Enlightened society, as presented in the Yijing, is not a utopian vision. This society includes the full range of beings, from the most ignorant to the most evolved, and it encompasses both wakefulness and confusion. However, the enlightened culture of the Yijing supports people's journeys from fear to fearlessness and from confusion to wakefulness rather than fostering individualism, selfishness, competition, territoriality, materialism, and aggression.
Such a society is not simply a social contraption fashioned to negotiate and balance individual and group interests. A society functions as a mandala—enlightened society—if it is based on confidence in basic goodness, is centered around a wise leader and loyal ministers, and is structured so that the power and energy of basic goodness permeates all of human culture and every social strata.
The Yijing understands basic goodness to be inherent in humanity, the natural world, and society, although beings may not recognize it. The 64 hexagrams describe the process of organizing and ruling society around this inherent goodness by utilizing the natural action of the four seasons and drala, so all members of society can resonate with sacredness in their lives according to their aspirations and capabilities.
Thus, an enlightened social mandala organizes human relationships in ways that transmit and parse sacredness throughout society. The communication of sacredness must be tailored to match each individual's karmic ability to handle wisdom, which is profound, vast, and vivid. The bravest individuals can work most directly with Heaven and Earth, and are responsible for transmitting that wisdom into society. Less mature beings have more local opportunities to display their confidence in basic goodness and their loyalty to sacred world. An enlightened society includes values, and supports each life as an inherent part of the social mandala.
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