Sprouting Through Hard Ground

Everything's a mess at the start. Do you charge ahead, or sort it out first?

Original

屯：元亨利貞。勿用有攸往，利建侯。象曰：雲雷屯，君子以經綸。六三：即鹿无虞，惟入于林中，君子幾不如舍，往吝。

In plain words

Zhun: a beginning, with flow, benefit and steadiness. Don't rush off anywhere; it is the time to set up leadership and lay foundations. The Image says: cloud above, thunder below: Zhun. The noble person, seeing this, sets the warp and plans. Line 3: chasing a deer with no forester to guide you, you only end up deep in the woods. The wise see the sign and let it go; pressing on brings trouble.

Key words

屯zhūnA shoot breaking through the soil: the hardship of first beginnings. As a hexagram name it's zhūn, not tún.
經綸jīng lúnOriginally sorting silk and setting the warp before weaving; hence planning and organising.
虞yúThe ancient forester who guided hunting parties.

Reading it step by step

On the last page the dragon was still under water. On this one, a shoot is finally breaking the surface of the ground, and that moment is usually the messiest of all.

First: look at the picture. Movement inside, danger outside. The character 屯 is drawn like a plant: a line for the ground, tangled roots below, a shoot pushing up. The hexagram Zhun (Difficult Beginnings) has Kan (water, cloud, danger) on top and Zhen (thunder, movement) underneath. Inside, a force wants to move; outside, it's pouring and risky. The Tuan commentary calls this “moving in the midst of danger.” Moving harder doesn't fix it: however loud the thunder, the rain is still overhead. When you start something, the moment your energy is highest is often the moment conditions fit least.

Second: 经纶 means setting the warp before you weave. The Image says the noble person “sets the warp.” It's a weaver's word. Before the shuttle flies, every lengthwise thread is laid straight and pulled tight; if the warp is tangled, the faster you weave, the worse the cloth. The judgment agrees: “don't rush off anywhere; set up leadership.” Today we'd say: get clear first. Who's doing this with me? Who does what? Where do the money and the time come from? Where is it most likely to jam? Line 1 adds a detail: the leader “places himself beneath the people, and wins them.” A group forms around someone who serves it.

outer · Kan

cloud, rain, danger

rain overhead

inner · Zhen

thunder, movement

drive inside

the noble · set the warp

lay the threads, set up the core

Moving inside danger: force won't help; sort things first.

Third: no guide, no deer. Line 3 pictures a hunter “chasing a deer with no forester.” Without the official who knew the hills, he only gets lost deep in the woods. “The wise see the sign and let it go.” The most common mistake at the start is to spot a shiny opportunity and dive in with no experience and nobody who knows the ground. The harder you chase, the deeper the woods.

Back to today. Want to open a small shop, start a reading group, build a side business? Before printing cards or opening accounts, spend one weekend setting the warp. Write down three people, three things that must come first, and three places it could jam. Then talk to someone who has walked this road: that's your forester. The weekend will look as if nothing happened. In fact the most important part is done.

Shoots push through; cloth is woven. Sort the threads first, and you'll go further.

One line to carry

Before you weave, set the warp.

Today's question

For the thing you want to start, what's the warp? Write down three people, three first tasks and three places it could jam.

Quick check

What does Zhun's Image, “the noble person sets the warp,” advise someone just starting out?

Next pageWaiting WellPage 10

II · When Something Begins — Hiding, sprouting, waiting, heading off conflict: going up step by step

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