恆 → 坎
Hexagram 32: Duration → Hexagram 29: The Abysmal Water
Changing Lines
This transformation involves 3 changing lines (lines 3, 4, 5).
Line 3
九三 不恆其德。或承之羞。貞吝。
Nine in the third place means: He who does not give duration to his character Meets with disgrace. Persistent humiliation.
Line 4
九四 田无禽。
Nine in the fourth place means: No game in the field.
Line 5
六五 恒其德貞。婦人吉。夫子凶。
Six in the fifth place means: Giving duration to one's character through perseverance. This is good fortune for a woman, misfortune for a man.
Trigram Changes
Yilin Verse
驎麑鳳稚，安樂無憂，捕魚河海，利踰從居。
Qilin calf and phoenix chick; at ease and without worry. Catching fish in river and sea; profit surpasses one’s dwelling.
— Jiao Yanshou, Yilin (Forest of Changes), 1st century BCE
Commentary
Thunder above wind, Duration's rhythmic persistence, deepens into doubled water — the Abysmal's repeated danger. Yet the verse paints not peril but paradise: the qilin fawn and phoenix chick play peacefully; fishing in rivers and seas yields bounty that surpasses any settled dwelling. The qilin and phoenix are omens of a sage-king's reign — their appearance signals cosmic harmony. The fisherman's catch exceeds what domestic life provides. Duration here reaches its most auspicious expression: when constancy aligns with natural order, even the Abysmal's doubled waters become seas of abundance rather than pits of danger. From Duration to the Abysmal, persistence practiced in accord with the Way transforms repeated danger into repeated harvest.
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