Limitation — wise boundaries and measured restraint.
Set sensible limits, for boundaries create freedom and waste invites ruin. Restraint should be moderate, never galling. Right measure conserves strength and brings order.
limitationmoderationboundariesdiscipline
Limitation places Water (abysmal, dangerous) above Lake (joyous, open). The interplay of these two trigrams gives the hexagram its character.
The Classical Textoriginal Chinese
The Judgment · 卦辞
亨。苦节，不可贞。
The Image · 大象
泽上有水，节；君子以制数度，议德行。
The Six Lines · 爻辞
- 初九不出户庭，无咎。象曰：不出户庭，知通塞也。
- 九二不出门庭，凶。象曰：不出门庭，失时极也。
- 六三不节若，则嗟若，无咎。象曰：不节之嗟，又谁咎也。
- 六四安节，亨。象曰：安节之亨，承上道也。
- 九五甘节，吉；往有尚。象曰：甘节之吉，居位中也。
- 上六苦节，贞凶，悔亡。象曰：苦节贞凶，其道穷也。
The judgment, image and line texts above are quoted from the original Zhou Yi. A modern Chinese translation of the full classic is available on the original-text page.