I Ching · Hexagram 25 of 64
Hexagram 25: Wu Wang （无妄） — Innocence
Wu Wang is Heaven over Thunder: Heaven thundering above, plain and hiding nothing, the sign of a heart free of delusive thought, of falsity and of grasping. The teaching is that one who is without delusive thought and without expectation is already joined to Heaven and attains the four virtues directly, while one who loses right thought and grasps after gain loses wisdom and finds no road open.
At a glance
| Hexagram | 25 of 64 |
|---|---|
| Name | Wu Wang 无妄 · Innocence |
| Upper trigram | Qian （乾）· Heaven |
| Lower trigram | Zhen （震）· Thunder |
| Structure | Heaven over Thunder |
| Lines | 6 lines |
The Judgment （卦辞）
Innocence. Supreme success, favorable to be steadfast. If one is not correct, there is calamity; it is not favorable to go anywhere.
ExplainedInnocence means a heart without delusive thought, and also without expectation or grasping, for most delusion grows out of grasping and where there is no grasping the mind is naturally clear. In that state one is joined to Heaven and attains the four virtues without arduous effort: benevolence that will not harm life, harmony with the holy through the rites, benefit that fulfills one's vows in action, and wisdom wide open, each ripening in turn like a tree from seed to trunk to flower to fruit. To be incorrect is to lose right thought and to grasp beyond what Heaven has already given, and that is calamity, blindness of the spirit, so that the four open roads become a dead end.
Tuan Zhuan — Commentary on the Judgment （彖传）
Innocence. The firm comes from outside and becomes lord within; it moves and is strong, firm and centered and answered; great success through correctness: this is the mandate of Heaven. If one is not correct, there is calamity; it is not favorable to go anywhere. Where innocence would go, where would it go? If the mandate of Heaven does not aid him, how should he act?
ExplainedThe firm descends from without and takes the lordship within, the upright spirit coming upon a life to rule it: this is the support of Heaven and the protection of the mandate, not the fruit of one's own labor. Because thunder moves and Heaven is strong, the man of innocence acts with vigor and tirelessness. Keeping the center and answering Heaven, he comes to great success along the bright road, and this is the mandate of Heaven. But if right thought is lost, wisdom is lost with it and no direction is favorable, for without the mandate even a power that could move Heaven is of no use.
Xiang Zhuan — Image Commentary （大象）
Thunder moves under Heaven; all things are innocent with it. Thus the ancient kings, in rich accord with the season, nourished all things.
ExplainedThunder under Heaven and rain together water and raise all things: this is the utterly true and undeceiving accord of things, the Maker's work in which yin and yang meet through thunder. The ancient kings, joined to the mandate, took as their charge the nourishing of all things, and what human beings can do in the same way is to complete and transform all living beings, so that the seeds of sagehood in them sprout and grow. Having themselves passed from greed, anger and delusion to the four virtues, they lead others along the same road.
The Six Lines （六爻）
The lines are read from the bottom upward. Each carries its own text, a Small Image commentary, and a plain-English reading.
Line 1 · YangLine 1
Innocence. Going forward brings good fortune.
Small ImageThe going forward of innocence: he obtains his purpose.
ExplainedThe first line opens by saying that to go forward is good fortune, the very opposite of the judgment, and only because the heart has no delusion and no grasping, so that wherever one goes all is accomplished, in sacred work and worldly work, in marriage and in education. Heaven aids the good, and a heart without delusion is good; so the first rule of cultivation is to expect nothing, to keep gratitude and repentance, and to repent the moment a grasping thought appears.
Line 2 · YinLine 2
He does not plow and yet reaps; he does not clear new land and yet has a field. Thus it is favorable to go forward.
Small ImageHe does not plow and yet reaps: he is not yet rich.
ExplainedTo reap without plowing is to reach the harvest without the hard first years, an effortless and doubled return, and it comes not from nothing but from the firm coming in to be lord within, that is, from sincere devotion and gratitude upon which Heaven removes every obstacle. Yet the small image notes that he is not yet rich: what Heaven gives is meant to complete virtue and not to bestow wealth. If one forgets this and grasps at riches, one loses the nature and the whole structure falls.
Line 3 · YinLine 3
The calamity of innocence. Someone tethers a cow. The traveler gains, the townsman suffers calamity.
Small ImageThe traveler gains the cow, the townsman suffers calamity.
ExplainedHere innocence means good faith, and Heaven may be trusted absolutely, but people may not, for one must neither intend harm nor go without guarding against it. A cow tethered at your gate while its owner is away is led off by a passerby, and you who own the house must pay for it. Trust Heaven fully, and it saves those who trust; judge men with wisdom, and do not take their words lightly.
Line 4 · YangLine 4
He may be steadfast. No blame.
Small ImageHe may be steadfast without blame: this is what he already has.
ExplainedHaving received Heaven's support, what one should seek is steadfastness, the wisdom that is the final fruit, becoming a noble one who never decays. With wisdom one can truly bear affairs and handle them without error, and so avoid blame. What is sought is the wisdom and the good nature one already possesses, no more a grasping than a sick man's wish to be well, and that still belongs to innocence. Many reach benevolence, harmony and benefit but fail at the last gate of wisdom and are lost, so steadfastness must be the goal.
Line 5 · YangLine 5
The illness of innocence. Do not use medicine; there will be joy.
Small ImageThe medicine of innocence may not be tried.
ExplainedThe illness of innocence is the sickness of one without delusive thought, especially the illness for which there is no hope, where the human road ends and the road of Heaven begins. Medical skill can do nothing, so one takes no medicine and instead cultivates to the point of joy, when the body grows light, the heart is at peace and the spirit is filled with gladness, and the sickness is cured without a cure. The warning is against rushing after remedies in panic; what is needed is sincerity and a mind without delusion, and joy itself is the proof.
Line 6 · YangLine 6
Innocence. Acting brings calamity. Nothing is favorable.
Small ImageThe action of innocence: the calamity of the exhausted end.
ExplainedThis is the worst line, where innocence no longer means being without expectation but having no hope at all. Acting brings blindness, walking as in the dark and seeing nothing, and there is no advantage, only harm. The cause is exactly what the judgment calls being incorrect: to keep no right thought, to cheat the teacher, to break the rules, to leak what should be hidden. So one must examine continually whether right thought is present, trust Heaven and follow the mandate of nourishing and saving others, and so escape the calamity of the exhausted end.
Key takeaway
Innocence joins a heart without delusion or grasping directly with Heaven, so that the four virtues ripen and every road opens.
Frequently asked questions
What does Hexagram 25 (Wu Wang) mean in the I Ching?
Wu Wang is Heaven over Thunder: Heaven thundering above, plain and hiding nothing, the sign of a heart free of delusive thought, of falsity and of grasping. The teaching is that one who is without delusive thought and without expectation is already joined to Heaven and attains the four virtues directly, while one who loses right thought and grasps after gain loses wisdom and finds no road open.
What is the judgment of Hexagram 25?
Innocence. Supreme success, favorable to be steadfast. If one is not correct, there is calamity; it is not favorable to go anywhere. Innocence means a heart without delusive thought, and also without expectation or grasping, for most delusion grows out of grasping and where there is no grasping the mind is naturally clear. In that state one is joined to Heaven and attains the four virtues without arduous effort: benevolence that will not harm life…
What do the six lines of Hexagram 25 say?
Line 1: Innocence. Going forward brings good fortune. Line 2: He does not plow and yet reaps; he does not clear new land and yet has a field. Thus it is favorable to go forward. Line 3: The calamity of innocence. Someone tethers a cow. The traveler gains, the townsman suffers calamity. Line 4: He may be steadfast. No blame. Line 5: The illness of innocence. Do not use medicine; there will be joy. Line 6: Innocence. Acting brings calamity. Nothing is favorable.
What is the main lesson of Hexagram 25 (Innocence)?
Innocence joins a heart without delusion or grasping directly with Heaven, so that the four virtues ripen and every road opens.
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