Hexagram 13: Tong Ren

Heaven over Fire · 天火同人 · Tendency: Auspicious

Structure

• Number: 13 (King Wen sequence)
• Symbol: ䷌
• Upper trigram: Qian (Heaven)
• Lower trigram: Li (Fire)
• Lines: yang yin yang yang yang yang (bottom to top)

The statement

同人于野，亨。利涉大川。利君子贞。

——《周易》

What this hexagram indicates

This hexagram indicates the need to move toward a common goal; it's suitable for forming alliances, cooperation, finding partners, or seeking public support. The key is openness, honesty, and aligned goals. Don't only form small circles, nor exclude others due to differing positions; the strength lies in seeking common ground while respecting differences.

A Buddhist reading

Fellowship in the open country. Following Su Shi, Ouyi Zhixu explains the open country as ground where nothing is sought; standing there, whoever comes to join you joins in truth. Pull no one in and push no one away, and the union so formed will hold when a great river has to be crossed. Inwardly it marks entry into shared nature once fondness for a pleasant likeness has been left behind. Sorting kinds and distinguishing things supplies the balance: without difference there is nothing for sameness to show, and the ten realms remain one mind.

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: Hexagram 12: Pi
• Next / Inverted: Hexagram 14: Da Youthe whole figure turned upside down
• Opposite: Hexagram 7: Shievery line changed to its opposite
• Nuclear: Hexagram 44: Goulines 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.