I Ching - O Livro das Mutações - cont.

11 Tranquillity heaven below, earth above

... The small goes and the great comes, getting through auspiciously.

... to calm endurance of both strong and weak demons, so that the demons recede and the way of enlightenment goes through.

This is the development of myriad beings due to the combination of heaven and earth. Above and below communicate, so their wills are the same. Yang inside and Yin outside, strong inside and docile outside, a leader inside and an ordinary person outside; the path od a leader goes on and on, while the path of an ordinary person vanishes.

... if you get the small to go and the great to come, then the heaven inherent in you combines with the earth that you have cultivated, so that all things develop together. Transcendental mystic enlightenment and active work in the world combine, so that understanding and action are not separate.

Inwardly you have the power of strong action unceasing, while outwardly you have the means to adapt to the world. Inwardly you are a leader on the way to enlightenment, while outwardly you are an ordinary person in the same continuum of mental experiences. Because it can transform all realms of mental experience, so that they become objects of enligttenment, the path of such a leader goes on and on, while the path of an ordinary person dies out.

Influencing the people means that one is not destroyed by demons, strong or weak, and so can use these two kinds od demons as servants.

Positive strength is at the begining of tranquillity; but does that mean one should spend one's whole life in a low state? It is by taking similar people along to progress, the will not being limited to personal od family concerns, that it is possible to guarantee the tranquillity of the world in the end.

So here it is good to be tolerant, and accept the uncultivated and unskilled, and see afther their welfare. As for those of talent, who can, so to speak, "cross rivers", employ them. Do not overlook those who are far way. Do not just be a partisant of other strong people, but cooperate seriously with those on a higher level who are flexible yet balanced and sane, so that enlightenment will become widespread.

There is no level without incline, no going without returning. Be upright in difficulty.

So among people of the same aspiration there is mutual trust, without any formal pact; therefore it is still possible to preserve this tranquillity.

When tranquillity culminates, there must be obstruction; the forces of time assure us of this. Passive flexibility has no ability to get rid of confusion, hence the caution not to use the army.

If you want to calmly endure strong and weak demons, you must depend on the power of concentration and insight.... so once inner demons are conquered, outer demons will also submit, as when one pulls out a reed and takes others along with it.

When one knows that demons have no reality, the demons become one's assistants and are like neighbors.

Idem