26 大畜 Great Taming
Judgement
You have a lot stored up, and firmness and integrity are asked of you to hold so much strength. It is a good sign not to stay home living off your reserves, but to go out and serve, and it can even help to cross the great river. Storing is not hiding: what you have gathered asks for a purpose. Ask yourself what you are accumulating for, and whether it is time to take out some of what you have kept.
Image
Heaven, with all its force, is held inside a mountain. It is the image of the great kept without being lost. The wise person stores in memory the words and deeds of the ancients to build up their own virtue. Learning from what has been lived is a way of holding strength in. Ask yourself which stories of others serve as your reserve when you doubt.
Lines
Line 1
You are in a dangerous position and it helps to halt your advance. Stopping here is not cowardice, it is measuring your strength. If something tells you it is not the time, listen. Ask yourself what hurry is pushing you now, and what would happen if you waited a little longer.
Line 2
The strap that holds a cart to its axle has been removed: it cannot move forward. Sometimes what stops you is a piece without which the rest does not work. Recognizing it is the first step. Ask yourself what is missing for what you want to move to move, and whether you are rushing without it.
Line 3
You push along your road with good horses. It helps to recognize the difficulty, stay firm and upright, and train every day in driving and defending yourself: that way there is an advantage in any direction. You have strength, but strength needs practice. Ask yourself what you train every day for this road.
Line 4
A young bull with a board tied to its horns: strength is restrained before it does harm. That is a very good sign. It is easier to brake in time than to repair afterward. Ask yourself which of your impulses would benefit from a simple board before it is too late.
Line 5
The tusks of a gelded boar: strength is contained at the root and there is no need to force. It works in your favor. Stopping with blows what pushes violently does not work. Tend to what drives it from within. Ask yourself which part of your strength you try to stop from outside.
Line 6
You are in command of the firmament: the road upward is open. This is progress. What you held in comes open: stored strength finds its place. It is a good moment to use what you have kept. Ask yourself what has ripened in you while waiting, and how to put it at the service of something greater than yourself.
Reflection
- What are you accumulating all this for?
- What is missing today for what you want to move to move?
- Which of your impulses would need a simple limit before it is too late?