坎 → 需
Hexagram 29: The Abysmal Water → Hexagram 5: Waiting
Changing Lines
This transformation involves 2 changing lines (lines 1, 3).
Line 1
初六 習坎。入于坎窞。凶。
Six at the beginning means: Repetition of the Abysmal. In the abyss one falls into a pit. Misfortune.
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.
Trigram Changes
Yilin Verse
狗冠雛步，君失其居。出門抵山，行者憂難。水灌我園，高陸為泉。
A dog in a cap, walking with chick-like steps; the lord loses his dwelling. Stepping out the door, mountains block the way; the traveler meets hardship. Water floods my garden; the high plateau becomes a spring.
— Jiao Yanshou, Yilin (Forest of Changes), 1st century BCE
Commentary
Water upon water, peril overflows its banks. A dog wears a ceremonial cap and struts with the mincing gait of a chick — a grotesque inversion of propriety, signaling that the ruler has lost his place. Stepping outside, one meets only mountains blocking the way; travelers face hardship at every turn. Then the water invades: it floods the garden, and high ground itself becomes a spring. The landscape of order dissolves when authority is misplaced. From The Abysmal to Waiting, the water that was perilous now hovers as clouds above heaven — danger has not vanished but has been suspended, requiring patient watchfulness. The wise response is not to act but to wait for the flood to find its level.
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