Differences seem irreconcilable. What should be understood is that differences of individuality are internal and need not preclude coming together over external matters that affect both parties. Through minimal discourse small things may be resolved even if great undertakings may not succeed given the climate of divergent views. What precludes any progress toward reaching agreement is the notion of each party that the other is the enemy.
The text reads:
“Here the isolation is due to misunderstanding; it is brought about not by outer circumstances but by inner conditions. A man misjudges his best friends, taking them to be as unclean as a dirty pig and as dangerous as a wagon full of devils. He adopts an attitude of defence. But in the end, realising his mistake, he lays aside the bow, perceiving that the other is approaching with the best intentions for the purpose of close union. Thus the tension is relieved.”
The oracle isn’t suggesting that this may be the case, but that it is the case. Maybe one of the parties began promoting this view, but this is what it has come to.
The question remains as to what breaks the impasse. The I Ching suggests that the solution is the contemplation of the current situation in its bare reality. It does not include all of the baggage of how it came to be or what grudges one or the other is holding. Such contemplation in stillness modifies the internal view and leads one to recognize what internal changes are required to change anything externally. One must surrender to the reality that presents itself in contemplation. Maybe one has more to give up than the other, but that is irrelevant to the fact that each must extend awareness to include everything that was ignored due to the narrowness of the viewpoint. This allows creative solutions to form in the place of knee-jerk reactions.
About contemplation the text reads:
“True quiet means keeping still when the time has come to keep still, and going forward when the time has come to go forward. In this way rest and movement are in agreement with the demands of the time, and thus there is light in life.
“The heart thinks constantly. This cannot be changed, but the movements of the heart – that is, a man’s thoughts – should restrict themselves to the immediate situation. All thinking that goes beyond this only makes the heart sore.”
