屯 → 艮
Hexagram 3: Difficulty at the Beginning → Hexagram 52: Keeping Still Mountain
Changing Lines
This transformation involves 4 changing lines (lines 1, 3, 5, 6).
Line 1
初九 磐桓。利居貞。利建侯。
Nine at the beginning means: Hesitation and hindrance. It furthers one to remain persevering. It furthers one to appoint helpers.
Line 3
六三 即鹿無虞。惟入于林中。君子幾不如舍。往吝。
Six in the third place means: Whoever hunts deer without the forester Only loses his way in the forest. The superior man understands the signs of the time And prefers to desist. To go on brings humiliation.
Line 5
九五 屯其膏。小貞吉。大貞凶。
Nine in the fifth place means: Difficulties in blessing. A little perseverance brings good fortune. Great perseverance brings misfortune.
Line 6
上六 乘馬班如。泣血漣如。
Six at the top means: Horse and wagon part. Bloody tears flow.
Trigram Changes
Yilin Verse
年常蒙慶，今歲受福。三夫採葩，出必有得。
Each year brings blessings; this year receives good fortune. Three men gather blossoms; going out, they are sure to find success.
— Jiao Yanshou, Yilin (Forest of Changes), 1st century BCE
Commentary
Clouds and thunder yield to twin mountains: initial difficulty settles into quiet stillness. Year after year blessings accumulate, and this year receives particular fortune. Three men go out to gather blossoms, and whenever they venture forth they surely return with something. The verse is gently optimistic: steady accumulation over time, modest but reliable harvests. From Difficulty at the Beginning to Keeping Still, the gentleman thinks without overstepping his position. The twin mountains of Gen stand firm, and the initial turbulence of Zhun resolves into a settled routine where effort consistently yields return. No grand transformation occurs; instead, the daily practice of going out, gathering, and bringing back produces cumulative abundance. Stillness here is not paralysis but the quiet confidence of a life in rhythm.
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