Hexagram 17: Sui

Lake over Thunder · 泽雷随 · Tendency: Auspicious

Structure

• Number: 17 (King Wen sequence)
• Symbol: ䷐
• Upper trigram: Dui (Lake)
• Lower trigram: Zhen (Thunder)
• Lines: yang yin yin yang yang yin (bottom to top)

The statement

元亨，利贞，无咎。

——《周易》

What this hexagram indicates

This hexagram advises going with the flow; it is suitable for following reliable people, adjusting plans, and aligning with new rhythms. Not everything needs to be led by yourself. Distinguish between following the trend and blindly following—the wrong direction will take you further off course.

A Buddhist reading

Ouyi Zhixu reads Sui (Following) as movement within met by delight without, so people follow of their own accord. Yet following must stay upright, or easy agreement slides into laxity and turns into Gu (Decay). The phrase he lingers on is following the moment, which he compares to the Buddhist saying that when the season arrives the principle reveals itself. In practice, following is not drifting after other people; it means that once joy in the Dharma is tasted one can accord with things as they truly are. Retiring at dusk to rest becomes the mind returning to its original nature. The three yang lines teach responding to others, the three yin lines teach following a teacher.

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 16: Yu
• Next / Inverted / Opposite: Hexagram 18: Guthe whole figure turned upside down; every line changed to its opposite
• Nuclear: Hexagram 53: Jianlines 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.