Hexagram 42: Yi

Wind over Thunder · 风雷益 · Tendency: Auspicious

Structure

• Number: 42 (King Wen sequence)
• Symbol: ䷩
• Upper trigram: Xun (Wind)
• Lower trigram: Zhen (Thunder)
• Lines: yang yin yin yin yang yang (bottom to top)

The statement

利有攸往。利涉大川。

——《周易》

What this hexagram indicates

This hexagram represents increase and improvement. It is suitable for learning new methods, accepting help, correcting mistakes, and expanding positive influence. When receiving benefits, also give back to others. Do not only think about personal gain; true benefit comes from mutual achievement.

A Buddhist reading

Yi (Increase) decreases what is above to increase what is below. Ouyi Zhixu reads this as the way a bodhisattva works: drawing down from the buddha realm to benefit the nine ordinary realms, standing high yet willingly leaving traces below, which is why the path shines out. On moving toward good and correcting faults he says wind stirs, hence swiftness in moving toward good, and thunder rouses, hence courage in correcting faults; he also cites Lu Yongcheng, that wind enters so finely that no slight good is missed and no thin fault escapes removal. The third line is worth pondering: people assume misfortune brings no benefit, but he shows that the blow itself is the benefit, and once you trust that, misfortune stops being misfortune.

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 41: Sunthe whole figure turned upside down
• Next: Hexagram 43: Guai
• Opposite: Hexagram 32: Hengevery 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.