損 → 中孚

Commentary

Mountain above lake gives way to wind above lake — Inner Truth, where sincerity penetrates like wind across water. The neighbor does not look at me, yet I gaze longingly at the beautiful woman. My body is covered with sores and lesions — who would find me attractive? The verse is a lament of unrequited desire compounded by self-awareness: the speaker knows his condition makes him repulsive, yet cannot stop longing for what is unattainable. From Decrease to Inner Truth, the mountain dissolves into wind that plays across the lake's surface — the transparency of water revealing what lies beneath. Inner Truth demands honesty, and the verse delivers it with painful clarity. Decrease has stripped away all pretense, leaving the speaker face to face with an unflattering truth: sincerity without capacity is just another form of suffering.