Hexagram 17 · Line 4
Following — 四六
Sui · Si Liu
The Line
Following creates success. Perseverance brings misfortune. To walk on the way in truthfulness brings clarity. How could this be a blame?
Interpretation
It often happens, when one possesses a certain influence, that one finds followers through affability toward those below. But the people who attach themselves in this way do not mean it honestly. They seek their personal advantage and seek by flatteries and submissiveness to make themselves indispensable. If one gets used to such partisans so that one can no longer be without them, this brings misfortune. Only when one is wholly free of the personal ego and with conviction intent only on what is right and objective does one attain the clarity to see through such people, and one becomes free of blame.