T'ai / Peace
above: K'un The Receptive, Earth
below: Ch'ien The Creative, Heaven
Nine in the third place means:
No plain not followed by a slope.
No going not followed by a return.
He who remains persevering in danger
Is without blame.
Do not complain about this truth;
Enjoy the good fortune you still possess.
Everything on earth is subject to change. Prosperity is followed by
decline: this is the eternal law on earth. Evil can indeed be held in
check but not permanently abolished. It always returns. This conviction
might induct melancholy, but it should not; it ought only to keep us
from falling into illusion when good fortune comes to us. If we
continue mindful of the danger, we remain persevering and make no
mistakes. As long as a man's inner nature remains stronger and richer
than anything offered by external fortune, as long as he remains
inwardly superior to fate, fortune will not desert him.