比 → 井
Hexagram 8: Holding Together → Hexagram 48: The Well
Changing Lines
This transformation involves 2 changing lines (lines 2, 3).
Line 2
六二 比之自內。貞吉。
Six in the second place means: Hold to him inwardly. Perseverance brings good fortune.
Line 3
六三 比之匪人。
Six in the third place means: You hold together with the wrong people.
Trigram Changes
Yilin Verse
木年摧折，常恐不活。老賴福慶，光榮相輔。
An old tree snaps and falls, ever fearing it will not survive. In old age, blessings and fortune come; glory and honor sustain each other.
— Jiao Yanshou, Yilin (Forest of Changes), 1st century BCE
Commentary
Water upon earth nourishes even the broken. An old tree, its trunk snapped and battered, fears constantly that it will not survive. Yet through good fortune and blessings, it endures; glory and support come to sustain it in its final years. The tree that should have died finds unexpected strength. From Holding Together to The Well, water rises through wood — the well's bucket draws nourishment from the depths and shares it with all. The verse embodies Jing's central teaching: the well does not move, yet it serves everyone who comes. The old tree's survival mirrors the well's reliability: rooted in place, sustained by hidden waters, still capable of offering shade and shelter to those who gather near.
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