Teaching in Virginia Beach at the temple in 2016, Ven. Chuc Thanh observed that “Language cannot always explain the reality.”
Have you ever been at a “loss of words?” Have you ever asked yourself why an object is called what it is? For example, why is a mountain called a mountain? Think about this teaching and apply it to everything your six senses perceive. The resulting term or definition in your mind for what you are seeing, hearing, etc. is man-made. The object of your perception exists regardless of what we call it.
(Venerable Thich Chuc Thanh is the Dharma Master at Dong Hung Temple. These quotations were collected from 2015 through 2018 as he taught in Virginia Beach, VA and Southern Shores, NC. The quotation titles and commentary are by temple member Mark Palamara.)