Heaven above – Fire below
The Chinese name of this hexagram is Tong Ren which translates into: “similar” (tong) and “people” (ren). Some titles are: Uniting with People, Seeking Harmony, Companionship, Fellowship with Others. The teachings deal with issues of people coming together, forming alliances and working in harmony by subjugating personal concerns. Ancient wisdom maintains there is no absolute sameness and therefore harmony exists in finding common ground, even while maintaining one’s individuality.
Breaking down the symbolism of the 3-line trigrams helps with understanding the ancient teachings:
When trigram Fire is below (as in the image below right), it references the inner realm of the person or situation. Even partial control of the element fire separates humans from the rest of the creatures, a classification distinct to our species. Fire is symbolic of civilization. Fire’s role as the inner impetus is to make things visible which creates order and both similarities and differences can be discerned. This is how civilizations are built, through rationality, by putting differences aside and seeking common ground.
Trigram Heaven is on top of trigram Fire. The internal urge (Fire) toward building fellowship and civilizations works its way into the outer reality through the laws, timing, enduring strength and direction of Heaven. It is through the laws of Heaven, which enables this synthesis, that similar creatures move together and plants choose which soil they will grow in.
The ancient ideograph is on the left portion of the image below. The top line extending down both sides represents a house. The single horizontal line within the house represents the number one. There is a little figure below which is the image of a mouth. In ancient China the number of people in a family were counted by how many mouths there were. Together, the picture is of a (tong) group of people gathered as a single unit where they speak harmoniously (as one voice). The figure below shows (ren) a person standing.
In summary: Tong Ren teaches that it is wise to classify people according to their natures, not for the purpose of treating them differently, but to seek common ground. This Hexagram has also been called Union of Forces because both Fire and Heaven rise up. Heaven’s laws provide the natural distinctions between creatures and Fire allows for the light with which to discern them – it requires both analysis and synthesis (separating and re-uniting) as a cohesive whole is formed. The ancients recognized the inherent difficulties humans have in maintaining fellowship and they illuminate them in the following lines.
Following are a few ideas for interpretations of each line:
Line 1 – Harmonious relations take time and at this beginning point it is important to test both your own motivations as well as the motivations of others. Relations come through engaging others openly and withdrawing when you need to.
Line 2 – A temptation to narrow, restricted or clique-type pre-judgement leads to distress. The antidote is to be simple, open and flexible. You may find that in avoiding factions there is increased access to the energies of creativity.
Line 3 – This position shows a need to be aware of the counterproductive force of an excess of defensiveness, irritation or temper. A balance between naïve innocence and suspicion is the best middle road at this placement.
Line 4 – Walls can be healthy boundaries which keep you from getting into groups who do not share your values or who are possibly full of troubles. Wall can also be metaphorically scaled to watch from a distance in those times when fellowship with others seems blocked. Refraining from engagement at this time is wise if you do not yet find those who hold similar values.
Line 5 – This line is one where fellowship is perhaps established, but only after great struggles. The ancient voices say that at this placement it is important to make sure your own stance is established clearly internally and externally. Another point is about enemies and how they are often, in actuality, only someone you don’t yet know – real leaders have the ability to meet with even the worst of enemies for clarification and discussion of possibilities.
Line 6 – There may not be anyone to seek harmony with at this time. If this is the case, be content with present reality and have patience. While there is some degree of harmony, there is more work to be done.