Why does Reality Hurt? Because Such is its nature.

Suchness is reality without concepts. Not the descriptions of the sky, but the sky itself. 

(5 min read)

One morning, the Buddha sat before his disciples.

He held up a single rose.

Then he asked, “What do you see?”

Three students raised their hands.

The first student said, “It's a delicate and a beautiful rose. A perfect shade of red. Nature at its finest.”

The second said, “It's a symbol of impermanence. Not everything lasts. Just as things are born and they die, so will this flower wilt away one day. It's beauty comes from the fact that it will one day perish.”

Buddha nodded.

The third student offered, “The rose symbolizes enlightenment. The Bodhisattva’s path. It is perfect in its integrity, as the one who holds it.”

The Buddha listened.

Then he turned to Mahākāśyapa and asked, “What do you see?”

Mahākāśyapa calmly said, “A red flower.”

What is Suchness?

Mahākāśyapa's answer is simple but it is not devoid of meaning. He did not simply describe what he saw.

He demonstrated to the other students that their minds were still filled with a lot of noise, a lot of descriptions and labels.

Few still could grasp the essence of the Buddha's teachings, that concepts ultimately do not matter.


That sometimes, things just are the way they are, and do not need interpretation to be beautiful.

That feeling, of seeing things as they are, without labeling them positive or negative, beautiful or ugly, is suchness. 

Suchness is the way things are, before the mind labels them.

It is reality as it is, without any commentary, concepts or thinking.

How we conceptualize.

We do not experience reality. We experience the concept of reality.

For instance, we do not hear sounds when someone speaks to us. We hear language, meaning, depth, emotions, memories.

All of that is conceptualization. None of that is tathata — or suchness.

If we could completely remove conceptualization from our mind, what we would see and hear is a changing tapestry of sounds, shapes, forms and colors.

A dream world which would not need any description, only experiencing.


A world without the mind-made suffering.

How we Label. 

The moment the mind labels something, it begins the process of justifying to itself, why that label was necessary.

For example: Consider the below thought.

"I had a good day today. I got complimented on my dress. I also was productive, and got a lot done. I got a call from my best friend…" and on and on it goes.

Notice how, the moment it labeled the day, "good", it follows up with the why it was good .

This kind of commentary is always happening in our minds.

"That felt quite insulting. He should not have treated me that way. Next time I am going to speak up."

In this too, the word insulting, triggers a commentary which we often get stuck in for hours, if not days.

How to Experience Suchness.

"I had a good day," becomes, "Such was the nature of the day I had."

"That felt quite insulting" becomes, "Such was the nature of that experience."

 "I had an amazing vacation" becomes, "Such was the nature of my trip."

Notice, how the mind goes quiet after those statements.

When painful thoughts will not leave you, practice this way of speaking to yourself, and see your pain dissolve.

For this is not pain.

It is just…. what it is.