臨 → 師
Hexagram 19: Approach → Hexagram 7: The Army
Changing Lines
This transformation involves 1 changing line (line 1).
Line 1
初九 咸臨貞吉。
Nine at the beginning means: Joint approach. Perseverance brings good fortune.
Trigram Changes
Yilin Verse
二人俱行,各遺其囊。鴻鵠失珠,無以為明。
Two men walk together, each having dropped his satchel. The wild swan lost its pearl -- it has no light to see by.
— Jiao Yanshou, Yilin (Forest of Changes), 1st century BCE
Commentary
Earth above the lake transforms into water hidden within earth — the Army's disciplined force. Two travelers walk together, yet each has lost his provisions. A swan goose drops its luminous pearl and is left without light to see by. The image is of companions who fail to complement each other: both depleted, neither can supply what the other lacks. The pearl — the goose's single source of illumination — once lost, leaves only darkness. From Approach to the Army, the elder's generous oversight must become organized discipline. When individuals scatter their resources, only collective structure can restore capability. Water concealed within earth gathers what scattered travelers cannot: strength through unity rather than parallel impoverishment.
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