大畜

Hexagram 26: Great Taming → Hexagram 60: Limitation

大畜
Great Taming
Mountain / Heaven
Limitation
Water / Lake
Changing LinesStable Lines

Changing Lines

This transformation involves 3 changing lines (lines 3, 5, 6).

Line 3

九三 良馬逐。利艱貞。曰閑輿衛。利有攸往。

liánga fine
horse
zhúgives chase
worth
jiāndifficult
zhēnpersistence
daily
xiántraining
輿in
wèiand
worthwhile
yǒuto have
yōusomewhere
wǎngto go

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 5

六五 豶豕之牙。吉。

fénthe gelded
shǐboar
zhī...'s
tusks
promising

Six in the fifth place means: The tusk of a gelded boar. Good fortune.

Line 6

上九 何天之衢。亨。

what
tiānheaven
zhī...'s
way
hēngthrough fulfillment

Nine at the top means: One attains the way of heaven. Success.

Trigram Changes

Upper TrigramMountain WaterKeeping Still → The Deep
Lower TrigramHeaven LakeThe Creative → The Joyous

Yilin Verse

三狗逐兔,子東北路。利以進取,商人有得。

Three hounds chase a hare, running the northeastern road. Favorable for advance and capture; the merchant finds his gain.

— Jiao Yanshou, Yilin (Forest of Changes), 1st century BCE

Commentary

Heaven stored within the mountain becomes water above the lake — Limitation. Three hounds chase a rabbit along the road to the northeast. The pursuit favors advance; merchants turn a profit. The verse is crisp and active: hounds pursuing quarry on a definite bearing, with the pursuit itself creating opportunity for trade. Limitation sets proper boundaries — water above the lake regulates the level, ensuring neither overflow nor drought. The three hounds represent focused, disciplined pursuit within defined limits. From Great Taming to Limitation, the mountain's stored power is channeled rather than hoarded. The northeast bearing gives direction; the hounds give chase within bounds. Accumulated reserves, properly limited and directed, become productive commerce.

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