Without Embroiling (25)
6
5
4
1
The Judgement
INNOCENCE. Supreme success.Perseverance furthers.
If someone is not as he should be,
He has misfortune,
And it does not further him
To undertake anything.
The Image
Under heaven thunder rolls:All things attain the natural state of innocence.
Thus the kings of old,
Rich in virtue, and in harmony with the time,
Fostered and nourished all beings.
Line Poems
- 6 - Innocent action brings misfortune. Nothing furthers.
- 5 - Use no medicine in an illness Incurred through no fault of your own. It will pass of itself.
- 4 - He who can be persevering Remains without blame.
- 3 - Undeserved misfortune. The cow that was tethered by someone Is the wanderer’s gain, the citizen’s loss.
- 2 - If one does not count on the harvest while plowing, Nor on the use of the ground while clearing it, It furthers one to undertake something.
- 1 - Innocent behavior brings good fortune.
Commentary
Ch’ien, heaven is above; Chên, movement, is below.The lower trigram Chên is under the influence of the strong line it has received from above, from heaven.
When, in accord with this, movement follows the law of heaven, man is innocent and without guile.
His mind is natural and true, unshadowed by reflection or ulterior designs.
For wherever conscious purpose is to be seen, there the truth and innocence of nature have been lost.
Nature that is not directed by the spirit is not true but degenerate nature.
Starting out with the idea of the natural, the train of thought in part goes somewhat further and thus the hexagram includes also the idea of the unintentional or unexpected.
