Inner Truth
Empty at the Centre
The I Ching hexagram of Inner Truth, representing genuine sincerity and open-hearted empathy that dissolves conflict.
Hexagram 61 sets Xun, wind, above Dui, the lake, and its name means a truth held at the centre. Two yielding lines stand in the middle of the figure with firm lines above and below them, read in this tradition as a heart emptied of prejudice within a strong frame. Wind passing over a lake stirs water it cannot be seen to touch, so that the invisible shows itself in visible effect. The Judgement names pigs and fishes, the least tractable of creatures, as the measure of a sincerity that reaches even them, and the Image has the superior man discuss criminal cases in order to delay executions.
Light
Signifies sincerity, trustworthiness, and an unprejudiced mind. It stands for the quiet influence that genuine conviction exerts, and for judgement suspended until the case is understood.
Shadow
Can indicate self-deception, credulity, and a private certainty mistaken for truth. It may also mark sincerity too soft to survive resistance, or an openness that cannot tell candour from flattery.
