NOTE: We will continue to support one another in developing a daily practice, using Thich Nhat Hanh’s The Heart of the Buddha’s Teachings as a guide. Our class will be based on chapter 17, “The Two Truths.”
Reflect:
1) The Most Venerable Thich Nhat Hanh begins this chapter by teaching:
“According to Buddhism, there are two kinds of truth, relative or worldly truth (samvriti satya) and absolute truth (paramartha satya). We enter the door of practice through relative truth. We recognize the presence of happiness and the presence of suffering, and we try to go in the direction of increased happiness. Every day we go a little further in that direction, and one day we realize that suffering and happiness are ‘not two.’”
- What does it mean that we “enter the door of practice through relative truth”?
- Why is it that “at some point, all of our concepts and ideas must yield to our actual experience”?
- How does this connect with ultimate reality/absolute truth?
2) How does Thich Nhat Hanh see relative and ultimate truth in the Discourse on Turning the Wheel of the Dharma and the Heart Sutra? How does this embody the insight of interbeing? And how does interbeing embody the Two Truths?
3) Ajahn Sumedo writes that,
“We tend to regard conventional realities as ultimate, as the real world, and live according to our conditioning, to our prejudices, assumptions, and personal identities. But in awakened consciousness we are observing this. The Buddha emphasized mindfulness, and as far as I know this emphasis is not found in any other religious convention. It is very interesting that the Buddha takes this mindfulness and calls it the ‘Gate to the Deathless.’ It’s very difficult for us to define it because it is indefinable. But it is recognizable. … So the aim is not to become a Theravadin Buddhist, or a forest bhikkhu, but to use these conventions for awakening. It’s not liberating just to become a Buddhist, to just condition yourself with Buddhist ideas and Buddhist prejudices and attitudes, or take sides. You might be attaching to something very good, but there’s still the suffering. It will not awaken you until you dare to question, to observe. Not to question in the sense of trying to figure it out, but taking that step from attachment to non-attachment, which is what awareness really amounts to.”
- How do these reflections help us use “convention for awakening, rather than for attachment”?
- What does it mean to you that the ultimate (the Deathless) is indefinable, but still recognizable?
4) Ajahn Chah reminds us that:
“Convention and liberation are related like this continually. Even though we use convention, don’t place your trust in it as being the truth. If you cling to it, suffering will arise. … Regardless of time and place, the whole practice of Dhamma comes to completion at the place where there is nothing. It’s the place of surrender, of emptiness, of laying down the burden. This is the finish. It’s not like the person who says, ‘Why is the flag fluttering in the wind? I say it’s because of the wind.’ Another person says it’s because of the flag. The other retorts that it’s because of the wind. There’s no end to this! … All these things we say are merely conventions, we establish them ourselves. If you know these things with wisdom then you’ll know impermanence, suffering and not-self. This is the outlook which leads to enlightenment.”
- How does this relate to Thich Nhat Hanh’s point that “The Buddhist teaching of the Two Truths is also a concept. But if we know how to use it, it can help us penetrate reality itself”?
Practice:
1) Regularly recite both the Discourse on Turning the Wheel of the Dharma and the Heart Sutra this month. Reflect on how the Two Truths reflect the insight of interbeing.
2) Recite and contemplate the Five Remembrances in your preferred translation. Again, reflect on how the Two Truths reflect the insight of interbeing. If you are familiar with the Diamond Sutra, reflect on how the Five Remembrances help us practice with the insights nourished by the dialectic that “A is not A. That is why it is truly A.”
3) Review both your spiritual autobiography (Year 1) and the description of your daily practice (Year 2) from the perspective of the Two Truths.
- How does your path and practice reflect the insight that we “enter the door of practice through relative truth”?
- How have your reflections on the Two Truths helped you better understand the liberating power of the Four Noble Truths with the Eightfold Path?
- How would you describe the interbeing of the Two Truths?
- How might the lens of the Two Truths help you discern how to continue to adapt your practice over time?
Remember: the goal of this practice is to match the insights we cultivate through the Buddha’s teachings with our personal and changing circumstances. Some habits will become long-term, while others may be more situational. Paying attention to our changing conditions and adapting our practice are also part of the path.