Sun Bin Traps Pang Juan
Inauspicious
The poem
Original: 眼前欢喜未为欢 / 亦不危时亦不安 / 割肉补疮为甚事 / 不如守旧待时光
The story
Sun Bin and Pang Juan studied together under Guiguzi, and Sun Bin was the abler. As a general of Wei, Pang Juan had his rival's feet cut off out of jealousy. Sun Bin feigned madness, escaped to Qi, and later led an army against Wei; by reducing his cooking fires he lured Pang Juan into the Maling defile, where crossbows cut him down.
What it means
The image is of cutting flesh to make a sore. Present pleasure is not real pleasure, and the position is neither dangerous nor secure. The warning is against remedies that consume the thing they are meant to save, for the sake of appearances now spending the substance that keeps you. Know when to stop and stop; know when to be easy and be easy. What is needed at this moment is to take your hand off, not to put more in.
By area of life
Wealth
Unfavourable for gain. Keep to what you have rather than pressing forward, since haste here eats into the capital itself.
Love
The attachment will not last. It looks pleasant from a distance and disappoints as soon as you know it better.
Work
Profits look promising and prove unstable. Falling back to a position you can actually defend is the only secure course now.
Health
The condition keeps returning. Apparent recovery is largely an illusion, so be on guard against a relapse of the old complaint.
Travel
Travel is blocked at present. Going abroad would cost far more than it returns, and the balance deserves very careful thought.
Advice
Stop cutting your own flesh to patch your own sore.