Am I the Thrower, or the One Being Thrown?
Referring to a hexagram in the I-Ching - 59. Dissolution. 4th line changing. According to my quick ref online I-Ching, facade.com:
The fourth line, divided, shows its subject scattering the different parties in the state, which leads to great good fortune. From the dispersion he collects again good men standing out, a crowd like a mound, which is what ordinary men would not have thought of.
So that refers to a leader who scatters his followers and then collects them again, but in a different order.
Sort of like a human shuffle, as it were.
And it also says this is something an ordinary person would not have thought of.
So I'm reading this line and thinking, well I don't have any followers, I don't even know what I'm doing half the time.
That's when I thought perhaps I was the one being scattered rather than the one doing the scattering.
Anyway, I wanted to remember that thought, so I cadged some space here at the Caucus to record it.
Comments
I read it as separating the wheat from the chaff
The ones that stand out are the good ones.
We can’t save the world by playing by the rules, because the rules have to be changed.
- Greta Thunberg
Bernie?
One might make the case that this describes Bernie post-endorsement, if one looks at the movement Bernie says he wants us to become.
Vowing To Oppose Everything Trump Attempts.
I think scattering your followers
to the wind is a liberating concept for both the followers and the one scattering them. I have a hard time following 'leaders' I think it stops movements from going where they need to go. It blinds the followers to the direction and action needed. I find it the antithesis of democracy. None of us know what we are doing half the time with good reason as we're inundated daily with fear and double speak. It's good to get scattered and then regroup even if your on the road to nowhere. Were probably all both throwers and being thrown Hey I follow you as you do not frighten or bully but seem to have a good sense of direction. 'But oh that magic feeling, no where to go.'
Excellent comment, shaz. Simply
excellent. Thanks.
Only connect. - E.M. Forster
Another reading.
Because we usually talk politics here, I have used the wording that is most appropriate for groups rather than an individual. This explanation is in the Wilhelm/Baynes edition of the I Ching and relates the more generalized meaning of the hexagram:
". . . the subject is the dispersing and dissolving of divisive egotism. DISPERSION shows the way, so to speak, that leads to gathering together. . . A further means to the same end [overcoming disunity] is co-operation in great general undertakings that set a high goal for the will of the people; in the common concentration on this goal, all barriers dissolve, just as, when a boat is crossing a great stream, all hands must unite in a joint task."
This explanation is for the six in the fourth place:
"When we are working at a task that affects the general welfare, we must leave all private friendships out of account. Only rising above party interests can we achieve something decisive. He who has the courage thus to forego what is near wins what is afar. But in order to comprehend this standpoint, one must have a wide view of the interrelationships of life, such as only unusual men attain."
Selfless cooperation seems to be called for. If so, we aren't talking about the DNC or RNC, but we might be able to come close ourselves. We seem to be able to speak politely to one another and share ideas. I think we are already following the I Ching. (Maybe we should rename the site Ching99%.)
The I Ching is slippery, so I leave these snippets for your consideration.
-Greed is not a virtue.
-Socialism: the radical idea of sharing.
-Those who make peaceful revolution impossible will make violent revolution inevitable.
John F. Kennedy, In a speech at the White House, 1962
Thank you for posting the Wilhelm/Baynes version!
I put up the façade.com explanation because I used their website to "throw" the coins. When I throw the coins manually, I use the Wilhelm/Baynes version.
Agree the I-Ching is slippery, but always interesting to me to see what it has to say.
Beat in the USA.
I love it's slipperiness
like the Tao it's like water, it's elemental yet moving. It encourages me to view situations both external and internal outside of time and the space I'm trapped in. When I flip a coin in the time it takes for it to land I often have a moment of clarity where I see the way to go. I also love the symbols and the structure. How one interprets what it's saying is the interesting part. Think I'll get my little IChing book out and give it a toss. I used to do it every morning as it gave me a Koan to contemplate during the day. Thanks NP this little essay has helped my tainted perspective which is running amok right now.
He who has the courage thus to forego what is near ...
"He who has the courage thus to forego what is near wins what is afar."
I particularly like that, as it speaks to me of keeping focused on the long-term goal, and not giving into short-term fears or gains. (Although I don't see any actual short-term gains for any of us, but some people are trying to sell the idea that they exist.)