Hexagram 29, Kǎn (The Abysmal Water): Line 2

坎卦九二 · 坎为水 · 中文版

九二:坎有险,求小得。

The line (Legge)

The second NINE, undivided, shows its subject in all the peril of the defile. He will, however, get a little (of the deliverance) that he seeks.

Small Image commentary

'He will get a little (of the deliverance) that he seeks:' - he will not yet escape from his environed position.

象曰:求小得,未出中也。

In plain words

In the pit there is danger; seek small gains. The second line is strong and central; it cannot yet escape, but it can do a little within the danger. The Small Image says it has not yet come out of the middle of it.

Applying it to your situation

If you have not yet come through a difficulty, this line suggests aiming for small progress first. What small step can you manage now?

Position

A solid (yang) line in the second place, which is a yin (even) place, so it is not in its proper place. It holds the centre of the lower trigram. Its partner is line 5; both are yang, so they do not respond.

If this line moves

With this line moving alone, Kǎn changes into Hexagram 8 Bǐ (Holding Together). The Jiaoshi Yilin verse for this change (Chinese): 焦氏易林·坎之比.

A recorded case from Takashima

Kan to Bi: a head clerk asks about his employer's shop: The head clerk of a wealthy Tokyo merchant asked about the shop's fortunes and received the second line of Kan, "danger in the pit; seek small gains". Takashima read the fifth line as the main shop and the second as the branch: both would hit hard times not of their making, but with honest effort there would be small gains if not large ones.

The hexagram

Hexagram 29 Kǎn (The Abysmal Water). The Judgment: Kan, here repeated, shows the possession of sincerity, through which the mind is. penetrating. Action (in accordance with this) will be of high value.

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English text: James Legge, The Yi King (Sacred Books of the East, vol. 16, 1882), public domain, as transcribed by the Chinese Text Project. Chinese: the received text. Offered for study and reflection, not as prediction. Plain-English readings and position notes by this site.

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