Keeping Still (52)
6
3
The Judgement
KEEPING STILL. Keeping his back stillSo that he no longer feels his body.
He goes into his courtyard
And does not see his people.
No blame.
The Image
Mountains standing close together:The image of KEEPING STILL.
Thus the superior man
Does not permit his thoughts
To go beyond his situation.
Line Poems
- 6 - Noblehearted keeping still. Good fortune.
- 5 - Keeping his jaws still. The words have order. Remorse disappears.
- 4 - Keeping his trunk still. No blame.
- 3 - Keeping his hips still. Making his sacrum stiff. Dangerous. The heart suffocates.
- 2 - Keeping his calves still. He cannot rescue him whom he follows. His heart is not glad.
- 1 - Keeping his toes still. No blame. Continued perseverance furthers.
Commentary
The image of this hexagram is the mountain, the youngest son of heaven and earth.The male principle is at the top because it strives upward by nature; the female principle is below, since the direction of its movement is downward.
Thus there is rest because the movement has come to its normal end.
In its application to man, the hexagram turns upon the problem of achieving a quiet heart.
It is very difficult to bring quiet to the heart.
While Buddhism strives for rest through an ebbing away of all movement in nirvana, the Book of Changes holds that rest is merely a state of polarity that always posits movement as its complement.
Possibly the words of the text embody directions for the practice of yoga.
