Standstill (Stagnation) in the Sequence of Hexagrams: Peace means unobstructed flow. Things cannot remain unobstructed forever; hence Standstill follows. In the nature of things, alternation and cycle prevail: when open passage reaches its peak, standstill must follow.
This is why Standstill follows Peace. As a hexagram, Heaven is above and Earth is below. When Heaven and Earth interact, yin and yang harmonize, producing Peace.
When Heaven remains above and Earth remains below, Heaven and Earth are severed and no longer communicate; this is why it is Standstill.
When Heaven and Earth interact, all things are born between them, and the Three Powers are complete; man, being the most spiritual, is the head of all things. All that is born between Heaven and Earth constitutes the human way.
When Heaven and Earth do not interact, the ten thousand things are not generated, and the human way is absent; hence it says 'unfavorable for men,' meaning it is not the human way.
Waxing and waning, closing and opening, follow one another without cessation: Peace at its peak turns back, and Standstill at its end overturns; there is no principle of permanency without change—how could the human way be exempt? Once there is Standstill, Peace will return.
Upper and lower communicating, firm and yielding harmonizing—this is the Way of the superior man. Standstill is the exact reverse; hence 'unfavorable for the superior man's perseverance' means the superior man's correct path is blocked and cannot proceed.
'The great departs and the small arrives' means yang departs and yin arrives—an image of the small man's way waxing and the superior man's way waning. Therefore it is Standstill.