You can only think of the danger of ascending to a high place after you have stood in a low place.
It is only when you have experienced darkness that you realize how brightness can dazzle the eyes. After cultivating tranquillity, you then know how those who are fond of movement toil. Only a person who has fostered the art of taciturnity knows how annoying a babbler can be.
居卑而后知登高之为危，处晦而后知向明之太霭；守静而后知好动之过劳，养默而后知多言之为躁。
Notes
Reverse Experience as the key to shattering Cognitive Blind Spots
Habituated states breed “obliviousness to the obvious”. True insight arises from contrastive experience — without the reference of “lowness,” one cannot fathom the danger of “height”; without the depth of “stillness,” one overlooks the fatigue of “motion.”
Reflective Introspection as the premise for understanding Moderation
This passage from Cai Gen Tan critiques not “heights,” “brightness,” “motion,” or “speech” themselves, but their excess. Through reverse experience, it reveals how these states backfire when pushed beyond balance.
The value of “humility,” “shadow,” “stillness,” and “silence” lies in offering a mirror for reflection — contrasting one’s habitual state to reveal boundaries of excess, thus finding equilibrium between:
- Ambition and prudence
- Revelation and restraint
- Action and repose
- Expression and quietude
Completeness of Experience determines Depth of Cognition
A life confined to a single perspective breeds rigidity. Those who embrace dialectical experience grasp life’s complexity — knowing “heights” conceal risks, and “motion” requires stillness. This holistic awareness fosters not retreat, but clear-eyed progress.
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