大有 → 謙
Hexagram 14: Great Possession → Hexagram 15: Modesty
Changing Lines
This transformation involves 4 changing lines (lines 1, 2, 4, 6).
Line 1
初九 无交害。匪咎。艱則无咎。
Nine at the beginning means: No relationship with what is harmful; There is no blame in this. If one remains conscious of difficulty, One remains without blame.
Line 2
九二 大車以載。有攸往。无咎。
Nine in the second place means: A big wagon for loading. One may undertake something. No blame.
Line 4
九四 匪其彭。无咎。
Nine in the fourth place means: He makes a difference Between himself and his neighbor. No blame.
Line 6
上九 自天祐之。吉无不利。
Nine at the top means: He is blessed by heaven. Good fortune. Nothing that does not further.
Trigram Changes
Yilin Verse
方船備水，旁河然火；終身無禍。
Boats lashed together guard against flood; fire kept along the riverbank. To the end of life, no calamity.
— Jiao Yanshou, Yilin (Forest of Changes), 1st century BCE
Commentary
Square boats are readied against floods, fires are lit along the riverbank as beacons. A lifetime passes without calamity. The verse is a parable of preparedness: the paired boats address water's threat, the fires address darkness and cold, and together they form a complete defense. From Great Possession to Modesty, fire over heaven descends to become a mountain hidden within the earth. The transformation is striking — from maximum visibility to voluntary concealment. The prepared person described here embodies Modesty's logic: by planning quietly and thoroughly, one avoids the disasters that strike the conspicuous and the careless. Abundance channeled into humble preparation yields lifelong safety.
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