Dazhuang Hexagram Full Guide: Why the Stronger You Are, the More Cautious You Should Be?

Everyone wants to become stronger.

They want to earn more money,

wield greater power,

have stronger capabilities,

and possess more resources.

It seems as if once you grow strong,

all your problems will be solved.

But have you ever thought about this —

what happens after you become strong?

Look around you:

- Some people are perfectly fine when they have no money, but once they get rich, they become arrogant, reckless, and eventually ruin themselves.

- Some people are decent when they have no power, but once they gain authority, they change, put on airs, and start bullying others.

- Some people are humble when they are unknown, but once they become famous, they get swollen-headed, look down on everyone, and eventually crash and burn.

When you are weak, troubles are minor.

When you are strong, troubles are catastrophic.

There is a hexagram in the I Ching (Book of Changes)

that specifically addresses how to conduct oneself when one is "strong".

This hexagram is called — The Power of the Great (Dazhuang).

The Power of the Great is the 34th hexagram of the I Ching,

also known as Lei Tian Dazhuang (Thunder above Heaven).

The upper trigram is Zhen / The Arousing (Thunder), and the lower trigram is Qian / The Creative (Heaven).

Thunder resounds in the heavens,

rumbling with boundless power.

This is "Dazhuang" —

immense strength, with momentum like a surging rainbow.

But the Power of the Great hexagram does not teach how to become strong;

rather, it teaches — what to do after you have become strong.

Today, let us talk about the Power of the Great,

and discuss the most important things to hold onto

when one is in a position of strength and prosperity.

What Does the Power of the Great Hexagram Teach?

The Hexagram Judgment of the Power of the Great is very simple:

Dazhuang, li zhen. (The Power of the Great, furthering in correctness.)

To put it in plain terms:

When you are powerful,

it is favorable to uphold the right path.

Just four characters.

But these four characters

carry immense weight.

Why is it that when one is powerful, one should "uphold the right path"?

Because —

when one is powerful, it is easiest to stray from the right path.

When you are weak,

it is hard to stray even if you want to.

You do not have the means,

nor the courage.

With no money, no power, no skills,

you cannot do any evil even if you wanted to.

But things are different once you grow strong.

When you have money,

you can buy anything you want,

and you easily give in to indulgence.

When you have power,

everyone fears you,

and you easily become tyrannical.

When you have ability,

no task seems too hard for you,

and you easily become conceited.

Strength itself is not a bad thing.

But the temptations that come with strength

are the real test.

That is why the Power of the Great hexagram says "furthering in correctness" —

the stronger you are, the more you must uphold the right path.

The more capable you are, the more you must abide by the rules.

The more prosperous you are, the more you must know restraint.

This is true great strength.

Three Traps of Strength

Why do people easily run into trouble once they become strong?

Because after gaining strength,

there are three traps

that almost everyone falls into.

The First Trap: Pride

Once a person grows strong,

they easily become proud.

They think they are amazing,

they think they are extraordinary,

they think everyone else is inferior to them.

They speak louder,

they walk with their head held higher,

and the way they look at people changes.

What happens when you are proud?

Pride makes you —

- unable to listen to others' advice

- look down on the people around you

- think you are always right

- refuse to admit when you make mistakes

And then what?

Then you start going downhill.

As the saying goes: "When heaven wishes to destroy a person, it first makes them mad."

When a person starts to become proud,

that is when they begin to decline.

Look at those great figures in history —

many did not fall when they were weak;

they fell at the peak of their strength.

Because when they grew strong, they became reckless;

when they became reckless, they courted disaster;

and when they courted disaster, they truly perished.

The Second Trap: Indulgence

Once a person grows strong,

temptations multiply.

Before, you wanted good food but could not get it;

now you have money, and you can eat all the delicacies you want.

Before, you wanted entertainment but could not afford it;

now you have money, and you can indulge in anything.

Before, no one paid attention to you;

now that you are powerful,

all kinds of people flock around you.

At this point,

if you cannot control yourself,

you easily give in to indulgence.

What do people indulge in?

- Indulging desires: eating, drinking, gambling, and all kinds of vices

- Indulging emotions: scolding whoever you want, throwing tantrums whenever you feel like it

- Indulging behavior: breaking rules, disregarding laws, thinking you are special

What is the result of indulgence?

At best, it harms your health and ruins your moral character;

at worst, it destroys your family and costs you your life.

"Men turn bad when they get rich; women get rich when they turn bad."

This saying may be vulgar,

but it is not without truth.

It is not money that makes people bad;

it is that once people have money,

they find it harder to control themselves.

The Third Trap: Reckless Advancement

Once a person grows strong,

their courage grows bolder.

They think they can accomplish anything.

Things they did not dare to do before,

they now dare to try.

Risks they did not dare to take before,

they now dare to take.

Things they did not dare to touch before,

they now think they can handle.

This is reckless advancement.

Thinking you are powerful,

you fear nothing.

Thinking you are strong,

you want to try everything.

But you must know —

those who drown are usually the ones who know how to swim;

those who fall to their deaths are usually the ones who know how to climb;

those who lose everything are usually the ones who know how to gamble.

The more you think you are capable,

the easier it is to take a heavy fall.

Because you think you can control everything,

but in reality,

you cannot.

The stronger you are, the more you must have reverence.

Rather than becoming bolder the stronger you get.

What to Hold Onto in Times of Great Strength

When you are powerful,

what is the most important thing to hold onto?

The Power of the Great hexagram tells us three things.

First: Uphold Propriety

The Xiang Commentary of the Power of the Great hexagram says:

"Thunder in the heavens: the image of the Power of the Great.

The superior person (Junzi) does not walk in what is not proper."

What does this mean?

Thunder resounds in the heavens, with a mighty声势 — this is the Power of the Great.

When the superior person sees this image,

they understand —

do not do anything that violates propriety.

"Do not walk in what is not proper"

means that anything that does not conform to the rules

must absolutely not be done.

Why must one uphold propriety when one is powerful?

Because when you are strong,

you have the ability to break the rules,

and no one can stop you.

At such a time,

if you can still consciously abide by the rules,

that is true greatness.

- Being rich but not bullying others with your wealth — this is upholding propriety

- Having power but not using it for personal gain — this is upholding propriety

- Being famous but not being overbearing — this is upholding propriety

- Having strength but not oppressing the weak — this is upholding propriety

A true strong person is not someone who breaks the rules.

It is someone who, despite being strong, still chooses to abide by the rules.

Rules are not made for the weak;

they are made for the strong.

When the strong abide by the rules,

the world has order.

Second: Uphold Righteousness

The Hexagram Judgment says "furthering in correctness" —

"correctness" means righteousness.

When you are powerful,

you must walk the right path,

not the crooked path.

When you grow strong,

your influence grows greater.

Walking the right path, you can help many people.

Walking the crooked path, you can harm many people.

- When an entrepreneur grows their business and walks the right path, they can create jobs and generate value. If they walk the crooked path, they will cheat and swindle, bringing disaster to the community.

- When an official gains power and walks the right path, they can serve the people and bring prosperity to the region. If they walk the crooked path, they will be corrupt and oppress the common people.

- When an individual with great ability walks the right path, they can achieve great things and help others. If they walk the crooked path, they will commit high-IQ crimes, harming others and themselves.

With great ability comes great responsibility.

With great ability, the harm caused by taking the wrong path is also greater.

That is why the stronger you are,

the more you must uphold righteousness.

Only by upholding righteousness

does your strength have meaning.

If you do not uphold righteousness,

the stronger you are, the more dangerous you become.

Third: Uphold Humility

In times of great strength,

the rarest quality is humility.

You are clearly very strong,

but you do not show off.

You are clearly very capable,

but you are very humble.

You are clearly in a high position,

but you are polite to everyone.

That is true greatness.

Why is humility important?

Because —

humility is the amulet of the strong.

When you are humble,

others will not be jealous of you,

will not target you,

will not trip you up behind your back.

When you are humble,

you can listen to others' advice,

you can recognize your own problems,

and you can keep making progress.

When you are humble,

you will not become arrogant,

will not become reckless,

will not lose sight of who you are.

The fuller the rice ear, the lower it bows its head.

The more capable a person is, the more humble they are.

Four Levels of Great Strength

"Great strength" also has different levels.

Not all "strength" is the same.

Level 1: The Strength of the Petty Person — Reliant on Brute Force

The lowest form of strength

is the strength of the petty person.

What does it rely on?

Physical strength, bad temper, and aggression.

- If you provoke me, I will fight you

- If you refuse to submit, I will beat you into submission

- I will push forward whether I am in the right or not

This kind of strength

is the courage of a common fool.

It looks impressive,

but it is actually very lowly.

Because this kind of strength

cannot solve problems;

it only creates more problems.

Today you beat this person,

tomorrow you offend that person,

and in the end you make enemies everywhere,

with no good outcome.

Those who rely on their fists to speak

will ultimately be brought down by fists.

Level 2: The Strength of Achievement — Reliant on Ability

One level higher

is strength built on ability.

You have skills,

you are capable,

you can solve problems,

you can create value.

This kind of strength

is real strength.

It speaks through solid capability.

But strength built on ability

also has its problems.

That is —

you easily only recognize ability,

and nothing else.

You think that as long as you are capable,

you are extraordinary.

You look down on people who are less capable than you,

you think rules are made for the weak,

and that because you are powerful, you can be an exception.

Having ability is a good thing,

but having only ability

is not enough.

Level 3: The Strength of Propriety — Reliant on Rules

Going higher still

is the strength of upholding propriety.

Not only are you capable,

but you also abide by the rules,

understand proper limits,

and know when to advance and when to retreat.

You know what should be done

and what should not be done.

You know what should be said

and what should not be said.

You know when to move forward

and when to stop.

This kind of strength

belongs to a truly strong person.

Because their strength

not only has power,

but also has boundaries.

Not only do they have ability,

but they also have character.

Only the strength of upholding propriety

can last long.

Level 4: The Strength of the Superior Person — Reliant on Virtue

The highest form of strength

is the strength of the superior person (Junzi).

What does it rely on?

Virtue.

You are powerful,

not for your own sake,

but to help more people.

You are capable,

not to bully others,

but to protect more people.

You have ability,

not to enjoy yourself,

but to take on greater responsibility.

This kind of strength

is what Mencius spoke of:

"Riches and honors cannot corrupt you; poverty and lowliness cannot sway you; power and might cannot subdue you."

This is the strength of a great man.

It is the highest realm of great strength.

Act According to the Stage You Are At Now

After talking so much about great strength,

some people might say:

"I haven't even become strong yet,

it's too early to tell me all this."

It is not too early.

Because —

how you think now

determines what you will be like when you grow strong later.

Some people already think now:

when I get rich, I will do this and that;

when I get power, I will do this and that.

People like this,

when they truly become strong,

will definitely run into trouble.

Because their mindset is already crooked.

Some people already know now:

regardless of whether they have money or not,

a person must be upright, kind, and have a bottom line.

People like this,

when they grow strong later,

will not turn bad.

Because their roots are straight and true.

Strength is a result, not a goal.

What kind of person you are

is more important than how strong you are.

If you are not strong enough yet,

then work hard to make yourself stronger.

But on the road to becoming strong,

do not forget to hold onto your original heart.

Do not, for the sake of becoming strong,

turn yourself into someone you do not even recognize.

If you are already very strong,

then you must be even more careful.

Uphold propriety, uphold righteousness, uphold humility.

Do not let your own strength

end up destroying you.

In Closing

The Power of the Great hexagram

speaks of "strength",

but when all is said and done,

it is actually about —

how to stay strong for a long time.

Being strong for a moment is not true strength;

being strong for a lifetime

is true strength.

One generation being strong is not true strength;

generation after generation being strong

is true strength.

How can you stay strong for a long time?

It does not rely on greater power,

but on higher virtue.

Not on fiercer drive,

but on stronger restraint.

Not on taking more,

but on giving more.

A truly strong person

is not someone who can conquer things,

but someone who can bear and hold things.

Not someone who can defeat many people,

but someone who can help many people.

May you —

have the strength of a strong person,

and also the gentleness of someone who knows weakness.

Have the solid power of great strength,

and also the original heart of upholding righteousness.

May you grow stronger and stronger,

and also better and better.