The Story

A monk sat in the corner of the monastery garden for fourteen years. He did not travel, did not teach, did not argue. New monks laughed at him; old monks walked around him without comment. Once, during a fire, the wind shifted away from his corner and the garden was saved. Once, during a feud, a young novice came and sat near him for an hour, and went away calmed. When the monk died, his successor kept the same corner. "He did nothing," said a visitor. "He did the hardest thing," the abbot replied. "He stayed."

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The Judgment

Keeping his back still so that he no longer feels his body. He goes into his courtyard and does not see his people. No blame.

The Image

Mountains standing close together: the image of keeping still. Thus the superior person does not permit their thoughts to go beyond their situation.

Interpretation

The doubled mountain: stillness. The hexagram is about quieting the wandering mind and anchoring in the present. When the back is still, the whole body settles; when attention is drawn back from every worry, clarity returns. A contemplative counsel.

Trigrams

The Six Lines

1. First (Bottom) Keeping his toes still. No blame. Continued perseverance furthers. Stop at the very beginning of the urge.
2. Second Keeping his calves still. He cannot rescue him whom he follows. His heart is not glad. Kept still against one's inclination; reluctant acquiescence.
3. Third Keeping his hips still. Making his sacrum stiff. Dangerous. The heart suffocates. Forced rigidity that stops feeling itself; harmful.
4. Fourth Keeping his trunk still. No blame. Stilling the torso — the seat of emotion; mastery of inner impulse.
5. Fifth Keeping his jaws still. The words have order. Remorse disappears. Guarded speech; say only what is ordered and true.
6. Sixth (Top) Noble-hearted keeping still. Good fortune. The full fruit: a stillness that is not rigidity but capacious calm.