Conventional and Ultimate Truth
(Pāli:sammuti-sacca and paramattha-sacca; Sanskrit. saṃvṛ̣ti-satya and paramārtha-satya)
Conventional Truth is synonymous with Relative Truth. The concepts superimposed with self-identity or other identity, such as I, You, She, He, We, They, Man, Woman Individual, Person, Time are a set of knowledge of Conventional Truth. They are signs, marks or characteristics erroneously conceptualized and designated with linguistic expressions to describe different personalities and individuals in order to discriminate. As signs, marks or characteristics of conditioned phenomena of the multiplicity of the empirical world or the myriad beings of the cosmos are illusive and unreal, hence these conditioned phenomena or contigent beings exist apparently in designations only. This knowledge of Conventional Truth actually conceals the knowledge of Ultimate or Absolute Truth. The Ultimate Truth is signless, markness or characteristicless or briefly put, Empty (of inherent existence not nothingness).Though the knowledge of Conventional Truth is illusionary and unreal in the ultimate analysis, they can not be denied in the mundane world in terms of its utility or pragmatic value for social intercommunication and intercourse. Whoever perceives only Conventional Truth is subject to greed, hatred and delusion and is entangled in the incessant journey of birth and death (saṃāra).
According to the Abhidhamma of the Theravāda tradition, the four elementary irreducible elements, namely, the consciousness (mind), mental concomitants (mental factors), material form and Nibbāna are ultimately real. But according to the Mahāyānic interpretation of Nāgārjuna, all phenomena are empty of any permanent substance, such as self, soul or intrinsic nature. This is the point of controversy between the two traditions in terms of interpretations of savants.
Therefore, Nāgārjuna in apologizing the authentic tenet of the Buddha exerted that even the four primary constituents of consciousness, concomitants, material form and Nibbāna are empty. This is where the concept of Ultimate Truth of Theravāda and Mahāyāna traditions differ. Mahāyāna even proclaims that Emptiness is also empty and therefore all views should be relinquished to reveal the Ultimate Truth. The objective of discerning the Ultimate Truth of Insubstantiality, Selflessness or Soulessness (anattā) in the Theravāda tradition and Emptiness (śūnyatā) in the Mahāyāna tradition is to annihilate the illusive perception of the multiplicity of the empirical world so that the natural law of Dependent Co-arising (Pāli. paṭiccasamuppāda; Sanskrit. pratītyasamutpāda) is intuitively apprehended. The intuitive apprehension of Dependent Co-arising culminates in the insightful penetration of the totality of interdependence which is borderless and infinite. The Ultimate Truth of Dependent Co-arising is then self-realized in terms of neither absolute existence nor absolute non-existence; neither eternalism nor annihilationism; neither monism nor pluralism. In Mahāyāna tradition, the Ultimate Truth of Dependent Co-arising is further expanded to include neither arising nor ceasing, neither impure nor pure; neither increasing nor decreasing; neither coming nor going. Whoever perceives the Ultimate Truth annihilates his or her egoistic or selfish self, actualizes nibbāna or nirvāṇa, and escapes from the incessant cycle of birth and death. While living in the mundane world, greed, hatred and delusion of the self-awakened one are annihilated. The liberated person becomes a being of ethical excellence as his or her dispositions or volitions and mental obsessions are absolutely appeased. |
