艮Gen.Keeping Still.
Mountain rests above Mountain: movement reaches its proper boundary and attention ceases to chase what lies beyond the present position. Gen concerns timely stopping, embodied stillness and the discipline of acting only when action belongs.
Let each part of the system rest in its proper place.
Gen means Mountain and stopping. The Judgment begins with the back—a part of the body that does not chase objects with sight or grasping.
Correct stillness releases self-conscious pursuit. One may cross the courtyard without being pulled into every person, signal or demand.
Mountain above. Mountain below.
A boundary is doubled. Outer stability depends on stopping the body, speech and attention at the appropriate point.
Stop in the proper place; move in the proper time.
The governing proposition
艮：艮其背，不獲其身，行其庭，不見其人，無咎。
Keeping the back still, one does not apprehend the self. Walking through the courtyard, one does not see the people. No blame.
Movement and stillness keep their time
艮，止也。時止則止，時行則行，動靜不失其時，其道光明。
Gen is stopping. Stop when it is time to stop; act when it is time to act. When neither misses its time, the way is bright.
Do not exceed the position
兼山，艮；君子以思不出其位。
Mountains joined: Keeping Still. The cultivated person does not let thought go beyond the present position.
Six locations of stillness in the body.
Keep the toes stillNo blame; lasting correctness helps · Changes to 22 賁
初六：艮其趾，無咎，利永貞。
Stop before the first step commits the whole body. Early restraint prevents escalation.
小象傳 · 艮其趾，未失正也.Stilling the toes has not departed from correctness.
Keep the calves stillUnable to rescue what follows; the heart is unhappy · Changes to 18 蠱
六二：艮其腓，不拯其隨，其心不快。
One part stops while another continues. Fragmented control produces emotional strain.
小象傳 · 不拯其隨，未退聽也.What follows has not yet accepted withdrawal.
Keep the waist still; split the spineDanger scorches the heart · Changes to 23 剝
九三：艮其限，列其夤，厲薰心。
Rigid suppression divides the body against itself. Forced stillness becomes internal violence.
小象傳 · 艮其限，危薰心也.Stilling the waist dangerously inflames the heart.
Keep the trunk stillNo blame · Changes to 56 旅
六四：艮其身，無咎。
Self-regulation becomes whole-body containment rather than local suppression.
小象傳 · 艮其身，止諸躬也.Keeping the body still means stopping within oneself.
Keep the jaws stillSpeech has order; regret disappears · Changes to 53 漸
六五：艮其輔，言有序，悔亡。
Pause before speech so words emerge in sequence rather than reaction.
小象傳 · 艮其輔，以中正也.The jaws are stilled through central correctness.
Generous stillnessGood fortune · Changes to 15 謙
上九：敦艮，吉。
Stillness matures into a stable quality rather than a defensive technique.
小象傳 · 敦艮之吉，以厚終也.Good fortune comes from completing stillness with depth.
Stop the correct layer of the system—not life itself.
Work and leadership
Pause commitments, speech or execution at the earliest controllable point while preserving readiness to resume.
Relationships
Create boundaries without emotional disappearance; silence should regulate contact, not punish it.
Timing and decisions
Do not decide while shock is still driving the body. Return when movement again belongs to the time.
Gen is constructive when stillness restores correct position and future movement.
Aligned expression
- Stopping occurs early.
- The body is not divided against itself.
- Speech regains sequence.
- Movement can resume when appropriate.
Distorted expression
- Stillness becomes paralysis.
- Suppression produces inner violence.
- Silence is used as punishment.
- The boundary outlives its purpose.