Spreading His Commands Abroad

Hexagrams, including hexagram fifty, which contain the primary trigram of wood, or wind, often have a connotation of either giving commands, or of consolidating fate. The former is true especially if the wind trigram is the upper trigram. In hexagram fifty we have wind in the lower primary trigram and the subject regards consolidating fate, and making our position correct. Of course the only way we can do this is to understand the commands being given to us by higher sources, (the lines that we receive) and integrating them into our lives. He or she who misses this point, and only uses the I Ching to solve a particular problem in their lives, is acting in a precipitous manner and not allowing the full value of the I Ching to manifest. We do not hear the commands. We only hear what we want to hear to solve the particular problem and the rest is anathema to us. When we treat the I Ching this way we cannot "make our position correct."

The I Ching says of itself in hexagram fifty seven, (double wind trigrams) that "it spreads its commands abroad." Furthermore, the commentary on the image says, "Only when the command has been assimilated by the people is action in accordance with it possible." Therefore, it must be understood that unless you understand the crux of the problem, you cannot understand the solution to the problem." Many people are good I Ching readers when it comes to a simple and straight forward answer, but completely miss the basis for the answer, and miss the deeper insights of the I Ching which could, in a manner of speaking, "set them free." Hexagram fifty seven speaks of "action without preparation of the ground." In other words, we act without building the base upon which those actions can become fruitful.

We can only build a base for fruitful action when we "daily practice chariot driving," and assimilate the teachings of the I Ching into our daily lives on a regular basis. Hexagram twenty three line six says, "There is a large fruit still uneaten." This is because we haven't taken the teaching of the I Ching to heart, but only used its message superficially to correct an immediate problem. When we do this we are looking at life as in hexagram twenty line two, "through the crack of a door." But hexagram twenty gives us a much deeper understanding of the I Ching if we will take it to heart. Hexagram twenty shows the Sage, (I Ching) in the upper trigram giving instruction to the people, the lower trigram, and the people are receptive (lower trigram) to it. As such the image says, "...Contemplated the people and gave them instruction."

But for the people to receive it there must be a deep trust in the rulers, (our spiritual teachers) that can only be developed when it becomes clear that the ruler can give instructions that actually work in our daily life and will give us benefit. When it has been proven by the ruler that they can indeed give the people the "life giving water" of hexagram forty eight, that the people trust them so deeply that they look up to him and anxiously await the next set of commands. As Jesus said, "My commands are not grievous." In other words they are not given in a spirit of ruling over you, but in a spirit of teaching you the right way. When the people are so impressed by the rulers, they develop within them such a deep sense of awe that they create within a meditative state, (nuclear trigram K'en)while they anxiously await the commandments of the ruler. We must develop within ourselves this same state of awe when we consult the I Ching, anxiously awaiting the answer, but in a spirit of awe. As hexagram four says, "Without this modesty and this interest, there is no guarantee that he has the necessary receptivity, which should express itself in respectful acceptance of the teacher." When we consult the I Ching solely as we would an encyclopedia, we do not have the necessary receptivity to truly understand the answer.

The teacher must have a resume so to speak that shows his ability to manipulate the forces of nature and to make his prophecies come true, and the student must recognize this awesomeness, and that there is a good reason to come to the teacher for instruction. When this happens it is the case that teacher has such a grasp of the spiritual laws of the universe that when he expresses himself, the people of the earth will be "swayed by him as the grass by the wind." In the modern world, especially in the west, such admiration, such respect for the teacher is largely unheard of. It does not come to us naturally. We must be taught this inspiration. There is no great leader that we look up to so reverently that we have the "deepest inner concentration" while waiting for his words. Nevertheless,this "inner concentration," This meditative state of mind, this awe, is the very thing that allows us to "apprehend the mysterious and divine laws of life...and to give expression to these laws." Finally, the commentary on hexagram twenty says, "Thus a hidden spiritual power emanates from them, influencing and dominating others without their being aware of how it happens." We must always keep our hearts true. We must given up our preconceptions and our "limited viewpoint on life," and give credence to the spiritual powers above us that are always spreading their commands, as the "large fruit still uneaten," (because we do not perceive it) our misconceptions, our superficial viewpoints, as one "seeing through the crack of the door," and in such humbling ourselves, so that we are receptive to the pure teachings of the sage. Then we will be ready for that transformation into the new age, where we have a new enlightenment, and the commands, (lower trigram hexagram fifty) that leads to that enlightenment, (upper trigram) and a higher order of civilization. When we do that the wood, (lower trigram) feeds the fire, (upper trigram) and our flame burns forever.