Hexagram 25 · ䷘
Man has received from heaven a nature innately good, to guide him in all his movements. By devotion to this divine spirit within himself, he attains an unsullie...
Ch’ien, heaven, is above; Chên, movement, is below. The lower trigram Chên is under the influence of the strong line it has received from above, from heaven. When, in accord with this, movement follows the law of heaven, man is innocent and without guile. His mind is natural and true, unshadowed by reflection or ulterior designs. For wherever conscious purpose is to be seen, there the truth and innocence of nature have been lost. Nature that is not directed by the spirit is not true but degenerate nature. Starting out with the idea of the natural, the train of thought in part goes somewhat further and thus the hexagram includes also the idea of the unintentional or unexpected.
INNOCENCE. Supreme success. Perseverance furthers. If someone is not as he should be, He has misfortune, And it does not further him To undertake anything.
Man has received from heaven a nature innately good, to guide him in all his movements. By devotion to this divine spirit within himself, he attains an unsullied innocence that leads him to do right with instinctive sureness and without any ulterior thought of reward and personal advantage. This instinctive certainty brings about supreme success and “furthers through perseverance.” However, not everything instinctive is nature in this higher sense of the word, but only that which is right and in accord with the will of heaven. Without this quality of rightness, an unreflecting, instinctive way of acting brings only misfortune. Confucius says about this: “He who departs from innocence, what does he come to? Heaven’s will and blessing do not go with his deeds.”
Innocence brings supreme success, because the firm comes from the outside and becomes the ruler within. Movement in accordance with heaven. The great man takes his place in accordance with the will of heaven. If someone is not as he should be, he has misfortune, because he misses the right time for action.
Innocence brings supreme success because the firm energy comes from outside and becomes the ruler within. Movement accords with heaven's way. The great person acts according to heaven's will. If one is not as one should be, misfortune comes because the right time for action is missed.
Under heaven thunder rolls: All things attain the natural state of innocence. Thus the kings of old, Rich in virtue, and in harmony with the time, Fostered and nourished all beings.
In springtime when thunder, life energy, begins to move again under the heavens, everything sprouts and grows, and all beings receive from the creative activity of nature the childlike innocence of their original state. So it is with the good rulers of mankind: drawing on the spiritual wealth at their command, they take care of all forms of life and all forms of culture and do everything to further them, and at the proper time.
Innocent behavior brings good fortune.
The original impulses of the heart are always good, so that we may follow them confidently, assured of good fortune and achievement of our aims.
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Innocent behavior brings good fortune, because the will is directed toward the goal within.
Innocent behavior brings good fortune because the will is properly directed inward.
If one does not count on the harvest while plowing, Nor on the use of the ground while clearing it, It furthers one to undertake something.
We should do every task for its own sake as time and place demand and not with an eye to the result. Then each task turns out well, and anything we undertake succeeds.
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Not counting on the harvest: one does not seek to enrich oneself.
Not counting on the harvest shows one who does not seek selfish enrichment.
Undeserved misfortune. The cow that was tethered by someone Is the wanderer’s gain, the citizen’s loss.
Sometimes undeserved misfortune befalls a man at the hands of another, as for instance when someone passes by and takes a tethered cow along with him. His gain is the owner’s loss. In all transactions, no matter how innocent, we must accommodate ourselves to the demands of the time, otherwise unexpected misfortune overtakes us.
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The wanderer's gain, the citizen's loss. The weak cannot bear the misfortune.
The wanderer's gain and citizen's loss shows the weak cannot endure such misfortune.
He who can be persevering Remains without blame.
We cannot lose what really belongs to us, even if we throw it away. Therefore we need have no anxiety. All that need concern us is that we should remain true to our own natures and not listen to others.
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He who can be persevering remains without blame, because his firmness is correct.
Remaining without blame through perseverance shows one's firmness is correct.
Use no medicine in an illness Incurred through no fault of your own. It will pass of itself.
An unexpected evil may come accidentally from without. If it does not originate in one’s own nature or have a foothold there, one should not resort to external means to eradicate it, but should quietly let nature take its course. Then improvement will come of itself.
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Use no medicine in an illness. It will pass of itself, because one is not to be tested.
Using no medicine for innocent illness shows one who does not force unnatural solutions.
Innocent action brings misfortune. Nothing furthers.
When, in a given situation, the time is not ripe for further progress, the best thing to do is to wait quietly, without ulterior designs. If one acts thoughtlessly and tries to push ahead in opposition to fate, success will not be achieved.
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Innocent action brings misfortune, because one holds on too long.
Innocent action bringing misfortune shows the error of holding on too long.
What does Wu Wang / Innocence mean in the I Ching?
Man has received from heaven a nature innately good, to guide him in all his movements. By devotion to this divine spirit within himself, he attains an unsullie...
How should I study Hexagram 25 on this page?
Start with the judgment and image, then read the line statements in sequence. The original impulses of the heart are always good, so that we may follow them confidently, assured of good fortune and achievement of our aims. We should do every task for its own...
How can this hexagram be applied in a modern reading?
Innocence brings supreme success because the firm energy comes from outside and becomes the ruler within. Movement accords with heaven's way. The great person acts according to heaven's will. If one is not as one should...
Primary text: Zhouyi / I Ching, including the Judgment, Image, line texts, and related commentaries.
Translation basis: public-domain and modern study references, with AI used only as a learning aid.
Zhouyi / I Ching primary text: The received text of the Book of Changes, including the Judgment, Image, and line statements.
The I Ching or Book of Changes, Richard Wilhelm / Cary F. Baynes: Princeton University Press translation used as a major English-language reference point for names, structure, and commentary framing.
The Sacred Books of China: The Texts of Confucianism, James Legge: Classical English reference used for comparative reading of source terminology and commentarial tradition.
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