Line 1 Yang
After finishing your own affairs, go promptly to help. Measure the reduction so that eagerness remains proportionate.
← The 64 hexagrams
HEXAGRAM 41 · Sǔn
Decrease
A timely reduction of excess can nourish what matters without exhausting oneself.
☶ Above: Gen · Mountain☱ Below: Dui · Lake
Meaning
A lake beneath a mountain suggests reduction in support of another. A modest sincere offering has value; contribution needs timing and proportion rather than blind sacrifice.
FOR REFLECTION
What should I reduce, and what limit would make my giving sustainable?
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
Stay steady rather than rushing forward. Benefit another without diminishing your own essential foundation.
Line 3 Yin
Three travelers lose one; a lone traveler gains a companion. Closeness needs clear relationships rather than competing allegiances.
Line 4 Yin
Reduce your own fault and relief comes quickly. Timely self-correction makes it easier for others to approach.
Line 5 Yin
Help arrives that even ten pairs of divining tortoise shells cannot contradict. Receive support without trying to force it.
Line 6 Yang
Increase others without diminishing them; helpers extend beyond one household. Generosity can support a wider undertaking.
References
Classical Zhouyi · 損James Legge, The Yî King (1882), Sacred Books of the East XVI, hexagram 41
Editorial policy & bibliography →For reference and reflection. This commentary makes no certain claim about the future.