既濟

Hexagram 63: After Completion → Hexagram 52: Keeping Still Mountain

既濟
After Completion
Water / Fire
Keeping Still Mountain
Mountain / Mountain
Changing LinesStable Lines

Changing Lines

This transformation involves 3 changing lines (lines 1, 5, 6).

Line 1

初九 曳其輪。濡其尾。无咎。

braking
those
lúnwheels
soaking
that
wěitail
no
jiùblame

Nine at the beginning means: He breaks his wheels. He gets his tail in the water. No blame.

Line 5

九五 東鄰殺牛。不如西鄰之禴祭。實受其福。

dōngthe eastern
línneighbor
shāsacrifices
niúcattle
but
comparable
西the western
línneighbor
zhī's
yuèmodest
offering
shíthe genuine
shòuenjoy
these
blessings

Nine in the fifth place means: The neighbor in the east who slaughters an ox Does not attain as much real happiness As the neighbor in the west With his small offering.

Line 6

上六 濡其首。厲。

soaking
that
shǒuhead
harsh

Six at the top means: He gets his head in the water. Danger.

Trigram Changes

Upper TrigramWater MountainThe Deep → Keeping Still
Lower TrigramFire MountainThe Clinging → Keeping Still

Yilin Verse

狼虎結謀,相聚為保。伺候牛羊,病我商人。

Wolf and tiger scheme together, gathering for mutual protection. Lying in wait for sheep and cattle, they bring harm to the traveling merchant.

— Jiao Yanshou, Yilin (Forest of Changes), 1st century BCE

Commentary

Water sits above fire, and wolves and tigers conspire together, gathering in alliance for mutual protection. They lie in wait for cattle and sheep, preying upon the merchants. The verse describes organized predation: apex predators forming a cooperative band to exploit the vulnerable. From After Completion to Keeping Still, fire-and-water order yields to doubled mountains — absolute stillness, each thing fixed in position. The wolves and tigers have found their mountain and will not move from it. Keeping Still's instruction is to 'think without going beyond one's position,' but here that fixity becomes predatory patience. The completed order has crystallized into a trap, and the merchants who pass through this territory walk into a stillness that is not peace but ambush.

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