The path to Tranquility (summer)
73. Insight into the truth of the things
Among the three of truth, kindness, and beauty, truth ranks first, which
means it is the most important because it can guide us toward kindness and
bring beauty. We can also understand it from the perspective of life,
because the truth will not let us waste time and is the most beneficial to
life, so it is kind. Our existence depends on life, so we feel things
beneficial to life are beautiful. This means we first need to see the
truth.
However, it is not easy to see the truth because it is covered with illusions. Understanding and analyzing things deeply is a challenge, but worth it because it helps us better understand the world and improve the quality of our lives. For example, analyzing food ingredients, although difficult, can allow us to know which foods or cooking methods are healthier. Similarly, understanding love, although difficult, can make us aware of the ways to build a good relationship. This requires us to continuously improve our ability to distinguish truth from falsehood, that is, insight.
Insight is the tentacles of life and the tools to cope with the tests from nature, which has a vital impact on the ability to survive. Insight reveals the truth, gives away falsehoods, and helps us see our true needs. Our creativity is based on insight. For example, when we find that certain foods have low nutritional value, we can find or make better foods. And when we find that we are obsessed instead of loving, we will realize that what we really need is close interpersonal relationships and actively build them. Therefore, it is necessary for us to improve our insight.
Improving insight requires maintaining curiosity about knowledge, facing the world with optimism and openness, and abandoning inertial thinking. That is to say, we must be brave to face difficulties, not stay on the surface phenomena, but strive to find the causes of things and their laws of development. The greatest curiosity is curiosity about our own life, and when we wonder how long we can live, we will try to discover the truth about the things around us. For example, when we want to live longer, we are willing to take the time to learn about healthy diet and exercise methods. Improving our insight is like an explorer traveling through the wilderness. Only by bravely stepping out of the comfort zone can we broaden our horizons and gain insights.
On the other hand, the truth is often hidden in complex phenomena. We need to let go of our imaginations and be uninfluenced by our own experiences and emotions in order to discover the truth. This requires us to observe from multiple angles, explore more possibilities, and eliminate biases or misunderstandings. As long as we pursue it persistently and question it bravely, we can discern the truth.
There is a life example that illustrates how we should explore the truth. Eggs are a very nutritious food, and when we read the news that eating eggs may increase cholesterol in the body, we should not stop eating out of fear. Instead, we should first refer to other relevant research results or reports, then test our cholesterol every year for two to three years, and then decide whether to stop eating based on the test results. In this process, we can also often review our own practices without sticking to our habits. This example shows that seeing the truth can help us live healthier lives.
The truth is very important because it will help us save a lot of precious time. Therefore, before we start to solve the problem, we need to identify the authenticity of the problem in order to think of practical solutions. We can have countless questions in our minds, but many of them come from unreasonable assumptions and therefore have no solution. We don’t need to worry about this, but we need to promptly correct the tendency to create false propositions. In the above example of eating eggs, if we ask "What should we do if eating eggs causes disease?" This is a false proposition and will prevent us from understanding whether eating eggs is harmful to us.
The truth of things is all objective. Therefore, to exert our insight, we need to avoid only starting from our own interests or positions, and also use critical thinking to scrutinize and evaluate information, data, and our own ideas, looking for contradictions in them, and gradually get closer to the truth of things. Once we think we have seen the truth, we also need to look for counterexamples with a skeptical spirit, because scientific rationality is the only effective tool to confirm whether things are true or not. In the above example of eating eggs, when the test proves that it will not make our cholesterol exceed the standard, we still need to compare the conditions of other people to determine whether eating eggs is really harmless.
When we gain insight into the truth of things, find solutions to problems, or create a new way of life, we can reach a higher level, that is, gain more accumulation in the spiritual world. And this accumulation will also establish a solid foundation for solving the next problem. Even if it is something as small as eating eggs, gaining insight into the truth can improve our quality of life. When we are sure that there is really no harm, we can enjoy this high nutritional value food with confidence.
The spiritual world tests our insight even more. For example, gaining insight into our own instincts, habits, and emotions can help us grow faster and achieve happiness more easily. By allowing insight to flow, we can avoid being deceived by illusions, seize opportunities for growth and development, and make wise choices for the future. Only by gaining insight into the truth of microscopic things can we understand the operating laws of the macroscopic universe, break through limitations, and explore a clear direction for life. When one day we gain insight into the truth about the value of life, we will be able to find where we ultimately belong.
72. Harmonious affection stem from loving each other
74. Let consciousness replace habits
