Hexagram 25, line 2
六二Line 2 of Without Falsehood
Six in the second place · 无妄 wú wàng
爻辭 The line text
不耕獲，不菑畬，則利有攸往。The second line, divided, shows one who reaps without having ploughed (that he might reap), and gathers the produce of his third year's fields without having cultivated them the first year for that end. To such a one there will be advantage in whatever direction he may move.
不耕獲，未富也。'He reaps without having ploughed:'—(the thought of) riches to be got had not risen (in his mind).
In plain words
'Not ploughing for the harvest, not clearing the field for the third-year crop' — the second line pictures someone who does the work in front of them without their eye on the yield. Line two is yin in a central and correct place, responding to the strong ruler at five; it is compliance itself, doing what the season asks. The small Image explains 'he does not plough for the harvest' as 未富: the thought of becoming rich has not arisen. Cheng Yi reads this as the heart of innocence — acting according to principle and letting the result take care of itself. Because nothing is grasped at, 'it is favourable to have somewhere to go'.
If this line is changing
Do the task well for its own sake and stop measuring what it will bring you; the moment the yield becomes the motive, the innocence that makes this line favourable is gone.
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 is central (中): the middle line of its trigram, the position the commentaries read as balanced and most favourable.
- It belongs to the lower trigram 震 Zhen (the Arousing) (thunder).
- It corresponds (應) with line 5: one yin and one yang, the two lines answer each other across the hexagram.
之卦 When this line moves
无妄 Without Falsehood becomes ䷉ 10 履 Stepping
Heaven above the lake: treading on the tiger's tail without being bitten. Correct conduct and courtesy carry one through danger; know your place and walk carefully.
What it becomes10 · 履 SteppinglǚThe six lines of 无妄 Without Falsehood
- 初九Nine at the beginningsincere start · go forward · the will fulfilled
- 六二Six in the second placeno harvest in mind · unforced work · ready for anything
- 六三Six in the third placeundeserved loss · the tethered ox · wrong place
- 九四Nine in the fourth placehold firm · no partner · what is yours
- 九五Nine in the fifth placeunprovoked trouble · do not meddle · it passes
- 上九Nine at the toptime exhausted · do not act · innocence overstretched
Read 无妄 Without Falsehood for a question about
Questions about this line
- What does Six in the second place of hexagram 25, Without Falsehood, mean?
- 'Not ploughing for the harvest, not clearing the field for the third-year crop' — the second line pictures someone who does the work in front of them without their eye on the yield. Line two is yin in a central and correct place, responding to the strong ruler at five; it is compliance itself, doing what the season asks. The small Image explains 'he does not plough for the harvest' as 未富: the thought of becoming rich has not arisen. Cheng Yi reads this as the heart of innocence — acting according to principle and letting the result take care of itself. Because nothing is grasped at, 'it is favourable to have somewhere to go'.
- What does hexagram 25 become when line 2 changes?
- Without Falsehood becomes hexagram 10, 履 Stepping: Heaven above the lake: treading on the tiger's tail without being bitten. Correct conduct and courtesy carry one through danger; know your place and walk carefully.
- Is line 2 of Without Falsehood 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. It is central (中): the middle line of its trigram, the position the commentaries read as balanced and most favourable.
Chinese text: the received Zhouyi (Wuyingdian lineage). English: James Legge, The Yî King, Sacred Books of the East XVI, 1882 (public domain).