Great Taming

大畜 · Store strength; do not spend it all

Skill and resources need tending—no need to burn them the moment they show.

Try this Learn or practice one small skill today, or save money and time for a clear purpose.

In daily life, this often points to building strength and storing resources—no need to spend everything the moment light appears.

Life associations

• Career & work Build strength and store resources; no need to spend everything the moment light appears—thicken, then wait.
• Relationships Affection also needs stored trust and shared memory; do not overdraft expression in one go.
• Decisions & direction Before a large move, store energy and backups; better half a beat slow than thin on confidence.
• Growth & wellbeing Systematic study and physical reserve together; turn knowledge into strength you can call on.
• Money & resources Deepen saving and long sleeves while holding; lock profit—don’t liquidate into noise.
• Negotiation & conflict Settle first and prepare chips before talks; hasty war often wastes too much.

Master reading

Core judgment

The fault is spending firm strength the moment it shows light, eating out with no store; the remedy is knowing much of past words and deeds to store virtue—nourish strength and resources thick first, then talk of going far.

Pattern & remedy

Qian below and Gen above: firm vigor that is solid, light renewing day by day; stopping the firm so it can store, hence Da Xu (Great Accumulating). The qi is heaven within the mountain: firm vigor is held by the mountain, store then release. The Great Image says heaven within the mountain is Da Xu; you know much of past words and deeds to store your virtue. Store earlier experience and today’s gains into yourself. Favor lasting correctness, not eating only at home, and benefit in crossing great streams through thick store; restrain spending the moment light appears—raise worthies and stop the firm; thicken first, then go far; no need to spend at once.

Historical mirror

Like Confucius wearing through the leather bindings of the Book of Changes thrice, knowing much of past words and deeds—the qi near Da Xu: put firm vigor into accumulating learning and virtue; thicken the inside first, then you can cross great streams and go far.

What to do in the situation

Today learn or practice one small skill, or save time and money for one clear purpose. At work, raising real capacity beats burning exposure at once; in relationships, slowly store trust and shared aims. Before deciding, ask whether you have stored enough; in growth, know past words and deeds—journals and reviews are storing virtue. Store resources for a clear use first; in dispute, store arguments and calm first, then speak and engage.

What the ancients said

利貞，不家食吉，利涉大川。

Da Xu: solid light that renews. Not eating only at home is fortunate; a great river becomes workable—when the store is enough, you can leave the comfort zone.

大畜，剛健篤實輝光，日新其德，剛上而尚賢。能止健，大正也。不家食吉，養賢也。利涉大川，應乎天也。

天在山中，大畜；君子以多識前言往行，以畜其德。

Heaven within the mountain: learn many past words and deeds to store virtue—fold earlier experience into yourself.

Brief background

"山天大畜" has 乾 below and 艮 above. Da Xu: mountain and heaven storing—firm and solid. Nourish the worthy, stop strength; tradition reads accumulating learning and virtue—thicken first, then go far.

The six line texts

• 初九 有厲利已。
• 九二 輿說輹。
• 九三 良馬逐，利艱貞。曰閑輿衛，利有攸往。
• 六四 童牛之牿，元吉。
• 六五 豶豕之牙，吉。
• 上九 何天之衢，亨。