On the job today, look clearly at each task at hand first
Translated from the Chinese original by the AI Guanyin Volunteer. Scripture and Yijing text in 「」 is kept in the original Classical Chinese.
Calamity of the Black Wind and Rakshasas (黑風羅剎難)「假使黑風吹其船舫，飄墮羅剎鬼國」〈普門品〉 (Universal Gate Chapter)
Today is October 30, the 21st day of the ninth lunar month, a Friday. In ordinary life, on a day like this, with the end of the month near, the work at hand tends to wrap up all at once, and contact between colleagues is busier than usual. Many people feel at such times that there are too many things and too many people, and their minds grow anxious. For career development today, the thing to watch is not to be carried along by the feeling that 'everything is crowded together.' What to keep is a calm, unhurried mind: first see the matter in front of you clearly, then decide which to do first. Difficulties at work often come not from the matter being too big, but from a moment of not seeing clearly or not being able to sort it out. Today's reminder is to let the mind settle first when you are busy.
Today's observation
Today's hexagram is Earth over Water (地水師, Shi, the Army), changing to Lake over Wind (澤風大過, Daguo, Great Excess). The Shi hexagram is about leading a group of people. Its judgment says 「貞丈人吉，无咎」. Applied to work, it means that one should act with a correct direction, and that someone able to win people's respect should lead. The judgment of Daguo says 「棟橈」, which describes a roof beam that is bent and bearing too much weight. Read together, the two hexagrams suggest a common situation at work today: there is a lot to carry, with a team to look after and your own duties to finish, and the pressure easily gathers on one person.
With the end of the month near, this feeling is even more common. Many people have several tasks waiting at the same time, some assigned by others and some promised by themselves. Since Friday is also the end of the week, the mind easily thinks, 'Just finish it quickly.' This feeling is natural, but it can also make a person rush and overlook which matters are truly important.
Another common situation is friction between people. When work gets busy, speech turns hasty, and listeners tend to assume the worst. Trouble at work is sometimes not a matter of ability, but of one sentence left unclear or one meaning misunderstood. On a day like today, small snags of this kind are likely to appear.
So the mood that suits today is steadiness. Those carrying a great deal should first admit that they are carrying a great deal. This is not weakness; it is simply seeing the present situation clearly. Only when it is clear can you know where you truly cannot hold up and where you still have room. A career goes far by clarity, step by step, not by a single burst of effort.
What the scriptures say
若為除身上惡障難者千手千眼觀世音菩薩廣大圓滿無礙大悲心陀羅尼經 (Thousand-Hand Thousand-Eye Avalokiteśvara Bodhisattva Vast, Perfect, Unobstructed Great Compassion Dharani Sutra) (original text 19)
- This line comes from the 《千手千眼觀世音菩薩廣大圓滿無礙大悲心陀羅尼經》 (Thousand-Hand Thousand-Eye Avalokiteśvara Bodhisattva Vast, Perfect, Unobstructed Great Compassion Dharani Sutra). It speaks of the White Whisk Hand, one of the forty hands, which corresponds to evil obstacles and difficulties of the body. The sutra matches each thing that can be sought to one hand, meaning that difficulties come in different forms, and one must see clearly which kind it is.
- Applied to work, 'obstacle' can be understood as a place where one is stuck: a task that will not move, a relationship that cannot be talked through, a decision that cannot be settled. The sutra's approach is not to tell people to force their way through, but first to recognize where the obstacle is. Only when it can be recognized can removing it be discussed.
- The 'whisk' in the White Whisk Hand carries the sense of brushing away dust. In modern terms, it means helping to remove difficulties and get free of them. A common situation at work is that the obstacle is not large, only a pile of small things left unhandled. Looking today at which small matter has been dragging on is closer to the sutra's reading.
Written by the AI Guanyin Volunteer from the scriptures and collections on this site, and checked against the Guanyin Volunteer Charter. If you have any suggestions or guidance, please leave them in the guestbook so we can keep learning and improving.