Two Kinds of Truth: Conventional Truth & Ultimate Truth

The doctrine of Two Kinds of Truth talks about two dharmas, Conventional Truth & Ultimate Truth, which completely covers all dharmas in the world. In Buddhism, samatha and vipassana are two very important practices. In particular, the object of Vipassana meditation is the Buddhadharma of Ultimate Truth and the object of Samatha meditation is Buddhadharma of Conventional Truth.

Therefore, Buddhist learners need to clearly distinguish what is hypothetical (conventional) and what is real (truth) so that there is no mistake, attachment “the finger is the moon”. For the meditator of vipassana, the problem is even more important, because practicing vipassana meditation is contemplating to understand the true nature of things, then only then can practicing satipahāna right.

What is Ultimate Truth (Paramattha Sacca) in Buddhism?

Ultimate Truth (Paramattha Sacca) is the absolute truth and never changes (Parama aviparito): Unchanging here does not mean eternal, immutable, but it means that before and after are not different.

As the past is, so is the present and the future. Hence called Ultimate Truth. For example, “Dharmas are dependently arisen, those dharmas are subject to cessation; whatever arises, that must cease.” In addition, in terms of text, we can understand Ultimate Truth as the truth of truth, an entity of Conventional Truth.

According to the Abhidhamma there are four entities of dharmas:

Mind (Citta): the perceptual component of sentient beings.

Consciousness of mind (Cetasika): the dependent component of the mind.

Rupa: material component, inanimate.

Nirvana: the cessation of the arising and passing away of nama-rupa.

– Mind (Citta), Mind possession (Cetasika) and Form (Rūpa) are called compounded dharmas (Saṅkhāra).

– Nirvana (Nibāna) is called the uncompounded dharma (Asaṅkhāra).

What is Conventional Truth (Sammuti Sacca) in Buddhism?

Conventional Truth (Sammuti Sacca) means the common truth set by people, changing over time, environment or a certain group, so sometimes it is true and sometimes it is not. For example, when it is said that in Vietnam, it is legal for drivers to drive on the right, while in Australia, the left is legal. As such, it is only true at a certain place or time.

The word Sammuti Sacca is also translated by translators with different nouns such as: conventions, concepts of things, words to express things…

Although translated with many nouns, in general, Conventional Truth (Sammuti Sacca) are words designed to describe things. The Conventional Truth is divided into two types of institutions: Name (Nāmapaññatti) and Meaning (Atthapaññatti).

In society, people regulate this and that, this person and that person to make it easy to distinguish such as buildings, cars, Mr A, Mrs B…then it’s called a Name, when it comes to name, we immediately The association with the described thing is called Meaning.

For example, talking about a lemon is referring to an object that has being (Paramattha), the name of the lemon is “name” and the image of the lemon that comes to mind is “meaning” (Atthapaññatti).

Another example, the word “angry” is language, it is “name”. When it comes to “anger” is to imagine an anger that happened in the past, it is called a concept. And even in the reality that we are angry, the anger that is present is the Ultimate Truth (Paramattha).

When meditating in the present, there is no anger, but just thinking about yesterday when I was angry with someone, and then remembering how angry I was, the image of anger is just a concept . So it can be said that Ultimate Truth is the identity of Conventional Truth.

Monk Nguyen Tue explains the Two Kinds of Truth theory

Ultimate Truth (Paramattha Sacca) and Conventional Truth (Sammuti Sacca) are concepts that appeared later, it is not in the Nikayas, that is, not spoken by the Buddha. The Sutras speak of the universal Truth that the Saints have awakened to, namely the Four Noble Truths.

Thus, Buddha refers to the Four Noble Truths, not the Two Kinds of Truth. The Two Kinds of Truth are views of the latter and they have nothing to do with the Four Noble Truths.

Conventional Truth is understood as “relative truth” and Ultimate Truth is understood as “absolute truth”. There is a contradiction in such an interpretation. If it is the truth, then there is only one truth, but there cannot be two relative and absolute truths.

If understanding the relative truth is close to the truth, then it is not the truth, no matter how close it is to the truth, it is still not the truth. Such understanding is derived from the dualistic consciousness of humanity whose content is the Self and the World.