《Caigentan (菜根譚) – Complete Works | Former Collection》 #9 [009]

《Caigentan (菜根譚) – Complete Works | Former Collection》#9 [009]

📜 Original Text

夜深人靜, 獨坐觀心, 始覺妄窮而真獨露, 每於此中得大機趣; 既覺真現而妄難逃, 又於此中得大慚忸。



📚 Translation

When the night grows deep and the world falls silent, one sits alone and contemplates the mind.
Then, at last, one realizes that vain thoughts dissolve, and the true nature reveals itself in solitude.
In such moments, one often gains profound insight and quiet joy.

Yet even after the true nature has been glimpsed,
one finds that vain thoughts still linger.
And in this realization, one is overcome with deep shame and quiet remorse.



🪶 Chinese Character Explanations

• 夜 (ya): Night.
• 深 (sim): Deep.
• 夜深 (yasim): Night deepens.
• 人 (in): Person.
• 靜 (jeong): Quiet, still.
• 人靜 (injeong): People are quiet, few people around (literally, human presence is still).
• 獨 (dok): Alone.
• 坐 (jwa): Sit.
• 獨坐 (dokjwa): Sitting alone.
• 觀 (gwan): To see, observe.
• 心 (sim): Mind, heart.
• 觀心 (gwansim): To look into one's mind, self-reflection.
• 始 (si): For the first time, only then.
• 覺 (gak): To awaken, realize.
•  始覺 (sigak): To realize for the first time.
• 妄 (mang): Deluded, false, delusion, vain thought.
• 窮 (gung): To exhaust, end, disappear.
• 而 (i): And, but.
• 真 (jin): True, real, genuine.
• 露 (ro): To reveal, expose.
• 獨露 (dokro): To be revealed alone, purely revealed.
• 每 (mae): Every time, always.
• 於 (eo): In, at, from.
• 此 (cha): This.
• 中 (jung): Middle, inside.
• 每於此中 (mae-eo-cha-jung): Every time within this.
• 得 (deuk): To gain, obtain, can.
• 大 (dae): Great, big.
• 機 (gi): Opportunity, crucial point, insight.
• 趣 (chwi): Charm, interest, profound meaning.
• 得大機趣 (deuk-dae-gi-chwi): To gain great insight (機) and profound meaning (趣).
• 既 (gi): Already, as soon as.
• 現 (hyeon): To appear, manifest.
• 真現 (jin-hyeon): The true mind appears.
• 難 (nan): Difficult.
• 逃 (do): To escape, flee.
• 妄難逃 (mang-nan-do): Deluded thoughts are difficult to escape.
• 又 (u): Also, again.
• 慚 (cham): To be ashamed.
• 忸 (nyu): To be ashamed, feel embarrassed (慚忸 emphasizes 'repentance and shame').
• 大慚忸 (dae-cham-nyu): Great shame and remorse.



🔍 Commentary

This passage delicately expresses the realization gained through deep self-reflection while sitting alone in the stillness of a deep night, and the contrasting emotions that follow. This can be seen as a sincere reflection stemming from the author's own experience.

In the quiet time when the noise and hustle of the world disappear (夜深人靜), when one sits alone and observes their mind (獨坐觀心), they experience the gradual fading of various vexations, desires, attachments, and mistaken judgments that had disturbed the mind.

When these 'delusions' (妄想), which include complex emotions like joy, anger, sorrow, pleasure, love, hate, and desire (喜怒哀樂愛惡欲), as well as the self-image swayed by others' gazes or evaluations, are cleared away,

At that moment, one encounters the moment when the original pure, clean, quiet, and wise true nature, the 'true mind' (眞心), is clearly revealed for the first time. The true mind is not something we strive to create; it is our original form that exists within us but was hidden by the dust of delusion.

However, even after the true mind is revealed (既現), the deluded thoughts (妄) are difficult to completely escape (難逃). The moment the true mind appears, one realizes how deeply ingrained and persistent these delusions are, leading to a feeling of great shame and remorse (又大慚忸) for having been so caught up in them.

Nevertheless, every time within this process (每於此中), one gains great insight and profound meaning (得大機趣). This suggests that the cycle of revealing the true mind, recognizing the persistence of delusion, and feeling remorse is itself a path to deeper understanding and growth. It is through this repeated process of self-observation and realization that one can attain significant spiritual or philosophical insight.



📌 One-Sentence Summary:ㅣ

Looking back at myself in the deep night’s silence, both my true self and lingering flaws reveal themselves—bringing quiet shame.