井

48. The well

jǐng · Water ☵ over Lake ☱

An inexhaustible source that has to be dug down to.

The Noble One's Path

Water above the wooden beam of a well-sweep. The Noble One cares not only for himself, but encourages others toward mutual help — Ren on the scale of a community.

The Lesson

Return to your basic values. Regular reflection is essential if you want to be able to serve others.

A question to sit with

When did I last "clean out" my foundations, and what is my own inexhaustible source of strength?

Related hexagrams

In the I Ching no hexagram stands alone. Each one enters into relationships with others, and those relationships show the situation seen from the other side, in its opposite, and in its hidden tendency.

Opposite

21. Biting through / Breakthrough

易

The classical deep dive for this hexagram — the Judgment and the Image after Richard Wilhelm — along with the texts of all six changing lines, is in the book. Get the book

卦

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