賁 → 比
Hexagram 22: Grace → Hexagram 8: Holding Together
Changing Lines
This transformation involves 4 changing lines (lines 1, 3, 5, 6).
Line 1
初九 賁其趾。舍車而徒。
Nine at the beginning means: He lends grace to his toes, leaves the carriage, and walks.
Line 3
九三 賁如濡如。永貞吉。
Nine in the third place means: Graceful and moist. Constant perseverance brings good fortune.
Line 5
六五 賁于丘園。束帛戔戔。吝。終吉。
Six in the fifth place means: Grace in the hills and gardens. The roll of silk is meager and small. Humiliation, but in the end good fortune.
Line 6
上九 白賁。无咎。
Nine at the top means: Simple grace. No blame.
Trigram Changes
Yilin Verse
鳥飛無翼，兔走折足。不常其德，自為羞辱。
A bird flies without wings; a rabbit runs with a broken leg. Inconstant in virtue, one brings shame and disgrace upon oneself.
— Jiao Yanshou, Yilin (Forest of Changes), 1st century BCE
Commentary
Fire beneath the mountain adorns what cannot sustain itself. A bird tries to fly without wings; a rabbit runs but its legs snap. These are images of fundamental incapacity — not bad luck but structural impossibility. The verse concludes with moral judgment: one who does not maintain constant virtue brings shame upon himself. The wingless bird and broken-legged rabbit are not victims of circumstance; their failure is built into their nature. From Grace to Holding Together, the mountain's decorative fire yields to water resting upon the earth. Where Grace adorns the surface, Holding Together demands genuine bonding. Without inner capacity — without wings, without sound legs, without steady virtue — no amount of adornment can create true union.
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