Hexagram 60: Limitation
Hexagram
60. Limitation · Jie
Structure of the sign
The lake has a limited space. When more water enters it, it overflows. Therefore, limits must be set for it. In the image there are the waters below and the waters above, between which the firmament of heaven serves as a limit. The Chinese word for limitation actually signifies the firm joints by which bamboo stalks are divided. In ordinary life it means economy, which has fixed limits for its expenditures. In moral life it means the firm boundaries that the superior man sets for his actions, the bounds of loyalty and selflessness.
The Judgment
Limitation. Success. Bitter limitation must not be persevered in. Boundaries are troublesome. But they accomplish something. Through thrift in ordinary life one is prepared for times of need. Through restraint one spares oneself humiliation. But boundaries are likewise indispensable in the ordering of worldly affairs. Nature has fixed limits for summer and winter, day and night, and through these limits the year obtains its significance. In the same way, thrift serves to preserve goods through fixed boundaries in expenditures so that people are not harmed. Yet even in limitation, moderation is necessary. If one sought to impose excessively bitter limits upon one's own nature, it would suffer under them. If one sought to carry the limitation of others too far, they would rebel. Therefore, even in limitation, limits are necessary.
The Image
Water above the lake: the image of Limitation. Thus the superior man creates number and measure, and examines what virtue and right conduct are. The lake is something finite; the water is inexhaustible. The lake can hold only a definite measure of the infinite water. In this consists its individuality. Through differentiation and the setting up of limits, the individual likewise acquires significance in life. Here it is a matter of clearly determining these distinctions, which are, so to speak, the backbone of morality. Unlimited possibilities are not suited to man. Through them his life would merely dissolve in the boundless. To become strong, the free limitation of duty is required. Only by surrounding himself with these limits and freely establishing for himself the commandment of duty does the individual attain significance as a free spirit.
The lines
Line 1
Not going out of door and courtyard is no blame. Often one wishes to undertake something, but sees oneself confronted with insurmountable boundaries. Here it is necessary to possess the insight to know where one must halt. If one understands this rightly and does not go beyond the limits set for one, one gathers a power that enables one to act energetically when the time for it has arrived. Discretion is of fundamental importance in preparing significant undertakings. Confucius says concerning this: 'Where disorder arises, words are the steps leading to it. If the prince is not discreet, he loses his servant. If the servant is not discreet, he loses his life. If matters are not handled discreetly in their germinal stage, this harms their completion. Therefore the superior man is careful to be discreet and does not go out.'
Line 2
Not going out of gate and courtyard brings misfortune. When the time for action has arrived, it is necessary to take hold quickly. Just as water initially gathers in a lake without flowing out, but surely opens a path for itself when the lake is full, so it is in human life. It is very good to hesitate as long as the time has not yet come, but no longer. When obstacles have been removed so that one can act, anxious hesitation is an error that surely brings misfortune, because one has missed the opportunity.
Line 3
He who knows no limitation will have to lament. No blame. When one is mindful only of pleasures and enjoyment, one easily loses the sense of necessary boundaries. But if one gives oneself up to extravagance, one will have to experience the consequences with regret. One must not seek the fault in others. Only when one recognizes one's own fault will one become free of errors through such unpleasant experiences.
Line 4
Contented limitation. Success. Every limitation has its value. But when this limitation still demands continuous exertion, it is bound up with too great an expenditure of strength. Where limitation is something natural, however—as it is, for example, in the nature of water to flow downward—there it leads necessarily to success, because in this case it means an economy of strength. The energy that otherwise exhausts itself in futile struggle with the object benefits the matter entirely, and success cannot fail to appear.
Line 5▶ ruling line
Sweet limitation brings good fortune. Going brings esteem. Limitation must be carried out in the right way to be effective. If one only seeks to impose boundaries on others while exempting oneself from them, these boundaries will always be felt as bitter and produce resistance. If, on the other hand, someone in a leading position begins with limitation himself, demands little performance from his people, and accomplishes something with modest means, good fortune comes through this. Where such an example operates, it finds followers, so that whatever is undertaken is bound to succeed.
Line 6
Bitter limitation: perseverance brings misfortune. Remorse disappears. If one is too severe in limitation, people cannot endure it. The more consistent one is in such severity, the more it is of evil; for a reaction cannot be avoided in the long run. Thus the tormented body also avenges itself if one attempts to proceed with too strict an asceticism. But even though this ruthless severity is not something that could be applied continuously and regularly, there may nevertheless be times when it is the sole means to preserve oneself from guilt and remorse. These are the situations where ruthlessness toward one's own person is the only means to save the soul, which would otherwise perish in halfheartedness and temptation.
Below ☱ Lake (Dui)
- Direction
- W
- Element
- Lake · Metal
- Attributes
- Joyous · Cheerful · Open · Contented · Abundant
- Family
- Youngest Daughter
Above ☵ Water (Kan)
- Direction
- N
- Element
- Water · Moon
- Attributes
- Abysmal · Dangerous · Penetrating · Profound
- Family
- Middle Son