Hexagram 19, line 6
上六Line 6 of Overseeing
Six at the top · 臨 lín
爻辭 The line text
敦臨，吉无咎。The sixth line, divided, shows the advance of honesty and generosity. There will be good fortune, and no error.
敦臨之吉，志在內也。'The good fortune consequent on the advance of honesty and generosity' is due to the will (of the subject of the line) being set on the subjects of (the first two lines of) the inner (trigram).
In plain words
Most top lines show excess; Lin's shows generosity. 'Approaching with earnest kindness (敦臨), good fortune, no blame' — the yin line at the very end of Kun, the earth, which has the thickness to support everything. The small Image says its will is set on the inside (志在內也), on the two strong lines in the lower trigram, which it has no formal correspondence with but turns toward anyway. 程頤 praises it as the person of high standing who stoops to support the worthy below, and the Great Image's 'teaching without end' is fulfilled in this line.
If this line is changing
From the top, turn back toward those who are rising rather than away from them; sincerity and generosity here bring good fortune without any catch.
Where the line stands
- A broken line, yin — written 六 (six), the number of an old yin line that moves when cast.
- It is in its correct place (當位): a yang line in an odd position or a yin line in an even one, which the tradition reads as a line at ease where it stands.
- It belongs to the upper trigram 坤 Kun (the Receptive) (earth).
- It has no correspondence (無應) with line 3: both lines are yin, so this line must find its support in its neighbours or in itself.
之卦 When this line moves
臨 Overseeing becomes ䷨ 41 損 Diminishing
The lake at the foot of the mountain giving up its moisture: decrease. Sincerity makes even decrease supremely fortunate — two bowls of simple food suffice for the offering.
What it becomes41 · 損 DiminishingsǔnThe six lines of 臨 Overseeing
- 初九Nine at the beginningapproach together · steadiness · a right will
- 九二Nine in the second placecentral strength · every advantage · not merely obeying
- 六三Six in the third placesweet approach · no advantage · worry saves it
- 六四Six in the fourth placedirect approach · right place · receiving the strong
- 六五Six in the fifth placewise approach · the great ruler · the middle way
- 上六Six at the topgenerous approach · the top turns inward · good at the end
Read 臨 Overseeing for a question about
Questions about this line
- What does Six at the top of hexagram 19, Overseeing, mean?
- Most top lines show excess; Lin's shows generosity. 'Approaching with earnest kindness (敦臨), good fortune, no blame' — the yin line at the very end of Kun, the earth, which has the thickness to support everything. The small Image says its will is set on the inside (志在內也), on the two strong lines in the lower trigram, which it has no formal correspondence with but turns toward anyway. 程頤 praises it as the person of high standing who stoops to support the worthy below, and the Great Image's 'teaching without end' is fulfilled in this line.
- What does hexagram 19 become when line 6 changes?
- Overseeing becomes hexagram 41, 損 Diminishing: The lake at the foot of the mountain giving up its moisture: decrease. Sincerity makes even decrease supremely fortunate — two bowls of simple food suffice for the offering.
- Is line 6 of Overseeing in its correct place?
- It is in its correct place (當位): a yang line in an odd position or a yin line in an even one, which the tradition reads as a line at ease where it stands.
Chinese text: the received Zhouyi (Wuyingdian lineage). English: James Legge, The Yî King, Sacred Books of the East XVI, 1882 (public domain).