21 - Biting Through

no2DO - eine Annäherung aus Westen

Contemporary Interpretation

21 - Biting Through

Surprisingly clear views

Determination
Requires disengagement
And thus provides
Insight
Into our own
Source of being:
Surprisingly
Clear
Views.

The Changes

yang yin yang yin yin yang

Upper Trigram: Li, Fire

2nd Core Character: Kan, Water

1st Core Character: Gen, Mountain

Lower Trigram: Zhen, Thunder

Information regarding the interpretation model

Classical Interpretation

Biting through (21) signifies to deplete.

The image

Thunder and lightning: the image of biting through. Thus the ancient kings consolidated the laws through clearly defined penalties.

The judgement

Biting through has success. It furthers to have courts ruling. Full text of Richard Wilhelm's 1924 translation by Cary F. Baynes

Dynamics of the Hexagram

The Changes: 21 - biting through

Lower Trigram: Zhen, the Thunder

Zhen represents our ability to make decisions, our determination, enthusiasm, courage, and precision; but also ... Read more flexibility and strength belong to Zhen. If we look at nature, then Zhen's pattern of movement is that of a bud in its protective sleeve, just beginning to break open: a sudden, decisive and courageous move Hide

First Change: Zhen → Gen, the Mountain

The red arrow indicates that a (solid) yang line is added. Yang stands for energy, for activity. The initial decision (Zhen) produces ... Read more disengagement, dissolving, transformation of the old. The old (the withered, the past structure) firstly persists and later on slowly dissolves, while the new structure is already growing. Hide

Second Change: Gen → Kan, the Water

Kan develops when a (broken) yin line is added (dark arrow; yin symbolizes receptivity). Gen's disengagement opened a path for ... Read more us to reconnect with our spiritual self: our own inner, intuitive wisdom, collected all along our path to here and now, ready to nurture us. Hide

Third Change: Kan → Li, the Fire

Li develops when a (solid) yang line is added (red arrow; yang symbolizes energy, activity). Head (Li) and gut (Kan) often ... Read more seem to strive into different directions. If we examine the issue carefully we may find the clue to the inner logic of own being: That what seemed to be contradicting unties to personal strength. Hide

Upper Trigram: Li, the Fire

Li (the fire) stands for our ability to differentiate facts, influences, emotions - in short: the world's fullness. Without this ... Read more ability to separate the "clear from the unclear", we would be lost in a chaos of diversities. Only by differentiation, thus distinguishing what is important and what is not, we can concentrate on the essentials and are able to act. 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

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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