Hexagram 43: Breakthrough → Hexagram 57: The Gentle Wind

Breakthrough
Lake / Heaven
The Gentle Wind
Wind / Wind
Changing LinesStable Lines

Changing Lines

This transformation involves 3 changing lines (lines 1, 4, 6).

Line 1

初九 壯于前趾。往不勝為咎。

zhuàngvigorous
in
qiánadvancing
zhǐtoes
wǎnggoing forward
is not
shèngsuccessful
wéimaking
jiùmistakes

Nine at the beginning means: Mighty in the forward-striding toes. When one goes and is not equal to the task, One makes a mistake.

Line 4

九四 臀无膚。其行次且。牽羊悔亡。聞言不信。

túnrump
without
skin
one's
xíngwalking
is second-rate
qiěfor now
qiānin tow
yángas
huǐregrets
wángwill
wénbut to hear
yánthis
is not
xìnto believe

Nine in the fourth place means: There is no skin on his thighs, And walking comes hard. If a man were to let himself be led like a sheep, Remorse would disappear. But if these words are heard They will not be believed.

Line 6

上六 无號。終有凶。

there is
hàocall
zhōngthe end
yǒucould
xiōngunfortunate

Six at the top means: No cry. In the end misfortune comes.

Trigram Changes

Upper TrigramLake WindThe Joyous → The Gentle
Lower TrigramHeaven WindThe Creative → The Gentle

Yilin Verse

恬淡无患,遊戲道門。與神往來,長樂以安。

Tranquil and free from harm; roaming and playing at the gate of the Way. Coming and going with spirits; lasting joy and abiding peace.

— Jiao Yanshou, Yilin (Forest of Changes), 1st century BCE

Commentary

Lake risen above heaven dissolves into doubled wind, the gentle penetrating. Tranquil and free from affliction, one plays at the Gate of the Dao. Traveling back and forth with the spirits, one enjoys lasting peace and security. The verse paints a Daoist paradise — no anxiety, no striving, only easy communion with divine beings at the threshold between worlds. The 'Gate of the Dao' (dao men) evokes both physical hermitage and spiritual passage. From Breakthrough to the Gentle, the forceful decisive stroke softens into the wind's repeated, penetrating influence. Doubled wind enters everywhere without violence, spreading its effect through persistence rather than force. The sage who wanders with the spirits has passed beyond the need for breakthrough; he simply abides where the wind carries him.

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