困 → 益
Hexagram 47: Oppression → Hexagram 42: Increase
Changing Lines
This transformation involves 4 changing lines (lines 1, 2, 4, 6).
Line 1
初六 臀困于株木。入于幽谷。三歲不覿。
Six at the beginning means: One sits oppressed under a bare tree And strays into a gloomy valley. For three years one sees nothing.
Line 2
九二 困于酒食。朱紱方來。利用享祀。征凶无咎。
Nine in the second place means: One is oppressed while at meat and drink. The man with the scarlet knee bands is just coming. It furthers one to offer sacrifice. To set forth brings misfortune. No blame.
Line 4
九四 來徐徐。困于金車。吝。有終。
Nine in the fourth place means: He comes very quietly, oppressed in a golden carriage. Humiliation, but the end is reached.
Line 6
上六 困于葛藟。于臲卼。曰動悔有悔。征吉。
Six at the top means: He is oppressed by creeping vines. He moves uncertainly and says, "Movement brings remorse. " If one feels remorse over this and makes a start, Good fortune comes.
Trigram Changes
Yilin Verse
童女无媒,不宜動搖。安其室廬,傅母何憂?
The maiden has no matchmaker; it is unfit to be stirred or moved. She remains secure in her dwelling, and the governess has no cause for worry.
— Jiao Yanshou, Yilin (Forest of Changes), 1st century BCE
Commentary
A lake without water: a young girl has no matchmaker and should not be stirred into action. She stays quietly in her dwelling, and what need her chaperone worry? The verse counsels patience and propriety in matters of marriage. Without a matchmaker, no courtship should proceed; the girl who remains in her chambers preserves both her reputation and her prospects. The 'fu mu' (chaperone-mother) rests easy knowing her charge is secure. From Oppression to Increase, wind and thunder reinforce each other, and the gentleman sees good and pursues it, finds fault and corrects it. Increase comes not from rash movement but from recognizing that the right conditions have not yet formed. Staying still within oppression is itself the increase: virtue preserved is virtue gained.
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