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Twelfth Hexagram
Heaven and Earth
move away from each other.
In the ensuing void,
the small invade
where the great
have departed.
There is no
common meeting ground,
so the Superior Person
must fall back
on his inner worth
and decline
the rewards offered
by the inferior invaders.
Difficult trials
as you hold to your course.
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Changing Lines
Line Six
The oppressive stagnation
rots to the inevitable end
that all such corruption must meet.
Its compost nourishes the seeds
of great joy and fortune.
Line Five
He turns the tide of oppression,
but never allows himself to rest on his laurels.
With every advance, he asks himself,
"What if it should fail? What if it should fail?"
He ties his strategy to the lesson of mulberry shoots.
Line Four
He answers a Higher calling.
Whether he survives or whether he falls,
he will serve as the inspiration
to those who will overthrow
the oppressive regime.
Line Three
A vague inward feeling of shame
remains unrecognized
but still succeeds in haunting.
Line Two
He knows better than the sycophants
how to manipulate the petty rulers;
but instead he keeps his integrity
and remains among the oppressed.
Line One
When grass is pulled up
the earth in which it is firmly rooted
comes up with it.
He remains loyal
to those who helped him,
and carries them
out of harm's way.
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