Mountain upon mountain: stillness doubled. Gen is the art of stopping, of quieting the restless body, mind and heart. It is not inertia but meditative calm: resting when it is time to rest, moving when it is time to move. When the mind is still, you are not pushed around by every impulse or by other people's agitation.
Judgment
艮其背，不獲其身，行其庭，不見其人，无咎。
Stilling the back, one is no longer caught up in the self. Walking through the courtyard, one does not see the people there. No blame.
Image
兼山，艮；君子以思不出其位。
Mountain beside mountain: stillness. Taking this as a model, the noble one keeps their thinking within their own place.
- Stillness and meditation
- Knowing when to stop
- Calming restless thoughts
- Staying within your situation
- Inner peace
- stillness
- calm
- meditation
- stopping
- boundaries
- rest
- Stop when it is time to stop.
- Quiet the mind by keeping thoughts on the present situation.
- Stillness is the ground of clear action.
The six lines
Lines are numbered from the bottom. In a reading, only the lines that are changing apply to your cast.
Line 1Six at the beginning 初六
Line text
艮其趾，无咎，利永貞。
Stilling the toes: no blame. Favorable: lasting steadfastness.
Stop before you even start. Pausing at the very beginning, before taking a wrong step, is easy and right.
- Stopping before starting
- Prevention
- Taking the first step without thinking
- Avoiding error by pausing early
Line 2Six in the second place 六二
Line text
艮其腓，不拯其隨，其心不快。
Stilling the calves. One cannot save the one one follows; the heart is unhappy.
You are carried along by someone else's movement and can't stop them from going wrong. That is painful, but you cannot force it.
- Unable to stop another
- Painful acceptance
- Being dragged into another's mistake
- Keeping your own stillness even so
Line 3Nine in the third place 九三
Line text
艮其限，列其夤，厲薰心。
Stilling the waist, stiffening the spine. Danger; the heart is smothered.
Forced stillness, suppressing feelings by rigid effort, is dangerous. Calm that is imposed rather than allowed chokes the heart.
- Forced stillness
- Suppression
- Forcing calm through repression
- Finding gentler ways to be still
Line 4Six in the fourth place 六四
Line text
艮其身，无咎。
Stilling the trunk: no blame.
You calm the ego itself, the whole self, not just individual impulses. This is real progress, even if not yet complete.
- Calming the self
- Inner progress
- Mistaking this for the end of the path
- Deeper inner quiet
Line 5Six in the fifth place 六五
Line text
艮其輔，言有序，悔亡。
Stilling the jaws: words come in order. Regret passes.
Careful speech, speaking only when there is something to say, and in good order, prevents regret.
- Careful speech
- Measured words
- Talking carelessly
- Words that carry weight
Line 6Nine at the top 上九
Line text
敦艮，吉。
Earnest stillness: good fortune.
Stillness that has become part of your character, generous and deep, brings complete peace and good fortune.
- Deep, settled stillness
- Peace of character
- Losing this calm under pressure
- Lasting serenity
Related hexagrams
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Cast a readingChinese text: Zhouyi 周易 (received classical text). English rendering and notes: Site rendering. About our sources
Commentary
Gen, the mountain, is the youngest son, the end and the beginning of the cycle. Doubled, it describes deep stillness. The judgment's image of keeping the back still, the part of the body that has no desires, is often read as an instruction for meditation: calm the parts of yourself that are always reaching for something.
The image adds a practical rule: don't let your thoughts wander beyond your current situation. Much anxiety comes from living in hypothetical futures. The lines climb the body from toes to jaw, showing stillness at each level. The reading may suggest a time to pause, reflect, rest or set limits. In relation to a question, Gen may emphasize not acting, calming the mind and letting clarity arise.