Hexagram 7 for work
Hexagram 7 Troops for work and career
In work Shi is the team on a hard campaign: a project with many hands, a reorganisation, a long push against resistance. The Great Image shows the superior person 'embracing the people and gathering the multitude' as earth holds water; the judgment makes the whole venture turn on one thing, an upright and experienced leader. The Tuan commentary adds that the leader is 'firm, central and answered from above' — competence below, mandate above, and the two in correspondence.
The lines are a manual of command. Set the rules before anyone moves (line one). Lead from inside the work, and expect the people above you to renew their trust as results come in (line two). Do not accept or share a command you cannot carry (line three). Retreat in good order when the day is lost (line four). If you are the one appointing, give the whole charge to the right person and do not divide it (line five). When it is over, pay everyone who helped, but keep the unreliable away from authority (line six).
The hexagram in brief
Water held within the earth: an army, a disciplined multitude. Success needs a seasoned, upright leader and strict order; force is justified only for a right cause.
Lead with discipline and clear command, choose experienced hands, and keep the cause just.
The judgment
師：貞，丈人，吉无咎。Sze indicates how, in the case which it supposes, with firmness and correctness, and (a leader of) age and experience, there will be good fortune and no error.
Which line changed?
A changing line sharpens the answer. Each line of 師 Troops has its own page:
- 初六Six at the beginningmarching by rule · discipline · disorder is misfortune
- 九二Nine in the second placein the midst of the army · the king's favour · the commander
- 六三Six in the third placecarting corpses · misfortune · no achievement
- 六四Six in the fourth placecamping on the left · retreat · no loss
- 六五Six in the fifth placegame in the field · the eldest son commands · the wrong appointment
- 上六Six at the topthe great ruler's command · founding states · do not use small people
The same hexagram for
Questions
- What does hexagram 7, Troops, mean for a career question?
- In work Shi is the team on a hard campaign: a project with many hands, a reorganisation, a long push against resistance. The Great Image shows the superior person 'embracing the people and gathering the multitude' as earth holds water; the judgment makes the whole venture turn on one thing, an upright and experienced leader. The Tuan commentary adds that the leader is 'firm, central and answered from above' — competence below, mandate above, and the two in correspondence.
- What does Hexagram 7, 師 Troops, mean?
- Water held within the earth: an army, a disciplined multitude. Success needs a seasoned, upright leader and strict order; force is justified only for a right cause.
Chinese text: the received Zhouyi (Wuyingdian lineage). English: James Legge, The Yî King, Sacred Books of the East XVI, 1882 (public domain).