Hexagram 52: 艮

gèn — stillness, keeping still, bound

Upper TrigramMountain

Lower TrigramMountain

Judgment

艮gènkeep, hold, still, quiet, balance, restrain

其qíabout, in, with one's own, that

背bèiback, spine

不bùthere is no; not even, without, rather than

獲huòa grasp, sense, apprehension, involve

其qíby, for, in, of, on, with one's own, this

身shēnselfhood, being, person, lifetime, body

行xíngmove, wander, pass, walk, go

其qíabout, in, through one's own, this, that

庭tíngcourtyard, court, chambers, hall

不bùbut, yet without; and, but not, never

見jiànsee, perceive, encounter, meet, receive

其qíone's own; the, those other

人rénpeople; persons, individuals, occupants

無wúbut no; not; nothing; no ^ is done

咎jiùblame; is wrong; a mistake; harm

Keeping still. Keeping his back still so that he no longer feels his body. He goes into his courtyard and does not see his people. When movement stops completely, the restless ego disappears. This isn't paralysis—it's alignment with necessity.

Image

兼jiānconnected, adjoining, adjacent, combined

山shānmountains

艮gènstillness

君jūnthe noble, worthy, honored

子zǐyoung one, heir, disciple

以yǐaccordingly, therefore, thus

思sīthinks of, contemplates, considers, ponders

不bùnothing; no; without, with no

出chūbeyond, outside of; departure, exit from

其qíthis; its own

位wèiplace, position, situation, context, conditions

Mountains standing close together: the image of keeping still. Thus the superior man does not permit his thoughts to go beyond his situation. The heart thinks constantly, but restrict thinking to the immediate. Excessive analysis makes the heart sore.

Digital Artifact

Spacewar!'s Pause Button

Steve Russell & MIT Hackers (1962)

Spacewar!—the first real video game—ran on MIT's PDP-1 in 1962. Two spaceships orbit a gravity well, firing missiles, thrust calculated in real-time. Pure kinetic chaos. But they built in a pause button. Not for debugging—for meditation. The hackers understood: the ability to stop is as important as the ability to move. Mid-game, hit pause. Stars freeze. Missiles hang in space. Gravity stops pulling. Everything goes still. Study the configuration, see the pattern. Then unpause. This was philosophical architecture. Mountain doubled—stillness below, stillness above. Movement and stillness as complementary states. Rest and motion in agreement with the demands of the time.

Historical Context

Period: Zhou Dynasty
Oracle Bone Etymology: Mountain (☶) doubled—stillness below, stillness above.
Traditional Use: Wilhelm describes keeping still as achieving a quiet heart—not through denial of movement but through proper timing. True quiet means knowing when to stop and when to advance.

Lines

Line 1: 艮其趾無咎利永貞

艮gènstillness, rest, quiet; restrain, check

其qíin one's own; the, those

趾zhǐtoes, feet

無wúno; not; nothingis; no ^ done

咎jiùblame; wrong; making mistakes; harm

利lìworth, meriting, warranting; profit by

永yǒnglasting, prolonged, enduring, sustained

貞zhēnpersistence, determination, resolve, focus

Line 2: 艮其腓不拯其隨其心不快

艮gènstillness, rest, quiet; restrain, check

其qíin one's own; the, those

腓féicalves, legs [this word also meant to follow]

不bùthis does, will not; this is no, not

拯zhěnghelping; relief, aid, assistance; helpful

其qíin, for, to one's own; the, those

隨suípursuits; response; succeeding, success

其qíthis one's; the

心xīnheart, mind, conscience

不bùis not, without, less than; has no, not much

快kuàihappy, gratified, cheerful; at ease, peace

Line 3: 艮其限列其夤厲薰心

艮gènstill; fix, setting, tie; re-, constrain

其qíin, on, with one's own; the, that, those

限xiànboundaries, limits, restrictions, constraints

列lièseparate, divide; arrange; rank; line, up

其qíup in, at one's own; at the, those

夤yínloins, lower back, waist, area of kidneys

厲lìharshness, severity, rigors, suppression

薰xūnchoke, smother, suffocate, befog, fume

心xīnthe heart, mind, affections, feelings

Line 4: 艮其身無咎

艮gènstillness, rest, quiet; restrain, check

其qíin, of, with one's own; the, that

身shēnselfhood, being, person, lifetime, body

無wúno; not, nothing; without, with no

咎jiùblame; is wrong; a mistake, an error

Line 5: 艮其輔言有序悔亡

艮gènstillness, rest, quiet; restrain, check

其qíin one's own; the, those

輔fǔjawbones, jaws, jowls

言yánspeech, words, talk, expression

有yǒuhas, will have; takes on, possess, assume

序xùmeaningful order, arrangement, sequence

悔huǐregrets, remorse; regret, repent and

亡wángpass, disappear, dissolve; move on

Line 6: 敦艮吉

敦dūnauthentic, genuine, real, true, honest, candid

艮gènstillness, quiet, balance, equilibrium, restraint

吉jípromising, auspicious, opportune, timely

Practical Guidance

The pause button exists. Use it. Not pause because you're stuck—pause because stopping is the correct action right now. The classical text talks about the back being still, the restless ego disappearing. In practical terms: sometimes the best next move is no move. You're debugging. You've been at it for hours. The bug seems to shift every time you touch it. Here's the right action: step away. Not in defeat—in wisdom. Let the problem rest. Come back tomorrow with fresh perspective. The bug will still be there. You'll see it differently. The Spacewar! pause button makes stillness an explicit option in a game that's otherwise pure kinetic energy. The MIT hackers understood something: action needs stillness to be effective. You can't just thrust and fire constantly. You need moments to observe the configuration, understand the gravity well, see the pattern. Then you can act from understanding rather than reaction. The dangers the text identifies: forcing stillness (trying to make yourself calm through rigidity rather than letting calmness develop naturally—line three, keeping the hips still, making the sacrum stiff, fire smothered becomes acrid smoke) or deliberating endlessly without deciding (the heart becomes sore, repeated analysis that never concludes—that's not stillness, it's paralysis). Don't force it. If you need rest, rest. If you need to move, move. The wisdom is in recognizing which is appropriate when. The text says: does not permit his thoughts to go beyond his situation. Restrict thinking to what's actually relevant. Stop the recursive anxiety loops. Stillness and movement are complementary states. Neither is final. Both are necessary. The pause button doesn't end the game—it creates space to see clearly. Then you unpause and continue. But that moment of stillness changes what happens next. Know when to stop. Actually stop. Then continue from a different position.

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