Any story has only a relative truth. It has limited and temporary validity only, and there is also a grain of truth in each of its reversals.
And it is relative for several different reasons.
First, stories differentiate within the seamless whole of the world, which means that any segment only exists relative to something else. Here is relative to there. False relative to true. Life to death.
The appearance of anything distinct is dependent on, in contrast to, and relative to a boundary and something on the other side of the boundary.
Then, there is a grain of truth in each of the reversals of any story. The appearance of limited truth of any story happens when we recognize the grain of truth in its reversals as well. We recognize the relative relationship between the initial story and its reversals, and the grain of truth in each of them.
And if we ignore this, trying to put all truth into one story and remove truth from its reversals, then that appearance too is dependent on the relative relationship between the initial story and its reversals.
When I see the grain of truth in each of the reversals, I may find that I appear as a separate self, but when I look, I also find that this sense of separate self only comes from an image, a thought, and is not inherent in what arises. There is a grain of truth in both. Or, I lie, and I can find that in my life. Sometimes I lie blatantly, and even if I try to be honest, what comes out of my mouth is a lie because it is a limited truth.
Or, if I take I am honest as an absolute truth, then that truth can only appear because there is no truth in its reversal, I lie.
The appearance of a limited or absolute truth in any story is dependent on, in contrast to, and relative to, its reversals.
Also, any story has a grain of truth only as related to a set of other stories. It is dependent on a particular context of other stories to have even this grain of truth. And it is when we switch this context of other stories that we can see the grain of truth in its reversals.
I lie. Yes, I can find a set of stories that says that – in memories of times when I did, and even here now because any storytelling, any use of words, is really a lie. It leaves out a great deal, simplifies horribly independent of how complex it is, and splits the world when the world itself is not split.
I am honest. Yes, I can find that too, in another set of stories. Even if I blatantly lie in some situations, there are many other situations where I am quite honest. And here now, I try to use stories that honestly reflect my experiences, as much as possible. I try to be true to what appears as true to me here and now.
The appearance of truth in any story is dependent on, in contrast to, and relative to, a set of supporting stories.
And finally, a relative truth only exists because there is an absolute truth. It is dependent on, in contrast to, and relative to an absolute truth.
Relative truth is what arises filtered through stories, whether these are recognized as only stories or not. And the absolute is this field of awake void and form, recognized as awakeness itself. And in real life, both go together very well.
Awake void and form is inherently absent of and untouched by any stories, including the one of I and Other, whether it recognizes itself as awakeness or not. And the overlay of stories, whether taken as just stories or not, is essential for this human self to function in the world.
The appearance of a relative truth is dependent on, in contrast to, and relative to an absolute truth. And the relative truth arises due to, from and within the absolute, so is dependent on it that way too.
Initial draft:
Any story has only limited and temporary validity, and is only a relative truth.
But why is it called a “relative” truth? What is it relative to?
The first meaning of the world relative is that anything filtered out in a story only exists relative to something else. Stories lay down boundaries, these can be laid down in infinitely varied ways, and they split the world. There is an I here because the wider world is an Other. We can filter out mind because it is in contrast with matter. Something appears as right because something else appears as wrong. And so on.
There is the appearance of something because it is in contrast to something else. And the boundaries laid down by our stories and maps are what allows this to happen.
Another meaning of the word relative has to do with the grain of truth in each of the reversals of any story.
A story appears as a relative truth when we see the grain of truth in each of its reversals. It is a relative truth, something with limited and temporary validity, because its reversals also have limited and temporary validity.
If a story appears as having an absolute validity, it is because all the truth appears in this particular story, and no truth is in its reversals. And to make it look like this, there has to be a belief in another story saying it is so. It all comes from a story lending validity to one particular story and not its reversals. (Which creates stress, because somewhere in us is the knowledge that there is indeed a grain of truth in the reversals, which means that the initial story too only has limited and temporary validity.)
And this brings us to yet another meaning of the words relative truth: a story appears as true only in a particular context of other stories. The truth of a story is dependent on supporting stories, worldviews, maps and assumptions.
Its truth, even when recognized as only having limited validity, only appears when related to a particular set of other stories, when it is seen relative to these stories.
I lie. Yes, I can find a set of stories that says that – in memories of times when I did, and even here now because any storytelling, any use of words, is really a lie. It leaves out a great deal, simplifies horribly independent of how complex it is, and splits the world when the world itself is not split.
I am honest. Yes, I can find that too, in another set of stories. Even if I blatantly lie in some situations, there are many other situations where I am quite honest. And here now, I try to use stories that honestly reflect my experiences, as much as possible. I try to be true to what appears as true to me here and now.