ultimate truth
Final, unchanging fact
Ultimate truth is a concept in philosophy and religion referring to the deepest or most fundamental reality—what remains when all illusion, opinion, and partial understanding fall away.
Different traditions locate it differently: in God, in emptiness, in the nature of consciousness, in logical necessity.
The phrase often implies something beyond ordinary perception or reasoning, accessible only through enlightenment, revelation, or rigorous inquiry.
In casual use, the ultimate truth may simply mean the real story behind appearances: The ultimate truth is that nobody knows what they're doing.
- nirvanaRelease from cyclical existence
- enlightenmentProfound spiritual awakening
- suchnessEssential nature of reality
- two truthsA pair of facts
- aletheiaGreek term for truth
tathagatagarbha · emptiness · absolute reality · metaphysics · gnosis · Tao · ontology · non-duality · thing in itself · epistemology · absolutism · satya · perennial philosophy · dharma · objectivity · universal law · moksha · monism
- AbhidharmaAbhidhamma Pitaka, Buddhaghosa, dharmas, triads, couplets
- Buddhist conceptskarma, nirvana, dharma, samsara, Four Noble Truths
- Buddhist philosophyemptiness, two truths, non-duality, pratityasamutpada, treatises
- Madhyamakaemptiness, middle way, two truths, pratityasamutpada
- Mahayana Buddhismbodhisattva, emptiness, prajnaparamita, mind training, tathagatagarbha
- aspirationsdream, goals, dreams, purpose, mission
ultimate truthfalsehood
Deliberate untrue statement
lie · error · delusion · misconception · untruth
ultimate truthillusion
Misleading sensory impression
maya · appearance · samsara · facade · simulacrum