Reality Beyond Words 離言實相 from Collection of Rain Blossoms

The Buddha’s teaching takes many forms, helping each person see clearly the truth beyond words, beyond doubt, and beyond opinion. Image: Shutterstock.

“Reality beyond words” means the Buddha’s teaching doesn’t stay in just one fixed form. His words shift to match the needs of people. That’s why his teaching isn’t trapped in books or caught in ideas. Instead, it’s meant to be practical—something that helps living beings right where they are. So the teaching has many doors—different paths for different people, and different answers for different situations.

Even so, not everyone understands this way of teaching, and doubts often arise. People ask, ‘Why doesn’t the Buddha just get rid of the wrongdoers? Why doesn’t he make the world peaceful right away?’ But this misses the point. The Buddha doesn’t use punishment or force. His way is to guide, to encourage, and to point the way. Everyone has a seed of wisdom in their heart. When that seed is there, sooner or later it will grow. They will see the difference between good and bad, and one day they will wake up to the truth.

It’s like a shirt that doesn’t fit right—you don’t throw it out, you adjust it. In the same way, people who make mistakes are not hopeless. They can be taught, guided, and turned back toward what’s good.

Seeing things from different sides

And in the same way, people have other doubts too. They look at the many schools of Buddhism—‘What about Pure Land? What about the Esoteric school?’—and wonder why they seem so different. But it’s like trying to see Mount Lu through thick fog. Everyone stands in a different place, looks from a different angle. From one side the mountain might look low and level; from another it might look tall and rounded. But whether low or tall, it’s still the same Mount Lu—the difference is only in where you stand.

Or think of the old story of the blind men and the elephant. One touches the leg and says it’s a pillar. Another touches the ear and says it’s a fan. Each one is different, but they are all touching the same elephant. The Buddha’s teaching is like that too.

So in the end, don’t cling to what others say. Each person needs to use their own heart and sight to see the truth. When you see it clearly for yourself, that’s what is real. Don’t take something as true just because someone else says so, and don’t dismiss something as false just because others call it false. Each person must wake up by seeing for themselves.

This is my heartfelt hope—my deepest wish.

離言實相

  雨花集

濟公活佛

 離言實相，就是說佛法無定相，常依照眾生之根基而立言，因是佛法亦不著文字，不入思維，總要方便眾生，以眾生之根基為根基，因此佛法便有多門，因人而施，因事而定，又常聽見人家講佛何以不滅絕惡人，今天下太平，無戰無爭呢！此點太不明佛陀之道理，佛是以勸導為大道，以指引為小途，絕不涉念懲戒，因為一個人均有善知識，有了善根，總會明白善惡，到頭來必有覺悟指一天，譬如一件衫不合身裁者可以改，萬不能因為有了破綻，便捨而不要之理。

又有人不明佛法之途，往往諸多猜疑，某教與某教之不同點甚多，淨土宗如何，密宗又如何，種種懷疑，其實等於在大霧中去看廬山一樣，各人立場不同，角度不同，你所站的地方或者見廬山是扁地，我之角度看來又似是圓地，其實是圓是扁，均為廬山，不過所看不同而已，又等於盲人摸象一般，同是一樣道理，因此之故，各人對佛法，宜以本人之見加以悟澈透達，便是真理，不可以人之是為是，以人之非為非，切盼切盼！

A Personal Reflection

This teaching is exactly what I need right now. I’ve noticed something in myself for a while, but I haven’t known what to do about it. It shows up in two ways:

• Even though I don’t say it aloud, I often feel that what has worked for me is somehow better than what others do, even when they say their way works for them.

• When people don’t know how to handle a particular challenge, and I share the solution that has worked for me, I don’t understand why they won’t even give it a try.

  
  

In those moments, this teaching reminds me that no one approach is truly superior. At the deepest level, we all share the same true nature, but our lives and personalities are different. There are always things about someone’s situation that I cannot see. So for me to say that what has worked for me is better than what works for them is really just me not seeing clearly.

It reminds me of the way we sometimes hear language about the “highest practice” or the “entry-level practice.” That kind of wording is only meant to guide people along—so no one gets stuck thinking the little they’ve gained is already the whole of enlightenment. Once true awakening is reached, the distinction between “highest” and “entry-level” no longer matters. Looking back, we can see that a particular condition arose, and a particular teaching was needed to meet it.

So I don’t need to give up on others, even if they turn down my encouragement or help. Every person has their own time and their own way, and when the moment is right, the way of the Buddha will meet them.

This translated text is a chapter from Collection of Rain Blossoms, a scripture written by JiGong Living Buddha in the 1900s through spirit writing. Here the link to the original Chinese source.

If you are interested in other chapters of this book, here is the link to the table of contents.