Ultimate Truth and Conventional Truth

The conventional (世俗, laukika) refers to the three-realm world, that is, the five aggregates, the eighteen realms, and all the material worlds of the universe. Conventional dharma refers to the survival principles of the world of the five aggregates and the operating principles of the material worlds of the universe. All speech, reasoning, views, opinions, and disputes unfold entirely around this world of the five aggregates and eighteen realms. If there were no five aggregates, no principles would ever appear; yet the three-realm world of the five aggregates and eighteen realms, together with all principles, is constantly arising and ceasing, changing without stop.

Satya means truth. Conventional truth (世俗谛) is the truth concerning the suffering, origin, cessation, and path of the world of the five aggregates—the truth that the world of the five aggregates is suffering, empty, impermanent, and non-self. Because no matter what era or historical background, the Four Noble Truths of suffering, origin, cessation, and path never change, they are called satya (truth).

The ultimate truth (真谛) is the most real principle; it is the first truth (第一义谛), the supramundane truth (胜义谛), the most supreme and incomparable true principle in and beyond the world. This refers to the mind of ultimate reality, the tathāgatagarbha of true suchness, and to the truth and principles by which the mind of ultimate reality, the tathāgatagarbha, operates. The ultimate truth and conventional truth are often fused together and function jointly; only when the two are fused together do all the principles and operating laws of the world of the five aggregates exist, does the three-realm world exist, and does conventional truth exist.

Since satya is truth, the true principle of all dharmas, representing great wisdom, the worldly speech of ordinary people cannot possibly be satya, cannot possess truthfulness; it is usually replete with wrong views (mithyā-dṛṣṭi) and folly, is not satya, and cannot be called conventional truth. Only the Four Noble Truths taught by the Buddha are conventional truth, because the Four Noble Truths speak of the truth of the suffering, origin, cessation, and path of the world of the five aggregates; they possess truthfulness, and by cultivating in accordance with them one can attain liberation and escape the cycle of birth and death. What ordinary worldly people say cannot be conventional truth; if what worldly people said were conventional truth, then all worldly people would be great sages of liberation, and there would be no need for the Buddha to laboriously come to this evil world of the five turbidities to proclaim the truth of conventional truth.

Since the ultimate truth is the truth concerning the dharma of ultimate reality and true suchness, then no matter how sentient beings view problems from the standpoint of the Buddha-dharma, it is never the ultimate truth; it remains the views and opinions of the individual's deluded perceiving mind, usually containing extremely many wrong views and errors. Even if there were no wrong views and it were entirely correct principle, it still would not be the ultimate truth, the tathāgatagarbha. The ultimate truth refers to the true principle-body of ultimate reality—the tathāgatagarbha of true suchness, which is unborn and undying, neither defiled nor pure (na saṃkleśo na vyavadānam), neither increasing nor decreasing, neither interrupted nor permanent. No speech, words, views, or opinions represent the substance of true suchness; therefore none of them is the ultimate truth—they are merely deluded knowing and deluded awareness.