31 · 泽山咸

咸卦原文

咸。亨，利贞。取女吉。

象曰：山上有泽，咸。君子以虚受人。

白话文解释

咸卦：通达，吉利的贞卜。娶女，吉利。

《象辞》说：本卦下卦为艮，艮为山，上卦为兑，兑为泽，山中有泽，山气水息，互相感应，是咸卦的卦象。君子观此卦象，取法于深邃的山谷，深广的大泽，从而虚怀若谷，以谦虚的态度，接受他人的教益。

《断易天机》解

咸卦兑上艮下，为兑宫三世卦。咸为感应，万物皆有感应，男女感应，夫妇康宁，感应之事，无有不亨。

北宋易学家邵雍解

两性交感，正道感应；物击则鸣，识时知机。

得此卦者，宜谦虚待人，则会吉祥如意，谋事可成。但勿为不正当感情而意乱情迷。

台湾国学大儒傅佩荣解

时运：谦虚待人，可保功名。

财运：转运贩卖，必可图利。

家宅：知其所止；两性合好。

身体：虚弱宜补。

传统解卦

这个卦是异卦（下艮上兑）相叠。艮为山；泽为水。兑柔在上，艮刚在下，水向下渗，柔上而刚下，交相感应。感则成。

大象：少男在少女之下，彼此感应，象征新婚，两性交感。

运势：如意吉祥，但勿为不正当感情而意乱情迷。

事业：和为贵，和则万事兴，务以诚感人，以诚待人。广泛交往朋友，谦虚礼让。树立大志向，坚持主见，不可盲目随大流。不利时应安居待机，不可妄动强求。

经商：有利可图。但应以纯正之心，以诚待人，加强合作。市场若不景气，决不可妄动，不可强求，而应静待发展，虚心听取不同意见。

求名：志向应宏大，脚踏实地，虚心请教他人，使人悦而应，帮助、重用自己。切莫自我封闭，更不得冷漠孤僻，以广阔的胸怀发展自身。

婚恋：成功的可能性极大。双方很有感情，但动机务必纯正，婚姻方可幸福、永久。

决策：吉祥如意。人际关系好，善于交际。以真诚的态度，无私的心去处世，不会有不利的地方。与他人合作应坚持原则。办事不可优柔寡断。不顺利时，应停止行动，总结经验，以图发展。待人诚恳，但不可与玩弄口舌的小人交往，防止受骗。

第三十一卦的哲学含义

咸卦，本卦是异卦相叠，艮卦在下，兑卦在上。艮为山，为刚；兑为泽，为柔。兑柔在上，艮刚在下，就像山上的水向下渗透，滋养山上生长的万物，反过来山承载着泽。

《象》这样解释咸卦：山上有泽，咸；君子以虚受人。

《象》中指出：咸卦的卦象是艮（山）下兑（泽）上，为山上有泽之表象，即上方的水泽滋润下面的山体，下面的山体承托上方的水泽并吸收其水分的形象，因而象征感应；君子效法山水相连这一现象，以虚怀若谷的精神容纳感化他咸卦所要表达的是泽润山，山承泽，柔上而刚下，交相感应，像一对默契和谐的夫妻一样。所以历代文人多把咸卦解释为夫妻卦，认为咸卦是“恒明夫妇”之理。

咸卦由艮卦和兑卦相叠而成，艮代表少男，兑代表少女。从卦形上看，兑在上面，像温柔多情的少女在前面奔跑一般；艮为山在下，像壮实的小伙子在后面追赶着，一幅男亲女爱的相戏画面。咸卦所喻示的就是相互感应，属于中上卦。《象》中这样评断此卦：运去黄金失色，时来棒槌发芽，月令极好无差，且喜心宽意大。

31.泽山咸(䷞)-高岛易断

《上经》首《乾》《坤》，以天地为万化之原也；《下经》首《咸》《恒》，以夫妇为五伦之始也。天地不分不成两仪，男女不合不成生育，故《乾》《坤》以二老对，而《咸》则以二少交。《咸》之体，亦自《乾》《坤》来，《乾》三索于《坤》得《艮》，《艮》为少男；《坤》三索于《乾》得《兑》，《兑》为少女。男女相感，自其性情，而二少相合，男下于女，尤感之正也。有心为感，无心为《咸》，《咸》皆也。卦体以“山泽通气”，六爻皆应，《咸》和通畅，物我偕臧，此卦之所以名《咸》也。

咸：亨，利贞。取女吉。

▲　甲骨文咸

《咸》，亨通也。男女相合者七卦，《恒》是男女皆长，《既济》、《未济》中男中女，《渐》、《归妹》以少遇长，《损》虽男女皆少，而女下于男，皆未若《咸》之亨而正也。“娶女吉”者，婚礼自纳采以至亲迎，皆男下于女，六礼不备，贞女不行。《关雎》一篇所云，“窈窕淑女，君子好逑”，娶女之吉，于此可见。《诗·注》谓淑女有幽闲贞静之德，是即“利贞”之旨也。《咸》以《兑》泽《艮》山二气相感，感而遂通，然少男少女，情好 易通，得正则吉，失正则凶，故曰“利贞”。娶女之吉，惟其贞也。

《 彖传》曰：咸，感也。柔上而刚下，二气感应以相与。止而说，男下女，是以亨，利贞，取女吉也。天地感而万物化生，圣人感人心，而天下和平，观其所感，而天地万物之情可见矣。

▲　金文咸

此卦以《艮》之少男，下《兑》之少女，取象于夫妇之始，婚姻之道也。“柔上而刚下”者，柔者妇道，刚者夫道，谓刚柔二气，上下相感。“止而悦”，谓闺房之事，悦而不止，则悦未免流于淫，止而不悦，则止或至失其欢。《艮》以止之，复《兑》以悦之，斯感得其正，则倡随有辨，节宣有时，而有感遂通，故能亨。盖卦体以感为义，卦象以亨为善，卦位则以“男下女”为吉。夫“取”即娶也。《礼》云：“男子亲迎，男先于女，刚柔之义也。”知所谓“男下女”者，降男子之尊，以重亲迎之礼，固非钻隙逾墙者所可比也，故曰“利贞”。女下于男，夫妇之常道也，故卦取诸《恒》；男下于女，迎娶之始礼也，故卦取诸《咸》。咸者，感也，刚柔之用，以气相感，婚姻之道，以情相感，而少男少女，尤情之易感者也。以其情之易感也，而见其相悦，亦以其情之易悦也，而贵乎能止，盖即《艮》山之静，以制其《兑》泽之动也。《咸》利其贞，贞斯亨，亨斯吉矣。由是推之，闺房启王化之原，修齐括治平之要。天地以其《咸》感万物，而万物生焉，圣人以其《咸》感人心，而人心平焉，化生之功由此成，和平之福由此普。《艮》之止无形，《兑》之悦无言，无形无言，而感化神焉。君子观于此，而天地人物感应之妙，皆可识矣。

以此卦拟人事，卦体为《艮》男《兑》女，《彖》辞曰“娶女吉”，是人伦之始事也。《序卦传》曰，“有男女，然后有夫妇，有夫妇，然后有父子，有父子，然后有君臣，有君臣，然后有上下”，其道实自《乾》《坤》定位而来。《乾》老阳，《坤》老阴，《乾》变《艮》则为少阳，《坤》变《兑》则为少阴，阴阳之体一也，阴阳即男女。《艮》一阳二阴，《兑》二阳一阴，合其体而为一，象男女之交也。《艮》为求，有“好逑”之义，《兑》为妹，有《归妹》之象，是谓婚姻之始。《兑》为悦，《艮》为止，乐而不淫，妇道之所以重利贞也。六爻之辞，多取于人身，“拇”、“腓”、“股”皆属下体，“心”、“脢”、“辅”皆属上体，一俯一仰，一动一静，阴阳相济，刚柔相交，《咸》之卦德备矣。夫夫妇一小天地也，万物各有阴阳，即各有夫妇，万物之化生，人心之和平，胥是道也。此圣人所以为人伦之至，《咸》卦所以冠《下经》之首，观其象而可知矣。

以此卦拟国家，上卦为政府，有《兑》泽遍敷之象；下卦为人民，守《艮》止各安之义。九五阳刚之君，与上六相比，与六二相应，诸爻亦俱与九五相感应。故《咸》一卦，皆取象于“拇”、“腓”、“股”、“心”、“脢”、“辅”，譬如人之一身，四肢九窍，有痛痒相关，一气联络之义也。《象》曰“君子以虚受人”，此君子即指九五而言。虚者无我，无我则天下一家，万民一体，以一念感通夫万类，以一心包育夫群生，上下相通，君民合志，谓之“天地感而万物化生，圣人感人心，而天下和平，观其所感，而天地万物之情可见矣”。此即圣天子恭己南面，无为而治之体也。

通观全卦，有心为感，无心为《咸》。《咸》，皆也，为卦六爻皆应，咸和通达，物我皆臧，自然而然，元气浑合，此《兑》悦《艮》止卦之所以名《咸》也。《咸》主乎感，感则必动，而六爻则以静为吉，以动为凶。初爻居卦之下，曰“咸其拇”，拇者，拇足大指也，其感尚浅，其动亦微，故不系吉凶也。二曰“咸其腓”，腓为足肚，则进于拇矣。腓本不动，足动而腓随之，是动虽凶，而腓尚居于吉也。三曰“咸其股”，股处下体之上，三之象也，较拇与腓而尤进矣，志在随人”，所执亦贱，故曰“往吝”。四居三阳之中，为心之位也。凡有感触，皆从心发，得贞则吉，否则凶也。五为卦主，居《兑》之中，脢在心上，为背脊肉，是不动之处，感而不感，动而无动，故曰“无悔”。上六处全卦之上，“辅颊舌”在一身之上，其象取此，有感于心，发而为言，是口说也；然不能至诚相格，而徒以美言取悦，《咸》道薄矣。是以六爻之中，所感各有浅深，而悔吝吉凶，亦各随其象而著。惟君子能“以虚受人”，虚则心公，公则入而无拒，感而即通，其所翕受者宏矣。翕受之道，取诸《兑》，专直之义，取诸《艮》。健而能止，顺而能悦，悦以感阴，止以应阳，天地无心而成化，圣人无为而成功，如斯而已矣。

《大象》曰：山上有泽，咸，君子以虚受人。

卦象为“山上有泽”，是山气下交，泽气上交，得以上下相成也。天下至静而虚者莫如山，惟山以虚，翕受泽气。君子体此象以容人之善，故能湛其心于寂然不动之时，定其性于廓然大公之地。古来如舜之取人为善，禹之拜昌言，周公之吐哺握发，一皆虚己而受人者也。

【占】　问战征：军队前进，防有坑陷，山谷间防有埋伏，固守城池，防敌兵潜通地道，皆当谨慎。

○　问营商：山泽为生财之地，即财源也。“以虚受人”，是以购入物产，贩运转售，必大获利。

○　问功名：“山上”者高附之象，“山上有泽”，泽者，积水低洼之处。有居高思危之意，惟宜虚己待人，功名可长保也。

○　问家宅：是宅必傍山临水，知其所止，吉。

○　问疾病：是虚弱之症，宜服滋补之剂。

○　问婚姻：卦为山泽通气，主两姓和好，大吉。

○　问讼事：两造必是少年意气相争，讼宜和解而止为善。

○　问六甲：生男。

○　问失物：必坠入空洞有水之处，不能复得。

Judgment

Legge: Upon fulfillment of the conditions implied in Initiative, there will be free course and success. Advantage depends upon firm correctness, as in marrying a young lady. Good fortune.

Wilhelm/Baynes: Influence. Success. Perseverance furthers. To take a maiden to wife brings good fortune.

Blofeld: Attraction. Success! Righteous persistence brings reward. Taking a wife will result in good fortune.

Liu: Attraction. Success. To continue is of benefit. To marry a girl is good fortune.

Ritsema/Karcher: Conjoining, Growing. Harvesting Trial. Grasping womanhood significant. [This hexagram describes your situation in terms of the influence that separated parts of an intrinsic whole have on each other. It emphasizes that bringing these parts into contact is the adequate way to handle the situation...]

Shaughnessy: Feelings: Receipt; beneficial to determine; to take to wife a woman is auspicious.

Cleary (1): Sensitivity is developmental. It is beneficial to be correct. Marriage brings good fortune.

Cleary (2): Sensing gets through, beneficial if correct. Marriage is auspicious.

Wu: Affection indicates pervasion and advantage to be persevering. There will be good fortune to marry a young woman.

The Image

Legge: The image of a marsh over a mountain forms Initiative. The superior man frees his mind of preoccupation so that he is open to the influence of others. [Lit: "Thus the superior man receives people by virtue of emptiness."]

Wilhelm/Baynes: A lake on the mountain: the image of Influence. Thus the superior man encourages people to approach him by his willingness to receive them.

Blofeld: This hexagram symbolizes a lake situated upon a mountain. In dealing with men, the Superior Man shows himself to be entirely void of selfishness.

Liu: The lake on top of the mountain symbolizes Attraction. With a humble manner the superior man receives people.

Ritsema/Karcher: Above mountain possessing marsh. Conjoining. A chun tzu uses emptiness to acquiesce people.

Cleary (1): There is a lake on a mountain. Thus does the superior person accept people with openness.

Cleary (2): There is a lake atop a mountain – Sensing. Developed people accept others with openness.

Wu: There is a marsh in the mountain; this is Affection. Thus the jun zi receives people with humility.

COMMENTARY

Confucius/Legge: Initiative is here used in the sense of mutually influencing.

The magnetic trigram is above and the dynamic trigram is below -- their two influences move, respond and unite with each other. The male is placed below the

female -- his repression is her satisfaction and brings fulfillment. Advantage depends upon firm correctness, as in the marrying of a young lady. Heaven and earth stimulate each other and all things attain birth. The sages stimulate the minds of men and harmony is born. If we examine the pattern of these influences, the nature of heaven and earth is revealed.

Legge: The lines of the hexagram all deal with moving or influencing to movement, and the figure is an essay on the different ways of creating an influence, and the results engendered thereby. The lower trigram of the youngest son supports the upper trigram of the youngest daughter in happy union. This is correct because the lower trigram (here yang) should always take the initiative. No influence is so powerful and constant as that between husband and wife, and where they are both young, it is especially active. Therefore, mutual influence, correct in itself, and for correct ends is sure to be effective.

NOTES AND PARAPHRASES

Judgment: Initiative succeeds only when it originates from the Self. The Superior Man clears his mind and remains receptive to the will of the Self. Wilhelm's translation of the name of this hexagram is Influence, but I have chosen Initiative to emphasize the idea of the proper source of the influence implied in the symbolism. Webster's Third New International Dictionary defines initiative as follows:

Initiative 1: an introductory step or movement: an act designed to originate or set on foot, as a process or train of events. Often used in the phrase: on one's own initiative, as in: "Don't blame me, he acted on his own initiative." The Judgment states that the situation can be furthered only by the firm correctness associated with the proper contracting of a marriage. We already know that the symbolism of marriage refers to a union of opposites within the psyche. To understand what is meant by the proper contracting of a marriage, we need only look at hexagram number fifty-four, Propriety (The Marrying

Maiden), to see the improper way to do it -- that is, when the woman takes the initiative. Far from being a sexist idea, the symbolism reveals a profound archetypal truth. The polarity of forces in the psyche shows the ego as magnetic to the dynamic Self. That is, the conscious ego-complex in any psyche, male or female, is feminine, or magnetic in relation to the Self, which is masculine, or dynamic. In the I Ching the Self is symbolized by heaven, and the ego is symbolized by earth. This primordial relationship between the two qualities is found in many symbol systems. Here's the Kabbalistic version: This clearly indicates the function of polarity that prevails between the planes of form and the planes of force; the planes of form being the female aspect, polarized and made fertile by the influences of the planes of force.

D. Fortune -- The Mystical Qabalah The Hermetic tradition describes it this way: There is this dual aspect in the mind of every person. The "I" [Self]

represents the Masculine Principle of Mental Gender -- the "Me" [ego] represents the Female Principle.

The Kybalion

In the contracting of a marriage between heaven and earth (uniting the polarities within the divided psyche), the ego must learn, usually through great suffering, that its correct role is a magnetic one in relation to that of the Self. The Work cannot progress until this lesson has been learned and accepted completely. As long as the ego insists on taking dynamic initiative “as usual" in the illusory world of appearances, the results can only be the kind of objective

world we inhabit -- one of chaos and strife. The lesson of this hexagram then, is the realization that the only correct source of power lies with the Self, and that the ego must yield to that source as a bride to her bridegroom. (Unfortunately, the contemporary relationship between the sexes has become so confused that this metaphor is seldom effective in conveying the profound truth it represents.) The Self (the Causal Body of Theosophy) dwells beyond the restrictions of spacetime and is pre-eminently suited for directing the Work, since it can "see ahead” so to speak, and it knows the effects of all of the available choices. The ego, on the other hand, dwells in spacetime and is able to take action: by its choices it makes or breaks the Work. The ideal reciprocity between ego and Self

is a simple and logical division of labor -- the Self can see ahead but cannot take direct action, and the ego can take direct action but cannot see ahead. For the

ego to act without direction from the Self is to grope blindly in the dark -- and the Work clearly cannot progress under such circumstances. The superior man therefore, "clears his mind and remains receptive to the will of the Self.” Obviously, it takes time to learn how to do this properly; in its initial stages, that's what the Work is all about. The majority of people are more or less the slaves of heredity, environment, etc., and manifest very little freedom. They are swayed by the opinions, customs and thoughts of the outside world, and also by their emotions, feelings, moods, etc. They manifest no Mastery, worthy of the name.

The Kybalion The second and third sentences in the Confucian commentary elicit the sexual symbolism in this hexagram quite clearly: "The [female] trigram is above

and the [male] trigram is below -- their two influences move, respond and unite

with each other. The male is placed below the female -- his repression is her satisfaction and brings fulfillment.” Blofeld comments on this in a footnote: I doubt if this should be regarded as shedding light upon the ancient Chinese concept of the most acceptable position for intercourse; it is more likely to mean that the girl is able to depend upon the man as a plant depends upon the earth for its nourishment. Symbolism works on many levels, and Blofeld's aborted insight does apply to some of them. It is an established fact that the sentences in question accurately describe tantric sexual techniques practiced in the Orient for millennia. To understand the principles of the Work we must be able to see the

"obvious" as symbolic of an abstraction -- and vice- versa. Sexual polarity is a very tricky and volatile symbol because we are predisposed to confine it to its most literal meaning. The hardest part of symbolic interpretation is to know where in the continuum a specific symbol belongs in any given situation. Without changing lines this hexagram suggests that you examine your impulses and motivations to act and see if they are truly in accordance with the goals of the Work. The figure can sometimes take on the meaning of importuning: "to press or urge with frequent or unreasonable requests or troublesome persistence.” In other words, you might be importuning the oracle for answers which it is of no mind to give you. It is also significant to note that every line has a more or less negative connotation. These are all very strong warnings to the ego to control its compulsive need to take the Initiative, to

influence the situation. Calm down -- reality is not what it appears to be. Please allow the Self to direct the Work.

SUGGESTIONS FOR MEDITATION

Compare the concepts in this hexagram with hexagram number fifty-four, Propriety; number fifty-three, Gradual Progress; and number eleven, Harmony. How do they all deal with the symbol of marriage as an aspect of the Work? Compare the first three lines with hexagram number 52, Keeping Still. Initiative is the first hexagram of Part II of the I Ching. Why do you suppose the book was divided into two unequal sections? Why did the division appear between the thirtieth and thirty-first hexagrams? (An even division would be between the thirty-second and thirty-third.) The (I Ching) was originally divided into two books. (Appendix VI) considers the first of these as dealing with the world of nature, and the second as dealing with that of man.

Fung Yu-Lan -- A Short History of Chinese Philosophy What insights does the alchemical concept of the Unus Mundus bring to bear on these questions?