Similarly, people accept the existence of a material world and the idea that the world is solely a material world; no one has thought of overturning this obvious conclusion. However, on closer inspection, we find the so-called matter, molecules, atoms, etc. are all illusory. The fact is we have never been able to perceive the true reality of things with the eye.

Science can explain the history of mankind; it can project into the future and tell us what the world will be like a hundred years from now; it can explain the physiology of the human body, bacteria, cells, etc.; it can bring us a wealth of knowledge. But regrettably, it cannot tell us what the self is.

Buddhism discusses the self from two levels: one is relative truth; the other is ultimate truth. Our five sensory perceptions are called relative truth. Without rigorous examination, we consider the perceptions of our physical sense faculties to be true — if the eye sees the color red, we believe it is red; if the eye sees the color white, we believe it is white. All the values and the view of the world formed on this basis are very superficial.