損 → 坤
Hexagram 41: Decrease → Hexagram 2: The Receptive
Changing Lines
This transformation involves 3 changing lines (lines 1, 2, 6).
Line 1
初九 已事遄往。无咎。酌損之。
Nine at the beginning means: Going quickly when one's tasks are finished Is without blame. But one must reflect on how much one may decrease others.
Line 2
九二 利貞。征凶。弗損益之。
Nine in the second place means: Perseverance furthers. To undertake something brings misfortune. Without decreasing oneself, One is able to bring increase to others.
Line 6
上九 弗損益之。无咎。貞吉。利有攸往。得臣无家。
Nine at the top means: If one is increased without depriving others, There is no blame. Perseverance brings good fortune. It furthers one to undertake something. One obtains servants But no longer has a separate home.
Trigram Changes
Yilin Verse
景星照堂，麟遊鳳翔。仁施大行，頌聲作興。征者无明，失其寵光。
An auspicious star illuminates the hall; the qilin roams, the phoenix soars. Benevolence spreads, greatly enacted; hymns of praise arise. Yet the campaigner lacks clarity; he loses his favor and light.
— Jiao Yanshou, Yilin (Forest of Changes), 1st century BCE
Commentary
Mountain above lake opens onto an auspicious vision that dims at its close. A felicitous star illuminates the hall, the qilin roams and the phoenix soars — triple portents of a sage-king's reign. Benevolence spreads wide, hymns of praise arise. Yet the verse pivots: those who march forth find no clarity, losing their luster and favor. The auspicious signs belong to a court that cultivates virtue at rest, not to those who venture abroad seeking glory. From Decrease to the Receptive, the mountain's restraint dissolves into earth's boundless yielding. Decrease counsels sacrifice; the Receptive rewards stillness and receptivity. Those who insist on advancing despite the pattern's call for quiet devotion find themselves stripped of the very brightness that lit the hall.
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