大壮 雷天大壮 震上乾下
This hexagram has the Thunder Trigram on top of a Heaven-Trigram, thunder over the sky, signifying great strength or great power. Heaven represents creative force and strength. Thunder represents movement. This is the exercise of great power.
Description:
- 利贞: beneficial for perseverance in righteousness
Textual Commentary:
彖曰：大壮，大者壮也。 刚以动，故壮。 大壮利贞；大者正也。正大而天地之情可见矣！
Great Strength is both great and strong. Movement of strength resulting in power. Great strength is good for the continued practice of righteousness. What is great but righteousness (literally standing rightly)? Expansion of righteousness is revealed as the heart and mind of Heaven and Earth.
Pictorial Commentary: 象曰：雷在天上，大壮；君子以非礼勿履。
Thunder in the Sky(Heaven) above is Great Strength. Wise men do not do things that are not right.
Moral Teaching:
- Great Strength or Power comes from following the practice of Heaven & Earth. It is doing the right things and it will bring great impact and contribution to the community. We can summarize it as “Righteousness is Power”.
- We need not be discouraged in the face of obstacles or temptations and just stick to doing the right things. It will bring forth positive contributions and long-lasting impact. In business, follow righteous values and you will build lasting corporations. The book “Build to Last” by Jim Collins is a good testimony of this truth. The lasting companies are the ones that stick to core values and a sense of purpose beyond just making money.
Stage 1 Begin Nine: Strong at the toes. Going forward is definitely dangerous. 初九：壮于趾，征凶，有孚。
The pictorial commentary explains that the strength is only at the toes showing a lack of integrity. 象曰：壮于趾，其孚穷也。
This is the starting stage. The strength is at the toes. The rest of the body, such as the head, and character, are not developed yet. Integrity is not sufficient and not tested. Hence, we cannot just move forward blindly. We need to spend time strengthening ourselves, especially our moral character strength. Without integrity, going forward will either cause us to give up or to give in to unethical practices resulting in disasters.
Stage 2 Second Nine: Perseverance in righteousness brings forth fortune. 贞吉。
The pictorial commentary explains the reason for the fortune. It is because of the righteousness (literally at the mid-center point) and well-balanced. 象曰：九二贞吉，以中也。
With our character developed, we can move forward to accomplish good things. The result is good fortune.
Stage 3 Third Nine: Fools (literally little men) force their way through. Wise men use self-motivation (literally no forcing). Perseverance in righteousness has risk. The he-goat butts against the hedge and ended with its horns entangled. 九三：小人用壮，君子用罔，贞厉。 羝羊触藩，羸其角。
The pictorial commentary explains that little men use forces whereas wise men (gentlemen) don’t. 象曰：小人用壮，君子罔也。
Fools use force to push their wishes and ways through. It appears to be effective for the short term. However, in the longer term, it just all jams up, and a big mess will result. It is like the goat butts the fence and got caught in the fence instead. Wise men, on the other hand, don’t force but use wisdom and caution (罔 stands for none, no force, or a net signifying careful and thorough consideration), to get people to do things. He motivates them instead and gets them to see the benefits of the mission and to do things willingly and with commitment. In the short term, it seems risky and ineffective. But once a commitment is obtained, the people will move with great speed and productivity.
Stage 4 Forth Nine: Perseverance in righteousness brings fortune. There are no regrets. The problem is solved as the hedge does not entangle. The strength of a truck lies in the axles. 九四：贞吉悔亡，藩决不羸，壮于大舆之輹。
The pictorial commentary explains that the entanglement was broken and hence it is good for us to move forward. 象曰：藩决不羸，尚往也。
In stage three we encountered the rise of the fools who use force to block our righteous actions. As we continue to motivate for righteous actions, we defeat their folly and the way is opened up for us to move ahead. The strength of the system comes from not just the engine but the whole transmission and axles as well. We need to have a strong binding with others to do great things. One can also see the axles represent the inner strength of a wise man.
Stage 5 Fifth Six: Lost a goat at the place called Yi. There are no regrets. 六五：丧羊于易，无悔。
Pictorial commentary gives the reason for the loss as not at the right position. 象曰：丧羊于易，位不当也。
The exercise of our power and strength must be according to our position and despite our strength, we need to use it wisely. Entering the wrong market will cause us to have losses but we have no regrets because the loss relative to our strength is not significant and we can afford to learn a lesson. Some translations think that the goat represents stubbornness, impulsiveness, strong on the outside and weak inside, and hence losing those qualities brings no regrets.
Stage 6 Top Six: The he-goat butts against the hedge. It cannot move backward and cannot move forward. It brings no benefits. Hardworking will bring fortune. 上六：羝羊触藩，不能退，不能遂，无攸利，艰则吉。
The pictorial commentary explains the entanglement will not last long and hence hardworking will bring blessing. 象曰：不能退，不能遂，不祥也。 艰则吉，咎不长也。
Not learning from stage 5, being overconfident in our own strength, and charging forward to tackle the obstacle in front results in entanglement. However, all is not lost. If we calm down, learn from our mistakes, and study the situation properly, with some soul searching, wisdom, and hard work, we can break free and gain a fortune.
Summary:
Righteousness is a Great Strength. Stick to core righteous values and your mission.
Wisdom from the Stage Lines:
- Don’t move when Moral Strength is weak.
- Move with righteousness brings fortune.
- Don’t force. Use wisdom and motivation instead.
- Build strong bonds(strong network) and move.
- Move according to our position even though we have the strength.
- Overconfidence leads to trouble. Wisdom and effort will bring freedom again.
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