否 → 節
Hexagram 12: Standstill → Hexagram 60: Limitation
Changing Lines
This transformation involves 4 changing lines (lines 1, 2, 4, 6).
Line 1
初六 拔茅茹。以其彙。貞吉。亨。
Six at the beginning means: When ribbon grass is pulled up, the sod comes with it. Each according to his kind. Perseverance brings good fortune and success.
Line 2
六二 包承。小人吉。大人否。亨。
Six in the second place means: They bear and endure; This means good fortune for inferior people. The standstill serves to help the great man to attain success.
Line 4
九四 有命无咎。疇離祉。
Nine in the fourth place means: He who acts at the command of the highest Remains without blame. Those of like mind partake of the blessing.
Line 6
上九 傾否。先否後喜。
Nine at the top means: The standstill comes to an end. First standstill, then good fortune.
Trigram Changes
Yilin Verse
牧羊稻園，聞虎喧嚾；思恐悚息，終無禍患。
Herding sheep in the rice garden; one hears the tiger's roar. Trembling with fear and held breath; yet in the end, no disaster comes.
— Jiao Yanshou, Yilin (Forest of Changes), 1st century BCE
Commentary
Heaven and earth stand sealed as one tends sheep in the rice garden and hears a tiger roaring. Fear and trembling seize the heart, yet in the end no disaster comes. From Standstill to Limitation, Pi's stagnation meets water above the lake — Jie's image of measured boundaries that prevent overflow. The verse captures Limitation's wisdom perfectly: the tiger's roar is terrifying, but the boundaries hold. The shepherd in the rice paddy occupies a carefully defined space; the tiger is heard but does not cross the threshold. Jie counsels 'establishing measures and standards, deliberating on virtue and conduct.' Here, the proper boundary between the cultivated and the wild keeps the threat acoustic rather than actual. Fear is real; harm is not.
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