損 → 小畜
Hexagram 41: Decrease → Hexagram 9: Small Taming
Changing Lines
This transformation involves 2 changing lines (lines 3, 5).
Line 3
六三 三人行。則損一人。一人行。則得其友。
Six in the third place means: When three people journey together, Their number decreases by one. When one man journeys alone, He finds a companion.
Line 5
六五 或益之十朋之龜。弗克違。元吉。
Six in the fifth place means: Someone does indeed increase him. Ten pairs of tortoises cannot oppose it. Supreme good fortune.
Trigram Changes
Yilin Verse
從足去域，飛入陳國。有所畏避，深藏邃匿。
From foot he flees the domain, flying into the state of Chen. Having something to fear and avoid; he hides deep, concealed in secret.
— Jiao Yanshou, Yilin (Forest of Changes), 1st century BCE
Commentary
Mountain above lake yields to wind above heaven — the gentle restraint of Small Taming. Feet flee their domain, darting into the state of Chen. There is something to fear, something to avoid, so one hides deep and conceals oneself in the farthest recess. The verse depicts urgent flight and deliberate disappearance — a fugitive seeking sanctuary in a foreign land. From Decrease to Small Taming, the mountain's solidity dissolves into wind riding above heaven: a force that restrains not through mass but through persistent, subtle pressure. The fugitive who hides has decreased everything — home, position, identity — in order to survive. Small Taming's wind gently holds heaven in check, just as the exile's quiet concealment holds danger at bay through patience rather than confrontation.
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