I CHING

3

Chun / Difficulty at the Beginning Sprouting

The name of the hexagram, Chun, really connotes a blade of grass pushing against an obstacle

as it sprouts out of the earth --hence the meaning, "difficulty at the beginning." The hexagram

indicates the way in which heaven and earth bring forth individual beings.

It is their first

meeting, which is beset with difficulties. The lower trigram Ch?n is the Arousing; its motion

is upward and its image is thunder. The upper trigram K'an stands for the Abysmal, the

dangerous. Its motion is downward and its image is rain. The situation points to teeming,

chaotic profusion; thunder and rain fill the air. But the chaos clears up. While the Abysmal

sinks, the upward movement eventually passes beyond the danger. A thunderstorm brings

release from tension, and all things breathe freely again.

THE JUDGMENT

DIFFICULTY AT THE BEGINNING works supreme success,

Furthering through perseverance.(See Four Virtues)

Nothing should be undertaken.

It furthers one to appoint helpers.

Times of growth are beset with difficulties. They resemble a first birth. But these difficulties arise from

the very profusion of all that is struggling to attain form . Everything is in motion: therefore if one

perseveres there is a prospect of great success, in spite of the existing danger. When it is a man's fate to

undertake such new beginnings, everything is still unformed, dark. Hence he must hold back, because any

premature move might bring disaster. Likewise, it is very important not to remain alone; in order to

overcome the chaos he needs helpers.

This is not to say, however, that he himself should look on

passively at what is happening. He must lend his hand and participate with inspiration and guidance.

It is time to set the basis of future developments, to affirm the innate potential, as the root must be steady

into the soil before sprouting. The situation is unstable and the task couldn't be done without the help of

collaborators.

THE IMAGE

Clouds and thunder:

The image of DIFFICULTY AT THE BEGINNING.

Thus the superior man

Brings order out of confusion.

Clouds and thunder are represented by definite decorative lines; this means that in the chaos of difficulty

at the beginning, order is already implicit. So too the superior man has to arrange and organize the

inchoate profusion of such times of beginning, just as one sorts out silk threads from a knotted tangle and

binds them into skeins. In order to find one's place in the infinity of being, one must be able both to

separate and to unite.

The superior man should order and classify things in order to convert potential capabilities into a real

force.

THE LINES

Nine at the beginning means:

Hesitation and hindrance.

It furthers one to remain persevering.

It furthers one to appoint helpers.

If a person encounters a hindrance at the beginning of an enterprise, he must not try to force advance but

must pause and take thought. However, nothing should put him off his course; he must persevere and

constantly keep the goal in sight. It is important to seek out the right assistants, but he can find them only

if he avoids arrogance and associated with his fellows in a spirit of humility. Only then will he attract

those with whose help he can combat the difficulties.

By recognizing the merits and making (the yang line) the subordinates feel useful (the yin lines) one then

dominates people and organizes the support for further expansion.

Six in the second place means:

Difficulties pile up.

Horse and wagon part.

He is not a robber;

He wants to woo when the time comes.

The maiden is chaste,

She does not pledge herself.

Ten years --then she pledges herself.

We find ourselves beset by difficulties and hindrances. Suddenly there is a turn of affairs, as if someone

were coming up with a horse and wagon and unhitching them. This event comes so unexpectedly that we

assume the newcomer to be a robber. Gradually it becomes clear that he has no evil intentions but seeks

to be friendly and to offer help. But this offer is not to be accepted, because it does not come from the

right quarter. We must wait until the time is fulfilled; ten years is a fulfilled cycle of time. Then normal

conditions return of themselves, and we can join forces with the friend intended for us.

Using the image of a betrothed girl who remains true to her lover in face of grave conflicts, the hexagram

gives counsel for a special situation. When in times of difficulty a hindrance is encountered and

unexpected relief is offered from a source unrelated to us, we must be careful and not take upon

ourselves any obligations entailed by such help; otherwise our freedom of decision is impaired. If we bide

our time, things will quiet down again, and we shall attain what we have hoped for.(1)

The second yin is harassed by the first yang, but her true lover is the fifth yang so she waits for him a

whole period.

This is not the appropriate time to take on any obligations or compromise our will.

Six in the third place means:

Whoever hunts deer without the forester

Only loses his way in the forest.

The superior man understands the signs of the time

And prefers to desist.

To go on brings humiliation.

If a man tries to hunt in a strange forest and has no guide, he loses his way. When he finds himself in

difficulties he must not try to steal out of them unthinkingly and without guidance. Fate cannot be duped;

premature effort, without the necessary guidance, ends in failure and disgrace. Therefore the superior

man, discerning the seeds of coming events, prefers to renounce a wish rather than to provoke failure and

humiliation by trying to force its fulfillment.

Here, a reference is made about the ambition of a person who doesn't measure the consequences of

obtaining what it wants. The deer represents the desire, the forest symbolizes the unknown and

dangerous where he will be taken by his ambition and the fact of going into that place with no guide

means how this desire has blinded and confused him.

Six in the fourth place means:

Horse and wagon part.

Strive for union.

To go brings good fortune.

Everything acts to further.

We are in a situation in which it is our duty to act, but we lack sufficient power. However, an opportunity

to make connections offers itself. It must be seized. Neither false pride nor false reserve should deter us.

Bringing oneself to take the first step, even when it involves a certain degree of self-abnegation, is a sign

of inner clarity. To accept help in a difficult situation is not a disgrace. If the right helper is found, all

goes well.

This line is not qualified to solve the inconvenience by itself, for that reason it looks for the union with the

first yang line.

Nine in the fifth place means::

Difficulties in blessing.

A little perseverance brings good fortune.

Great perseverance brings misfortune.

An individual is in a position in which he cannot so express his good intentions that they will actually take

shape and be understood. Other people interpose and distort everything he does. He should then be

cautious and proceed step by step. He must not try to force the consummation of a great undertaking,

because success is possible only when general confidence already prevails. It is only through faithful and

conscientious work, unobtrusively carried on, that the situation gradually clears up and the hindrance

disappears.

One should preserve its energy, waiting for the propitious time.

Six at the top means:

Horse and wagon part.

Bloody tears flow.

The difficulties at the beginning are too great for some persons. They get stuck and never find their way

out; they fold their hands and give up the struggle. Such resignation is the saddest of all things. Therefore

Confucius says of this line: "Bloody tears flow: one should not persist in this."

There are no helpers and no suitable place for moving. Blood tears represent an exaggerated attitude;

more stressful in the lament than when really corresponds. The line has gone too far and it doesn't make

sense to remain in that attitude.

(1) A different translation is possible here, which would result in a different interpretation:

Difficulties pile up.

Horse and wagon turn about.

If the robber were not there,

The wooer would come.

The maiden is faithful, she does not pledge herself.

Ten years -then she pledges herself.