How Can We Consider Having Empirical Proof of Electricity?

The direct realization of electricity is when one of the five sensory faculties, together with the mental faculty, contacts electricity, cognizes electricity, and clearly apprehends electricity. Cognizing refers to the clear and distinct discrimination and perception in direct perception, while clearly apprehending means knowing through direct perception without any doubt, thereby resolving uncertainty. Regarding the connotation of resolving doubts without uncertainty, many still do not understand; hence, a separate post will need to be written to elaborate on this in detail. Otherwise, some might claim they have resolved doubts and have no questions, while the meanings of "direct perception" and "immediate presence" also require further detailed explanation with examples. Without this, some will remain confused and casually speak of their own "direct perception" or "immediate presence" in various contexts. Even when the connotations of every concept and term are clearly explained, some will still resort to sophistry when their interests are involved, insisting on their own correctness and virtue. The barrier of language is significant, but the obstacle of the human mind is even greater—such is the condition of sentient beings in the Saha world.

The direct realization of electricity is the firsthand verification of electricity—either through the eyes seeing electricity and truly cognizing its state and form; or through the ears hearing electricity and truly cognizing the sound of electric current flowing; or through the nose smelling electricity and truly cognizing its fragrance; or through the tongue tasting electricity and truly cognizing its flavor; or through the body touching electricity and truly cognizing its tactile sensation, where a feeling must arise. Knowing is not the same as realizing. Realizing occurs when the mental faculty and one of the five sensory faculties make contact, producing a tingling sensation and perceiving the flow and unique characteristics of electricity. Knowing, however, arises from the solitary consciousness making associations, devoid of any sensation or feeling, and without clarity about the nature and features of electric current.

The difference between knowing and realizing is vast. For instance, you may know where the end of the Long March is, but what use is that knowledge? After all, you have never seen what the endpoint looks like, nor have your feet ever reached it. Knowing is not realizing; one must step by step reach the destination, witness the scenery and appearance of the endpoint—only then can it be called realization. Similarly, all Buddhists know of the Pure Land, but to realize the Pure Land, one must personally reach it. One may have heard of Amitabha Buddha guiding rebirth, but since you have not yet met Amitabha Buddha, this matter remains unrealized by you. For anything that is truly realized, one can articulate specific details; whereas with mere knowledge, nothing can be said—without seeing, there can be no description.

What does it feel like to be electrocuted? Only those who have touched electricity can experience it firsthand; hearing about it does not count. So, who, then, has truly realized electricity? Seeing an electric wire does not count as seeing electricity—the wire is not electricity. Seeing a washing machine clean clothes does not count as seeing electricity—the rotation of the machine is not electricity. Seeing an electric rice cooker cooking does not count as seeing electricity—the state of the cooker boiling rice is not electricity. Seeing various electrical appliances at work, with the mind conjuring knowledge of electricity and assuming its presence, is mere conjecture and speculation. Even if guessed or thought correctly, it still does not equate to seeing electricity or electric current with one’s own eyes. Some say that encountering an electric eel constitutes direct realization of electricity—but that would be the eel realizing electricity, not you. The principle of direct realization has been debated for ten years, yet many still fail to grasp it—such is the difficulty with sentient beings in this world.

After direct realization, one almost invariably faces death or injury; hence, only those electrocuted or harmed can claim to have directly realized electricity. Moreover, whichever sensory faculty contacts the object, the mental faculty must first make contact and sustain it continuously; thus, direct realization must occur through the mental faculty. When the body faculty is electrocuted, the mental faculty knows and experiences sensation—it feels unpleasant, causing the body to instantly recoil and withdraw from the electricity. Because the mental faculty knows electrocution is no trivial matter, henceforth, it remains highly vigilant toward electricity and strives to avoid it—something the conscious mind alone cannot achieve. Therefore, all direct realization is realized by the mental faculty, which may involve the conscious mind or one of the five sensory faculties.

Only after direct realization can one observe electricity comprehensively and purposefully, deepening and broadening one’s understanding of it. One increasingly masters the correct methods of using electricity, develops more applications, deepens wisdom, and generates more inventions and innovations. In contrast, those who merely see an electrical appliance and know electricity exists remain unchanged for life—still utterly ignorant of electricity, with knowledge not necessarily increasing, let alone wisdom in observation.

The same applies to the direct realization of the tathagatagarbha (Buddha-nature). Those who have genuinely realized it possess the capability and foundation to observe the tathagatagarbha directly. Their understanding of the tathagatagarbha deepens, their minds grow increasingly empty, their virtue becomes more perfect, their wisdom in observation continuously increases, and the wisdom of distinctions and the wisdom of the path gradually arise. Their teachings on the Dharma grow ever more profound. In contrast, those with false or superficial realization see no increase in their cognitive level or wisdom. Whatever they teach remains the same old routine—repetitive and monotonous, abundant in quantity but lacking in quality.