The I Ching or Book of Changes (112 page)
a
) When three people journey together,
Their number decreases by one.
When one man journeys alone,
He finds a companion.
b
) If a person should seek to journey as one of three, mistrust would arise.
The text says that three persons journeying together are decreased by one, but one man journeying alone finds a companion. This refers to the change that has taken place within the lower trigram. At the outset it consisted of the three strong lines of the trigram Ch’ien, the Creative. They have been journeying together. Then one leaves them and goes up to the top of the upper trigram. The weak line entering the third place in its stead is lonely in the company of the two other lines of the lower trigram. But it stands in the relationship of correspondence to the strong line at the top, hence finds its complement in the latter. Through this separation, three become two; further, through the union one becomes two. Thus what is excessive is decreased, and what is insufficient is increased. Through this process of interchange between the trigrams Ch’ien and K’un of the original hexagram, there come into being the two youngest children, Kên and Tui.
On the other hand, the present line, the six in the third place, which is lonely in the lower trigram, should not again consider going along with the other two, for this would give rise to misunderstandings. Confucius says about this line:
“Heaven and earth come together, and all things take shape and find form. Male and female mix their seed, and all creatures take shape and are born. In the Book of Changes it is said: ‘When three people journey together, their number decreases by one. When one man journeys alone, he finds a companion.’ This refers to the effect of becoming one.”
Six in the fourth place:
a
) If a man decreases his faults,
It makes the other hasten to come and rejoice.
No blame.
b
) “If a man decreases his faults,” it is indeed something that gives cause for joy.
The fault of the six in the fourth place is excessive weakness. A weak line in a weak place, it is inclosed above and below by
weak lines. However, through its relationship of correspondence to the strong first line, these faults are compensated. Through elimination of these faults, the six in the fourth place hastens the helpful coming of the nine at the beginning, which brings joy to both and is not a mistake.
Six in the fifth place:
a
) Someone does indeed increase him.
Ten pairs of tortoises cannot oppose it.
Supreme good fortune.
b
) The supreme good fortune of the six in the fifth place comes from its being blessed from above.
If he is enriched, ten pairs of tortoise shells cannot oppose it, and supreme good fortune comes. The number ten is suggested by the nuclear trigram K’un. The tortoise belongs to the trigram Li—which of course can be read into this hexagram only by straining the point considerably. A large tortoise used for fortune telling costs twenty cowrie shells. A double cowrie shell is called a pair. Accordingly, one explanation takes the line to mean a tortoise worth ten pairs of cowrie shells. Another explanation reads it as referring to ten pairs of tortoise shells. Blessing from above is suggested by the strong top line covering the hexagram protectively.
Nine at the top:
a
) If one is increased without depriving others,
There is no blame.
Perseverance brings good fortune.
It furthers one to undertake something.
One obtains servants
But no longer has a separate home.
b
) Without decreasing, he is increased; that is, he attains his will in great measure.
The top line is enriched by the six in the third place. It accepts this increase, but in such a way that the other is not decreased by it. Therefore the relationship here is the opposite of that
represented by the nine in the second place, which increases others without decreasing itself. Hence the outlook is favorable throughout, because harmony is maintained between those above and those below.
Kên, mountain, denotes a house. As the line changes, the upper primary trigram Kên turns into the trigram K’un, which knows no house, i.e., no mountain, its place being the southwest; hence there are loyal helpers, but not for promoting family interests.
The idea of increase is here expressed through the fact that the lowest line in the upper trigram is decreased, whereby the lowest line of the lower trigram is increased. Hence the six in the fourth place and the nine in the first place are the constituting rulers of the hexagram. But since the decrease above is at the hands of the prince, and the increase below is received by the official, the nine in the fifth place and the six in the second place are the governing rulers of the hexagram.
The Sequence
If decrease goes on and on, it is certain to bring about increase. Hence there follows the hexagram of INCREASE.
Miscellaneous Notes
The hexagrams of DECREASE and INCREASE are the beginning of flowering and of decline.
The two hexagrams with which part II begins, namely, INFLUENCE (
31
) and DURATION (
32
), after ten changes become the hexagrams of DECREASE (
41
) and INCREASE (
42
)—just as the first two hexagrams of part I, THE CREATIVE and THE RECEPTIVE, after ten changes become the hexagrams of PEACE (
11
) and STANDSTILL (
12
). PEACE and STANDSTILL have an inner connection with DECREASE and INCREASE, because through the transference of a strong line—from the lower to the upper trigram, DECREASE develops from PEACE, and through the transference of a strong line from the upper to the lower trigram, INCREASE develops from STANDSTILL. Thus when in P’i, STANDSTILL, the lowest line of the upper trigram is transferred to the bottom, the resultant new hexagram is I, INCREASE.
The fact that continuous decrease finally leads to a change into its opposite, increase, lies in the course of nature, as can be perceived in the waning and waxing of the moon and in all of the regularly recurring processes of nature.
The hexagram consists of the primary trigrams of wind and thunder, which increase each other. The decrease above and the strengthening below produce a stability that means increase for the whole. This hexagram is the inverse of the preceding one.
Appended Judgments
When Pao Hsi’s clan was gone, there sprang up the clan of the Divine Husbandman. He split a piece of wood for a plowshare and bent a piece of wood for the plow handle, and taught the whole world the advantage of laying open the earth with a plow. He probably took this from the hexagram of INCREASE.
Both parts of the hexagram have wood for a symbol. The outer trigram means penetration, the inner means movement.
Movement combined with penetration has brought the greatest increase to the world.
INCREASE shows fullness of character. INCREASE shows the growth of fullness without artifices. Thus INCREASE furthers what is useful.
THE JUDGMENT
INCREASE. It furthers one
To undertake something.
It furthers one to cross the great water.
Commentary on the Decision
INCREASE. Decreasing what is above
And increasing what is below;
Then the joy of the people is boundless.
What is above places itself under what is below:
This is the way of the great light.
And it furthers one to undertake something:
Central, correct, and blessed.
It furthers one to cross the great water:
The way of wood creates success.
INCREASE moves, gentle and mild:
Daily progress without limit.
Heaven dispenses, earth brings forth:
Thereby things increase in all directions.
The way of INCREASE everywhere
Proceeds in harmony with the time.
The name of the hexagram is explained on the basis of its structure: increase of what is below at the cost of what is above is out-and-out increase, because it benefits the whole people. The fourth line, in descending from the upper trigram to the lowest place in the lower trigram, shows a self-abnegation that gives proof of great clarity. In times of INCREASE it is favorable to undertake something, for the rulers of the hexagram,
the nine in the fifth place and the six in the second, are centrally placed and correct—a strong line in a strong place and a weak line in a weak place. Crossing of the great water is suggested by the upper trigram, Sun, which means wood and so gives the idea of a ship, while the lower trigram guarantees the movement of the ship. The attributes of the trigrams Chên, movement, and Sun, gentleness, guarantee lasting progress.
The idea of increase in the cosmic sphere is expressed through the fact that the first line of heaven (Ch’ien) places itself below the earth (K’un), this gives rise to the trigram Chên, in which all beings come into existence. This process of increase also is bound up with the right time, within which it comes to consummation.