#58兑 Lake – Joy of Togetherness
兑 兑为泽 兑上兑下
This hexagram is a Lake trigram joining another Lake trigram. It represents Joy or harmonious joy. This is the joy of mutual sharing and support.
Description:
- 亨: Smooth flow of progress and success.
- 利贞: It is beneficial for perseverance in righteousness and purity.
Textual Commentary:
彖曰：兑，说也。 刚中而柔外，说以利贞，是以顺乎天，而应乎人。 说以先民，民忘其劳；说以犯难，民忘其死；说之大，民劝矣哉！
Lake represents joy. Strong in the central and soft externally. There are joy and benefits in perseverance in righteousness and purity. It follows the ways of Heaven and responds to the needs of men. It leads people to joy. The people forget about their hard labor. It overcomes difficulty with joy. The people forget about death. The value of Joy is great. It comforts and vitalizes the people.
Pictorial Commentary: 象曰：丽泽，兑；君子以朋友讲习
Lakes in pairs make for Joy – 58 Lake Hexagram. A wise man communicates and learns together with his friends.
Moral Teachings:
- Following the righteous ways, and in particular, harmony and togetherness will bring success. (Success or Progress is divided into small as in 57 巽 Wind, normal as here, and great as in 1-乾 Heaven or 2 坤 Earth).
- A person must be strong on the inside, holding on to righteous principles but soft on the outside when dealing with people. He follows the ways of Heaven and responds with kindness and joy to people.
- This positive attitude of joy, hope, possibility, and vitality is powerful in helping people to overcome challenges, even risking death, and in the least, forgetting the pains of hard work.
- Learning and growing up together with friends is a great joy. It provides mutual support and encouragement.
Stage 1 Begin Nine: Harmonious Joy. This is good fortune. 初九：和兑，吉。
The pictorial commentary explains that the fortune of harmonious joy comes from actions without suspicions and doubts. 象曰：和兑之吉，行未疑也。
Working and living together without suspicion create a positive environment of freedom. People can act freely without the stress and worry of hidden motivations and sabotage. Working happily with one another will bring productivity and hence good fortune.
Stage 2 Second Nine: Joy from Trust & Sincerity. It is good fortune. There is no need for repentance. 九二：孚兑，吉，悔亡。
The pictorial commentary explains that fortune from sincerity comes from trust in intentions. 象曰：孚兑之吉，信志也。
Stage 2 is a stronger and more productive stage than 1. From lack of doubts to trust confidently. From passive mode into positive mode. The trust was found to be true because there is no repentance needed. Trust begets trust and spirals upward. Productivity and joy will be increased.
Stage 3 Third Six: Externally triggered Joy. This is a disaster. 六三：来兑，凶。
象曰：来兑之凶，位不当也。
True joy should come from within and not from outside factors. A more correct word for joy here is happiness. The external events, the happenings, bring happiness. Inside, we have no joy and hence we go outside to seek happiness. Some people seek happiness by drinking, partying, or even working and become alcoholics and workaholics! That is a disaster.
Stage 4 Forth Nine: Deciding what brings joy. There is no peace. Break from such sickness(thinking ill) and there will be a true joy. 九四：商兑，未宁，介疾有喜。
The pictorial commentary explains that the joy of line 4 comes from its own celebration. 象曰：九四之喜，有庆也。
We are wiser now because we learned in stage 3 that seeking happiness through external means can lead us to addiction. Now we want to decide what is good and what is bad. We are faced with what we want to but it may be dangerous. Hence, there is no peace. We must break free from this erroneous thinking that joy can come from external things. Joy is an inward mindset. Man is a spiritual being and not just an animal that leaves on bodily desires. Once we know the truth, there will be joy. We spend time learning to have joy from the inside.
Stage 5 Fifth Nine: Trusting in people or things can cause harm. There is danger. 九五：孚于剥，有厉。
The pictorial commentary explains that trusting, in the harmful, is in the correct position. 象曰：孚于剥，位正当也。
Trust is usually the right thing to do until proven otherwise. We are advised to be careful about the people we trust. We can give people the benefit of the doubt and trust them first. But we must exercise care and set up a system to monitor it. Sometimes it is very difficult. We have heard the story of people who have years of good track records and then at some moment of stress or need, steal and run away.
Stage 6 Top Six: Pleasing others to get Joy. 上六：引兑。
The pictorial commentary explains that the Top-line is trying to attract joy because he is not yet brilliant. 象曰: 上六引兑，未光也。
We do not have in ourselves, the capabilities and brilliance to attract others and so we go about pleasing others to gain acceptance. It is likely that in stage 5 we got betrayed and hence we lost our confidence. We begin to seek others’ acceptance. There is no clear guidance on the outcome. There is no pronouncement of good or bad. So, it could be good or good is bad. If one pleases others to get their will accomplished, then it is good. However, if we are just out to please others to gain our self-esteem then it is bad. It is bad because we let others decide our own identity. True joy can only come from finding our own meaning and purpose in life and fulfilling our own destiny. Of course, joy comes from togetherness. Having our own identity enables us to relate well with others and create joy for all.
Summary:
Joy comes from strong principles centered on the inner life and a soft and supporting exterior. It is a positive inner attitude that brings hope and joy to others. Joy is about togetherness. It enables people to overcome hardship and life-threatening challenges with confidence and vitality. Learning and growing together bring joy.
Wisdom from the Stage Lines:
- Harmonious Joy. There are no suspicions. Good fortune.
- Trusting Joy. There is confidence and trust. Good fortune.
- Externally derived Joy (Happiness). Don’t rely on external things to have joy. You will be addicted and end in disaster.
- Deciding Joy. Forget about what external things can bring joy and build joy from within.
- Joy betrayed. Trust with watchfulness. Not everyone is trustworthy. Betrayal kills joy.
- Attracting Joy. Don’t be man-pleasers and lose your own identity. It will never get true joy. Be a pleasant person but have your own identity.
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