شش خطی 27
خوراک دادن، پرورش دادن، گوشه و کنار دهان (Yi)

The lower jaw moves whenever the mouth eats something; from that it has the meaning of nourishing people. As for the qualities of the hexagram, above is mountain , still, and below is thunder , active: action does not depart from stillness, stillness nurtures action; action is not random, stillness is not vain—action and stillness unified, it is therefore called nourishment.

This hexagram represents choosing good and holding fast to it, becoming empty to seek fulfillment. It follows on the previous hexagram fidelity. Fidelity involves strong action; without the work of care and nurturance, action and strength cannot be appropriate, and fidelity thus errs. This is why the path of nourishment is important; nourishment means nourishing what is right and getting rid of what is not right.

What is right is beneficial to body and mind; what is not right is harmful to body and mind—therefore the path of nourishment requires correctness to be good. So if you want nourishment to be correct, first you must observe whether the way of nourishment is true or false. Observing does not mean looking with the eyes; it means distinguishing in the mind what is so and what is not so, in order to find out truth. When truth is clear, then with real knowledge and lucid perception, in action one cultivates what is right, and in stillness one nourishes what is right. When one attains what is properly nurtured in both action and stillness, one can thereby seek fulfillment by oneself.

It does not say “seek food for the mouth,” it says “seek fulfillment for the mouth.” It does not merely say “seek fulfillment for the mouth,” it says, “seek fulfillment for the mouth by yourself.” This means what is sought is what is right, and what is fulfilled is what is important. It is not a matter of rich food, it is a matter of benevolence, justice, and enlightened qualities. But the way to fill oneself with benevolence and justice and taste enlightened qualities is all in seeking by oneself, not relying on others. One day when you conquer yourself and return to true order, the whole world will revert to humanity.

If you seek fulfillment, you find fulfillment; if you seek food, you find food—it is simply a matter of what you seek for yourself. The “mouth” is something empty inside; “fulfillment” means satisfying, filling. Emptying the mind, filling the belly, emptiness and fullness correspond: When the time calls for action you act, actively furthering yang; when the time calls for stillness you remain still, quietly using yin. Cultivating the external by action, nurturing the internal by stillness, unconstrained by action or stillness, inwardly and outwardly merging with the Tao, stillness as ever nurturing, action also nurturing, action and stillness consistently correct, ultimately one can perfectly attain the great Tao, auspiciously completing it.

Those who consider the harm of hunger and thirst to be harmful to the mind all nurture the small and lose the great. This could be called seeking food by oneself, but it could hardly be called seeking fulfillment by oneself. Once one has lost true fulfillment, how could it be called nourishment?

Jaws has the meaning of taking nourishment. Above is mountain , below is thunder ; there is thunder beneath the mountain. A mountain is still, thunder is active. Using stillness to nurture activity, activity being based on stillness, is like the upper jaw being still while the lower jaw moves, stillness awaiting movement. This is the image of jaws, meaning nourishment.

What the superior people see in this is that the mouth is a passageway through which things may exit or enter, and it is the door of right and wrong, the root of calamity, and fortune; therefore they are careful about what they say, and they are moderate in eating and drinking.

Speech is the voice of the mind; when speech is correct the mind is correct, and when speech is incorrect the mind is incorrect. Every word should be spoken only if it is of benefit to the course of the world and to people's minds. Speech should be guarded and not uttered at random.

Food and drink are important to the body; if food and drink are appropriate they benefit the body, and if food and drink are not appropriate they harm the body. Food and drink should be taken only after consideration of the reason. One should not crave too much, and should be moderate in eating and drinking.

When one is careful of speech, then the mind has nourishment; when one is moderate in eating and drinking, then the body has nourishment. When mind and body both have their nourishment, inside and outside are free from injury; then nature and life can be cultivated. This is what is meant by the saying "When one eats at proper times, the body is healthy; when one acts at the appropriate moment, the course of affairs runs smoothly."