益 → 明夷
Hexagram 42: Increase → Hexagram 36: Darkening of the Light
Changing Lines
This transformation involves 3 changing lines (lines 3, 5, 6).
Line 3
六三 益之用凶事。无咎。有孚中行。告公用圭。
Six in the third place means: One is enriched through unfortunate events. No blame, if you are sincere And walk in the middle, And report with a seal to the prince.
Line 5
九五 有孚惠心。勿問元吉。有孚惠我德。
Nine in the fifth place means: If in truth you have a kind heart, ask not. Supreme good fortune. Truly, kindness will be recognized as your virtue.
Line 6
上九 莫益之。或擊之。立心勿恆。凶。
Nine at the top means: He brings increase to no one. Indeed, someone even strikes him. He does not keep his heart constantly steady. Misfortune.
Trigram Changes
Yilin Verse
當風奮翼，與鳥飛北。入我嘉國，見吾慶室。
Facing the wind and spreading wings, flying north with the birds. Entering our fair land, beholding our blessed home.
— Jiao Yanshou, Yilin (Forest of Changes), 1st century BCE
Commentary
Wind and thunder bestow increase, but the transformation leads to brightness entering the earth — the concealment of Darkening of the Light. Riding the wind with wings unfurled, one flies northward together with the birds. Arriving at a blessed realm, one sees a hall of celebration. The verse depicts a joyful migration — riding the wind, joining a flock, reaching a land of goodness. Yet the transformation into Ming Yi suggests this bright arrival conceals deeper complexity: brightness has entered the earth, and the wise must use obscurity to maintain their clarity. From Increase to Darkening of the Light, the pattern reveals that sometimes the wisest response to a generous endowment is to carry it quietly into a place where light is hidden but not extinguished.
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