Hexagram 52 艮 - GÈN / KEEPING STILL

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Trigrams

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• Above: Gèn, Keeping Still, Mountain
• Below: Gèn, Keeping Still, Mountain

The image of the hexagram is the mountain, the youngest son of heaven and earth. The masculine principle is at the top, where it naturally strives to be, while the feminine principle is below, where the direction of its movement leads. This brings about rest, as the movement has reached its normal conclusion.

Applied to human affairs, the hexagram addresses the challenge of achieving peace of heart. The heart is exceedingly difficult to bring to rest. While Buddhism seeks stillness by fading out all movement into Nirvana, the Book of Changes holds the view that rest is merely a polar state that constantly finds its complement in movement.

Perhaps the words of the text contain instructions for the practice of yoga.

The Judgment

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Keeping still of his back, so that he no longer feels his body. He goes into his courtyard and does not see his people. No blame.

True quiet means keeping still when the time has come to keep still, and going forward when the time has come to go forward. In this way, rest and movement are in harmony with the demands of the time, bringing forth the light of life.

The hexagram represents the end and the beginning of all movement. The back is named because it holds all the nerve pathways that mediate movement. When the movement of these spinal nerves is brought to a standstill, the ego with its restlessness vanishes, so to speak. When a person has become inwardly quiet, they can turn toward the outside world. They no longer see the conflict and turmoil of individual beings within it, thereby gaining the true peace necessary to understand the great laws of world events and act accordingly. Whoever acts from this depth makes no mistake.

The Image

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Mountains standing close together: the image of Keeping Still. Thus the superior man does not permit his thoughts to go beyond his situation.

The heart thinks constantly; this cannot be changed. However, the movements of the heart, meaning its thoughts, should restrict themselves to the present situation of life. Any thinking beyond this only causes the heart to grow weary and sore. ¹

The Individual Lines

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Six at the beginning means:

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Keeping still of his toes. No blame. Continued perseverance furthers.

Keeping the toes quiet means stopping before one has even begun to move. The beginning is a time when few mistakes are made. One is still in harmony with original innocence. Things are perceived intuitively as they are, remaining uninfluenced by the clouding effects of personal interests and desires. Whoever stands still at the beginning, as long as they have not yet abandoned the truth, finds the right path. However, lasting firmness is required to avoid falling into a state of aimless drifting.

Six in the second place means:

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Keeping still of his calves. He cannot rescue him whom he follows. His heart is not glad.

The leg cannot move independently; its movement depends on the movement of the body. If the body is in motion and the leg is suddenly stopped, the continuing momentum of the body causes the person to fall.

The same applies to a person who is in the retinue of a stronger personality. They are carried along. Even if they halt on the path of wrongdoing, they can no longer stop the other person’s powerful momentum. Where the master presses forward, the servant cannot rescue him, no matter how good his intentions may be.

Nine in the third place means:

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Keeping still of his hips. Making his sacrum stiff. Dangerous. The heart suffocates.

This refers to enforced quiet. The heart, which is in a state of restlessness, is to be forcibly subdued. However, fire that is violently suppressed turns into acrid smoke that suffocates as it spreads.

Therefore, one must not proceed violently during exercises of meditation and concentration. Instead, quiet must develop naturally from a state of inner composure. If one attempts to force quiet through artificial rigidity, meditation will lead to major difficulties.

Six in the fourth place means:

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Keeping still of his torso. No blame.

Keeping the back quiet, as mentioned in the words for the overall hexagram, means forgetting the ego. This is the highest stage of quiet. Here, this stage has not yet been fully reached. While one is already able to keep the ego with its thoughts and impulses still, one is not yet completely free from them. Nevertheless, keeping the heart still is an important function that eventually leads to the complete elimination of egoistic drives. Even if one does not remain entirely free from the dangers of doubt and restlessness, this mental attitude is no mistake, since it lies on the path to that higher stage.

Six in the fifth place means:

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Keeping still of his jaws. Words have order. Remorse disappears.

In a dangerous situation, particularly when one is not equal to it, it is very easy to indulge in talk and forward jests. Careless talk easily leads to situations that bring much to regret later. However, if one restrains oneself in speaking, words take on a firm form, and then all occasion for remorse disappears.

Nine at the top means:

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Noble-hearted keeping still. Good fortune!

Here we find the completion of the effort to attain quiet. One is not quiet in a narrow, petty, or detailed way; instead, a general resignation as a whole brings quiet and good fortune to every single detail.

Reference links

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• Hexagram look-up table
• Advanced hexagram correspondence table