既濟 → 師
Hexagram 63: After Completion → Hexagram 7: The Army
Changing Lines
This transformation involves 4 changing lines (lines 1, 2, 3, 5).
Line 1
初九 曳其輪。濡其尾。无咎。
Nine at the beginning means: He breaks his wheels. He gets his tail in the water. No blame.
Line 2
六二 婦喪其茀。勿逐。七日得。
Six in the second place means: The woman loses the curtain of her carriage. Do not run after it; On the seventh day you will get it.
Line 3
九三 高宗伐鬼方。三年克之。小人勿用。
Nine in the third place means: The Illustrious Ancestor Disciplines the Devil's Country. After three years he conquers it. Inferior people must not be employed.
Line 5
九五 東鄰殺牛。不如西鄰之禴祭。實受其福。
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.
Trigram Changes
Yilin Verse
因禍受福，喜盈其室。螟虫不作，君无可得。
From misfortune, blessings received; joy fills the household. The crop-eating insects do not appear; what could the ruler ask for more?
— Jiao Yanshou, Yilin (Forest of Changes), 1st century BCE
Commentary
Water sits above fire, and misfortune transmutes into blessing — joy fills the household. Pestilent insects do not arise; the ruler finds no fault to punish. The verse describes a paradox of governance: disaster averted becomes a source of happiness, and the absence of crisis is itself the greatest achievement. From After Completion to the Army, the balanced configuration transforms into water hidden within the earth — disciplined reserves held in readiness. The shift from completed order to military discipline captures how sustained peace requires organized vigilance. The army's strength lies not in combat but in the quiet containment of threats before they emerge, like water gathered deep in the earth, invisible but powerful.
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