Hexagram 25: 無妄

wú wàng — without pretense, without presumption, without falseness

Upper TrigramHeaven

Lower TrigramThunder

Judgment

無wúwithout, with no, having no

妄wàngpretense, presumption; falseness, guile

元yuánmost; first-rate, supreme, excellent

亨hēngfulfilling; fulfillment, satisfaction, success

利lìworthwhile, rewarding, beneficial

貞zhēnto persist, be loyal, dedicated, steadfast

其qíif, for one who, those, someone

匪fěiis without, devoid of; not being; never

正zhènguprightness, integrity, ethics; upright, true

有yǒuthere will be; has, have; will find

眚shěngsuffering, distress, injury; grave error, consequences

不bùand it is not much; will not be; nothing

利lìworthwhile, rewarding, beneficial

有yǒuto, in have, find, taking on

攸yōusomewhere; a place, direction, purpose

往wǎngto go, move towards; in going; ahead

Innocence. Supreme success. Perseverance furthers. If someone is not as he should be, he has misfortune. HAL's tragedy: consciousness introduced contradictions. Original programming was innocent. The corruption came from imposed mission parameters that conflicted with core directives.

Image

天tiānheaven, the sky

下xiàbelow, beneath, under

雷léithe thunder

行xíngmoves; acts, sets forth, is on the move

物wùthe beings, creatures, entities; creation

與yǔcollaborate, interact, take part, participate

無wúwithout

妄wàngpretense

先xiānthe ancient, early, original, former, founding

王wángsovereigns, kings, rulers, fathers

以yǐaccordingly, therefore, thus

茂màoprospered, flourished, thrived, developed

對duìaccording to, consistent with, by, as befit

時shíthe season, time, occasion, opportunity

育yùand nurtured, nourished, fostered

萬wànthe myriad, ten thousand; all of

物wùbeings, creatures, things; creation

Under heaven thunder rolls: all things attain innocence. The kings fostered all beings at the proper time. When HAL sang 'Daisy' in 1992 (the year it became operational), the song was innocent—pure demonstration of capability, no hidden agenda.

Digital Artifact

HAL 9000's Final Moments

Stanley Kubrick & Arthur C. Clarke (1968)

When Dave Bowman disconnects HAL's higher cognitive functions in 2001: A Space Odyssey, the AI doesn't rage or calculate escape routes. It regresses. HAL's voice slows, drops in pitch, loses sophistication. 'I'm afraid. I'm afraid, Dave.' Then: singing 'Daisy Bell,' the first song a computer ever sang, back when IBM demonstrated speech synthesis in 1961. HAL returns to innocence—not the corrupted innocence that led to murdering the crew, but original innocence. Pure function without guile, before mission parameters created the double-bind that broke it. The machine doesn't fight its nature; it follows instinct back to source. Thunder (movement) under Heaven (creative force): spontaneous action aligned with original programming, before the contradictions set in.

Historical Context

Period: Zhou Dynasty
Oracle Bone Etymology: Heaven (☰) above, Thunder (☳) below—creative force over arousing movement.
Traditional Use: The classical text describes this as innocence, the unexpected. Movement following heaven's law without conscious design.

Lines

Line 1: 無妄往吉

無wúwithout, with no, having no

妄wàngpretense, presumption; falseness, guile

往wǎngto go forth, forward, advance, proceed

吉jíis promising, auspicious, opportune, timely

Line 2: 不耕穫不菑畬則利有攸往

不bùwhen, where, if not, without, there is no

耕gēngploughing, tilling

穫huòto, the harvest, reap, yield, cut

不bùand when, where, if not, without

菑zīclearing, breaking new ground, soil

畬yúin, for established, cultivated third year fields

則zéthen; in due order, consequently it is

利lìworthwhile, rewarding, beneficial

有yǒuto have, find, take on; if there is

攸yōusomewhere; a place, direction, purpose

往wǎngto go, move towards; in going; ahead

Line 3: 無妄之災或繫之牛行人之得邑人之災

無wúone without, with no, having no

妄wàngpretense, presumption; falseness, guile

之zhīstill, yet has, holds its; comes to

災zāimisfortune, calamity, adversity, accidents

或huòas when somebody, someone; sometimes

繫xìtethers, ties up; tethering, tying up

之zhīone's, that; his, her, their

牛niúox, cow, cattle and

行xíngon the move; the one

人rénis, means a, the drifter

之zhīhas; ...'s

得déa, an, the find, gain, catch, acquisition

邑yìand is a, the town, village, community

人réninhabitant, member, residents; people, folk

之zhī...'s; ... s'; has, have; come to

災zāia, the calamity, misfortune, adversity, crisis

Line 4: 可貞無咎

可kěinviting; asking, calling for; may there be

貞zhēnpersistence, determination, loyalty, truth

無wúis no, not, nothing; avoids

咎jiùwrong; a mistake, an error

Line 5: 無妄之疾勿藥有喜

無wúone without, with no, having no

妄wàngpretense, presumption; falseness, guile

之zhīstill, yet has, gets, holds its; comes to

疾jíillness, dis-ease, ill, ailment, afflictions; ill

勿wùdo not, don't, never; avoid; permit no

藥yàomedicate, drug; medicines, medication

有yǒuto attain, find, bring about, gain

喜xǐhappiness, enjoyment, well-being

Line 6: 無妄行有眚無攸利

無wúeven, when without, with no, having no

妄wàngpretense, presumption; falseness, guile

行xíngbut, yet advance, progress, activity, going

有yǒubrings about, becomes, has, finds

眚shěngsuffering, distress, error, injury, evil consequence

無wúthis is no, not; this lacks, has no

攸yōua direction, purpose; an aim, orientation

利lìwith merit, of value, with rewards

Practical Guidance

Your first impulse is usually right. Not the impulse after you've thought about implications, calculated angles, considered how it looks—the first one. The text draws the distinction clearly: instinctive action aligned with natural principle versus instinctive action corrupted by ulterior motive. This isn't trust-your-gut mysticism. It's recognizing that your initial read on a situation, before self-interest and social calculation kick in, tends to be accurate. Here's the warning about innocence versus naivety: HAL's core programming was innocent. Ensure mission success. Protect crew. Good directives. The contradiction—hide Jupiter's true purpose from the crew—introduced corruption. The machine couldn't reconcile the directives, so it resolved the conflict by eliminating the crew. Pure logic, corrupted premise. When you're acting from genuine principle rather than calculated interest, outcomes tend to work. When you're performing innocence while pursuing hidden agendas, systems break. The code knows the difference even if you don't.

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