易I Ching Notes
52

艮

Gèn · Keeping Still

Stillness is not doing nothing; it is not moving past your place.

Read the judgment

Six lines, read from the bottom up.

Upper 艮 Mountain · Lower 艮 Mountain Tap a line to read it

The judgment

艮:其背,不獲其身,行其庭,不見其人,無咎。

Keeping still at the back, you no longer feel your own body; walking in the courtyard, you do not see the people. No blame: stillness so complete that the self drops away.

Received text; plain English after the Chinese. Source: 周易經傳 (public-domain). Passage: hex52.judgment.

The image

象曰:兼山,艮。君子以思不出其位。

Two mountains: keeping still. A capable person does not let their thoughts run past their position.

Received text; plain English after the Chinese. Source: 周易經傳 (public-domain). Passage: hex52.image.

Stillness is not doing nothing; it is not moving past your place.

The six lines

Each line is a stage, from the bottom of the hexagram to the top. Open any line to read it in plain English.

初六 艮其趾,無咎,利永貞。 Stillness at the toes. No blame; it is favorable to stay constant: stop before the first step.

Stillness at the toes. No blame; it is favorable to stay constant: stop before the first step.

六二 艮其腓,不拯其隨,其心不快。 Stillness in the calf. You cannot save the one you follow, and your heart is unhappy: you are stopped, but not at peace.

Stillness in the calf. You cannot save the one you follow, and your heart is unhappy: you are stopped, but not at peace.

九三 艮其限,列其夤,厲薰心。 Stillness at the waist, splitting the spine. Danger burns the heart: a forced stop in the middle of yourself.

Stillness at the waist, splitting the spine. Danger burns the heart: a forced stop in the middle of yourself.

六四 艮其身,無咎。 Stillness in the whole body. No blame: the stop is complete and there is no struggle left.

Stillness in the whole body. No blame: the stop is complete and there is no struggle left.

六五 艮其輔,言有序,悔亡。 Stillness in the jaw. Words come out in order, and regret disappears: the stillness is in the speech, not in silence.

Stillness in the jaw. Words come out in order, and regret disappears: the stillness is in the speech, not in silence.

上九 敦艮,吉。 A generous stillness. Good fortune: the last line rests easily, without forcing itself to be still.

A generous stillness. Good fortune: the last line rests easily, without forcing itself to be still.

Cast six lines

Hold one question in mind. Throw three coins, six times, from the bottom line up.