Line 3
Line 3 advises resting upon accumulated merit and past foundations rather than stepping forward to seek independent acclaim amidst dispute. Operating cautiously in a supportive capacity yields good fortune while claiming individual victory leads nowhere.
Ask your AI about this page
Links prefill your prompt without sending it — you stay in control. If a link fails, copy the prompt below.
I Ching / BaZi reading request (from eastalmanac.com). Page: Hexagram 6 讼 — Line 3. Interpret through classical principles in two layers: 1) Structural Evidence: identify key line dynamics, changing line pivot, or element balance. 2) Actionable Verdict: direct answer to the inquiry in plain language, followed by 2–3 concrete next steps (action-verb first) and mindful cautions. Grounded wisdom for self-reflection. Source page: https://eastalmanac.com/yijing/6/3
Occupying the top of the perilous lower trigram Kan, yin line 3 responds to the ruler at line 5. The line text counsels nourishing oneself on past virtues, remaining steadfast through danger, and recognizing that serving official duties produces no personal glory.
The Small Image stresses that relying on established virtue and following superiors brings ultimate fortune. Holding quietly to your assigned station and avoiding the contest for personal credit defuses surrounding hostility.
In a climate marked by corporate restructuring and political turf wars, attempting to lead high-profile initiatives is excessively risky.
The classical advice encourages diligent execution behind the scenes, honoring precedent, and allowing superiors or the wider team to receive public acclaim. Fulfilling your core duties quietly without demanding personal recognition protects your organizational tenure.
Stick to your designated duties and let others claim the spotlight to maintain steady progress.
When relationship tension brews, asserting personal moral superiority or demanding concessions only prolongs emotional distance. Relying on shared history, cherished routines, and the reservoir of mutual goodwill provides the safest path back to harmony.
Accommodating your partner's sensibilities without insisting on winning the debate gradually dissolves resentment. Lean on the affection and shared history you have built together rather than arguing over current grievances.
Financial strategy should lean heavily into defensive management, relying on established earnings streams rather than chasing aggressive, contentious new ventures.
Attempting to contest contested inheritances, ambiguous equity deals, or volatile speculative assets exposes principal capital to unnecessary risk. Securing existing holdings and trimming redundant expenditures supports long-term stability.
Rely on reliable, proven income streams instead of entering risky financial disputes.
3. The third line, divided, shows its subject keeping in the old place assigned for his support, and firmly correct. Perilous as the position is, there will be good fortune in the end.
Should he perchance engage in the king's business, he will not (claim the merit of) achievement.
‘He confines himself to the support assigned to him of old:’—(thus) following those above him, he will have good fortune.
Zhouyi BenyiLine statement
食 is like the revenue of a fief, meaning what one enjoys. Six in the Third Place is yin and yielding, unable to engage in conflict; therefore, if it keeps to the old ways and abides in correctness, then though there is danger, in the end there is good fortune.
However, if one steps forth to follow the affairs of superiors, one will achieve no success. For the diviner, keeping to the routine and not stepping forward is good.
Zhouyi BenyiSmall Image
'Following superiors brings good fortune' means that following others brings good fortune, making clear that acting on one's own initiative brings no success.
Yichuan YizhuanLine statement
Though Six in the Third Place occupies a firm place and corresponds to the top line, its substance is fundamentally yin and yielding; dwelling in peril and wedged between two firm lines, it is in danger and fear, not one to engage in conflict.
Emoluments are received according to virtue; 'eating of the old virtue' means abiding in one's original lot. 'Perseverance' means holding firmly to oneself.
'Danger; in the end, good fortune' means that though dwelling in a dangerous place, if one knows danger and dread, one will ultimately obtain good fortune. If one keeps to one's original lot and seeks nothing, one will not contend.
'Dwelling in danger' refers to being in peril, where both supporting and riding are firm lines, and living in a time of conflict. The yielding follows the firm; the inferior follows the superior.
The third line does not engage in conflict but follows what Nine at the Top does; hence it is said, 'perhaps following the king's business, without completion.' This means following the superior so that the achievement does not belong to oneself.
Conflict is an affair of firmness and strength; hence the initial line does not perpetuate, and the third line follows the superior—neither is capable of conflict. Both lines, being yin and yielding, do not carry it to the end and thus attain good fortune.
The fourth also attains good fortune because it cannot prevail and changes its mind. In conflict, being able to stop is considered good.
Yichuan YizhuanSmall Image
Holding to one's original lot, though following what superiors do, the action does not originate from oneself; hence there is no completion, yet in the end one attains good fortune.
Zhouyi ZhuLine statement
Embodying soft weakness to comply with the superior, it does not act like Nine in the Second Place by contending from below against those above; it suffers no encroachment, preserves what it has, and thus can feed on its former virtue without losing it.
Dwelling in a time of conflict, positioned between two firm lines where proximity brings no accord, it is said to have 'perseverance and danger.'
Its yielding nature does not contend, and its attachment and response are with the top line, so none can overthrow it; hence 'in the end, good fortune.'
The top line is vigorous and strives for victory, hard to oppose; hence 'perhaps following the king's business, without daring to claim completion.'
Zhouyi ZhengyiLine statement
From 'Six in the Third Place: feeding on former virtue' to 'the king's business without completion.'
The correct meaning: 'Feeding on former virtue' means Six in the Third Place uses yin compliance to follow Nine at the Top, not being encroached upon by Nine at the Top, thus preserving its own holdings and feeding on its former virtue and emolument.
'Perseverance and danger'—'perseverance' means correctness; 'danger' means peril. Living in a time of conflict and positioned between two firm lines, one must remain correct and self-vigilant, hence 'perseverance and danger.'
Yet Six in the Third Place has a yielding body that does not contend, and is attached in response to the top line, so the multitude cannot overturn it; hence 'in the end, good fortune.'
'Perhaps following the king's business, without completion' means the third corresponds to the top line, and the top is vigorous and victorious; hence Six in the Third Place may follow the king's business of Nine at the Top, not daring to oppose it or claim prior completion, hence 'without completion.'
Zhouyi ZhengyiSmall Image
The correct meaning: 'Following superiors brings good fortune' explains why feeding on former virtue by complying with Nine at the Top brings the good fortune of feeding on former virtue.
Yicuo JinLine statement
Six in the Third Place, third line, upper-medium: When noble individuals meet, the time is promising; before the courtyard, a phoenix arrives with grace upon the withered tree.
Better to build upon minor matters to achieve great ends; do not listen to bystanders debating right and wrong.