The highest level of learning is making others understand.

I used to have a hobby when I was in school,

which was to share my opinions on social media,

but the language I used back then

was not as straightforward as writing articles now.

Usually,

it was more literary,

to put it plainly, it was about choosing words carefully,

and I took pride in that.

So why don’t I choose my words carefully now,

but instead write articles in a conversational tone?

Because I discovered something,

that at that time I only learned knowledge,

but not the essence,

I only knew the concept,

but didn’t understand what the essence of that concept was.

Take the phrase “seeking truth from facts” as an example,

the definition is simple,

it means not being bound by experience or dogma,

everything is based on objective conditions.

And then? Does memorizing this concept mean understanding it? From my experience,

no, it doesn’t,

making mistakes is still making mistakes,

In “Red Dust of the Sky,” “seeking truth from facts” is translated as “not following any one method,”

meaning not sticking to a single way,

but the problem is, how do you not stick to one method? I was confused,

see,

that’s knowing but not understanding.

Now, if I tell you that “seeking truth from facts” is like buying socks,

don’t just look at the size others buy,

or listen to what the seller says about how good they are,

you need to try them on yourself,

then you’ll understand immediately,

Oh,

so this is about objective conditions,

yes,

your feet are different in size from others’,

so the objective conditions are different,

whether the socks fit or not,

you only know by trying them on,

that’s seeking truth from facts.

If you only know a concept,

but don’t understand its core,

then this thing is actually useless to you,

learning it is a waste,

and it might even harm you,

making you think you understand,

and then rushing into pitfalls.

So how to avoid not understanding? It’s actually very simple,

just explain the concept you’ve learned to others,

if they understand,

then you truly understand,

preferably someone who reads less,

like my mom,

who only went to elementary school,

if she understands,

then I’ve learned it.

If I tell my mom about seeking truth from facts, she might be confused,

but if I tell her to try on socks to see if they fit,

she’ll understand immediately,

see,

that’s real learning,

not just talking about obscure words and phrases,

purely wishful thinking.

If you love academic expression and write articles just for yourself,

that’s totally fine,

but if you’re writing for others,

then there’s a problem,

because you need to consider whether the reader can understand,

if the reader can’t understand,

then all your writing is in vain.

What is the essence of communication? It’s information exchange,

it’s about passing what I know to others,

that’s the core,

shouldn’t language be made simpler? You layer it up,

wrap it in technical terms,

so tightly that others can’t understand? Isn’t that just self-indulgence?

It’s like I tell my mom that “seeing form is not form, but seeing Tathāgata,”

she might think I’m talking nonsense.

But if I tell her that the reason others can write beautiful characters

is because they’ve practiced for many years,

and their hand is very steady,

so they can achieve this effect,

not something learned in a week,

that’s “seeing form is not form,”

then my mom might understand.

Have you noticed,

if you only know a concept,

you can’t explain it in simple language,

because you don’t understand the underlying essence,

if you understand the underlying essence,

you’ll find language is just a medium of transmission,

what words you use doesn’t matter,

what matters is clearly explaining the principles behind it.

Just like a phone,

I know a phone is an electronic device,

that makes my life more convenient,

that’s the essence,

then I change its name,

hammer,

electronics,

bundle,

whatever suffix,

as long as I understand what it means,

and others understand it too,

that’s a good name.