The Freedom of Forgiveness Part II

It is said in the commentary on hexagram forty that "Deliverance means release from tension." Tension is always the byproduct of a negative emotion, and negative emotion can almost always find its root in fear. It is natural to fear as there are so many things that appear to be outside of ourselves that are detrimental to us. Therefore we give a green light to our ego to try to control our environment in order that we maintain safety. Anger is the product of fear in that anger is a response to that which has instilled fear in us. We fear that things will not turn out the way we want them to, and if we are hurt by others there is fear that we might be hurt again and that there might be future consequences to our having been hurt. In that case we must deliver ourselves from fear and its consequences, not through control as the ego would have, but through surrender to the divine will of the universe source of conscious awareness. Therefore, the commentary on hexagram forty tells us that we must get back to ordinary conditions as soon as possible (the conditions that existed before fear took hold). It tells us that we must let go of our tension (caused by fear, anger, resentment, the "three foxes).

Line four tells us that we must "Deliver ourselves from our great toe." (I suspect there is another meaningful translation here, as the Chinese words normally had multiple meanings.) But let's use the word toe, and see it as a symbol of that which we walk upon, that we carry ourselves with. Therefore, we must let go of the things that we carry, like the "burden on our back" in line three. When we allow impediments to hold us down, to hold us back, we do not allow our companion to approach us (the sage, the wisdom of the I Ching). Our fear, our anger, our resentment creates an impediment, and therefore we "cannot eat the "fat of the pheasant" (the wise teachings that would otherwise be offered us, hexagram fifty line three), and the companion does not come. If we maintain our three foxes, we act like the commentary in hexagram five line six which speaks of a sulky gesture of refusal, and by doing so the "three guests do not arrive." Refusal to accept our karma, to let go of the trauma and drama in our life, to release our fears, angers and resentments, keep the companion (our spiritual guide whom we can trust) from approaching us, from helping us or giving us its guidance. If we are consumed with our anger, with our fear, they become attached to us, just as the big toe is attached to our foot, and we cannot do without it. We must let go of all attachment. We must free ourselves from the "chance aquaintances with which we have no inner connection." We can have either our "attachments," or we can have the companion who guides us. We cannot have both, for one will estrange the other.