大畜 → 萃
Hexagram 26: Great Taming → Hexagram 45: Gathering Together
Changing Lines
This transformation involves 6 changing lines (lines 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6).
Line 1
初九 有厲。利已。
Nine at the beginning means: Danger is at hand. It furthers one to desist.
Line 2
九二 輿說輹。
Nine in the second place means: The axletrees are taken from the wagon.
Line 3
九三 良馬逐。利艱貞。曰閑輿衛。利有攸往。
Nine in the third place means. A good horse that follows others. Awareness of danger, With perseverance, furthers. Practice chariot driving and armed defense daily. It furthers one to have somewhere to go.
Line 4
六四 童牛之牿。元吉。
Six in the fourth place means: The headboard of a young bull. Great good fortune.
Line 5
六五 豶豕之牙。吉。
Six in the fifth place means: The tusk of a gelded boar. Good fortune.
Line 6
上九 何天之衢。亨。
Nine at the top means: One attains the way of heaven. Success.
Trigram Changes
Yilin Verse
雞狗相望，仁道篤行。不吠昏明，各安其鄉。周鼎和餌，國富民有。八極蒙祐。
Chickens and dogs within sight of one another; the way of benevolence is practiced steadfastly. They do not bark at dusk or dawn; each is at peace in its own village. The tripod of Zhou blends its seasonings; the state is rich, the people have plenty. All within the eight directions receive its blessing.
— Jiao Yanshou, Yilin (Forest of Changes), 1st century BCE
Commentary
Heaven stored within the mountain opens onto a vision of pastoral contentment. Roosters and dogs can be heard from neighboring homesteads, yet no one disturbs the dawn or dusk: each household rests secure in its own village. This is Laozi's utopia from Daodejing chapter 80: neighboring communities so self-sufficient and content that 'the people grow old and die without visiting one another.' The verse then adds the Zhou cauldron harmonizing its ingredients, a metaphor for governance as skilled cookery, blending diverse elements into nourishing whole. The nation prospers and all within the eight directions receive blessing. From Great Taming to Gathering, accumulated wisdom yields not expansion but community: the mountain's stored heaven descends as the lake gathers upon the earth, pooling abundance where people naturally congregate.
The Six Lines app includes all 4,096 Yilin verses, each with original ink brush artwork and full commentary. Download on the App Store