearly identical message for the superior man in the Images of each of these figures. The idea is one of fostering an equitable distribution of energy within the situation -- Disintegration and the Resoluteness required to rectify it are extreme situations requiring extreme measures. Such extremes must always be neutralized through a justly distributed balance of forces.
It's not the concern of law that any one class in the city fare exceptionally well, but it contrives to bring this about for the whole city, harmonizing the citizens by persuasion and compulsion, making them share with one another the benefit that each class is able to bring to the commonwealth. And it produces such men in the city not in order to let them turn whichever way each wants, but in order that it may use them in binding the city together.
Plato --The Republic
Compare the nuances of meaning in each translation of the Judgment. Wilhelm's is most radical, advising a direct (albeit dangerous), expose of what is wrong. Most of the others imply room for discretion about what needs to be revealed. Diplomacy is the art of knowing when full- disclosure only prevents resolution of the problem. Ritsema/Karcher allude to the proper mind-set required to manage such situations: "[A chun tzu uses] residing-in actualizing tao, by-consequence keeping-aloof." To "reside in actualizing tao," is to live directly from one's essence, and when this is associated with "keeping-aloof" we get an image of quietly rectifying a situation without revealing our purpose or strategy.
Psychologically interpreted,Resoluteness, like Disintegration, depicts an extreme situation which must first be rectified, then prevented from re-occurring through the maintenance of a just balance of power which is administered by the ego under the will of the Self.