Hexagram 62 Line 6: 上六

Classical Chinese Text

上六 弗遇過之。飛鳥離之。凶。是謂災眚。

弗遇過之。飛鳥離之

Line Commentary

He passes him by, not meeting him. The flying bird leaves him. Misfortune. This means bad luck and injury. If one overshoots the goal, one cannot hit it. If a bird will not come to its nest but flies higher and higher, it eventually falls into the hunter's net. He who in times of preponderance of small things does not know how to call a halt, but restlessly seeks to press on and on, draws upon himself misfortune at the hands of gods and men, because he deviates from the order of nature.

Commentary

Missing the meeting, exceeding. The flying bird leaves it behind. Misfortune. This is called calamity and disaster. You have flown too high—soaring ambition has carried you beyond what you can attain. A bird that flies too high eventually falls to disaster. The small cannot fulfill the demands of the great; time will pass you by.