4. Mêng / Inexperience
(Mountain above Water)
Description
A fresh Spring at the foot of the Mountain:
The Superior Person refines his character by being thorough in every activity.
The Sage does not recruit students; the students seek him.
He asks nothing but a sincere desire to learn.
If the student doubts or challenges his authority, the Sage regretfully cuts his losses.
Analysis
This is a time of interchange between a mentor and pupil.
Whether you are the teacher or the student, it is a time of companionship along a mutual path.
This hexagram also emphasizes the eternal, cyclical nature of the mentor/student relationship -- a mentor is merely a more seasoned pupil, further along on the journey.
A pupil holds within himself the seed of a future Master.
Changing Lines
Line 1
A little discipline will make the fool sit up and take notice.
Afterwards, the matter should be dropped, or some will question which is the master and which the fool.
Line 2
The man is gentle with the misguided and understands the hearts of women.
Such a one can be trusted with the kingdom.
Line 3
No one respects a lovestruck woman who throws herself at the object of her desire.
Do not idolize.
Line 4
You are so terrified of being wrong, you leave no room for learning what is right.
Line 5
Like a wide-eyed child, you wholly and naively trust the goodness of others.
Such honor brings out their best.
Line 6
The best way to prove a fool wrong is to let him have his way.
To severely restrict his folly will invite him to always believe that his way would have been right.