Hexagram 2 · Kun The Receptive 坤为地

“Kun: origin, success, benefit through the steadfastness of a mare.”

Kun (The Receptive) is the deep virtue of the earth. It shows people how to imitate the nature of the earth: like a mare, gentle and compliant yet strong in its going. “Steadfastness” means a firm heart, but unlike Qian, it is a heart firmly set on gentleness and compliance.

“The noble person has somewhere to go.”

Because the noble person acts with gentle compliance and is the same inside and out, he accords with the virtue of Kun, the earth.

“Going first, he goes astray; following after, he finds his master. There is benefit.”

Yin follows yang. That is, even without fully understanding, one knows that one must follow the central correctness of yang firmness. If one tries to advance without understanding, one goes astray and errs, and the loss is one’s own. One should stay behind; then there is benefit. It is like the relationship between ruler and minister: gentle compliance is the minister’s duty.

“Friends are gained in the southwest and lost in the northeast. Peaceful steadfastness brings good fortune.”

The southwest is a yin direction and the northeast a yang direction. Yin must follow yang; when yang is upright, yin is upright too. Through the central correctness of yang firmness, the weeds are cleared and the best is kept, and so the work of nurturing life can be accomplished.

“Perfect indeed is the originating power of Kun! All things owe their birth to it, and so it receives heaven in compliance. Kun is thick and carries things; its virtue matches the boundless.”

The way of Kun is great. All things begin through Qian and are born through Kun, as in the way of father and mother. Kun’s virtue is deep, so it can hold and carry all things.

“Embracing, broad, bright and great, it lets every kind of thing prosper. The mare belongs to the earth; it travels the earth without limit. Gentle and compliant, benefiting through steadfastness: this is how the noble person acts.”

The four terms embracing, broad, bright and great describe the way of Kun: “embracing” is inclusiveness; “broad” is generous spaciousness; “bright” is clear illumination; “great” is thickness, breadth and vastness. The sage has these four virtues, and so can complete heaven’s work. The mare can travel because it is gentle and compliant, and so it is strong.

“Going first, one goes astray and loses the way; following after, one complies and finds constancy. In the southwest one gains friends, travelling with one’s own kind; in the northeast one loses friends, but in the end there is cause for celebration. The good fortune of peaceful steadfastness answers to the boundlessness of the earth.”

Having gone astray at first and then followed the virtue of yang firmness, one is sure to grasp the principle later. The southwest is yin; travelling with one’s own kind, one gains friends. The northeast is the yang direction; leaving one’s kind, one loses friends. Because one leaves one’s kind to follow yang, one can accomplish the work of bringing things to completion. In the end there is sure to be good fortune; and because one can calmly and firmly hold to this way, there is nowhere one cannot go.

“The earth’s condition is receptive. The noble person accordingly carries all things with deep virtue.”

The way of Kun, the earth, is supremely great. The sage embodies it, and the noble person handles affairs with the earth’s virtue of being gentle, compliant, and thick enough to carry all things.

“Treading on frost; solid ice is coming.”

When yin first comes into being, the sage knows that it will grow and gives warning at this point, just as a person who treads on frost knows that solid ice will follow. So although petty people are very slight at first, they must never be allowed to grow; when they grow strong, there is misfortune.

“Treading on frost, solid ice: yin is beginning to congeal. Follow this course to its end and solid ice arrives.”

Yin first congeals into frost and, as it grows stronger, becomes solid ice. So the sage warns against petty people at the outset: if petty people are allowed to carry on unchecked, the end is misfortune. We must therefore guard against it from the beginning.

Petty people often appear pitiable on the surface, winning sympathy and showing weakness in order to be pitied, while inwardly they have designs. People today do not realise that helping the weak and indulging wrongdoers are separated by a thin line. They pride themselves blindly on helping the weak, not knowing that they are indulging wrongdoers, and so petty people flourish today.

“Straight, square and great. Without practice, nothing is unfavorable.”

The sage uses the earth’s three virtues — straightness, squareness and greatness — to express the whole way of the earth. Straight means direct, without detours or pretence. Square means principles that do not change with circumstances, and are upright. Great means a breadth of mind able to hold and carry all things. “Without practice” means following what is natural, so that wherever one goes there is benefit. One may also say that, being both straight and square, one’s bearing becomes great.

“The movement of the second six is straight and thereby square. Without practice, nothing is unfavorable: the way of the earth shines.”

The way of the earth shines forth through its being straight, square and great. When everyone follows what is natural, where can wrongdoers hide? Nothing is unfavorable.

“Conceal one’s brilliance and remain steadfast. Perhaps serving the king; no claim to achievement, but bringing matters to completion.”

The third six occupies the position of a chief minister: the way of a minister. If he has the beauty of concealed brilliance — that is, if he does not claim credit but attributes the good to the king — then, since the king has no cause for jealousy or resentment, the end will surely be fortunate.

“Conceal one’s brilliance and remain steadfast: bring it forth at the proper time.”

The way of a subordinate is not to claim credit, so as not to provoke the ruler’s suspicion. But when righteousness requires action at the proper time, one must act at once. Not claiming credit while not failing to do what is fitting — all this depends on the time. People today who conceal their abilities and do nothing are all disloyal.

“Perhaps serving the king: his understanding is bright and great.”

The sage understands how bright and great concealed brilliance is, so he can keep himself in obscurity. A petty person who does any good is afraid that others will not know of it. This is the dividing line between the noble person and the petty person.

“Tie up the sack. No blame and no praise.”

The fourth six sits in a position close beside the ruler. Keeping one’s mouth closed and revealing nothing brings safety and no disaster; this is the merit of silence.

“Tie up the sack, no blame: caution does no harm.”

To be able to watch one’s words at all times and not speak recklessly: caution is why there is no harm.

“A yellow lower garment. Great good fortune.”

Kun fundamentally discusses the way of a minister. When a minister occupies the place of honour, or a woman occupies the place of honour, there must be the caution of the yellow lower garment: one should keep to the middle and stay low, and not become overbearing and unrestrained. Otherwise some extraordinary upheaval is sure to follow.

“A yellow lower garment, great good fortune: refinement lies within.”

The beauty of the yellow garment is a supreme beauty accumulated within. Holding to the middle without excess, high in position yet humbly staying low — therefore there is good fortune.

“Dragons fight in the wilderness; their blood is dark and yellow.”

The sixth line is the position of utmost fullness. When yin reaches its extreme, yang arrives, and so there is a contest. Because the sixth keeps pressing forward without stopping, there must be a fight, and fighting brings wounds, so the colour of blood appears. Heaven’s blood is dark; earth’s blood is yellow.

“Dragons fight in the wilderness: the way has reached its end.”

Because yin has reached its extreme, the way is lost; hence the image of dragons fighting in the wilderness appears.

“It is beneficial to be steadfast for ever.”

This is the way of using yin, parallel to Qian’s way of “using nines.” The way of yin is soft and hard to keep constant; there is the worry of orders given in the morning and changed by evening. So the benefit lies in being constant and firm.

“Using sixes, lasting steadfastness: by this one comes to a great end.”

From this the sage realises that by remaining the same from beginning to end, with a firm and unchanging heart, one is sure to benefit, and the final outcome will be great. People today think differently morning and evening, think too highly of themselves and cannot see their roles clearly. Petty people act to excess, and ordinary people follow custom and see only a foolish kind of goodness, so that petty people grow extremely strong; repeated wrongs come to seem right, and what has built up is hard to change.

The Commentary on the Words of the Text (Wenyan) says: “Kun is supremely soft, yet in movement it is firm; it is supremely still, yet its virtue is square. By following after, it finds its master and has constancy. It embraces all things, and its transforming power is bright. Is not the way of Kun compliance? It receives heaven and moves with the seasons.”

Although the way of Kun is soft, its movement must also be firm; Kun’s body is supremely still, but its virtue must be square and upright, so that it moves without departing from squareness and uprightness. Further gaining the response of those who share its way, it achieves the bright and great work of bringing all things forth. So the greatness of Kun’s compliance depends entirely on the arrival of the right time.

“A family that accumulates goodness will surely have abundant blessings; a family that accumulates what is not good will surely have abundant calamities. When a minister murders his ruler or a son murders his father, the cause is not something of one morning or one evening; it has come about gradually, because it was not discerned early enough. The Changes says, ‘Treading on frost; solid ice is coming’: this speaks of things following their course.”

Students who read this passage will surely understand it for themselves. So the sage warns against petty people at the outset; this way is great.

“Straight means correct; square means righteous. The noble person is reverent in order to straighten what is within, and righteous in order to square what is without. When reverence and righteousness are established, virtue is not alone. ‘Straight, square and great; without practice, nothing is unfavorable’: then no one doubts what he does.”

The noble person is reverent outwardly and straight inwardly, and holds firmly to righteousness to square his outward conduct. So, with reverence and straightness within and righteousness and squareness without, his virtue is abundant; it follows what is natural and needs no adornment, and no one will doubt what he does.

“Though yin has beauty, it keeps it concealed in serving the king, and does not dare to claim completion. This is the way of the earth, the way of a wife, the way of a minister. The way of the earth is to claim no completion, but to bring things to their end on another’s behalf.”

The way of a subordinate is not to display his merit, but to remain in obscurity while acting for the king, and in the end not to dare to claim the merit. It is like the way of the earth, which completes all things on heaven’s behalf and returns the credit to heaven. The way of a wife is the same. What are wives like today? Let us ask ourselves.

“When heaven and earth change and transform, plants and trees flourish. When heaven and earth are closed off, worthy people go into hiding. The Changes says, ‘Tie up the sack. No blame and no praise’: this speaks of caution.”

When heaven and earth interact, plants and trees can flourish, and the realm prospers because ruler and minister interact. Now heaven and earth are cut off and nothing comes to completion, just as when ruler and minister have lost the way and worthy people withdraw. At such a time the way of the Changes is to close one’s mouth and keep things hidden; though there is no fame, there is no disaster, all because one is careful in speech.

“The noble person is yellow and central and penetrates principle. He stands in the correct position and keeps to his proper place. Beauty is within him; it flows out into his four limbs and is expressed in his undertakings. This is the height of beauty.”

The noble person knows the way of humility and keeping low and understands the principles of affairs. Holding the ruler’s position, beauty accumulates within him, flows through his four limbs and appears in his undertakings; this is the utmost beauty. This passage shows firmness within softness, which is supremely great and supremely beautiful. People today are soft and kind without firmness, or excessively firm without humaneness; neither is a complete beauty.

“When yin rivals yang there is sure to be a fight, because it resents the absence of yang; hence the text speaks of dragons. Yet it has not left its own kind; hence it speaks of blood. Dark and yellow are the mingling of heaven and earth: heaven is dark and earth is yellow.”

The highest principle of Chinese medicine lies here: yang is great and yin is small, and yin follows yang. That is why the classical-formula school uses yang medicines, and the same holds in human affairs. If yin is allowed to reach its fullest strength, yang is pressed by the excess of yin and driven outward; when they no longer follow each other, there must be a fight, with wounds and bloodshed. The colours of heaven and earth change, which also speaks of how great the injury is.