“Buddha and Peaceful Mediation” by Beverly & Pack is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 2.0
Buddhism’s Two Truths doctrine
Buddhism’s Two Truths doctrine distinguishes between Conventional Truth (how things appear in daily life, like tables and chairs, bound by concepts) and Ultimate Truth (the ultimate nature of reality, which is emptiness or interdependence, devoid of inherent existence). These aren’t separate realities but two aspects of one reality, where the conventional is the apparent, and the ultimate is the true, interconnected nature, with understanding both being crucial for liberation.
Conventional Truth (Saṃvṛti-satya)
What it is: The world as we experience it daily, our common-sense understanding, the world of names, forms, karma, and dualistic thinking (self/other).
Example: A coffee cup is conventionally real; we use it, it functions.
Nature: Apparent, functional, dependent on mental designation, but ultimately not inherently existing.
Ultimate Truth (Paramārtha-satya)
What it is: The true nature of things, which is emptiness (śūnyatā) or non-inherent existence; everything arises dependently.
Example: The coffee cup, ultimately, is empty of any fixed, independent “cup-ness,” being made of parts, interdependent factors, and arising only by label.
Nature: Non-dual, irreducible, empty of self-nature, the interconnectedness of all phenomena.
Key Concepts & Importance
Reconciliation: The doctrine reconciles apparent contradictions in the Buddha’s teachings (like self vs. non-self).
Foundation: It’s foundational for understanding the Four Noble Truths, revealing how suffering arises conventionally and ceases ultimately.
Madhyamaka View (Nagarjuna): The ultimate truth is emptiness, and even the distinction between the two truths is itself conventional; phenomena are empty of inherent existence but not non-existent.
Path to Liberation: Recognizing the conventional world’s empty nature through analysis leads to liberation, moving from mere appearance to realizing the ultimate reality.
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