The Freedom of Forgiveness Part III

The fifth line of hexagram forty says, "If only the superior man can deliver himself it brings good fortune. Thus he proves to inferior men that he is in earnest. It is only when we let go of any supposed slurs, slights, hurts or resentments that we free ourselves. But we cannot do so without the strictest resolve. The sixth line tells us we must "shoot the hawk on the high wall." Just to go through the motions of forgiveness is not enough, it must be a complete and total effort. We must completely free our mind. As the commentary says, it is only when we free our mind that "they will see for themselves that we are in earnest and will withdraw." As long as we have anger, as long as we have resentment, as long as we have fear, we cannot help but draw negative experiences into our reality. It is only when we are completely free of them in our mind that these negative experiences disappear from our lives. These experiences, as the commentary says, "cannot be driven off by prohibitions or any external means." We cannot stop experiences from coming our way by setting up walls, or by trying to change external circumstances. We can only create peace within by going within. We can only create peace by freeing ourselves internally, not by external means.

Speaking of walls, the sixth line says, "The prince shoots at a Hawk on a high wall." A high wall can be a symbol for the protections we surround ourselves with to keep others at bay, fearing exposure will lead us into danger. Hence hexagram thirteen line three says, "He climbs the high hill (wall) in front of it." He/she does this out of fear. We distrust the other so we spy on him or her to see what his or her intentions are. Our own fear makes us distrustful of the other, who also has fear of us, due to our building of our own high wall. This leads to conflict (hexagram six) and leads to isolation, insulation, and opposition (hexagram thirty eight). In hexagram thirty eight line six it is said, "One sees one's companions as a pig covered with dirt, as a wagon full of devils." This is our natural state. Due to our perception of separateness, the illusion of being different, we mistrust each other. The only option, the way out, is to "shoot the hawk on the high wall" (of separation, of distrust, the wall we create to protect us from others).

Finally, there is a hint in line six of fear and mistrust that is so deeply buried that we must search it out and find it before its influence destroys us. We must use the priests and magicians spoken of in hexagram hexagram fifty seven line two hidden in the secret recesses of the mind that "affect us by suggestion." There are hidden complexes deep within the subconscious mind that poison us without our awareness of their presence. There are secret hatreds and mistrusts that makes us "point the arrow" at our companion thinking it is a pig covered with mud. This secret mistrust can even make us mistrust the sage, who is only there to instruct us, to guide us, and to give us inspiration. But we are underlings, and our purification and our education are not yet complete, so that, even if we think we are free of mistrust we are not. We must shoot the hawk on the high wall, and tear the wall down, getting rid of secret mistrust, and secret fears. In this way "they will see for themselves that he is in earnest, and withdraw." When the sixth line changes hexagram sixty four comes forth, and the commentary says, "The task is great and full of responsibility. It is nothing less than that of leading the world out of confusion back to order." It is in seeking out our inner resentments, our fears, and our anger, that we lead the world out of confusion. And we start all over again with hexagram three which also speaks of bringing order out of confusion, or chaos.