60
Hexagram 60, Jie: “Limitation,” literally “the joint of a bamboo stem.” It is about limits and the good they do.
The image of the hexagram
Below is the Dui trigram (lake), above is Kan (water). Water over a lake: the basin holds no more than its measure — an image of limitation.
General meaning
The answer: set boundaries. Jie says that right now everything comes down to limits — budget, deadline, scope, rules. The classic text views limitation positively, but warns about “bitter limitation”: limits so strict they cannot be sustained are worse than no limits at all.
In love and at work
In relationships: agreeing on boundaries — of time, money, personal space; for a couple, this takes the load off. At work: budgeting, deadlines, cutting out what is unnecessary. For unrestricted expansion, the answer is no.
What to do
State the limit out loud — in money, time or scope. And choose one you can actually stick to.