What this change means
The second line stills the calves, and the heart isn't glad about it. You can stop yourself in the right place, but you can't make the people you're following stop too, and you may have to watch them go on without being able to help. That's the discomfort of this line: your own restraint is all you control. The lower Mountain becomes Wind, and the resulting hexagram, 18 Loss, Then Gain, names what may follow. Mistakes, perhaps not only yours, have led to some decline, and the way back lies in admitting them, making corrections, and reflecting on the causes. Give results time after you act. So hold your position even if others don't. Look honestly at what went wrong, repair your part, and accept that the rest isn't yours to stop.
What to read, in order
Marked ● is what Zhu Xi's tradition puts at the center for this number of moving lines.
- Line 2 of 52 Abiding
Right now you can only see to stopping yourself in the right place; you can't make sure others do the same.
Still the calves. It cannot come to the aid of what it follows; the heart is not glad.
- The judgment of 52 Abiding
It's a time of stillness, of staying centered and steady: that's the best way forward in your present situation. Sometimes you need to stop, calm and confident, and wait for outer conditions to show you it's time to act. Don't go beyond what's happening now. There's no action, only a harmonious stillness, and staying that way brings success.
Still at the back; the body is not reached. Walking in the courtyard; its people are not seen. No fault.
- The judgment of 18 Loss, Then Gain
You've made mistakes that have brought you into decline; still, admitting it and making the corrections needed will lead you back to success. Take time to reflect on what caused the loss and, once you've acted, give success time to arrive.
Great success. It is favorable to cross the great river. Three days before the first day, three days after the first day.
The trigrams
The way back
18 Loss, Then Gain → 52 Abidingline 2
Other transformations of Abiding
Make your own cast
The answer changes with the question. Toss the coins and see which lines move for you.