#22賁 Adornment – Gracefulness
This hexagram has a Mountain trigram on top of the Fire trigram. The word is made up of flowers and sea shells. It symbolizes beauty. It is about making things more beautiful, representing adornment, or decoration. The teaching stresses increasing inner beauty as well as outer beauty. Hence, the word, gracefulness may be better.
Description:
- 亨: smooth flow.
- 小利有所往: going forward has some benefits. (or It is good to undertake smaller projects)
Textual Commentary:
彖曰：贲，亨；柔来而文刚，故亨。 分刚上而文柔，故小利有攸往 天文也；文明以 止，人文也。 观乎天文，以察时变；观乎人文，以化成天下。
22賁 Adornment is smooth flow. Gentleness comes to decorate strong and hard and hence it is smooth flowing. Strong and hard is on top to decorate the soft and gentle, hence there are some gains going forward. This is the working of Heaven, interacting of strong and gentle. Using moral education and laws of good manners to guide behavior is the working of human culture. Hence, observing the working of Heavens to know the change of seasons; observing the culture and behavior of men, and teaching them the ways of Heaven to transform them.
Pictorial Commentary: 象曰：山下有火，贲；君子以明庶政，无敢折狱。
Fire below the Mountain is ’22賁 Adornment’. Wise men use the principles of righteousness to govern openly. They do not use imprisonment lightly.
Moral Teaching:
- Adornment is about following the ways of Heaven – the patterns and behavior of nature, with proper timing and movement.
- Adornment is about teaching the right things and behavior. Adornments that are against the principles and patterns of Heaven become ugly.
- Adornment is about the interactivity of hardness and softness, strength, and gentleness. The hard covered with softness and the softness with hardness.
- Adornment is not just about the decoration of things – static but about behavior too. It is beautiful in appearance and graceful in behavior
- The teaching of hard laws and principles should be expressed with the gentleness of grace and not just threats of imprisonment.
- Adornment is about the balance between outer and inner. Just concentrating on the outer decoration without corresponding inner beauty is artificial. Inner beauty that is not reflected in outer gracefulness reveals a lack of true inner strength. Gracefulness is the matching of inner and outer beauty lacking either results in ugliness.
- A Japanese word that captures the essence of this hexagram is ‘shibumi’, simple, quiet, and controlled elegance.
Stage 1 Begin Nine: Adorn the toes. Walk instead of taking a ride in the carriage. 初九：贲其趾，舍车而徒。
Pictorial commentary added that not taking a ride in a carriage is because it is not the right thing to do for a person just starting out in life. 象曰：舍 车而徒，义弗乘也。
This is the starting stage. We adorn from the ground up beginning with the toes. It is not appropriate for junior staff to travel in the style of their seniors by taking carriages. Beauty comes from appropriateness – according to one position and standing in life. Young girls should have light make-up and little jewelry to reflect their true beauty of youth and energy. Putting too much makeup on young girls makes them look over mature and ugly. Behavior that corresponds with our position is gracefulness.
It is also important to note that the first 3 lines concentrate on outer beauty(toes, beard, and face) and the last 3 lines speak on inner beauty.
Stage 2 Second Six: Adorn the beard. 六二：贲其须。
Pictorial commentary adorns the beard is to prosper with our superiors. 象曰：贲其须，与上兴也。
As we grow up to a higher position in life, our behavior should change accordingly. Our beauty should cover a bigger area, now is up to the face. Our outward beauty must correspond to our inner growth in beauty. What is inward beauty? They are the character of our being – the spiritual side of love, truth, self-control, and the mindset of knowledge and wisdom. By having gracefulness according to the position we now have with our superiors we can grow up together with them.
Stage 3 Third Nine: Adornment that moistens and glows, perseverance in righteousness is good fortune. 九三：贲如濡如，永贞吉。
The pictorial commentary explains that righteous perseverance is good fortune because it will end well without being attacked. 象曰：永贞之吉，终莫之陵也。
Here is a warning about going overboard with adornment. Getting it just right will produce great beauty and gracefulness. One is reminded to always stay with the way of righteousness.
Stage 4 Fourth Six: Beauty with whiteness (signifying simplicity, purity). White horse come. It is not a robbery but a proposal for marriage. 六四：贲如皤如，白马翰如，匪寇婚媾。
The pictorial commentary explains that Six(Yin Line) in the Fourth (Yin) is in the right position. The doubt is clarified – It is a marriage and not a robbery. The ending is without bitterness or regret. 象曰：六四，当位疑也。匪寇婚媾，终无尤 也。
It is often that we use decoration to cover up our inner lack. But as one grows up, there needs to be less covering up. The adornment takes on greater simplicity and purity. There are doubts about whether such simplicity will work. It does. We draw a lot more attention and get more proposals instead.
Stage 5 Fifth Six: Adorning the garden on the hill. The roll of silk is small. It is regretful. The ending is good fortune. 六五：贲于丘园，束帛戋戋，吝，终吉。
Pictorial commentary Six-Yin-Line on fifth (Yang) position brings the good fortune of happiness. 象曰：六五之吉，有喜也。
As one grows in inner beauty and grace, the exterior decoration needs to be less. Beauty is in the environment of one abode. From the person to his possessions – his house on the hill for example. The house is far away and its decorations are little. Others feel such stinginess in decoration is regretful. But it actually is a cause for celebration.
Simplicity in wealth and possessions come in two forms – types and size. Firstly size. Size is dependent on when you become its slave. You can have so much wealth that you could and need to hire a team of professionals to manage it. But you must not be worried and stressed by their fluctuations in value. In terms of types, while simple derivatives are good for hedging and risk management, do watch out for derivatives that are nested in too many levels. The financial crisis of 2008-9 was the result of smart multi-level derivatives driven by greed.
Stage 6 Top Nine: white adornment (could also mean no adornment). No disaster. 上九：白贲，无咎。
The pictorial commentary explains that simple or no adornment is without disaster because one has achieved his ambition. 象曰：白贲无咎，上得志也。
When we are fully grown with inner beauty exuding out, there is little need for additional adornment. Gracefulness from one’s mature character is irresistible. As one has accomplished, there is no need to try to gain and draw attention. The desire is to give and enrich those around us. He brings joy, peace, and beauty wherever he goes.
The best word to describe this beauty from purity is Japanese Shibumi – quiet elegance, non-flashy, unpretentious, simplified perfection.
Summary:
Adornment is about enhancing what is right – beauty in appearance and gracefulness in behavior. It is a dynamic interplay of gentleness and strength, hardness and softness. It is adorning of the outer beauty that reflects the inner beauty. Beauty is to be found within as good character and without external appearance and graceful behavior.
The stage lines give us additional wisdom:
- Adorn up and Behave according to your position(standings) and the occasion.
- Grow with gracefulness.
- Righteousness is great beauty.
- Simplicity and purity attract.
- Simplicity in one’s possessions too. Don’t be burdened and stressed out by your possessions! Slaves are not associated with beauty. Don’t be slaves to your possessions. Be master over your wealth.
- Gracefulness coming out from inner beauty without adornment is most powerful. Quiet Elegance from purity.
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