The Nature of Reality

Reality cannot be expressed by conceptual knowledge or by written and spoken language. A  person who has never tasted a mango cannot know its taste, no matter what and how many words someone uses to describe the experience. We can only grasp reality through direct experience.

The nature of all things is unconditioned and can be called “suchness,” or “Tathata.” Suchness is the nature of all things. From suchness the lotus arises. You and I arise from suchness. We can call someone who arises from  suchnessa a tathagata , or one who thus comes.

Teaching is from Old Path White Clouds by Thich Nhat Hanh,  Photograph by my me.