Key Terms/Nītārtha
Basic Meaning
Refers to a teaching that is literally true.
Has the sense of
The unadulterated truth, in the sense of something that is taught explicitly without any underlying intention or need for further interpretation.
gdul bya khyad par can rnams kyi ngor/ chos thams cad kyi chos nyid skye 'gag sogs spros pa dang bral ba'i don zab mo stong pa nyid dang/ dngos po gshis kyi gnas lugs rang bzhin gyis 'od gsal zhing smra bsam brjod pa thams cad las 'das pa'i don ston pa rnams dang/ de ston byed gsung rab dgongs 'grel dang bcas pa'o/
"While Tibetan thinkers generally characterize definitive teachings as those that explicitly teach ultimate truth, which is the ultimate purport of the Buddha's teachings, and provisional teachings as those teachings that do not explain ultimate truth clearly and that require further interpretation in order to ascertain the ultimate purport of the Buddha's intent, they disagree on which of the Buddha's teachings are definitive or provisional." - Wangchuk, Tsering. The Uttaratantra in the Land of Snows (2017), page 3.
