No Level Without a Slope

Things are finally going well. Do you relax and enjoy it, or start to worry?

Original

泰：小往大來，吉亨。九三：无平不陂，无往不復，艱貞无咎。勿恤其孚，于食有福。象曰：无往不復，天地際也。

In plain words

Tai (Peace): the small departs, the great arrives; good fortune and flow. Line 3: There is no level ground without a slope, no going out without a return. Stay steady through hardship and there is no blame. Don't fret; keep faith, and there will still be blessing at your table. The Image says: no going out without a return, because this is where heaven and earth meet.

Key words

泰tàiPeace, free flow: heaven and earth meet, above and below connect.
陂pōA slope; unevenness.
艱貞jiān zhēnHolding steady to what's right through hardship.

Reading it step by step

This is the last page of the second theme. From the hidden dragon we've come to the point where things finally go well. Tai (Peace) is the hexagram of flow: Kun (earth) sits above and Qian (heaven) below, so earth's energy sinks and heaven's rises, and they meet. Above and below connect; “the small departs, the great arrives.” Yet inside this best of hexagrams, line 3 says something cool-headed.

First: line 3 stands where heaven meets earth. Tai has three yang lines below and three yin above. Line 3 is the top of the lower trigram; one more step and you're in Kun's territory. The Image says “this is where heaven and earth meet.” When things go well, we easily assume they'll go on going well. Line 3's position says: the ground is about to change. It's the mirror of page 8. The hidden dragon, at the very bottom, had to stay calm and patient. Line 3, at the top of good times, has to keep its heart steady.

Second: “no level ground without a slope, no going out without a return.” You can only call a road level because you know what a slope is; what goes out comes back. After Tai comes Pi, the hexagram of blockage: long flow eventually meets an obstacle. That's not gloom; it's seeing the whole. Level brings slope, going brings return. The top line of Tai says “the city wall falls back into the moat”: the earth for the wall was dug from the moat, and when it collapses it goes back where it came from. Good times, too, are not permanent.

level, going out: all goes well

line 3 · where heaven meets earthsteady · unworried · faithful → still a good table

slope, return: the slope comes, what goes comes back

Third: so what do you do? Stay steady, don't fret, keep faith. The line doesn't tell you to panic. It gives three things: hold to what's right when it gets hard; don't worry in advance; keep faith. Then “there will still be blessing at your table.” Line 3 is correctly placed and answered by line 6, so it can stand firm. In good times the best move is neither to brace yourself nor to splurge, but to take a firmer grip on the basics of how you live and work.

Look back at these eight pages. When hidden, put down roots. When sprouting, sort the threads. When waiting, feed body and mind. Before working with others, say the awkward things. When it's almost there, work inward. When climbing, don't skip steps. When you see frost, act early. When it all goes well, remember the road turns. No beginning comes with a road that stays level. But every slope has a line you can carry with you.

The next theme walks into the truly hard times. The slope at the end of the level road is where it begins.

hidingroots, not colour

sproutingset the warp

waitingfeed body and mind

planningsay the awkward things

small gatheringwork inward

climbingdon't skip steps

first frostact early

peaceremember the turn

No beginning has a road that stays level; every slope has a line to carry with you.

One line to carry

When it's going well, remember the road turns.

Today's question

What is going well for you right now? If a slope lies ahead, which basic thing do you want to hold on to?

Quick check

How does Tai's line 3, “no level ground without a slope,” teach us to meet good times?

Next pageWater upon WaterPage 16

II · When Something Begins — Hiding, sprouting, waiting, heading off conflict: going up step by step

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