艮 → 損
Hexagram 52: Keeping Still Mountain → Hexagram 41: Decrease
Changing Lines
This transformation involves 3 changing lines (lines 1, 2, 3).
Line 1
初六 艮其趾。无咎。利永貞。
Six at the beginning means: Keeping his toes still. No blame. Continued perseverance furthers.
Line 2
六二 艮其腓。不拯其隨。其心不快。
Six in the second place means: Keeping his calves still. He cannot rescue him whom he follows. His heart is not glad.
Line 3
九三 艮其限。列其夤。厲熏心。
Nine in the third place means: Keeping his hips still. Making his sacrum stiff. Dangerous. The heart suffocates.
Trigram Changes
Yilin Verse
卵與石鬭，麋碎無疑。動而有悔，出不得時。
An egg contends with a stone; it will shatter beyond doubt. Acting, there is regret; setting forth at the wrong time.
— Jiao Yanshou, Yilin (Forest of Changes), 1st century BCE
Commentary
Twin mountains stand still, but the egg dares to fight the stone — it will be crushed beyond doubt. To move is to invite regret; to venture out is to miss the moment. The 'egg against stone' proverb (以卵擊石) is one of the most ancient Chinese images of catastrophic miscalculation, appearing in the Mozi and Xunzi. From Keeping Still to Decrease, mountain yields to mountain above the lake, where excess is pared away to nourish what lies below. Decrease counsels restraint of anger and desire. The verse is its negative example: the egg's reckless challenge is pure, unchecked impulse — the refusal to accept limitation. What the mountain's stillness should have taught, the egg ignores, and the result is self-inflicted annihilation.
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