訟 → 比
Hexagram 6: Conflict → Hexagram 8: Holding Together
Changing Lines
This transformation involves 3 changing lines (lines 2, 4, 6).
Line 2
九二 不克訟。歸而逋其邑。人三百戶。无眚。
Nine in the second place means: One cannot engage in conflict; One returns home, gives way. The people of his town, Three hundred households, Remain free of guilt.
Line 4
九四 不克訟。復即命。渝安貞。吉。
Nine in the fourth place means: One cannot engage in conflict. One turns back and submits to fate, Changes one's attitude, And finds peace in perseverance. Good fortune.
Line 6
上九 或錫之鞶帶。終朝三褫之。
Nine at the top means: Even if by chance a leather belt is bestowed on one, By the end of a morning It will have been snatched away three times.
Trigram Changes
Yilin Verse
水流趍下，欲至東海。求我所有，買魴與鯉。
Water flows rushing downward, seeking to reach the eastern sea. I seek what I have; buying bream and carp.
— Jiao Yanshou, Yilin (Forest of Changes), 1st century BCE
Commentary
Heaven and water oppose, yet water follows its nature — it flows downhill, seeking the eastern sea. One searches for what one possesses and buys bream and carp, the staple fish of prosperity. The verse captures the simplest form of resolution: stop fighting the current and let things find their natural level. From Conflict to Holding Together, heaven's opposition to water dissolves as water pools upon the earth. Bi's image — water resting on the ground — represents natural affinity, the way people and resources gather where conditions allow. The fish market is community in miniature: supply meets demand, buyer meets seller, and abundance flows to where it is welcomed.
The Six Lines app includes all 4,096 Yilin verses, each with original ink brush artwork and full commentary. Download on the App Store