Hexagram 33: Dun

Heaven over Mountain · 天山遁 · Tendency: Inauspicious

Structure

• Number: 33 (King Wen sequence)
• Symbol: ䷠
• Upper trigram: Qian (Heaven)
• Lower trigram: Gen (Mountain)
• Lines: yin yin yang yang yang yang (bottom to top)

The statement

亨。小利贞。

——《周易》

What this hexagram indicates

The situation is not favorable for you; stepping back is actually protecting yourself. It's suitable to postpone disputes, stay away from troublesome people and matters, and reassess direction. Retreat is not failure, but avoiding being dragged into greater loss; don't stubbornly hold on for the sake of face.

A Buddhist reading

Ouyi Zhixu reads Dun (Retreat) as advance carried out as withdrawal: the hexagram is firm yet able to stop, so it does not treat pushing forward as progress. He warns that the word retreat slides easily into a small path of self-benefit, which is why the text adds a caution about staying correct. Like an inchworm bending before it stretches, or a dragon lying dormant before it stirs, one withdraws in order to benefit others later. Inwardly the mind rules and the body obeys, so the appetites of eye, ear and belly cause no disorder. Retreat done well is advance; done badly, it never comes back.

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 32: Heng
• Next / Inverted: Hexagram 34: Da Zhuangthe whole figure turned upside down
• Opposite: Hexagram 19: Linevery 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.