A source-first reading note for Hexagram 10, Lu (Treading), with a reference translation, trigram frame, and one reversible observation practice.
Reference translation
Treading upon the tail of the tiger. It does not bite the man. Success. The Tuan says: Treading. The weak treads upon the strong. With joyousness they respond to the Creative. Therefore, "He treads upon the tail of the tiger; it does not bite him." There is progress and success. The firm is in the central and correct place. He occupies the seat of God and is without distress. His light shines forth. The Image says: Heaven above, the lake below: the image of Treading. Thus the superior man discriminates between high and low, and thereby fixes the will of the people.
See the original-text and authority layers in the complete catalog entry.
Context from the authority layer
According to the Xugua, it says: "Once things have been accumulated, there must be propriety, therefore it is received by Lü." Cui Jing said: "Lü means propriety." The Tuanzhuan interprets it as "the soft treading on the hard." When one treads with softness, one treads with propriety, and therefore no harm comes. By "the soft treading on the hard," the tiger does not devour the person; by responding to strength with joy, the strong do not injure others. This attitude toward dealing with the strong shows that the strong are not necessarily bound to harm others.
Read the structure before the slogan
The lower trigram is 兑 (泽), associated in the bundled corpus with 悦; the upper trigram is 乾 (天), associated with 健. Read the lower trigram as the inner or starting field and the upper trigram as the outward field before turning the pattern into advice.
One accountable observation practice
Copy one concrete verb, condition, or image from the reference translation for Hexagram 10. Name one place where it is observable in the situation you are examining. Then choose one small step you can reverse and write the condition that would make you review it.
Common misread to avoid
Do not turn Treading into a personality label, a guaranteed event, or a verdict about another person. The translation and trigram frame are source layers to examine, not an instruction to surrender judgment.
Source boundary
The reference translation and context are drawn from Yarrow's bundled structured Zhouyi authority layer. Yarrow keeps that layer separate from optional modern reflection. This page does not claim that Hexagram 10 was cast for your question.