I Ching · Hexagram 28 of 64
Hexagram 28: Da Guo （大过） — Great Exceeding
Da Guo is Lake over Wind and Wood: the lake drowns the tree, as a boat is swamped, the image of difficulty piled upon difficulty. The hexagram says that the great can pass beyond: only one whose heart is wide can cross such a barrier, and after the nourishment of the previous hexagram a person must pass through every test to become a great one.
At a glance
| Hexagram | 28 of 64 |
|---|---|
| Name | Da Guo 大过 · Great Exceeding |
| Upper trigram | Dui （兑）· Lake |
| Lower trigram | Xun （巽）· Wind |
| Structure | Lake over Wind |
| Lines | 6 lines |
The Judgment （卦辞）
Great Exceeding. The ridgepole sags. It is favorable to go forward. Success.
ExplainedGreat exceeding means there are great barriers to be crossed. The ridgepole sags and cannot bear its weight: everyone carries something, study, family, career or the work of the Way, and the pursuit of success knows no end, so that the nerves are at war without relief until one breaks under the load. Yet it is favorable to go forward and success comes: one need not be crushed by success, but should let the mind rest nowhere and hold no fixed place, dropping the world's notion that success means happiness. Success has no final method, but awakening has no end, for it is what one already is.
Tuan Zhuan — Commentary on the Judgment （彖传）
Great Exceeding: the great exceeds. The ridgepole sags: the beginning and the end are weak. The firm exceeds and yet is centered; compliant and glad, he acts: it is favorable to go forward, and this brings success. Great indeed is the meaning of the time of great exceeding.
ExplainedThe great exceeds means that one whose heart is wide can cross the barrier, while a person who clings to fixed ideas makes his heart narrow and finds a barrier everywhere. The ridgepole sags because the root and the branch are both weak: the root is what is innate, and it is starved when one loses the good nature, while the branch is what is cultivated, and it is disordered when one chases fame and gain, so a heavy weight breaks it. The remedy is to turn the light inward and strengthen the root and to fulfill one's vows to strengthen the branch. To be firm and yet centered keeps the one in the middle, and to be compliant and glad walks the joyful road of Heaven's mandate rather than the demon's pursuit of success, so that no direction is blocked.
Xiang Zhuan — Image Commentary （大象）
The lake drowns the wood: Great Exceeding. Thus the noble one stands alone without fear, and withdraws from the world without distress.
ExplainedA great water drowning a tree and swamping a boat is the image of a great barrier. Facing it, the noble one stands alone without fear, even if he is lonely and unrecognized, and withdraws from the world without inward distress or the need to compare himself with others. Most human weariness comes from the fear of losing and the craving to stand above others; to let go of worldly success and failure and to fear and grieve nothing is to be a great one, and every barrier can be passed.
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 · YinLine 1
He spreads white grass beneath. No blame.
Small ImageHe spreads white grass beneath: the yielding is below.
ExplainedWhite grass is light, hollow and everywhere at hand, spread on the ground to soak moisture and protect what is placed on it: a sacred implement should be easy to obtain, easy to carry and great in use. Confucius praised such care as the height of caution, for the prudent do not rush. What can truly be carried always, is easy to use and carries one through every hardship is the Way and the three treasures, weightless, small and boundless in use, so that when they are sincerely applied in an emergency no barrier is too great.
Line 2 · YangLine 2
The withered poplar sprouts. The old man takes a young wife. Nothing that is not favorable.
Small ImageThe old man and the young wife: he exceeds by joining with her.
ExplainedA withered tree puts out a new root and a man is raised up again by a good woman, for the strong way leans at such a time upon the yielding. Her nature is to help the one she loves to rise, and what is needed is mutual affection, so that a man who is humble, grateful and speaks of love and thanks receives her whole support. This is a way of passage that belongs to the strong, so the strong should not play the great male but accept help with a low heart.
Line 3 · YangLine 3
The ridgepole sags. Misfortune.
Small ImageThe misfortune of the sagging ridgepole: he cannot be helped.
ExplainedThis is the worst line. The beam breaks because the man has neither the caution of the first line nor the humility to let strength and yielding aid each other. The image says he cannot be helped, for he refuses aid and counsel, obstinate and self-satisfied, listening to no one. Heaven leaves no one without a road, and in every strait there are people willing to help; to refuse them and shut out advice is to break in the end.
Line 4 · YangLine 4
The ridgepole rises. Good fortune. If there be other things, regret.
Small ImageThe good fortune of the rising ridgepole: he does not sag toward what is below.
ExplainedThe beam does not break but grows where it stands into a true beam, both root and branch restored, what is innate and what is cultivated complete together, and this is good fortune. Not to sag toward what is below means not to cut oneself off from the root, keeping good relations with one's children and, for the cultivator, keeping in touch with the younger ones, honoring the elders and raising up those who follow. If one turns aside to other plans, there is regret.
Line 5 · YangLine 5
The withered poplar blossoms. The old woman takes a young husband. No blame, no praise.
Small ImageThe withered poplar blossoms: how could it last? The old woman and the young husband: this too may be shameful.
ExplainedA withered tree flowering has no root, and an old woman with a young husband wins neither blame nor praise: a brief cheerfulness that soon ends and cannot last. The world tolerates an old man with a young wife but mocks the old woman with a young man, and the injustice shows that a woman should stand on her own strength and look after those who follow. What is below is not only one's children but especially the younger generation, and to honor the teacher and cherish the resource is the right road.
Line 6 · YinLine 6
He crosses and the water covers his head. Misfortune, but no blame.
Small ImageThe misfortune of the great crossing: it cannot be blamed.
ExplainedTo cross and let the water close over the head is to ford the great river even at the cost of drowning, the image of dying for benevolence and giving life for rightness. The world calls it misfortune, but the Duke of Zhou judged it blameless, for it is no fault but a great spirit that stands in the breach to save the age. When the time is such, someone must go out to bear the calamity, and even at the cost of life he is willing; this is the highest responsibility of cultivation.
Key takeaway
Great Exceeding says that only a wide heart passes the great barriers, and that after nourishing life one is tested until one becomes a great one.
Frequently asked questions
What does Hexagram 28 (Da Guo) mean in the I Ching?
Da Guo is Lake over Wind and Wood: the lake drowns the tree, as a boat is swamped, the image of difficulty piled upon difficulty. The hexagram says that the great can pass beyond: only one whose heart is wide can cross such a barrier, and after the nourishment of the previous hexagram a person must pass through every test to become a great one.
What is the judgment of Hexagram 28?
Great Exceeding. The ridgepole sags. It is favorable to go forward. Success. Great exceeding means there are great barriers to be crossed. The ridgepole sags and cannot bear its weight: everyone carries something, study, family, career or the work of the Way, and the pursuit of success knows no end, so that the nerves are at war without relief until one breaks under the load. Yet it is…
What do the six lines of Hexagram 28 say?
Line 1: He spreads white grass beneath. No blame. Line 2: The withered poplar sprouts. The old man takes a young wife. Nothing that is not favorable. Line 3: The ridgepole sags. Misfortune. Line 4: The ridgepole rises. Good fortune. If there be other things, regret. Line 5: The withered poplar blossoms. The old woman takes a young husband. No blame, no praise. Line 6: He crosses and the water covers his head. Misfortune, but no blame.
What is the main lesson of Hexagram 28 (Great Exceeding)?
Great Exceeding says that only a wide heart passes the great barriers, and that after nourishing life one is tested until one becomes a great one.
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