坎 → 謙
Hexagram 29: The Abysmal Water → Hexagram 15: Modesty
Changing Lines
This transformation involves 3 changing lines (lines 2, 3, 5).
Line 2
九二 坎有險。求小得。
Nine in the second place means: The abyss is dangerous. One should strive to attain small things only.
Line 3
六三 來之坎坎。險且枕。入于坎窞。勿用。
Six in the third place means: Forward and backward, abyss on abyss. In danger like this, pause at first and wait, Otherwise you will fall into a pit in the abyss. Do not act this way.
Line 5
九五 坎不盈。祗既平。无咎。
Nine in the fifth place means: The abyss is not filled to overflowing, It is filled only to the rim. No blame.
Trigram Changes
Yilin Verse
門燒屋燔，為下所殘。西行出戶，順其道理，虎臥不起，牛羊歡喜。
The gate burns, the house is ablaze; destroyed by those below. Going west, stepping out the door, following the proper way -- the tiger lies still and does not rise; the oxen and sheep rejoice.
— Jiao Yanshou, Yilin (Forest of Changes), 1st century BCE
Commentary
Water upon water, fire breaks out where it should not. The gate burns, the house blazes, ravaged by forces from below — order collapses from the foundation upward. Yet the verse pivots sharply: go west, step out the door, follow the natural principle of things, and the tiger lies down and does not rise. Cattle and sheep rejoice in safety. The resolution comes not from fighting the fire but from changing direction entirely. From The Abysmal to Modesty, perilous water transforms into the mountain hidden within the earth — great power made invisible through humility. The tiger that refuses to rise embodies Modesty's core mechanism: strength that declines to assert itself, making space for the meek to thrive.
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