42 – Forty-Two  I / Expansion

Whirlwinds and Thunder:
When the Superior Person encounters saintly behavior, he adopts it; when he encounters a fault within, he transforms it.

Progress in every endeavor.
You may cross to the far shore.

SITUATION ANALYSIS:

Get ready to ride a tide of accelerated growth toward self-actualization.
A joyful awareness of the best within you, coupled with an acceptance of your Shadow, will provide a greater repertoire, a much bolder vision, and new depth and clarity that will compel you to expand your horizons.

		above: Sun / The Gentle, Wind
		below: Chên / The Arousing, Thunder

 

The idea of increase is expressed in the fact that the strong lowest line of the upper trigram has sunk down and taken its place under the lower trigram. This conception also expresses the fundamental idea on which the Yi Jing is based. To rule truly is to serve. A sacrifice of the higher element that produces an increase of the lower is called an out-and-out increase: it indicates the spirit that alone has power to help the world. THE JUDGEMENT INCREASE. It furthers one To undertake something. It furthers one to cross the great water. Sacrifice on the part of those above for the increase of those below fills the people with a sense of joy and gratitude that is extremely valuable for the flowering of the commonwealth. When people are thus devoted to their leaders, undertakings are possible, and even difficult and dangerous enterprises will succeed. Therefore in such times of progress and successful development it is necessary to work and make the best use of the time. This time resembles that of the marriage of heaven and earth, when the earth partakes of the creative power of heaven, forming and bringing forth living beings. The time of INCREASE does not endure, therefore it must be utilised while it lasts. THE IMAGE Wind and thunder: the image of INCREASE. Thus the superior man: If he sees good, he imitates it; If he has faults, he rids himself of them.

Baruch Spinoza 1 Amsterdam, November 24th 1632 – The Hague, February 21st 1677

While observing how thunder and wind increase and strengthen each other, a man can note the way to self-increase and self-improvement. When he discovers good in others, he should imitate it and thus make everything on earth his own. If he perceives something bad in himself, let him rid himself of it. In this way he becomes free of evil. This ethical change represents the most important increase of personality. 1. Baruch Spinoza, born ‘Benedito de Espinosa’ (Portuguese), November 24th 1632 – February 21st 1677, later Benedict de Spinoza, was a Dutch philosopher of Sephardi Portuguese origin. The breadth and importance of Spinoza’s work was not fully realized until many years after his death. By laying the groundwork for the 18th century Enlightenment and modern biblical criticism, including modern conceptions of the self and the universe, he came to be considered one of the great rationalists of 17th century philosophy. His magnum opus, the posthumous ‘Ethics’, in which he opposed Descartes’ mind–body dualism, has earned him recognition as one of Western philosophy’s most important thinkers. In the Ethics, “Spinoza wrote the last indisputable Latin masterpiece, and one in which the refined conceptions of medieval philosophy are finally turned against themselves and destroyed entirely.” Hegel said, “You are either a Spinozist or not a philosopher at all.” Spinoza was raised in the Portuguese Jewish community in Amsterdam. He developed highly controversial ideas regarding the authenticity of the Hebrew Bible and the nature of the Divine. The Jewish religious authorities issued a cherem against him, effectively excluding him from Jewish society at age 23. His books were also later put on the Catholic Church’s Index of Forbidden Books. Spinoza lived an outwardly simple life as a lens grinder (on this page a lens magnifies his potrait with a mouse-over), turning down rewards and honors throughout his life, including prestigious teaching positions. Spinoza died at the age of 44 allegedly of a lung illness, perhaps tuberculosis or silicosis exacerbated by fine glass dust inhaled while grinding optical lenses. Spinoza is buried in the churchyard of the Christian ‘Nieuwe Kerk’ in The Hague.