Hexagram 17, Following, shows thunder resting within the lake — strength that knows when to adapt. Learn the art of following well: whom to follow, when, and on what terms.
Sui places the lake above thunder. Thunder — the very image of arousal — here sinks into the lake to rest, the way thunder falls silent in autumn, moving and pausing with the seasons. Sui means following, adapting. The commentary offers a homely image: when darkness falls, the wise person goes in to rest. Its deeper teaching lies in 'following the time': not being a perpetual follower, but discerning whether this moment calls for action or stillness, leading or yielding. 'How great is the meaning of following the time!' the classic exclaims.
Drawing Sui means that going with the current is currently smarter than bracing against it: the environment is shifting, and updating your plan beats defending it. But Sui never preaches blind conformity — its lines dissect what to follow: 'clinging to the small boy, you lose the strong man' — grasp the trivial and you forfeit the essential. So ask yourself: am I following a trend or a fad? A person of substance or a person of convenience? Follow with principle, and following leads to success.
In love, Sui rewards softness: less 'it must be my way,' more matching the other person's pace and needs — though accommodation needs a floor, because losing yourself entirely unbalances the relationship. In career, it favors adaptive moves: aligning with the new direction, the new boss, the new system; those who read the times are at a premium now, and a career change that rides the larger current can work. Financially, trade with the trend rather than fighting it — flexibility is worth more than stubbornness here.
Sui teaches a sophisticated flexibility: even thunder knows to rest in the lake. Following is not the absence of opinion — it is spending your judgment on choosing whom and when to follow. Move with the time, follow what is upright, and such following is wisdom, not surrender.