謙 → 无妄
Hexagram 15: Modesty → Hexagram 25: Innocence
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。
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。
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。
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。
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。
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
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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