中孚 → 節

Commentary

Wind stirs above the lake, but one stumbles at the threshold. Looking back, the fellow travelers have passed. The sheep bought at market bolts and escapes; the goods purchased run off. Empty hands clench into fists; one sits in regret and self-blame. The verse catalogs a cascade of small failures: tripping at the gate, missing companions, losing livestock, grasping at air. Each mishap compounds the last until only frustration remains. From Inner Truth to Limitation, sincerity meets water above the lake — the image of proper boundaries and measured conduct. The verse is Limitation's negative lesson: without self-discipline and timing, every transaction falls apart. The limitation one refused to accept voluntarily is now imposed by the world's refusal to cooperate.