坎 → 坤
Hexagram 29: The Abysmal Water → Hexagram 2: The Receptive
Changing Lines
This transformation involves 2 changing lines (lines 2, 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 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
猿墮高木，不踒手足。保我金玉，還歸其室。
The boat breaks but the wind dies and waves calm. In soaked clothes, clutching the chest, climbing ashore. The pack is torn but the gold is not lost — distant lamplight marks the family gate.
— Jiao Yanshou, Yilin (Forest of Changes), 1st century BCE
Commentary
Water upon water: the abyss doubles its danger. An ape tumbles from a tall tree yet neither breaks its hands nor its feet — nimble enough to survive the fall. Though shaken, the creature keeps hold of its treasure, gold and jade intact, and returns safely to its den. The original verse captures pure animal resourcefulness: the fall is violent but the instinct to grip tight preserves what matters. From The Abysmal to The Receptive, doubled peril yields to earth's quiet endurance. The ape does not fight the fall or struggle against gravity — it accepts the descent and lands whole. What saves it is not strength but pliancy, the receptive capacity to absorb shock without losing one's essential holdings.
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