“#16 豫 Enjoying – Passion for the Right Things” – The Principle of Enjoyment
The hexagram has a Thunder trigram on top of the Earth trigram. Thunder is a large noise produced by vibrations of the Earth in this case. The earth opens up and makes sounds of joy. It is the sound and activities of joy and gladness. This reminds me of a verse in the Bible, Isaiah 55:12 …King James Bible For ye shall go out with joy, and be led forth with peace: the mountains and the hills shall break forth before you into singing, and all the trees of the field shall clap their hands.
The word 豫 means enjoyment and also means getting ready. The philosophy of I Ching is about having a balanced life. It is about doing things just right, balancing the mid-point, between two extremes. A famous Chinese saying is “Extreme happiness brings forth tragedy”. This teaching is about how to enjoy to the fullest and yet not be sorry.
Description:
- 利建侯行师: It is beneficial for building up key staff and mobilizing for projects. (literally: to move the army).
Textual Commentary:
彖传:
豫，刚应而志行，顺以动，豫。豫，顺以动，故天地如之，而况建侯行师乎？天地以顺动，故日月不过，而四时不忒；圣人以顺动，则刑罚清而民服。豫之时义大矣哉！
There is strong support for accomplishing your ambition. It is moving and riding on the trends (Steve Jobs would say it as ‘follow your heart). It follows the ways of Heaven and Earth. Hence, what could be wrong with building up and moving out? Heaven and Earth move gently. The motions of the sun and moon do not miss a step and the four seasons do not cease. Wise men move with the trends and times. They ensure that laws and their enforcement are clear and fair resulting in the people following them. Moving with the times, moving with the law of least resistance is the principle of the natural order.
Pictorial Commentary:
象传:
雷出地奋，豫。先王以作乐崇德，殷荐之上帝，以配祖考。
Thunder coming out of the Earth movement is ‘豫 Yi’. The past Kings have musical performances for enjoyment and to promote good moral character. They worship God and pay respect to their ancestors.
The Chinese word for music(yeu 乐) and happiness(le 乐) is the same word 乐 showing the close association between music and happiness ( or pleasure or enjoyment).
Moral Teaching:
- Enjoyment (happiness, pleasure) is a gift of Heaven and Earth and is morally right to have it. I Ching does not disapprove of having pleasure and fun. On the contrary, it is very supportive of one having them. It teaches us how to have pleasure to the full and without regrets. The way to truly enjoy well is prescribed below.
- Joy is to be directed to promote good character, worship of God, and respect for ancestors (from the Pictorial Commentary). True joy comes from doing the right things. Having pleasure in the wrong things brings regrets such as taking drugs. Having pleasure excessively brings regrets too such as drinking alcohol. Pleasure in inflicting harm on others is a mental illness.
- Joy is strength. Go and do good things. Enthusiasm is a great driving and creative force. The hexagram description tells us to move out to conquer! There is a verse in the Bible that says this too: Neh 8:10 … “Go your way. Eat the fat and drink sweet wine …, for the joy of the LORD is your strength.”
- Joy comes from following the trends and times – the path of least resistance, the natural order. Under the framework of righteousness, it is much more productive and pleasurable to follow and ride on the trends of times. Understand the situation, and if it is right, follow it rather than insist on your own stubborn thinking. New technology has come to replace the old ways, we need to ride on the new technology to attain greater heights with ease rather than still sticking to our old ways and complaining that we are left behind.
Stage 1 Begin Six: Large Sound of (wild) enjoyment. It is dangerous. 初六：鸣豫，凶。
Pictorial Commentary: ‘Begin six’ is about making joyful sounds; there is no ambition and is dangerous. 初六鸣豫，志穷凶也。
Having pleasure in pleasure alone without cause or purpose and without restraint (implied) is dangerous. A common example is pornography or prostitution. People indulging in them go for counseling sessions to break the addictions. Sexual pleasure between husband and wife has the purpose of building an intimate relationship and is more pleasurable and long-lasting. Wild parties per se lead to much destruction of properties and lives.
Purpose gives meaning and true satisfaction to the enjoyment of pleasure.
Stage 2 Second Six: Interrupted by the rocks; not for the whole day. Having integrity is good fortune. 六二：介于石，不终日，贞吉。
Pictorial Commentary: Not fooling around for the whole day; keeping integrity and a balanced life brings good fortune. 不终日，贞吉；以中正也。
We do not let our pleasure mislead us from living rightly and purposefully. We don’t just have fun for the whole day. We know how to exercise self-control and hence it is good.
Stage 3 Third Six: Flattering the higher level has regrets. Delays cause regrets. 六三：盱豫，悔。迟有悔。
Pictorial Commentary explains that flattering bosses bring regrets because of incorrect positioning. 盱豫有悔，位不当也。
There is nothing wrong with seeking the pleasure of our bosses. It is better to please people up and down with our honest good performance. But just flattering our bosses alone will bring regrets. We are aware of people who neglect their duties and even bully others just to please their bosses. For wise bosses, those flatteries do not work. It is better for us to recognize this early and change. We should give an honest day of work rather than just trying to please our bosses – working when they are watching only.
Stage 4 Fourth Nine: Joy and enthusiasm come naturally. It will bring great rewards. There is no doubt. Friends will cluster to you like the hair clip binding the hair together. 九四：由豫，大有得。勿疑。朋盍簪。
Pictorial Commentary: Intrinsic joy brings great rewards because your ambition is being achieved. 由豫，大有得；志大行也。
Intrinsically motivated people with joy and enthusiasm are creative and energetic. They are highly productive and accomplish much more. They are also very contagious – they draw others to them and create a vibrant team. Joy draws people. People want to be happy people. It is just natural. They want to follow successful people too.
Stage 5 Fifth Six: Got sick. It is long but not fatal. 六五：贞疾，恒不死。
Pictorial commentary: ‘Fifth Six’ got sick because of working too hard. Even though the sickness is long, it is not fatal because it is at the center and not at the end (of the upper trigram). 六五贞疾，乘刚也。恒不死，中未亡也。
Our enthusiasm may sometimes cause us to overwork and neglect our health. It is not usual for such people to skip lunches and dinners and even sleep. For a short time, our bodies can take it. But in the long run, our bodies will send us the signals that we need to rest. We need to live a balanced life to live long with joy and not to suffer from sickness.
Stage 6 Top Six: Losing one’s sight in enjoyment but eventually realizing one’s mistake to make change has no blame. 上六：冥豫，成有渝，无咎。
Pictorial Commentary: indulged in enjoyment at the top, how can it last? 冥豫在上，何可长也。
If one is awakened from indulgence in pure pleasure seeking then it is a good change for the better.
Summary:
Enjoyment and pleasure are gifts from God. Enthusiasm and joy are powerful forces for starting new and big projects. There are ways to truly have pleasure without regrets. It is to be directed at enjoying and doing the right things; having a meaningful purpose, accomplishing it with enthusiasm, and following the time and seasons.
The wisdom from the stage lines is:
- Don’t go wild
- Enjoy the right things.
- Don’t flatter. Do real work.
- Joy and enthusiasm accomplish much and draw others along.
- Don’t overdo it and get sick.
- Don’t lose your sight while enjoying. Reflect on your life.
No comments:
Post a Comment