Problems Bared, Essays on Buddhism

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here not the goal of striving, the path is not progressive but instantaneous.
From whatever angle one approaches the teaching of the
Buddha, whether one takes the analytical aspect of his philosophy or
the synthetic aspect of his morality, the conditionality of existence,
the in-substantiality of all phenomena, the interdependence of all
relationship or the soullessness of the mental process—whether the
search is for an absolute truth or for the ultimate good—one always
comes to that central theme of anatta, the doctrine of the absence
of any kind of entity of abiding nature. For, the good is only relative;
the truth is conditioned; the origination is dependent; a goal
of achievement is non-existent, because the self is delusion.
Thus, a search for happiness is bound to fail, and likewise a
search for truth. A search, any search, becomes possible at all, if
the object of the search is known. A search for the unknown cannot
take place in either reason or intellect. When we try to convince
ourselves that we are searching for the truth, we are only looking
for an image, an extension of a self-deluded mind.
But understanding of truth may come in a flash, as the understanding
of a falsehood, or as a sudden revelation of beauty, a
sudden perfection of goodness. There is no abstract law of goodness,
beauty and truth. But anything can be true to itself, and it will be
perfect and beautiful too, when it does not contain the conflict of
self-possession, the conflict of fear which is based on misunderstanding
(a-vijja).
Thus, the path is foremost one of understanding, not an intellectual
grasp, not a logical conclusion, not an emotional conviction, but
a direct and comprehensive understanding through complete seeing
a thing as it is (yathā-bhūta-ñāṇa-dassana), the right as right, the
false as false. This understanding which is a perfect comprehension,
is the key to awakening and enlightenment, to sainthood and
arahantship. Without this, all virtue is but puritanism, all concentration
is but self-hypnosis, all inspiration is but imagination.