Duration (Héng)

Judgment

恒：亨，无咎，利贞，利有攸往。

Plain Meaning：Duration: success, no blame; correctness furthers—it profits to have somewhere to go.

Image (Great Commentary)

雷风，恒；君子以立不易方。

Line Texts

• 初六浚恒，贞凶，无攸利。

  Demanding depth of duration at the start—persistently ominous; nothing furthers.

• 九二悔亡。

  Remorse disappears—holding the middle.

• 九三不恒其德，或承之羞，贞吝。

  Inconstant virtue meets disgrace—even correctness ends in humiliation.

• 九四田无禽。

  No game in the field—persisting in the wrong place yields nothing.

• 六五恒其德，贞，妇人吉，夫子凶。

  Constancy in devotion suits the wife; for the man who must judge, mere compliance is ominous.

• 上六振恒，凶。

  Restlessness as duration—misfortune.

Symbolism

Thunder and wind together: enduring constancy in motion.

Life Lesson

Duration is constancy within change—set your course and hold it.

Modern Application

Marriage and long ventures thrive on steady rhythm and commitment.

Words of Caution

Inconstancy invites disgrace.