无妄

Hexagram 15: Modesty → Hexagram 25: Innocence

Modesty
Earth / Mountain
无妄
Innocence
Heaven / Thunder
Changing LinesStable Lines

Changing Lines

This transformation involves 5 changing lines (lines 1, 3, 4, 5, 6).

Line 1

初六 謙謙君子。用涉大川。吉。

qiānauthentically
qiānand
jūnin
young one
yòngit
shèto
the great
chuānstream
promising

Six at the beginning means: A superior man modest about his modesty May cross the great water. Good fortune.

Line 3

九三 勞謙君子。有終吉。

láodiligence
qiānand
jūnin
young one
yǒuhave
zhōngresults
promising

Nine in the third place means: A superior man of modesty and merit Carries things to conclusion. Good fortune.

Line 4

六四 无不利撝謙。

without
doubt
worthwhile
huīwith
qiānof authenticity

Six in the fourth place means: Nothing that would not further modesty In movement.

Line 5

六五 不富以其鄰。利用侵伐。无不利。

there is no
enrichment
making use of
one's
línneighbors
it is worthwhile
yòngand useful
qīnto occupy
and subjugate
without
doubt
worthwhile

Six in the fifth place means: No boasting of wealth before one's neighbor. It is favorable to attack with force. Nothing that would not further.

Line 6

上六 鳴謙。利用行師。征邑國。

míngproclaiming
qiānauthenticity
it is worthwhile
yòngand useful
xíngto move
shīthe militia
zhēngto advance on
home town
guóand province

Six at the top means: Modesty that comes to expression. It is favorable to set armies marching To chastise one's own city and one's country.

Trigram Changes

Upper TrigramEarth HeavenThe Receptive → The Creative
Lower TrigramMountain ThunderKeeping Still → The Arousing

Yilin Verse

百川朝海,流行不止;道雖遼遠,無不到者。

A hundred streams flow to the sea; their journey never ceases. Though the way is long and distant; there is none that does not arrive.

— Jiao Yanshou, Yilin (Forest of Changes), 1st century BCE

Commentary

Earth holds the mountain low, and a hundred rivers flow toward the sea, their current never ceasing. The road may be distant and long, yet there is nothing that does not arrive. The image is elemental and reassuring: water always finds its way to the ocean, no matter how winding the path. From Modesty to Innocence, thunder moves beneath heaven, and all things participate in the spontaneous truthfulness of nature. The verse embodies Innocence's cosmic principle: when action accords with natural law, even the most remote goal is reached. The hundred rivers do not plan or strategize — they simply follow gravity's honest pull. Modesty provides the low ground that draws all streams together; Innocence ensures the journey is completed without contrivance.

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