I ching

I Ching Hexagram 52
Ken (Keeping Still)

Action: Meditate

Hu Gua (hidden influence) 40 Liberation: Untangle

Zong Gua (underlying cause) 58 Joy: Encourage

You will discover the germinating power within
in the silence where a thousand seeds
are becoming the landscape of spring.

As soon as man does not take his existence for granted, but beholds it
as something unfathomably mysterious, thought begins. – Albert Schweitzer

Reading at a Glance: “To the mind that is still, the entire universe surrenders.” In meditation or yoga people learn to quiet the chatter of the ‘monkey mind’ which is always focused on need, fear or what is wrong in the world. Using the mind to force the body to do what it wouldn’t do naturally is the only way to achieve stillness. The hidden influence of Liberation asks you to untangle the thoughts that have you on the hamster wheel. It is time to get disciplined and learn to control your fear based thinking. In the image of two mountains or two men with their backs to each other, we go into the inner temple and forget about all that is going on around us. This doesn’t mean we should always negate experience. It simply means that prior to resuming activity it is sometimes good to take a sabbatical. Where the underlying cause of Joy or encouragement showed participation in events and interactions with others, you are asked to be still and turn inward. In this situation someone is not doing what you expect them to do. You too may need to stop all the activity and quiet the mind. Whatever your query, now is not the time to act and you need to stop and be still. Perhaps you will discover something you hadn’t considered if you can quiet the mind of its chatter and listen to the sound of the breath emanating from the heart.

To the mind that is still,

the entire universe surrenders.

“Things cannot move continuously and one must make them stop. Therefore follows the image of keeping still. Keeping the back still, one no longer feels the body.” Just as the back is that part of the body that remains invisible to you, the master said: “going into the courtyard, the king does not see the people.” Turning within, you can disengage yourself from outer events to re-connect with your inner voice. “Composure will straighten out your inner life,” to reflect itself in your outer life.

There are times of advancing forward and times of keeping still. Ken is the image of two Mountains facing each other so the inner and outer can meet in meditation. “One does not permit the thoughts to go beyond the situation.” No longer distracted by sensory input and expectation, you can reconnect with the voice of sincerity within. In the image of an eye, looking around to see what has led to the present situation, when you lose your sense of stillness, you lose the self and become lost in your surroundings. "To find the self, you need only recapture your sense of stillness."

When the master asked a pupil why he would sit in meditation, the pupil replied that it was a way to know Tao. The master picked up a tile and began to polish it against a rock. When the pupil asked why he did this, the master replied that it was a way to make a mirror.

The pupil asked: “How could polishing a tile make a mirror?” The master replied: “How could sitting in meditation produce Tao?”

You turn inward to reflect on events, where the inner and outer can meet in meditation; not to deny the relevance of all experience. Unlike other types of meditation, the ancient Taoist sought only to release the sense of separation existing between ‘in here’ and ‘out there.’

Ken is a message about recapturing this pure perspective. In the image of birds moving through the sky, they seek their destiny, but leave no trace; they are challenged by circumstances, yet eagerly celebrate each sunrise. “Continue easy and you are right.”

The master said: “When the fish is caught the trap is forgotten. You gallop around in search of the mind and are unable to stop it.” When the idea comes, the mind is forgotten. Yet, the mind is the trap, while what you capture is the ‘thing event’ that represents your passing desires. No mind allows you to connect with a greater movement that is endless. Life speaks to you and you must cherish each opportunity to understand it.

“The fish must not be allowed to leave the deep.” The fish is the treasure of Te. It is that place within, which holds you to the center of each experience. You are coached to cultivate an awareness that remains unattached, deep and therefore, becomes profoundly powerful.

The master asked: “Where is your place of birth?”

The pupil replied: “This morning I ate rice and now I am hungry again.” Need is an endless movement without a home.

The master asked: “How is my hand like Tao?” The pupil replied: “Playing the lute under the moon.” Joy comes when you discover yourself emerging upon the tapestry of life.

The master asked: “How is my foot like a donkey’s foot?”

“When the white heron stands upon the snow, it has a different color.” All things will always remain relative to each other…this is all that you can really know.

When you shadow life, you shadow your beliefs. They can become traps on the pathway of true perception. Whatever the trap, you can unseat it by letting go.

“The court is corrupt. The fields are overgrown with weeds. The granaries are empty, yet there are those, who are dressed in fineries.” Oblivious to a lifeless inner landscape, you may come to wear the costume of what is expected of you. If you can open to the mystery within, the real journey of individuation begins.