Dim the Light, Keep It Burning

In a place that punishes brightness, how do you keep your light?

Original

明夷：利艱貞。彖曰：明入地中，明夷。內文明而外柔順，以蒙大難，文王以之。利艱貞，晦其明也；內難而能正其志，箕子以之。象曰：明入地中，明夷；君子以蒞眾，用晦而明。

In plain words

Light Wounded: it is favourable to stay upright through hardship. The Tuan Commentary says: The light has gone into the earth: Light Wounded. Clear and cultured within, yielding without, he bore great adversity: so it was with King Wen. “Stay upright through hardship” means veiling your light. In trouble inside his own house, he kept his purpose straight: so it was with Jizi. The Image says: The light has gone into the earth: Light Wounded. In leading the many, the noble person keeps his light veiled, and so things come clear.

Key words

明夷míng yíLight wounded: the sun sunk into the earth.
晦huìDark; to veil your light rather than show it.
蒞眾lì zhòngTo face and lead the many.

Reading it step by step

On the last page a mountain blocked the road. This page is darker still: night has fallen. Mingyi (Light Wounded) has Fire, the trigram of brightness, below, and Earth above: the sun has sunk into the ground. Yi means wounded; the light has been hurt. The Judgment has only three words: stay upright through hardship.

First: the darkness often comes from above. The top line says, “First he rose to heaven; later he went into the earth.” The one who should have lit up the world has become the source of the dark. Most people in this hexagram have done nothing wrong. They've simply run into a dark age, a dark boss, a dark place. See that clearly first, and you won't take all the blame on yourself, or start doubting the light itself.

Second: veiling the light is not putting it out. The commentary names two people. King Wen was imprisoned by the tyrant of Shang, yet stayed “clear within, yielding without”: sharp inside, never butting heads outside. Tradition says he wrote the Judgments in his cell. Jizi, the tyrant's own uncle, remonstrated and was ignored; he let down his hair, pretended to be mad, and was locked away. His hidden light didn't go out. When the new king later asked him how to govern, Jizi handed on the great plan for ruling the world. The fifth line names him, and its commentary says, “The light must not be extinguished.” You may put a shade over the lamp. Keep the flame.

King Wen

clear within, yielding without

bore it without losing the light

Jizi

veiled his light, kept his purpose

the light must not go out

the noble person leading

veil the light, things come clear

don't pry; let things show

Veiling is a lampshade, not putting the lamp out.

Third: “veil the light, and things come clear.” The Great Image turns the idea around and speaks to those in charge. When you lead others, don't be sharp about everything and inspect every corner. If the top shines too hard, people hide; if you try to control everything, they perform for you and nothing else. Lead with a little reserve and a little leniency, and things tend to show themselves. Laozi said the same: a dull, easy government makes for honest people; a prying one makes for evasive ones.

Bring it into today. In an unreasonable team, you don't have to argue every day or show off in every meeting; that only wears you out first. Keep your skills in hand, keep good notes, keep your decency, and wait for morning. And when it's your turn to lead, remember not to turn the lamp up so bright that it glares.

A lampshade doesn't put the lamp out. It helps it burn longer.

One line to carry

Shade the lamp if you must. Keep the flame.

Today's question

Where do you need to shade your light for a while? In that time, how will you look after the flame inside?

Quick check

What does Jizi's “veiling his light” come closest to?

Next pageStepping Back Without HatredPage 20

III · When Things Are Hard — You can't choose the situation; you can choose the response

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