Hexagram 2 as yes or no
Hexagram 2 Earth as a yes-or-no answer
As an answer to a yes-or-no question Kun says yes to following and no to leading. The judgment is explicit: 'if the superior person has somewhere to go, taking the lead he goes astray; following, he finds a master.' So if the question is whether to initiate, to set the terms, to go first, the answer is no; if it is whether to join, support, accept or carry something through, the answer is yes, and 'quiet steadfastness brings good fortune'.
A changing line in the lower trigram keeps the matter at the level of attitude: line one says look at where this is tending before you commit; line two says proceed without contriving; line three says proceed, but let someone else own it. In the upper trigram the lines concern position: line four says keep silent and safe, line five says yes, from a place of modest authority, and line six is a plain no, because what you are considering is a fight you are not built to win.
The hexagram in brief
Pure yin: the earth that carries everything. Strength through receptiveness, patience and service; success comes from following a good lead rather than forcing the front, like a mare steady on the open plain.
Support, nourish and follow what is worth following; take the long way with friends rather than striking out alone.
The judgment
坤：元亨，利牝馬之貞。君子有攸往，先迷後得主，利西南得朋，東北喪朋。安貞，吉。Khwăn (represents) what is great and originating, penetrating, advantageous, correct and having the firmness of a mare. When the superior man (here intended) has to make any movement, if he take the initiative, he will go astray; if he follow, he will find his (proper) lord. The advantageousness will be seen in his getting friends in the south-west, and losing friends in the north-east. If he rest in correctness and firmness, there will be good fortune.
Which line changed?
A changing line sharpens the answer. Each line of 坤 Earth has its own page:
- 初六Six at the beginningtreading on frost · hard ice · small beginnings
- 六二Six in the second placestraight, square, great · without practice · the way of earth
- 六三Six in the third placehidden brilliance · serving without credit · a proper end
- 六四Six in the fourth placetied sack · no blame, no praise · caution
- 六五Six in the fifth placeyellow lower garment · great good fortune · culture at the centre
- 上六Six at the topdragons fight · in the open · yin exhausted
The same hexagram for
Questions
- Does hexagram 2, Earth, mean yes or no?
- As an answer to a yes-or-no question Kun says yes to following and no to leading. The judgment is explicit: 'if the superior person has somewhere to go, taking the lead he goes astray; following, he finds a master.' So if the question is whether to initiate, to set the terms, to go first, the answer is no; if it is whether to join, support, accept or carry something through, the answer is yes, and 'quiet steadfastness brings good fortune'.
- What does Hexagram 2, 坤 Earth, mean?
- Pure yin: the earth that carries everything. Strength through receptiveness, patience and service; success comes from following a good lead rather than forcing the front, like a mare steady on the open plain.
Chinese text: the received Zhouyi (Wuyingdian lineage). English: James Legge, The Yî King, Sacred Books of the East XVI, 1882 (public domain).