觀 → 履
Hexagram 20: Contemplation → Hexagram 10: Treading
Changing Lines
This transformation involves 3 changing lines (lines 1, 2, 4).
Line 1
初六 童觀。小人无咎。君子吝。
Six at the beginning means: Boy like contemplation. For an inferior man, no blame. For a superior man, humiliation.
Line 2
六二 闚觀。利女貞。
Six in the second place means: Contemplation through the crack of the door. Furthering for the perseverance of a woman.
Line 4
六四 觀國之光。利用賓于王。
Six in the fourth place means: Contemplation of the light of the kingdom. It furthers one to exert influence as the guest of a king.
Trigram Changes
Yilin Verse
逐禍除患，道德神仙；遏惡萬里，常歡以安。
Driving out calamity and banishing misfortune, the Way, its virtue, and the immortals; evil held at bay for ten thousand miles -- ever joyful and at peace.
— Jiao Yanshou, Yilin (Forest of Changes), 1st century BCE
Commentary
Wind over earth surveys a world made safe. Misfortune is chased away, calamity is expelled, and the Way of virtue shines like the immortals themselves. Evil is held at bay across ten thousand li, and constant joy brings lasting peace. The verse presents a vision of moral governance so thorough that its protective power extends beyond ordinary reach. Heaven above lake — the image of Treading — defines proper conduct by distinguishing high from low. From Contemplation to Treading, the observer's clarity becomes ethical action: to see rightly is to walk rightly, and one who treads the path of virtue banishes harm not through force but through the luminous certainty of proper conduct.
The Six Lines app includes all 4,096 Yilin verses, each with original ink brush artwork and full commentary. Download on the App Store