Rén-Rén-Yin-Rén
The yin carries things over, up above.
The yang stretches, about to return, and begins again down below.
1
He is about to make something, and it is crooked.
Danger at the very start.
The danger is what is doing the founding.
2
He is about to begin and there is no flaw in it.
Unmixed from the first.
Whoever comes after will have it easy.
3
The furnace and the wheel are set up wrong.
Stop now.
Whatever is formed in there is hurt in the forming.
4
About to fly, and it comes by feathers.
Now it can go up as far as the sky.
The help arrived before the flying did.
5
The great bird is about to fly and its flight-quills are pulled.
There is any amount of down on it.
Nothing that gets it off the ground.
6
Past noon, and the heat is at its fiercest.
The gentleman knows this is the failing part.
He steps down, and that is where the light is.
7
He kicks the boat away, he tramples the cart.
The harm is not far off.
He threw out the things that carry people.
8
The young ones are in deep water.
The old man poles the boat out.
Somebody has to be the crossing.
9
The sick silkworm climbs a dead mulberry.
The cocoon it makes does not come out yellow.
All that spinning and nothing to wind off.
THE IMAGE
A commanding general standing upon a high mountain fortress rampart at the cusp of dawn, gazing down as dawn rays illuminate battle pennants fluttering in the crisp morning air.
THE COMMENTARY
Something is about to begin, cross over, or take form, but it has not yet fully arrived. You stand at the verge where preparation matters enormously because whatever is established now will shape what follows.
This is the moment to examine foundations, tools, helpers, timing, and readiness. A small crookedness before beginning can become a large problem later, while a clean beginning makes the road easier for those who follow.
Do not confuse nearness with inevitability. Something may be almost ready and still lack the one essential condition that allows it to move. Attend carefully to what is missing before taking the final step across the threshold.
This figure is one of 81 in Taixuanjing for Today, a book by Joe Perez that renders Yang Xiong’s Canon of Supreme Mystery in original verse, with expanded commentary, essays, and full instructions for casting the oracle yourself.