I Ching · Hexagram 29 of 64
Hexagram 29: Kan （坎） — The Abysmal Water
Kan is water over water, the doubled pit of danger: water as the hidden sink and the whirlpool, one danger upon another, the world of the five turbidities. The hexagram shows a person in the midst of repeated peril, and how sincerity, a heart that stays open, and noble action turn danger into safety.
At a glance
| Hexagram | 29 of 64 |
|---|---|
| Name | Kan 坎 · The Abysmal Water |
| Upper trigram | Kan （坎）· Water |
| Lower trigram | Kan （坎）· Water |
| Structure | Water over Water |
| Lines | 6 lines |
The Judgment （卦辞）
The Abyss repeated. There is sincerity. Only the heart brings success. Action brings honor.
ExplainedThe doubled pit means danger upon danger, wave after wave of calamity, the whirlpool hidden beneath calm water. In such a time one has only sincerity, for the roads of the world are perilous and men's hearts more perilous, and the one thing not to lose is faith. Only the heart brings success because when the outer road is blocked the inner road must be clear: the body walks a visible road full of danger while the spirit walks an invisible road that leads home, and though the body is the prison of the spirit, the inward road is open. Action brings honor when it is the work of fulfilling vows and saving others, the noblest of deeds, by which one passes through the narrow gate and turns peril into safety.
Tuan Zhuan — Commentary on the Judgment （彖传）
The Abyss repeated is danger doubled. The water flows and does not fill, and in walking through danger he does not lose his trust. Only the heart brings success: it is because of the firm center. Action brings honor: going forward brings achievement. The danger of Heaven cannot be climbed; the danger of earth is its mountains, rivers and hills; princes and lords set out dangers to guard their lands. Great indeed is the use of the time of danger.
ExplainedThe doubled pit means one danger after another like waves. The water flows and does not fill because danger comes and goes and one must not let it rise over the head, holding to trust until the water passes. Only the heart brings success because the two firm lines hold the center, where desire has been emptied and the heart is firm, so that the great gate opens and the southern door of Heaven unlatches and the heart keeps its light and hope. Action brings honor because the work of saving others is merit for the whole land, and even danger has its gift: what cannot be climbed, the mountains and rivers, the lord turns into defenses, and the individual caught with no way out finds instead the road of cultivation, for when the human road ends the heavenly road begins.
Xiang Zhuan — Image Commentary （大象）
Water comes on and on: the Abyss repeated. Thus the noble one keeps constant virtue and practices the affairs of teaching.
ExplainedWater presses on without pause, danger rising wave upon wave, and the noble one meets it with constant virtue, the five unchanging virtues of benevolence, rightness, courtesy, wisdom and trust, never kind in one hour and bitter in the next. To practice the affairs of teaching is to become skilled in what the sages teach, the rites and the work of completing others, practicing until it is second nature, for virtue must be made visible in sacred work. Sacred work is simple while human affairs with their grudges and loves are hard, so one learns the sacred work well and grows full of virtue against the waves of danger.
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
The Abyss repeated. He enters the pit within the pit.
Small ImageThe abyss repeated, entering the pit: he has lost the Way, misfortune.
ExplainedThe pit within the pit is the hidden sink and the whirlpool. This line shows a man meeting danger who first loses confidence and sinks wholly into it, as with one who panics at a diagnosis or tears a family apart over property, deeper and deeper. The first thing lost in a strait is the Way, the morality of every ordinary day abandoned to complaint and unscrupulousness, while in the sea of suffering only the Way is the lifeline. The true Way is truly tested, and the harder the time the firmer one must be.
Line 2 · YangLine 2
The pit has danger. He seeks a small gain.
Small ImageHe seeks a small gain: he has not yet left the center.
ExplainedDanger is within the pit, and yet he seeks and does not grasp, gaining a little, the way of release, for this line is firm and can hold the center, turning the light inward with sincere devotion and doing every task with reverence, so that Heaven grants release even in doubled danger. He has not yet left the center, though he has not yet reached complete purity of desire, and so he still seeks. Even a small gain is a great help, such as release from illness or from a family difficulty, and one should hold to the center daily and quiet the runaway heart.
Line 3 · YinLine 3
Coming and going within the pit, danger upon danger; he enters the pit within the pit. Do not act thus.
Small ImageComing and going within the pit: in the end, no achievement.
ExplainedTo go into the pit is to walk deliberately into danger, holding the speculator's creed that greater risk means greater safety and higher profit. To lie down on danger is to sleep upon it as if it were a safe bed, and so to fall into the deepest pit. Such a one may win at first and in the end finds his past deeds coming due, like the traitor sentenced or the official jailed for corruption. Do not walk this way, do not test the law and do not show off cleverness, for wealth comes from giving and the gambler's gain comes to nothing.
Line 4 · YinLine 4
A jug of wine, two baskets of grain, a clay bowl. He brings his pledge through the window. In the end, no blame.
Small ImageThe jug of wine and the two baskets: firm and yielding meet.
ExplainedThis is the best way to burn away old karma: a wooden wine cup, two dishes of grain and an earthen bowl are the smallest of offerings, brought by the poor as a bowl of rice or a cup of tea before Heaven. To bring the pledge through the window is to make one's vow before the open casement that stands for light, and Heaven accepts it at once, so that every fault and calamity is dissolved. When firm Heaven and yielding man meet, a little sincerity and a small offering suffice, and the distance between them is very short.
Line 5 · YangLine 5
The pit is not filled; only what is level remains. No blame.
Small ImageThe pit is not filled: the center is not yet great.
ExplainedThe water falls and the pit is not filled, so that the hole, that is, the danger, appears, and the spirits of Heaven and earth have made the road level because the karma has been dissolved by sincere vow and Heavenly pardon. No blame means the inner fault and the outer calamity are both gone, for where there is no guilt within there is no harm without. That the center is not yet great means holding the center dispels calamity but has not yet reached fullness, when one has radiance and can dissolve the darkness and grief of others; that comes only with the next hexagram.
Line 6 · YinLine 6
Bound with cords, placed among thorns. For three years he does not find it. Misfortune.
Small ImageThe sixth six has lost the Way; misfortune for three years.
ExplainedBound with cords means bound by cords not of rope but of the mind, negative thoughts and emotions wrapped layer on layer, like hating the world because one hates one's father. Placed among thorns means set in heavy brambles, filled with resentment within so that the whole person bristles outward and wounds with words in attack and revenge. For three years he does not find it means that for years he cannot leave this shape of life, and so comes misfortune; here the loss of the Way is worse than at the first, for the earlier one acted out of blind want while this one is bound by long resentment and turned into a great thorn that attacks others.
Key takeaway
The Abysmal Water teaches sincerity, an open heart and noble action as the way through danger piled upon danger.
Frequently asked questions
What does Hexagram 29 (Kan) mean in the I Ching?
Kan is water over water, the doubled pit of danger: water as the hidden sink and the whirlpool, one danger upon another, the world of the five turbidities. The hexagram shows a person in the midst of repeated peril, and how sincerity, a heart that stays open, and noble action turn danger into safety.
What is the judgment of Hexagram 29?
The Abyss repeated. There is sincerity. Only the heart brings success. Action brings honor. The doubled pit means danger upon danger, wave after wave of calamity, the whirlpool hidden beneath calm water. In such a time one has only sincerity, for the roads of the world are perilous and men's hearts more perilous, and the one thing not to lose is faith. Only the heart brings success because when the outer…
What do the six lines of Hexagram 29 say?
Line 1: The Abyss repeated. He enters the pit within the pit. Line 2: The pit has danger. He seeks a small gain. Line 3: Coming and going within the pit, danger upon danger; he enters the pit within the pit. Do not act thus. Line 4: A jug of wine, two baskets of grain, a clay bowl. He brings his pledge through the window. In the end, no blame. Line 5: The pit is not filled; only what is level remains. No blame. Line 6: Bound with cords, placed among thorns. For three years he does not find it. Misfortune.
What is the main lesson of Hexagram 29 (The Abysmal Water)?
The Abysmal Water teaches sincerity, an open heart and noble action as the way through danger piled upon danger.
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