I Ching · Hexagram 30 of 64
Hexagram 30: Li （离） — The Clinging Fire
Li is fire over fire: fire as flame, as sun, as brightness, two flames together giving light within and without. The hexagram speaks to the clever who have natural talent and blessing, telling them to keep to rightness, to serve and to give, to cultivate a gentle temper, and to draw back the cleverness that scatters outward until the fire returns to its source and cleverness becomes wisdom.
At a glance
| Hexagram | 30 of 64 |
|---|---|
| Name | Li 离 · The Clinging Fire |
| Upper trigram | Li （离）· Fire |
| Lower trigram | Li （离）· Fire |
| Structure | Fire over Fire |
| Lines | 6 lines |
The Judgment （卦辞）
The Clinging. It is favorable to be steadfast. Success. Care for the cow. Good fortune.
ExplainedThe fire stands for brightness and cleverness. One who is gifted and richly blessed should not rush to advance but should be steadfast, spending talent in sacrifice and service while raising the level of his character; so he comes to success without obstruction, whereas the selfish, arrogant and stingy one exhausts his blessing and loses both Heaven's mandate and human help. The fire also means leaving the root, the firm line departing from its place and the cleverness turning outward without returning the light. And since the clever are often quick to anger, King Wen adds that to keep a cow, gentle and uncontentious, brings good fortune.
Tuan Zhuan — Commentary on the Judgment （彖传）
The Clinging means to cling, to be bright and fair. Sun and moon cling to Heaven; the hundred grains and all plants cling to the earth. Doubled brightness clinging to what is correct, thus he transforms and completes the world. The yielding clings to the center and the correct, therefore success, and therefore to keep a cow brings good fortune.
ExplainedThe sun and moon cling to Heaven and the plants to earth, so that Heaven and earth are made noble and fair, and man is the same: his keen ears and eyes should be used for what is correct, turning from evil to good and from crookedness to straightness, and used to transform and complete the world, making all beings into upright men and women. The two yielding lines rest one at the center, one at the correct place, the sign that though the mind is bright it still holds the dark residue of old karma; holding the center within and doing the work without will dissolve the three poisons and the three calamities, so that one clings to the center and comes to success. And it is still gentleness, the keeping of a cow, that brings good fortune.
Xiang Zhuan — Image Commentary （大象）
Brightness doubled: The Clinging. Thus the great one continues the light and shines it over the four quarters.
ExplainedBrightness doubled means fire above and below, light within and light without, as when the radiance of Buddha without and the true sun of the nature within are kindled together, blessing and wisdom both cultivated. The great one takes this as his pattern and shines a light that never breaks over the four quarters, helping all beings, carrying brightness into every corner and lighting the lamp in every heart, for his aim is the world and not himself alone.
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
His steps are confused and tangled. To be reverent brings no blame.
Small ImageThe reverence of confused steps: thereby he avoids blame.
ExplainedTo have tangled steps is to notice that one has walked wrong, done wrong or spoken wrong, for true cleverness lies not in showing off but in looking back and seeing one's own faults. Seeing the fault, one faces it with reverence, acknowledging and correcting it, and this is the repairing of error. No book can teach the rule for every word and act, but a mind that is sincere and reverent can judge and stand unshaken, careful as one treading on thin ice and afraid of offending others.
Line 2 · YinLine 2
The yellow light. Supreme good fortune.
Small ImageThe yellow light, supreme good fortune: he obtains the middle way.
ExplainedYellow belongs to earth and stands at the center of the five colors, the sign of the yellow center, the mysterious opening. For cleverness to become wisdom one must find this middle way, and once the point of light breaks through there is supreme good fortune, a return to the source and a joining with Heaven. The firm line comes back to its place and sharp cleverness becomes the great wisdom that is innocent of opinion and yet knows all, and after finding the center one must hold it faithfully, until the fire returns to the source of Heaven and one becomes a sage.
Line 3 · YangLine 3
The brightness of the setting sun. If he does not drum on the bowl and sing, he will sigh the sigh of great age. Misfortune.
Small ImageThe brightness of the setting sun: how could it last?
ExplainedThe sun declines in the west, and the years go quickly; if one travels on mere cleverness and by forty or fifty has nothing to show, the danger is real. Then one should drum on the clay bowl and sing, taking joy in what one has and living gladly day by day rather than sinking into complaint. Otherwise the sighs of age begin before age has come and misfortune follows, for time slips past in confusion; the deeper sense is to recite the wordless teaching and quiet the delusive mind, so that the seeds of karma do not sprout.
Line 4 · YangLine 4
It comes suddenly. It burns. It dies. It is cast away.
Small ImageIt comes suddenly: there is nowhere it is received.
ExplainedThis line shows old karma ripening and calamity breaking out at once. Its coming seems sudden, yet first comes the burning, the heart on fire with anger and emotion out of control, then dying, the pain so great that death would be easier, and at last being cast away, like a bad shoot pulled from the field. There is nowhere it is received means that in all the wide world there is no place to stand. Yet the burning and the dying are the warning signs, and one must turn back early, gathering the heart with the wordless teaching and returning the light before long emotion takes root.
Line 5 · YinLine 5
Tears flow in torrents; he sighs and laments. Good fortune.
Small ImageThe good fortune of the fifth six: he clings to the prince and the lords.
ExplainedThis line rests on the old story of the repentance of Tai Jia, the young king exiled by his minister, who wept and grieved and after truly repenting was restored to power and became wise. The tears are genuine sorrow, not a form, and the lament is self-reproach for having doubted the worthy and envied ability, and such sincerity brings good fortune. The brightness of the worthy ministers enters the dark life of the repentant ruler, and by extension any person who repents and vows to become a sage clings to the Buddhas and sages and receives their protection, so that the road to awakening lies open before him.
Line 6 · YangLine 6
The king goes out to war. There is praise, heads are cut off, and he takes not the crowd of the guilty. No blame.
Small ImageThe king goes out to war: thereby he rectifies the realm.
ExplainedWhen repentance is genuine and the mandate descends, the ancient sovereign, standing for the Most High, sends out his general to break the crooked and manifest the straight, to dispel darkness with brightness. There is praise when merit is rewarded, heads are cut off when the chief evil is beheaded, and the guilty crowd is not taken because only the ringleader is punished and not the many, and so there is no blame. In cultivation this is the clearing of the destructive element within the community, cutting out the cancer so that the body is pure and bright, and it can be done only on the ground of sincere repentance and the vow of sagehood.
Key takeaway
The Clinging tells the gifted to serve rightness, grow gentle and bring the light home, so that cleverness ripens into wisdom.
Frequently asked questions
What does Hexagram 30 (Li) mean in the I Ching?
Li is fire over fire: fire as flame, as sun, as brightness, two flames together giving light within and without. The hexagram speaks to the clever who have natural talent and blessing, telling them to keep to rightness, to serve and to give, to cultivate a gentle temper, and to draw back the cleverness that scatters outward until the fire returns to its source and cleverness becomes wisdom.
What is the judgment of Hexagram 30?
The Clinging. It is favorable to be steadfast. Success. Care for the cow. Good fortune. The fire stands for brightness and cleverness. One who is gifted and richly blessed should not rush to advance but should be steadfast, spending talent in sacrifice and service while raising the level of his character; so he comes to success without obstruction, whereas the selfish, arrogant and stingy one exhausts…
What do the six lines of Hexagram 30 say?
Line 1: His steps are confused and tangled. To be reverent brings no blame. Line 2: The yellow light. Supreme good fortune. Line 3: The brightness of the setting sun. If he does not drum on the bowl and sing, he will sigh the sigh of great age. Misfortune. Line 4: It comes suddenly. It burns. It dies. It is cast away. Line 5: Tears flow in torrents; he sighs and laments. Good fortune. Line 6: The king goes out to war. There is praise, heads are cut off, and he takes not the crowd of the guilty. No blame.
What is the main lesson of Hexagram 30 (The Clinging Fire)?
The Clinging tells the gifted to serve rightness, grow gentle and bring the light home, so that cleverness ripens into wisdom.
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