The Oath in the Peach Garden
Neutral
The poem
Original: 行藏出入礼义恭 / 言必忠良信必从 / 心不了然且静澈 / 光明红日正当中
The story
As the Han dynasty collapsed and the Yellow Turbans rose, Liu Bei, Guan Yu and Zhang Fei found they thought alike. In a peach garden in the third month, with the blossom out, they poured wine, swore before heaven to share every hardship and every blessing, and became sworn brothers. Their enterprise stood on courtesy and on kept promises.
What it means
The image is the red sun directly overhead: matters go as you wish. Behave with courtesy coming and going, speak honestly, keep what you promise, and things run smoothly of their own accord. Where your mind is unclear, let it settle until it is limpid as autumn water, and the sun stands at the zenith by itself. The lot points out that your present obstacle is not competence or opportunity but relationships and trust, which are repaired by conduct rather than argument. With nothing on your conscience and nothing hidden, everything succeeds.
By area of life
Wealth
Greed defeats itself here; gain sought hungrily does not come and deals are hard. Honest dealing and good credit attract the opportunity.
Love
Do your own groundwork first: courtesy, dignified conduct and decent speech. Once your bearing is right, romance finds you without any need for pursuit or strategy.
Work
In applying, attend to how you dress, speak and behave, and it goes well. In business, treat customers courteously and the enterprise grows.
Health
With nothing soiling the mind the body stays healthy. Clear the inner dust regularly, because that housekeeping is the effective treatment here rather than any medicine.
Travel
Distant success rests on how you treat people. Manage your relationships well and you will do well wherever you go, since character travels better than credentials.
Advice
Do the basic human work properly, because the sun has been standing directly over your head the whole time.