The phrase the truth of the Buddhadharma is known as the essential characteristic of reality. It includes two kinds of meanings: The first one is the truth, and the second one is the phenomena, which together are also called the nature of things or the nature of all things. In consideration of these two kinds of reality, two is one and one is two. And why? Just because the truth is made manifest by phenomena, and the phenomena, in turn, need the truth to explain them clearly. However, we must clearly understand that phenomena are phenomena, not the truth, and that the truth is the truth, not phenomena. Phenomena are concrete forms, and the truth is abstract. Thus, while the two terms refer to different things, existence is the phenomena of universe, and the substance of the universe is truth. Therefore, the phenomena of existence cannot be separated from the substance of truth; and even though they are two, they are not different. Conversely, substance is substance and not phenomena; and phenomena are phenomena and not substance. Thus, they are two, not one. Similarly, the great Enlightened One is the Buddha. Thus, a man whose wisdom is supreme, perfect and exhaustive and who has attained the truth is also a Buddha. Therefore, we can safely assert that the Buddhadharma is rooted in reason, not in superstition.

a) All Things Are Produced by Causation

All things in the universe, even though their range is, indeed, infinitely broad and deep, are objects of study by natural and social scientists. Astrologists study the sun, moon, stars and heavenly bodies; geologists, biologists and zoologists -- all of them -- have their fields of study. Just how are all these innumerable things produced? This question is usually dealt with by philosophers. From ancient times to the present, many philosophers both east and west, have offered different answers to this question. They had their own views, because each of them had his own background and experience and, thus, different wisdom. Some of them with religious faith believed that all things in the world had been created by God, as stated in the Judeo-Christian Bible. In India, Brahmanism held that Brahma had created all things in the world. In those religions, God and Brahma are conceived to be universal, eternal, and absolute; therefore, they can create all things. However, all things which they have created are, in reality, not universal and not eternal but, indeed, very complicated and transitory.

Western idealism holds that all things in the universe are created by the spiritual mind, and this spirit of God expresses itself as and becomes one with becoming, or the ongoing creation of the world. In contrast, dialectical materialism is a very new idea, advocating that all phenomena in the universe are produced materially. Like our thinking, consciousness is a function of the cerebrum and the cerebellum, that reflect external phenomena. From that reflection, we develop thinking. Thus, materialism holds that all spirit and consciousness are produced materially. Furthermore, to hold that the material is eternal is known as the theory of a single cause. In contrast, Buddhism does not speak about a single cause. Both Hinayana and Mahayana Buddhism hold that all things in the universe are produced by causation. What, then, is causation? It indicates precisely that all things in the universe are produced by causes and conditions. They are not created by God, no matter how small they are: a tiny dust mote, an atom, or an electron. They are not created by God, no matter how large they are: the earth, stars and galaxies. Rather, they are produced by causes and conditions. For example, millet seeds are causes, while light, air, fertilizer, soil and human labor are conditions. All things in the universe are produced by causes and conditions and are also destroyed by causes and conditions. There is a gatha in one Buddhist sutra that says, "This exists, so that exists; this is produced, then that is produced." This means that if certain things exist (or are present) then other things will necessarily exist (or be present). Also, if certain things are produced, then other things will necessarily be revealed. Consequently, all things in the universe depend on and interact with each other, and they have neither a creator or nor a destroyer. According to the Buddhadharma, where there are created subjects, there must be created objects. Where there is birth, simultaneously there must be death. The simultaneous co-existence of birth and death is a universal phenomenon. Such is the truth attained by Sakyamuni Buddha.

b) All Things are Changing and Impermanent

Average people think that all things in the universe are permanent and eternal; therefore, they desire to stay in this world, and they love their lives. However, if one thinks about it a little or has studied to be a scientist, he or she will understand that all things in the universe are always changing and that nothing is permanent. The Buddhadharma holds that all things are impermanent, which means that nothing is eternal. Change is impermanence. If anything were permanent, it would not change. For example, the water that flowed by in the river yesterday is not the same as today's water since it is continually on the move. Likewise, the I of today is not the I of yesterday. Furthermore, things of today are not the things of yesterday. All things in the universe are flowing, and even birth and death are ever moving and changing. The Buddhadharma holds that things are born and die in each and every moment. It is possible to analyze impermanence and change, as well as birth and death, temporally. According to the Buddhadharma, there are ninety ksanas in one thought moment, and there are nine hundred births and deaths in one ksana. The theory of impermanence and change, as well as birth and death, is the truth that the Buddha attained.

c) The Things of Void Nature and the Nature of Void Things

All things are impermanent, and birth and death are produced by causes and conditions. All things, as well as birth and death, are impermanent, are void. The truth -- Absolute Voidness -- was the great discovery and realization of the Buddha. The word void in the Buddhadharma signifies not obstinate, aerial space but the natural voidness of things. That is real voidness. Nature is substance and substance is the universe, which is the natural voidness of all things. The substance of voidness itself is the voidness of reality and the voidness of self-nature. Therefore, the Heart Sutra says, "Form is void." And why? Just because all forms are produced by conditions and are, thus, impermanent. Chuang-Tze said, "The void means that which is not destroyed, and that is reality." Since all things are produced from voidness, the Heart Sutra also says, "Voidness is form." If all things were permanent and voidless, then this thing would always be this and that thing always that, the poor always poor and the rich always rich, etc.; and the world would become fixed and inmovable. Thus, there would be neither cause nor effect. Also, it would not be necessary to practice, and there would be nothing to attain. Then, there would be no more evolution in this world. Actually however, this is not the case. Thus, again, the Heart Sutra asserts that all things are produced from voidness. Without voidness, nothing whatsoever can be produced; so, conversely, since there is universal voidness, all things can be produced. However, most people in the world really do not understand the completely profound meaning of voidness.

There are two different meanings of the nature of voidness in causation: The first signifies the original voidness of nature -- that is, all things are produced by conditions and are without self-nature; The second signifies the voidness that terminates grasping. People do not have enough wisdom to recognize the truth, but can use illusion to reverse and end grasping. Originally, all dharmas are without any form, self, personality, sentience or life, but people grasping and hold on to the concepts of form, self, personality, sentience and life. However, to break attachment is a very important idea in the Buddha-dharma. Breaking false attachment is to realize voidness because the very idea of voidness means to void attachment. False attachment is a kind of mental abnormality. Therefore, the concept of voidness is a kind of method for obtaining wisdom, a kind of strategy for reducing defilement, and, also, a kind of a prescription for a medicine to cure such an illness. If all sentient beings were without such false attachment, then the medicine of voidness would not be needed. Of all the different kinds of attachment, the self is the original and strongest attachment. Self-attachment is also called self-view, which, when self-attachment exists, is called selfishness. All defilements and disputes arise from self-attachment. Therefore, self-attachment and self-view are the chief offenders. Thus, the teachings of both the Hinayana and the Mahayana explain clearly the problem of self-attachment, and the question of how to use some expedient Dharma method to break self-attachment becomes very important. The process that starts from the understanding of the void nature of causation and arrives at understanding and attaining the void nature of selflessness is the wonderful Truth attained by the Buddha.