Hexagram 10: Lv

Heaven over Lake · 天泽履 · Tendency: Inauspicious

Structure

• Number: 10 (King Wen sequence)
• Symbol: ䷉
• Upper trigram: Qian (Heaven)
• Lower trigram: Dui (Lake)
• Lines: yang yang yin yang yang yang (bottom to top)

The statement

履虎尾，不咥人。亨。

——《周易》

What this hexagram indicates

It's like walking on a risky road now; things can be done, but every step must follow propriety and rules. Suitable to handle superiors/subordinates, cooperation, and sensitive relationships cautiously. Don't provoke the stronger side, nor risk crossing the line; a humble attitude is actually safer.

A Buddhist reading

Lü means walking with care. Nothing serves treading better than yielding, Ouyi Zhixu says: one who treads well is not bitten even on the tail of a tiger, while one who treads badly hurts a foot on level ground. Wisdom drawn out by concentration, practice matched to nature, an ordinary person learning sagehood, all of it is the soft treading upon the hard. Distinguishing high from low means knowing the stages: mind may be buddha, yet not one stage can be skipped. Talk about buddha nature without practice and you see with one eye and walk on one leg.

After Ouyi Zhixu (1599-1655), whose Chan commentary on the Changes reads each hexagram as a stage of practice.

The statement is quoted from the Book of Changes, which is in the public domain. The English reading on this page was prepared for this library.

Related hexagrams

• Previous / Inverted: Hexagram 9: Xiao Xuthe whole figure turned upside down
• Next: Hexagram 11: Tai
• Opposite: Hexagram 15: Qianevery line changed to its opposite
• Nuclear: Hexagram 37: Jia Renlines two to four below, three to five above

Related

• Liu Yao Divination ChartLiu Yao casts a hexagram about one specific matter and reads its structure. Unlike BaZi or Zi Wei, which describe a person, Liu Yao describes how a situation stands at a particular moment. This page walks through the full process from casting to attribution.
• Mei Hua Yi Shu CalculatorMei Hua Yi Shu is traditionally attributed to Shao Yong. What sets it apart is how freely it casts: a time, a spoken number, a direction or something noticed in passing will all serve. It attaches no stems and no relatives, reading the trigrams directly. This page covers casting through to the subject and object.