Hexagram 3: Zhun

Water over Thunder · 水雷屯

Structure

• Number: 3 (King Wen sequence)
• Symbol: ䷂
• Upper trigram: Kan (Water)
• Lower trigram: Zhen (Thunder)
• Lines: yang yin yin yin yang yin (bottom to top)

The statement

元亨，利贞。勿用有攸往。利建侯。

——《周易》

What this hexagram indicates

This indicates difficulty at the initial stage; resistance arises as soon as things start. It is suitable to set rules, find core partners, and build the foundation. Do not rush into large-scale expansion, as the early stages are most vulnerable to direction confusion and resource dispersion.

A Buddhist reading

Zhun is the hardship of things just coming into being, and Ouyi Zhixu brings it inside: suchness fails to keep to itself, ignorance makes its first stir, subject and object separate, and that first movement of a thought is the real Zhun. He does not ask anyone to crush the thought, since the stirring of ignorance is also what lets wisdom arise. What he forbids is chasing after it. Look closely right where it moved, see that it has no arising of its own, and the moment settles. A gap between thoughts is not progress; cessation is the den where arising hides.

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 2: Kun
• Next / Inverted: Hexagram 4: Mengthe whole figure turned upside down
• Opposite: Hexagram 50: Dingevery line changed to its opposite
• Nuclear: Hexagram 23: Bolines 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.