The spring first leaves the mountainYouthful Folly
Ignorance is not the danger; dressing ignorance up as opinion is.
Meng is a spring below the mountain — water just leaving the rock crevice, still murky. The judgment is striking: not the teacher seeking the student, but the youth asking. Enlightenment only works when the question is sincere. Truth poured in by force rebounds in another form.
It adds: at the first divination I give answer; asked again and again, that is disrespect. Ask the same question three times and it is no longer a question — you only want to hear what you wish to hear. Admitting you do not understand is a rare adult courage; one right question beats ten rounds of reassurance. Muddy water clears not by stirring but by settling.
Practice Ask someone knowledgeable about one thing you have been pretending to understand. Ask once, then listen quietly to the end.