LILA RAJIVA: The Mind-Body Politic

Hexagram 12: P’i - Stand still, Stagnation

November 24, 2009

Tags: i-ching, meditation, symbols
Posted in: Art and Ideas

12 - Hexagram Twelve: P’i

StagnationHeaven and Earth move away from each other.

In the ensuing void, the small invade where the great have departed.

There is no common meeting ground, so the Superior Person must fall back on his inner worth and decline the rewards offered by the inferior invaders.

Difficult trials as you hold to your course.

ANALYSIS

It is natural to assume that, if Earth above Heaven forms the hexagram for Peace and Paradise, then the opposite configuration, with Heaven over Earth would represent the antithesis of Paradise, Hell.
Not so.

This hexagram is actually the Dark side of Peace, its unsavory byproduct, Stagnation.
In a time when most of our wants are provided, there is little need for the heroes, the artists, the great thinkers and innovators.

As they recede into the shadows, Idleness, Apathy, and Lassitude come to the forefront.
Peace has become boring, bland, unchallenging — Stagnant.
Now our attention turns to the quick fix, the instant celebrity, the fad, the one-nighter, the current buzz.

There is no room for depth.

If you are a passionate soul, you must wait for a better time to find kindred spirits. In these times, they are only curious legends, bas-relief, dead poets.