節 → 中孚
Hexagram 60: Limitation → Hexagram 61: Inner Truth
Changing Lines
This transformation involves 1 changing line (line 6).
Line 6
上六 苦節貞凶。悔亡。
Six at the top means: Galling limitation. Perseverance brings misfortune. Remorse disappears.
Trigram Changes
Yilin Verse
江有寶珠,海多大魚。亟行疾至,所以得財。
The river holds precious pearls; the sea teems with great fish. Travel swiftly, arrive quickly; thus one obtains wealth.
— Jiao Yanshou, Yilin (Forest of Changes), 1st century BCE
Commentary
Water over lake guards its resources, and this verse reveals those resources in their most concentrated form. Rivers hold pearls; seas teem with great fish. Move swiftly, arrive quickly, and wealth is yours for the taking. The verse combines natural abundance with the urgency of seizing the moment — treasures exist, but only the swift and decisive can claim them. From Limitation to Inner Truth, the transformation deepens the meaning of these treasures. Wind over lake — the crane cries from the marsh and its young respond. Inner Truth operates through sincerity that penetrates without force, like wind stirring the lake's surface. Limitation's careful husbanding of resources becomes Inner Truth's genuine connection: the pearl is not seized by force but recognized through authentic perception. Speed here is not greed but the quickness of one who sees truly and acts without hesitation.
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