Rén-Yin-Rén-Yin
The yin stops things above, the yang stops them below.
Above and below, everything comes to a stop.
1
He stops where the stopping is.
Inside him it is clear and nothing is wrong.
Knowing where is the whole of the knowing.
2
The chock is in and the cart is waiting.
The horse’s head has stopped moving.
Nothing here is going to travel.
3
He bars the gate and bars the inner door.
The wild muddling stops outside.
He shut it before it had to be argued with.
4
He stops under a tree with no branches.
He looks in it for something to eat.
The looking runs out before the tree does.
5
The post planted at the center of the hut.
The canopy over the cart, the hub spacing the spokes.
Three things turning and one thing not.
6
A square wheel and an axle with corners on it.
The carriage shakes itself apart.
Everything that jolts him he built.
7
The wheel is fouled, the hoof is snagged.
Stop here; stopping is the straight thing.
Going on from here is next door to it.
8
A good bow springs back and so does a bad one.
A good horse balks and so does a bad one.
The string goes, the cart goes, and he is still going.
9
He breaks on the stump, he grounds on the stone.
Stop.
This is the place a man is meant to stop at.
THE IMAGE
A colossal granite mountain range whose snowy peaks rest motionless beneath a calm blue autumn sky, while a traveler sits serenely on a roadside stone bench with walking staff resting across his knees.
THE COMMENTARY
The oracle says that movement is not always wisdom. There is a place, moment, or limit at which stopping becomes the most accurate response available.
Stopping is not mere inactivity. It can mean containing confusion before it enters, refusing to continue down a damaged road, or holding one stable center while everything around it turns. Much depends on knowing exactly where the stopping belongs.
Do not stop merely because you are afraid, and do not continue merely because momentum already exists. The wisdom of this figure lies in recognizing the boundary where further movement ceases to serve the purpose that began it.