Hexagram 43
夬 Guài
Breakthrough
☱ Lake above ☰ Heaven
Judgment 卦辭
揚于王庭。孚號有厲。告自邑。不利即戎。利有攸往。
Commentary
The matter must be resolutely made known at the king's court. Truthfully announced. Danger. Notify your own city. Do not resort to arms. It furthers one to undertake something. A single passion lurking in the heart can obscure reason. Fight without quarter is necessary. But there are rules: resolution must combine strength with friendliness. Evil must be openly discredited. Don't gloss over your own shortcomings. Don't fight directly by force—you'll get entangled in hatred. Begin at home. Combat your own faults by making energetic progress in the good.
Classical Text
夬乾下兌上 夬，揚于王庭，孚號有厲。告自邑，不利即戎，利有攸往。 「孚號有厲」者，號，號令也。行決之法，先須號令。夬，以剛決柔，則是用明信之法而宣其號令，如此即柔邪者危，故曰孚號有厲也。以剛制斷，行令於邑可也。若用剛即戎，尚力取勝，為物所疾，以此用師，必有不利，故曰「告自邑，不利即戎」。雖不利即戎，然剛德不長，則柔邪不消。故陽爻宜有所往，夬道乃成，故曰利有攸往也。
Guai: Qian below, Dui above. Guai (Resolution): Proclaimed in the king's court. With sincere proclamation there is danger. Announce from the city; it is not beneficial to resort to arms. It is beneficial to have somewhere to go. "With sincere proclamation there is danger": hao means command. In carrying out the method of resolution, one must first issue commands. Guai resolves the yielding by means of the firm; this means using the method of clear trustworthiness to proclaim commands. In this way the yielding and deviant are endangered, hence it says "with sincere proclamation there is danger." Using firmness to control and decide, issuing commands in the city is acceptable. But if one uses firmness to resort to arms, valuing force to achieve victory, one will be hated by all. Using the army in this way will inevitably be unfavorable, hence it says "announce from the city; it is not beneficial to resort to arms." Although it is not beneficial to resort to arms, if the virtue of firmness does not grow, then yielding deviance will not be eliminated. Therefore the yang lines should have somewhere to go, and only then will the Way of Guai be accomplished, hence it says "it is beneficial to have somewhere to go."
Image 象
澤上於天，夬。君子以施祿及下，居德則忌。
The lake has risen to heaven—reason to fear a cloudburst. Dispense riches downward. Don't rest on your virtue. All gathering is followed by dispersion. Begin to distribute while accumulating. In character, don't become hardened in obstinacy—remain receptive through continuous self-examination.
Lines 爻辭
壯于前趾往不勝為咎
Mighty in the forward-striding toes. If you go and are not equal to the task, you make a mistake. At the beginning of resolute advance, resistance is still strong. Gauge your strength. Venture only so far as you can go with certainty. Plunging blindly ahead brings unexpected setbacks with disastrous results.
Classical commentary
初九，壯于前趾，往不勝，為咎。
Initial Nine: Strength in the advancing toes. Going forward, one cannot prevail — there will be blame.
惕號莫夜有戎勿恤
A cry of alarm. Arms at evening and at night. Fear nothing. Readiness is everything. Resolution is bound up with caution. Watchful at all times, even before danger is present—you're armed when it approaches. Circumspect, never forgetting your armor: this is the right way to security.
Classical commentary
九二，惕號，莫夜有戎，勿恤。
Nine in the Second: A cry of alarm. In the evening night there are armed men; do not worry.
壯于頄有凶君子夬夬獨行遇雨若濡有愠無咎
Powerful in the cheekbones. Misfortune. You have a certain relationship with an inferior person while others fight against all that is inferior. If you show strength outwardly before the time is ripe, you endanger everything. Maintain the association, avoid participation in vileness. You'll be misjudged, lonely, sullied in others' eyes. But remain true to yourself—this is without mistake.
Classical commentary
九三，壯於頄，有凶。君子夬夬，獨行，遇雨若濡，有慍无咎。
Nine in the Third: Strength in the cheekbones — there is misfortune. The superior person resolves and resolves again. Walking alone, encountering rain and getting soaked, there is vexation but no blame.
臀無膚其行次且牽羊悔亡聞言不信
No skin on his thighs, walking comes hard. If led like a sheep, remorse disappears. But these words will not be believed. Inner restlessness, obstinacy in enforcing your will against insuperable obstacles. If you would desist, everything would go well. But like much good counsel, this will be ignored. Obstinacy makes a person unable to hear.
Classical commentary
九四，臀无膚，其行次且。牽羊悔亡，聞言不信。
Nine in the Fourth: The buttocks have no skin; one's movement falters and stumbles. If one leads a ram, regret vanishes. One hears words but does not trust them.
莧陸夬夬中行無咎
In dealing with weeds, firm resolution is necessary. Walking in the middle remains free of blame. Weeds grow back. Struggle against an inferior person in high position demands resolution. There is danger of giving up as hopeless. Don't. Continue resolutely; don't be deflected.
Classical commentary
九五，莧陸夬夬，中行无咎。
Nine in the Fifth: Resolving and resolving the xianlu weed; acting in the center, there is no blame.
無號終有凶
No cry. In the end, misfortune comes. Victory seems achieved. Only a remnant of evil remains to be eradicated. Everything looks easy—this is the danger. If not vigilant, evil escapes through concealment. New misfortunes develop from remaining seeds. Evil does not die easily. In your own character too, go to work with thoroughness.
Classical commentary
上六，无號，終有凶。
Top Six: No crying out — in the end there is misfortune.