The Two Truths teaching is another classic Chan/Zen description of Reality-with-a-Capital-R. Reality has two aspects, often called relative and absolute. I call them the “dependent dimension” and the “independent dimension.” I describe this teaching and discuss why it is so important to our practice.
Read/listen to Part 4 or Part 6
Brief Review of My “One Reality, Many Descriptions” Series
What Are You Supposed to Do with These Teachings?
The Two Truths: The Dependent Dimension of Reality
The Two Truths: The Independent Dimension of Reality
Brief Review of My “One Reality, Many Descriptions” Series
This is the fifth episode in my “One Reality, Many Descriptions” series, in which I discuss the central Mahayana Buddhist teachings about the nature of what I like to call “Reality-with-a-Capital-R.” In the first episode (229 – One Reality, Many Descriptions Part 1: Emptiness), I explained how there is, of course, only one Reality, but naturally there are many ways to perceive and experience it. Because the Reality in which we live is boundless and multi-dimensional, any description of it will be incomplete, like artistic portrayals of a beautiful sunset.
Nevertheless, Dharma teachers through the millennia have encouraged us to wake up to Reality-with-a-Capital-R by pointing us toward important aspects of it we may have not yet experienced, or only intuited. They do this through teachings like Emptiness, Suchness, and Buddha-Nature, subjects I have already covered in this series. In this episode and the next, I will talk about another teaching about Reality, the Two Truths, most often called “absolute” and “relative.” In subsequent episodes I’ll tackle Interdependence, Mind-with-a-Capital-M, and Time-Being (the radical notion that time is being).
To briefly provide a little context, let me review how I am defining and differentiating the teachings I’ve covered so far:
Emptiness points to the falseness of the self-nature we project onto all phenomena, including ourselves. Emptiness does not mean empty of meaning or worth, but free from the limitation of an autonomous, independent, inherent, enduring self-essence. Every thing and every being exists in vibrant freedom, in and of itself, while at the same time each thing is fundamentally boundaryless and therefore not separate from the rest of Reality. Awakening to Emptiness liberates us from fear and self-centered concern.
Suchness, or Thusness, points to the luminous, miraculous quality of all things in and of themselves, which we perceive once we awaken to Emptiness.
Buddha-Nature celebrates the existence of all beings and things, without which there would be no awakening. After having awakened to Suchness, we come to realize that our own, imperfect human manifestation is also thus. We understand that we cannot take credit for our aspiration to practice.
Today I will discuss the “Two Truths” teaching, usually called “absolute” and “relative,” which points to different ways we experience Reality-with-a-Capital-R and emphasizes the importance of expanding our experience beyond the relative. I have talked at length about this subject on the podcast before, in different contexts. In Episode 35, I explored how Dogen treats absolute and relative in “Genjokoan.” Episodes 74 and 75 discussed Sekito Kisen’s “Sandokai: The Identity of Relative and Absolute,” which is one of Zen’s central texts on this topic. Episode 121 is called “The Practical Value of Awakening to the Absolute Aspect of Reality” and talks about how sesshin relates to our personal experience of the Two Truths. Episode 133 discusses Hongzhi’s “Guidepost for Silent Illumination,” where he says absolute and relative are interdependent. Finally, Episode 202 is called “Two Truths: Everything is Okay and Everything is NOT Okay at the Same Time.” In it, I introduce my own terminology of the “dependent” and “independent” dimensions of Reality, and talk about how the independent dimension can be a great source of solace for us.
Naturally I had to talk about the Two Truths again, in the context of my “One Reality, Many Descriptions” series; I hope presenting it in this way will shed some new light on it and why it is so significant. When describing the two dimensions, I am going to more or less repeat what I said in Episode 202 because, delightfully, I looked back at the episode and couldn’t see much room for improvement. After that description I will talk about the value and significance of the Two Truths teaching in our practice.
What Are You Supposed to Do with These Teachings?
Before I get to main topic, though, I want to briefly answer a question I should have addressed in the first episodes of this series: “What are you supposed to do with the many Mahayana Buddhist teachings describing Reality?” Maybe you’ve listened to/read my episodes in this series on Emptiness, Suchness, and Buddha-Nature, and you feel your brain stretching as you try to understand these profound and elusive concepts. What does all of this have to do with your everyday life and practice?
Sometimes people think that teachings like Emptiness, Suchness, Buddha-Nature, the Two Truths, etc. are a list of separate, difficult-to-understand philosophical concepts that you’d have to study and master if you wanted to reach enlightenment. However, ultimately all such teachings are pointing toward the same thing. There is only one Reality-with-a-Capital-R (I’ll go more into what I mean by this later), and each classic Mahayana Buddhist description of that Reality points out or celebrates a different aspect of it. It’s like those different artistic portrayals of a sunset I described in Episode 229. One emphasizes the amazing displays of color and light; one calls your attention to the experience of awe; another evokes a sense of impermanence and mortality.
In a sense, then, all the Mahayana Buddhist teachings on the nature of Reality are pointing you toward the multi-dimensional, boundless truth you are part of, but each one points out one profound and significant aspect of it. You don’t exist the way you think you do! You are not separate from things-as-it-is! Things-as-it-is is luminous and precious when viewed without expectations or preconceived notions! Even your limited, flawed human manifestation is part of It! Yay!
Of course, just because someone tells you all of this, just because you read or listen to the teachings, doesn’t mean you really wake up to these aspects of Reality. You have to do the work yourself – meditation, mindfulness, morality, karma work, all the aspects of practice. You have to realize the truth for yourself. If this is the case, why bother studying concepts that not only tend to befuddle you but also state up front that words can never adequately convey what it is they are trying to convey? If you haven’t even had a direct, personal experience of Emptiness, why contemplate Suchness, or Buddha-Nature, or the Two Truths?
Studying teachings about the nature of Reality-with-a-Capital-R is beneficial in two ways. First, it’s helpful as we walk the path of practice toward awakening to Reality for ourselves. The descriptions are inspiring and encouraging, hopefully spurring us on to make greater effort in practice. A big part of the message is that we already have everything we need, and the truth is right before our very eyes; we may feel frustrated that we can’t see it, but at least we can try to have faith that awakening is possible at any moment. The teachings also help us know what to look for, and directly challenge assumptions about the world we may not have previously even realized we are making. They give us language and imagery that will give shape and context to our awakening experiences and allow us to communicate about them to others.
Second, teachings about the nature of Reality-with-a-Capital-R invite us to start living in accord with that Reality even before we personally perceive it. When you really think about it, what difference does it make if you have some conscious realization as long as you’re thinking, speaking, and acting like an enlightened person? (Sure, it makes a difference to your inner experience, but outwardly the effect is much the same.) Through our daily practice we strive to live more selflessly, generously, wisely, and skillfully, laboriously working on our karma and changing our habits. Acting thus influences our body-mind, benefiting our efforts to awaken, and moves our lives closer to the way we will naturally want to live when that awakening happens. Even if we awaken first, we have to do our karma work, so why not prepare the ground now? It is beneficial to start acting as if all beings and things are Empty and luminous in their Suchness, and living as if you, too, have Buddha-Nature.
The Two Truths: The Dependent Dimension of Reality
Okay, to the main subject at last.
The Two Truths teaching goes like this: Reality-with-a-Capital-R has two dimensions. One dimension is what I call the “dependent” dimension – the dimension of space, time, and causality. This is the obvious dimension of life, along which we make an effort, as individuals, to look after ourselves, achieve some measure of happiness, relate to others, and try to behave according to our values. Along this dimension every last being and thing is fundamentally dependent on every other being and thing, which is why, in Buddhism, this is often called the “relative” aspect of reality. Not only do I manifest as an individual because of an infinite number of causes and conditions beyond myself (the Big Bang, evolution, genetics, culture, gravity, air, culture, etc.), every possible way you could define me is in relationship to other things. If I am short, it’s only relative to taller people. If this is a beautiful day, it’s only relative to other days. If I am an individual, it’s only because I am separate from other beings.
Along the dependent dimension there can be immense suffering. As we all know, the world is full of tragedy and injustice: War, racism, sexism, persecution, greed, corruption, injustice, mindless destruction, interpersonal violence, loneliness, mental illness, homelessness… the list goes on and on. Even when you aren’t experiencing suffering, life is inherently stressful because everything changes. No matter how fortunate we are, no matter how good and successful we are, eventually we will all face illness, old age, death, loss, and experiences which cause us pain.
Of course, life is also wonderful. Along with the difficult things, we experience wonder, love, gratitude, joy, happiness, pleasure, humor, beauty, and compassion. This is, ironically, part of what makes life painful – facing the loss of what we love, or witnessing injustice, violence, and destruction when we know the peace and beauty that is possible.
Basically, I don’t have to describe the dependent dimension of reality to you at great length, because you are already more than familiar with it. You’ve been aware of it your whole life. The problem is, most of the time it’s the only dimension of reality you’re aware of.
The Two Truths: The Independent Dimension of Reality
What about the independent dimension of reality? You’ve also perceived this dimension, or at least intuited it. But it tends to be subtler than the dependent dimension even though it’s every bit as much part of our experience.
The independent dimension of reality isn’t technically a dimension at all because it is only right here, right now. The moment we conceive of it, we’re simply constructing a concept along the dependent dimension of space and time. “This moment” is the only moment that’s actually real, but it has no duration. It’s always just this, just this. One second in the past is only a concept, one second in the future is only a concept. This may sound annoyingly metaphysical or philosophical, but this moment is nothing other than our direct experience. Although it can’t be grasped or defined, it is as accessible and real as the nose on your face.
Along the independent dimension of just-this-moment, the entire universe is one, seamless Reality. Shunryu Suzuki Roshi called it “things-as-it-is,” beautifully capturing the fact that at any moment the universe is composed of an infinite number of moving parts, but it is nonetheless one reality. Nothing can be excluded, and everything has a place. Although metaphors are inherently flawed when it comes to describing the independent dimension, it’s a little like you were able to take a snapshot of a dance with many, many dancers. Although each dancer would occupy their own space and the snapshot would capture them in the middle of their own unique movements, it’s all one dance.
Just here, just now, there are no comparisons. To judge something tall or short, beautiful or ugly, just or unjust, pleasurable or painful, requires comparison. All judgments are concepts, abstractions from the reality of things-as-it-is. The immediacy of this breath, this sensation, this moment is incredibly freeing. Even if, along the dependent dimension, we are in painful circumstances, there is great solace to be found in simply being with things-as-it-is.
Importantly, Reality-with-a-Capital-R is not some grand, ultimately “real” or “true” state of affairs that we’re seeking to understand. In a sense this is the case, but Reality-with-a-Capital-R is not something fixed, and doesn’t stand in opposition to a bunch of things that are “unreal” or “untrue.” When we think of waking up to “Truth-with-a-capital-T,” it’s natural for us imagine – or hope – there is way to view the world that isn’t limited by our perspective or challenged by the views of others. In everyday life we regularly have our most deeply held beliefs challenged by other people, by impermanence, or by our own experiences. If we’re honest with ourselves, it seems less like there’s one Reality-with-a-Capital-R and more like there’s an infinite number of shifting realities.
It’s nice to think that Buddhist practice can give you a handle on Truth-with-a-capital-T, and that our descriptions of Reality are pointing us toward an all-encompassing and indisputable set of beliefs about the world and our place in it – that once you’ve awakened to Emptiness and Suchness and all the rest, you’ll have all the answers. Wonderfully, awakening to Reality-with-a-Capital-R is not about attaining some set of fixed ideas we can then rely on. Instead, it’s about learning to surrender to the boundless and boundaryless nature of this moment, and becoming familiar with its qualities.
Amazingly, as I’ve discussed before, the independent dimension isn’t just a negative freedom from the stressful complexities of dependent dimension. Allowing the independent dimension of our lives to become more salient in our experience also allows us to perceive the miracle of Existence arising within the substrate of Emptiness. Setting aside all comparison and expectation, we perceive Suchness; we see Reality as luminous, an infinitely precious gift we did nothing whatsoever to deserve. From clouds of star dust light years tall to the farmer who grew the food you eat to the cells in your kidneys cleaning impurities from your blood, life is absolutely incredible. In this context, our complaints about the inadequacies of the world are unbelievably small-minded, self-centered, ungracious, and arrogant. We understand this when we are able to take a breath and rest in this moment, letting go of our worries, and find joy in simply being alive.
The independent dimension of reality is every bit as real and true as the dependent dimension, but it only provides us solace when we’re able to let go of past and future, to let go of all of our concepts about reality, and just be, here and now, part of the inexplicably amazing things-as-it-is. Ease arises because we recognize we are not holding the world together with our minds, but instead are simply part of a much larger dance. Joy and gratitude arise because of the miracle of life itself.
It’s extremely valuable for us to cultivate our ability to perceive, take refuge in, appreciate the independent dimension of reality. Much of our Zen practice is aimed at this. Even a merely intellectual or philosophical understanding of the Two Truths teaching can provide some strength and solace, and precious moments of intuition can profoundly deepen our faith that reality does, indeed, have two dimensions. Through our practice, we seek to deepen our intimacy with the independent dimension until we almost always have access to it, wherever we are, whatever we’re doing.
I’ll be back soon with Part 2, where I’ll discuss the temptation to relate to the two truths dualistically, and the teaching of the Five Ranks, which describes the process of awakening to and integrating the Two Truths. I’ll finish by emphasizing the importance of never pitting the dependent and independent dimensions against each other, and put the Two Truths teaching in the context of the other teachings I’ve been discussing about the nature of Reality-with-a-Capital-R.
Read/listen to Part 4 or Part 6
