19 - Approach

no2DO - eine Annäherung aus Westen

Contemporary Interpretation

19 - Approach

This time I'm just: Observer

Find your own rhythm:
Let impressions and events
softly subside
without re-action.
What has actually happened?
And what does it mean -
Detached from me,
From my personality?
This time I'm just:
Observer.
[I am safe. I am warm.]

The Changes

yin yin yin yin yang yang

Upper Trigram: Kun, Earth

2nd Core Character: Kun, Earth

1st Core Character: Zhen, Thunder

Lower Trigram: Dui, Lake

Information regarding the interpretation model

Classical Interpretation

The significance of the characters »approach« (19) and »con­tem­plation« is that in part they give and in part they take.

The image

The earth above the lake: the image of approach. Thus the superior man is inexhaustible in his purpose to teach and without limit in suffering and protecting the people.

The judgement

Approach has sublime success. Perseverance furthers. In the eighth month comes misfortune. Full text of Richard Wilhelm's 1924 translation by Cary F. Baynes

Dynamics of the Hexagram

The Changes: 19 - approach

Lower Trigram: Dui, the Lake

Dui crosses the natural boundary of our self in two ways: from the inside outwardly and from the outside inwardly. From the outside ... Read more inwardly means that we open ourselves to the outside, to our environment, let us be inspired and ultimately accept and integrate what we encounter. From the inside outwardly invites us to express our innermost to the outside and let it come alive within the world. Both movements are tightly interconnected, just like the rhythm of our breathing: inhaling, exhaling. Hide

First Change: Dui → Zhen, the Thunder

Zhen develops when a (broken) yin line is added (dark arrow; yin symbolizes receptivity). If we open ourselves towards the ... Read more exterior, towards our environment (Dui) there will be consequences: a seed will be planted, something within ourselves will begin to resonate with the environment. This resonance will consolidate, will become reply, decision and finally visible for all in resolute action. Hide

Second Change: Zhen → Kun, the Earth

Kun develops when a (broken) yin line is added (dark arrow; yin symbolizes receptivity). The clear decision that becomes ... Read more visible in Zhen, falls on fertile grounds. Hide

Third Change: Kun → Kun, the Earth

Upper Trigram: Kun, the Earth

The following image is often chosen to describe Kun: soil in which a seedling is growing. Soil is unstructured matter: in soil a ... Read more seedling finds everything it needs to grow; dead plants decay to soil. Kun's meaning, however, goes beyond unstructured matter (such as soil): Kun is unstructured potential, including tangible and non-tangible matter.
When interpreting a hexagram, Kun points at the place which we are at, here and now. Kun invites us to calm down and to use this place / moment as a source of strength. Like a wave rolling back into the sea, its origin, focusing and drawing new energies. Hide

Follow the Path of the Dao: A Western Approximation

The interpretations shown above gradually moved away from Eastern concepts. Let us proceed even a little further. In this section I develop a model of interpretation from a Western perspective, more precisely: from the perspective of philosophical anthropology.
A detailed article on the subject can be found here: A Western Approximation

Dem Weg des Dao folgen: Annäherung aus Westen

Exemplary Experiences

Support no2DO: Give me feedback!

You can help the further development of no2DO by sending me the question you asked the I Ching and its response (the hexagram's name and number). Each hexagram's tendencies open up most clearly when examined in the context of a personal situation.

References and Connotations