Hexagram 16, line 3
六三Line 3 of Delight
Six in the third place · 豫 yù
爻辭 The line text
盱豫，悔。遲有悔。The third line, divided, shows one looking up (for favours), while he indulges the feeling of pleasure and satisfaction. If he would understand!—If he be late in doing so, there will indeed be occasion for repentance.
盱豫有悔，位不當也。'He looks up (for favours), while he indulges the feeling of satisfaction; there will be occasion for repentance:'—this is intimated by the position not being the appropriate one.
In plain words
Line three is 'delight that looks up; regret. Delaying brings regret.' Yin in a strong place at the top of Kun, sitting directly beneath the ruler at four, it stares upward hoping for a share of the favour that four dispenses. Where one trumpets and two stays stone-still, three is the flatterer, and the text pronounces regret twice — once for the gazing, once for lingering in it. The small Image gives the structural cause, 'the place is not right' (位不當也): a weak line pretending to a strong position, and compensating by courting the one above.
If this line is changing
Stop looking upward for a share in someone else's moment; if you catch yourself doing it, correct it today rather than letting it drag on.
Where the line stands
- A broken line, yin — written 六 (six), the number of an old yin line that moves when cast.
- It is not in its correct place (不當位): a yang line in an even position or a yin line in an odd one, which the tradition reads as a line under some strain — often the reason a text sounds a warning.
- It belongs to the lower trigram 坤 Kun (the Receptive) (earth).
- It has no correspondence (無應) with line 6: both lines are yin, so this line must find its support in its neighbours or in itself.
之卦 When this line moves
豫 Delight becomes ䷽ 62 小過 Small Excess
Thunder on the mountain: the flying bird leaves its call behind. Success in small things, not great; better to come down than to go up — overdo the small virtues of respect, grief and thrift rather than attempt grand moves.
What it becomes62 · 小過 Small Excessxiǎo guòThe six lines of 豫 Delight
- 初六Six at the beginningcrowing delight · will exhausted · misfortune
- 六二Six in the second placefirm as rock · not waiting a day · seeing the seed
- 六三Six in the third placegazing upward · regret · too late
- 九四Nine in the fourth placesource of delight · do not doubt · friends gather
- 六五Six in the fifth placepersistent ailment · does not die · riding the strong
- 上六Six at the topdarkened delight · change even when complete · no blame
Read 豫 Delight for a question about
Questions about this line
- What does Six in the third place of hexagram 16, Delight, mean?
- Line three is 'delight that looks up; regret. Delaying brings regret.' Yin in a strong place at the top of Kun, sitting directly beneath the ruler at four, it stares upward hoping for a share of the favour that four dispenses. Where one trumpets and two stays stone-still, three is the flatterer, and the text pronounces regret twice — once for the gazing, once for lingering in it. The small Image gives the structural cause, 'the place is not right' (位不當也): a weak line pretending to a strong position, and compensating by courting the one above.
- What does hexagram 16 become when line 3 changes?
- Delight becomes hexagram 62, 小過 Small Excess: Thunder on the mountain: the flying bird leaves its call behind. Success in small things, not great; better to come down than to go up — overdo the small virtues of respect, grief and thrift rather than attempt grand moves.
- Is line 3 of Delight in its correct place?
- It is not in its correct place (不當位): a yang line in an even position or a yin line in an odd one, which the tradition reads as a line under some strain — often the reason a text sounds a warning.
Chinese text: the received Zhouyi (Wuyingdian lineage). English: James Legge, The Yî King, Sacred Books of the East XVI, 1882 (public domain).