Hexagram 6 for work
Hexagram 6 Dispute for work and career
In work Song is the dispute at the office, the negotiation that has turned into a contest of positions. The Great Image's instruction is to plan the beginning of affairs carefully (作事謀始) — most quarrels could have been designed out at the start by clear terms. The judgment says it is favourable to see the great person, an impartial arbiter, and not favourable to cross the great river: do not launch anything large while the dispute is open.
The lines locate you in the contest. If you are the weaker party (lines one and three), stop early or stay out, and keep what you have already earned. If you are strong but facing someone stronger or better placed (lines two and four), withdraw to your own ground or change your stance; the text promises that nothing is lost by it. If you are the fifth line, judge fairly and the whole matter ends well. The top line warns anyone tempted to win at all costs: a position gained by litigation is stripped away as quickly as it came.
The hexagram in brief
Heaven above and water below, moving apart: contention. Sincerity is obstructed; a dispute may be won partway but ends badly if pushed to the finish.
Stop halfway, seek a fair arbiter, and don't attempt big ventures while in conflict.
The judgment
訟：有孚，窒。惕中吉。終凶。利見大人，不利涉大川。Sung intimates how, though there is sincerity in one's contention, he will yet meet with opposition and obstruction; but if he cherish an apprehensive caution, there will be good fortune, while, if he must prosecute the contention to the (bitter) end, there will be evil. It will be advantageous to see the great man; it will not be advantageous to cross the great stream.
Which line changed?
A changing line sharpens the answer. Each line of 訟 Dispute has its own page:
- 初六Six at the beginningnot prolonging · a little talk · clear in the end
- 九二Nine in the second placecannot win · going home · the town is spared
- 六三Six in the third placeliving on old merit · steadfast but perilous · no credit
- 九四Nine in the fourth placecannot win · turning back · changing one's mind
- 九五Nine in the fifth placethe judge · supreme good fortune · central and correct
- 上九Nine at the topthe belt of honour · stripped three times · won by litigation
The same hexagram for
Questions
- What does hexagram 6, Dispute, mean for a career question?
- In work Song is the dispute at the office, the negotiation that has turned into a contest of positions. The Great Image's instruction is to plan the beginning of affairs carefully (作事謀始) — most quarrels could have been designed out at the start by clear terms. The judgment says it is favourable to see the great person, an impartial arbiter, and not favourable to cross the great river: do not launch anything large while the dispute is open.
- What does Hexagram 6, 訟 Dispute, mean?
- Heaven above and water below, moving apart: contention. Sincerity is obstructed; a dispute may be won partway but ends badly if pushed to the finish.
Chinese text: the received Zhouyi (Wuyingdian lineage). English: James Legge, The Yî King, Sacred Books of the East XVI, 1882 (public domain).