隨 → 无妄
Hexagram 17: Following → Hexagram 25: Innocence
Changing Lines
This transformation involves 1 changing line (line 6).
Line 6
上六 拘係之。乃從維之。王用亨于西山。
Six at the top means: He meets with firm allegiance And is still further bound. The king introduces him To the Western Mountain.
Trigram Changes
Yilin Verse
茅茹本居，與類相扶；顧慕群旅，不離其巢。
Cogon grass, rooted together, supporting its kind; gazing fondly at the flock, never leaving the nest.
— Jiao Yanshou, Yilin (Forest of Changes), 1st century BCE
Commentary
Thunder rests within the lake, and rushes cling to their native soil, drawing each other up by the roots. The image echoes the I-Ching's own hexagram Tai, line six-four: 'Pulling up cogon grass by the roots, companions come along.' Here the community of plants — rooted together, supporting one another — gazes fondly at its traveling flock but never leaves the nest. The verse celebrates rootedness: following one's kind need not mean wandering abroad. From Following to Innocence, Wu Wang's thunder moves under heaven without contrivance. The rushes embody this naturalness — they do not scheme to hold fast; they simply grow where they belong, and belonging itself becomes their strength.
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