If there is a person who has never eaten a tangerine or a durian fruit, however many images or metaphors you give him, you cannot describe to him the reality of those fruits. You can only do one thing: give him a direct experience.
You cannot say: “Well, the durian is a little bit like the jackfruit or like a papaya.” You cannot say anything that will describe the experience of a durian fruit. The durian fruit goes beyond all ideas and notions. The same is true of a tangerine. If you have never eaten a tangerine, however much the other person loves you and wants to help you understand what a tangerine tastes like, they will never succeed by describing it. The reality of the tangerine goes beyond ideas.
Nirvana is the same; it is the reality that goes beyond ideas. It is because we have ideas about nirvana that we suffer. Direct experience is the only way.
— Thich Nhat Hanh, No Death, No Fear: Comforting Wisdom for Life
May we taste the peace that passeth understanding,
Simeon
Quote of the Week
“He who tastes, knows; he who explains, does not know.”
— Rumi
The Man Who Solved Enlightenment
Jiddu Krishnamurti dismantled every idea of enlightenment, urging us to go beyond concepts and taste truth directly. In this video, we explore his radical approach—one that doesn’t hand us a path to follow, but invites us to step outside of all paths entirely.
Suggested Reading
"The Direct Path: A User Guide" by Greg Goode
What if truth was not something to think about, but something to taste? In The Direct Path, Greg Goode gently dissolves our attachment to concepts, guiding us toward direct experience. This book is an invitation to discover reality beyond words and notions.