師 → 需
Hexagram 7: The Army → Hexagram 5: Waiting
Changing Lines
This transformation involves 3 changing lines (lines 1, 3, 5).
Line 1
初六 師出以律。否臧凶。
Six at the beginning means: An army must set forth in proper order. If the order is not good, misfortune threatens.
Line 3
六三 師或輿尸。凶。
Six in the third place means: Perchance the army carries corpses in the wagon. Misfortune.
Line 5
六五 田有禽。利執言。无咎。長子帥師。弟子輿尸。貞凶。
Six in the fifth place means: There is game in the field. It furthers one to catch it. Without blame. Let the eldest lead the army. The younger transports corpses; Then perseverance brings misfortune.
Trigram Changes
Yilin Verse
雀東求粒，誤入罔域。賴逢君子，脫復歸息。
A sparrow seeking grain in the east, straying into the domain of nets. Fortunately meeting a noble man; freed, it returns to rest.
— Jiao Yanshou, Yilin (Forest of Changes), 1st century BCE
Commentary
Water hidden within the earth mobilizes for survival, and a sparrow flies eastward seeking grain but stumbles into the domain of nets. Fortunately it encounters a gentleman who releases it, allowing it to return home and rest. The imagery is direct and vivid: the small creature driven by hunger blunders into a trap, then is rescued by benevolence. From The Army to Waiting, military discipline gives way to patient trust in heaven's provision. The sparrow need not forage desperately once clouds gather above heaven promising nourishment. The gentleman's rescue enacts Waiting's core teaching: when danger cannot be overcome by force, grace and right timing deliver what struggle cannot.
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