Line 1 Yin
Already in danger, fall into a deeper pit; an unsound pattern compounds the difficulty.
← The 64 hexagrams
HEXAGRAM 29 · Kǎn
Repeated Danger
Meet repeated danger through sincerity, practice, and manageable steps.
☵ Above: Kan · Water☵ Below: Kan · Water
Meaning
Water follows water through hollows. Recurring danger calls for inner reliability and practiced conduct; escape cannot always be achieved in one dramatic leap.
FOR REFLECTION
Within what you cannot control, which small step remains within your power?
The six lines
Read from line 1 at the bottom to line 6 at the top. These are paraphrases, not verbatim translations.
Line 2 Yang
Within the danger, seek a small gain rather than a complete solution.
Line 3 Yin
Danger lies forward and back, even the resting place precarious; do not force action.
Line 4 Yin
Wine and food in plain vessels, passed through a window: sincere contact needs little ceremony.
Line 5 Yang
The hollow is not overflowing, only level; seek enough to pass, without demanding excess.
Line 6 Yin
Bound with cords among thorns for years: losing the way has become confinement.
References
Classical Zhouyi · 坎James Legge, The Yî King (1882), Sacred Books of the East XVI, hexagram 29
Editorial policy & bibliography →For reference and reflection. This commentary makes no certain claim about the future.