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Pāramīs (7 of 10) Truth

Today the topic is the seventh of the ten pāramīs^[1]. The topic is truth. Truth, or truthfulness—being true—can be one of the qualities of character that are built through practice and that support practice. In fact, it is considered to be one of the most primary forms of character that support the unfolding and ripening of dharma practice: to discover the truth, to be the truth.

In the mythology of Buddhism, it says that the Buddha, in all the many lifetimes he lived before he was a Buddha, broke all the precepts except the fourth one^[2]. He never told a lie; he was always truthful. It is a quality of mature people, mature spiritual people, that they never lie to themselves. We have a capacity for self-honesty—to be able to tell ourselves the truth, even if we can't necessarily say it out loud.

Even though it might be difficult interpersonally to say what is true, we have to be wise about it. A wise person is always true to themselves, always recognizing what is happening. Even if it is not necessarily good news about oneself, there is a tremendous benefit, and even peacefulness or ease, that can come when we tell ourselves the truth: "This is what's happening."

Truth has a lot of benefits. If we can be truthful, it is a lot easier to go through the world. There is less conflict, fewer things to keep in mind, and fewer things to try to protect or remember. You can just plainly be how you are. When we are truthful, it tends to bring along other qualities. It certainly brings honesty, which goes without saying, but it also tends to bring a greater clarity and mindfulness of what is. It tends to bring with it compassion and kindness. It brings forth some of the better qualities of who we are when we are allowed to be truthful. To say it differently, when we are not truthful, the tension of lying, of fabricating ideas and stories, and of protecting ourselves tends to limit the good qualities of our heart from flowering and being there fully.

Here, the seventh of the pāramīs is truth. It is noteworthy that as we get towards the end of them, the emphasis on truth is built on all these other capacities. To plumb deeply into the truthfulness of the moment in ourselves is not necessarily an easy thing to do. And so we prepare ourselves for that. We practice in such a way that we get to the point where we can really flower into the truthfulness of the present moment, and we can speak it truthfully. This dedication towards practicing generosity, ethics, renunciation, wisdom, engagement or effort, and patience all builds towards the capacity to be truthful and honest.

The truthfulness of Vipassanā^[3] practice—which I like to think of as a wonderful foundation for more complex social and interpersonal truths—is being able to genuinely connect in a direct way to the truth of moment-to-moment experience. It is having the clarity and ability to settle in, not being swept away in thoughts, commentary, conversations, judgments, and all these other things. Some people love analysis, thinking about wonderful ideas, plans, and figuring things out, which can be a wonderful capacity of the mind. But there is great value in being able to rest, or settle into the flow of moment-to-moment experience, so that we are there as things appear.

As a thought arises, we are present enough to see, "That's a thought. That's a commentary. That's starting a conversation in the mind." If there is a feeling—the kaleidoscope of emotions that might come through—we recognize, "That's discouragement. That's joy. That's aversion or anger. That's compassion, that's kindness." We recognize what is coming through. We recognize the sensations of the body and the sounds around us. We are able to stay in the flow of present-moment experience. We truly recognize that this simple, direct experience is a way of being with the implicit, simple side of truth—that which can be true in the moment.

This is what Vipassanā practice goes into deeply to realize the deepest truths. On the way there, we realize the truth of how easily we get caught, become entangled, become aversive, and get attached. In the flow of the present moment, it highlights when we leave and get wrapped up in or resistant to something, or when we get involved in thinking about and relating to what just happened. We see ourselves better and better—all the different tricks of the mind to not stay present in the flow of the river of experience. It is phenomenal information we get about ourselves to see that.

It is not that we are never supposed to get involved in distracted thoughts, but rather to be in meditation moment to moment and see all the little tricks of the mind—all the ways we get attached and caught. And to be honest about that: "Wow, look at that. There I am, caught again. I'm doing it again. I'm aversive. I'm filled with desire." That is where I left the flow of the present moment. That is where I am not really present for what is going on moment by moment.

To see the truth of ourselves that way is sometimes uncomfortable^[4]. But rather than dwelling with the discomfort, the encouragement is to dwell with the tremendous value and importance of our capacity to see clearly what is happening. There is joy in truthfulness, the joy of seeing things as they are. There is power in being on a path that leads us onward moment by moment in our ability to see honestly what is going on, including what is difficult for us.

As we go deeper and deeper into this present-moment experience, we start to see the truth of freedom—the truth of not clinging, the truth of keeping an open hand, open heart, and open mind to all things. The joy of freedom, of liberation, of being awake to our experience is one of the great truths of life. We can really savor and register deeply what it feels like to have glimpses of real freedom, where we are not operating under attachments, habits, or entanglements where we get caught in things.

These are some of the truths that we delve into with Vipassanā. They become a wonderful foundation to know ourselves well enough that we can check ourselves when we need to speak the truth out loud in the world. We know ourselves well enough to know how to do that without hostility, attachment, or clinging. We know how to do it in an open-hearted, open-minded way, and we have the courage to do it. We are no longer caught or influenced by our fears.

If we feel it is really necessary to speak the truth to someone else, we check ourselves to know, "Yes, I have no attachment, I have no hostility. This is a timely thing. This is a useful thing to say. This is a kind, supportive way of saying it." Then you have the ability to speak the truth—to say, when a relationship is challenged, "This is difficult, what's happening between us."

When someone has hurt us, we can say, "I want to come back to you now and say that when you said such and such, I felt quite hurt. It had a big impact on me." Saying the truth like that is very different from saying, "You're terrible because of what you said." I don't know if that's really the truth; that's more of an interpretation or a judgment. To really stay close to what is true and speak it—"That really hurt me, I felt impacted"—makes it much more likely to foster a collaborative conversation. There is space for the other person to participate. When we speak what is not purely and simply true, it is more complicated for other people to be part of the conversation. If we speak our judgments as if they are facts, it is harder for people to participate.

This idea of discovering the truth, being with the truth, and knowing ourselves truthfully is one of the great, powerful means for reconciliation and deep connection to other people. Not everyone is able to reciprocate, but when we are able to find the truth together, there is power. There is reconciliation, connection, love, and knowing someone deeply. Whether it is to know ourselves in a deep way, to know other people, or to know the relationship that is being formed between us, truth is a powerful and liberating force.

We can have within our own practice and minds a "Truth and Reconciliation Committee." We sit and meditate, practicing truth and reconciliation, bringing truth and compassion to what we see in ourselves and what is here. Truth is the seventh pāramī. The more patient we can be, the more we can take the time to discover what is true. As we become more connected to the truth, it can lead to a certain kind of power, which is the topic for next time.

Reflections

For the next twenty-four hours, please consider what your relationship is to the truth. Is truth something that you welcome, or something you are resistant to? Is it something you have doubts about and mistrust? Is truth something that inspires you, or dispirits you in some kind of way?

What have you learned about the value of truth? How do you find out what is true? How do you share the truth with other people? There is a whole bunch of areas to explore. Maybe you will find some friends you can talk with today on the phone, on Zoom, or in some other way. Or you can write in a journal about your relationship to truth and its relationship to your Buddhist practice.

Q&A

Someone asked about the Pali word for truth. It is sacca^[5], and in Sanskrit, it is satya^[6]. Satyagraha^[7] was the famous term used by Mahatma Gandhi meaning "sticking to the truth" or "holding to the truth."

Thank you very much.