--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The opposite of every truth is just as…" description: "\"“The opposite of every truth is just as true! That’s like this: any truth can only be expressed and put into words when it is one-sided. Everything is ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4b3/hermann-hesse-130_oneness_the-opposite-of-every-truth-is-just-as-t_3052435.jpg" --- # The opposite of every truth is just as true! That’s like… ![“The opposite of every truth is just as true! That’s like this: any truth can only be expressed and put into words when it is one-sided. Everything is one-sided which can be thought with thoughts and said with words, it’s all one-sided, all just one half, all lacks completeness, roundness, oneness…” quote by Hermann Hesse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4b3/hermann-hesse-130_oneness_the-opposite-of-every-truth-is-just-as-t_3052435.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4b3/hermann-hesse-130_oneness_the-opposite-of-every-truth-is-just-as-t_3052435.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4b3/hermann-hesse-130_oneness_the-opposite-of-every-truth-is-just-as-t_3052435.jpg) > ““The opposite of every truth is just as true! That’s like this: any truth can only be expressed and put into words when it is one-sided. Everything is one-sided which can be thought with thoughts and said with words, it’s all one-sided, all just one half, all lacks completeness, roundness, oneness. When the exalted Gotama spoke in his teachings of the world, he had to divide it into Sansara and Nirvana, into deception and truth, into suffering and salvation. It cannot be done differently, there is no other way for him who wants to teach. But the world itself, what exists around us and inside of us, is never one-sided. . A person or an act is never entirely Sansara or entirely Nirvana, a person is never entirely holy or entirely sinful. It does really seem like this, because we are subject to deception, as if time was something real. Time is not real, Govinda, I have experienced this often and often again. And if time is not real, then the gap which seems to be between the world and the eternity, between suffering and blissfulness, between evil and good, is also a deception.”” [Hermann Hesse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hermann-hesse/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Truths are often presented one‑sided, yet reality is multidimensional and beyond simple dualities. **In simple terms:** Truth is complex, not just one side. Key Takeaway Embrace complexity. Themes philosophy duality truth spirituality Mood thoughtful contemplative Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - personal growth - spiritual practice - conflict resolution Key Concepts metaphysics Buddhist thought time perception Questions to Reflect On - How do you reconcile opposing truths? - Can dualities be transcended? A Different Perspective Some may argue for absolute truths. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Evil And Good](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/evil-and-good/) [Oneness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/oneness/) [Truth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/truth/) ## Related quotes > [“But the world itself, what exists around us and inside of us, is never one-sided. A person or an act is never entirely Sansara…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hermann-hesse/but-the-world-itself-what-exists-around-us-and-inside-of-us-is-never/) [Hermann Hesse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hermann-hesse/) > [“...the opposite of every truth is just as true! That is to say, any truth can only be expressed and put into words when…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hermann-hesse/the-opposite-of-every-truth-is-just-as-true-that-is-to-say-any-truth/) [Hermann Hesse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hermann-hesse/) > [The opposite of every truth is just as true.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hermann-hesse/the-opposite-of-every-truth-is-just-as-true/) [Hermann Hesse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hermann-hesse/) > [“ Two contrary reasons . We must begin with that, otherwise we cannot understand anything and everything is heretical. And even at the end…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/blaise-pascal/two-contrary-reasons-we-must-begin-with-that-otherwise-we-cannot/) [Blaise Pascal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/blaise-pascal/) > [The need for truth is not constant; no more than is the need for repose. An idea which is a distortion may have a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-sontag/the-need-for-truth-is-not-constant-no-more-than-is-the-need-for/) [Susan Sontag](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-sontag/) > [“Men say that we ought not to enquire into the supreme God and the nature of the universe, nor busy ourselves in searching out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plato/men-say-that-we-ought-not-to-enquire-into-the-supreme-god-and-the/) [Plato](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plato/) > [We have demythologized prematurely, that we've actually lost the vocabulary for discussing reality at its largest scales. The idea that myth is the opposite…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marilynne-robinson/we-have-demythologized-prematurely-that-we-ve-actually-lost-the/) [Marilynne Robinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marilynne-robinson/) > [The truth is balance. However the opposite of truth, which is unbalance, may not be a lie.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-sontag/the-truth-is-balance-however-the-opposite-of-truth-which-is-unbalance/) [Susan Sontag](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-sontag/) > [I hate myself so much. I always believe the opposite of the truth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-hate-myself-so-much-i-always-believe-the-opposite-of-the-truth/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [A great truth is a truth whose opposite is also a truth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-mann/a-great-truth-is-a-truth-whose-opposite-is-also-a-truth/) [Thomas Mann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-mann/) > [The idea that myth is the opposite of knowledge, or the opposite of truth, is simply to disallow it. It is like saying poetry…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marilynne-robinson/the-idea-that-myth-is-the-opposite-of-knowledge-or-the-opposite-of/) [Marilynne Robinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marilynne-robinson/) > [People think that if you are a scientist you have to give up that joy of discovery, that passion, that sense of the great…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-druyan/people-think-that-if-you-are-a-scientist-you-have-to-give-up-that-joy/) [Ann Druyan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-druyan/) > [If falsehood, like truth, had but one face, we would be more on equal terms. For we would consider the contrary of what the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-de-montaigne/if-falsehood-like-truth-had-but-one-face-we-would-be-more-on-equal/) [Michel de Montaigne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-de-montaigne/) > [One truth is that suffering raises profound questions with the universe. The other truth is that grace, gift and generosity also raise profound questions.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rob-bell/one-truth-is-that-suffering-raises-profound-questions-with-the/) [Rob Bell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rob-bell/) > [The second noble truth states that we must discover why we are suffering. We must cultivate the courage to look deeply, with clarity and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-a-levine/the-second-noble-truth-states-that-we-must-discover-why-we-are/) [Peter A. Levine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-a-levine/) ## More by Hermann Hesse > [Only within yourself exists the other reality for which you long. I can give you nothing that has not already its being within yourself.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hermann-hesse/only-within-yourself-exists-the-other-reality-for-which-you-long-i/) [Hermann Hesse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hermann-hesse/) > [Therefore, I see whatever exists as good, death is to me like life, sin like holiness, wisdom like foolishness, everything has to be as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hermann-hesse/therefore-i-see-whatever-exists-as-good-death-is-to-me-like-life-sin/) [Hermann Hesse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hermann-hesse/) > [A home isn't just a roof over our heads. A home is a place where we feel loved and where we love others. It's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hermann-hesse/a-home-isn-t-just-a-roof-over-our-heads-a-home-is-a-place-where-we/) [Hermann Hesse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hermann-hesse/) > [Fortunately, like most children, I had learned what is most valuable, most indispensable for life before school years began, taught by apple trees, by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hermann-hesse/fortunately-like-most-children-i-had-learned-what-is-most-valuable/) [Hermann Hesse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hermann-hesse/) > [“The mistaken and unhappy notion that a man is an enduring unity is known to you. It is also known to you that a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hermann-hesse/the-mistaken-and-unhappy-notion-that-a-man-is-an-enduring-unity-is/) [Hermann Hesse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hermann-hesse/) > [“... it would be better for our country and the world in general, if at least the few people who were capable of thought…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hermann-hesse/it-would-be-better-for-our-country-and-the-world-in-general-if-at/) [Hermann Hesse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hermann-hesse/) > [The bird fights its way out of the egg. The egg is the world. Who would be born must first destroy a world. The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hermann-hesse/the-bird-fights-its-way-out-of-the-egg-the-egg-is-the-world-who-would/) [Hermann Hesse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hermann-hesse/) > [Everything becomes a little different as soon as it is spoken out loud.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hermann-hesse/everything-becomes-a-little-different-as-soon-as-it-is-spoken-out-loud/) [Hermann Hesse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hermann-hesse/) > [It may be important to great thinkers to examine the world, to explain and despise it. But I think it is only important to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hermann-hesse/it-may-be-important-to-great-thinkers-to-examine-the-world-to-explain/) [Hermann Hesse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hermann-hesse/) > [“..it is useless for you to build walls and dormitories and chapels and churches. Death looks through the window and laughs..”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hermann-hesse/it-is-useless-for-you-to-build-walls-and-dormitories-and-chapels-and/) [Hermann Hesse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hermann-hesse/) > [“When the world is at peace, when all things are tranquil and all men obey their superiors in all their courses, then music can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hermann-hesse/when-the-world-is-at-peace-when-all-things-are-tranquil-and-all-men/) [Hermann Hesse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hermann-hesse/) > [A mere nothing suffices — and the lightning strikes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hermann-hesse/a-mere-nothing-suffices-and-the-lightning-strikes/) [Hermann Hesse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hermann-hesse/) > [“And if time is not real, then the dividing line that seems to lie between this world and eternity, between suffering and bliss, between…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hermann-hesse/and-if-time-is-not-real-then-the-dividing-line-that-seems-to-lie/) [Hermann Hesse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hermann-hesse/) > [Beautiful was this world, looking at it thus, without searching, thus simply, thus childlike.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hermann-hesse/beautiful-was-this-world-looking-at-it-thus-without-searching-thus/) [Hermann Hesse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hermann-hesse/) > [Were not the gods forms created like me and you, mortal, transient?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hermann-hesse/were-not-the-gods-forms-created-like-me-and-you-mortal-transient/) [Hermann Hesse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hermann-hesse/) [Explore all 951 Hermann Hesse quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hermann-hesse/) ## More Oneness quotes > [“When all are one sentience, Language withers and fades away. Let's sit together and speak in silence, Let's be light to each other's way.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abhijit-naskar/when-all-are-one-sentience-language-withers-and-fades-away-let-s-sit/) [Abhijit Naskar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abhijit-naskar/) > [The goal of the Creator is for each entity to make a conscious choice to again seek Oneness, out of our own free will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-wilcock/the-goal-of-the-creator-is-for-each-entity-to-make-a-conscious-choice/) [David Wilcock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-wilcock/) > [“When traversing the vast sea of loneliness, Oneness is the only true safe harbor.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-hopkins/when-traversing-the-vast-sea-of-loneliness-oneness-is-the-only-true/) [Gary Hopkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-hopkins/) > [“Pilgrim of the heart, oneness in our vein - love is the revolution, Human is the name.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abhijit-naskar/pilgrim-of-the-heart-oneness-in-our-vein-love-is-the-revolution-human/) [Abhijit Naskar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abhijit-naskar/) > [Intimacy requires an ability to both merge and be separate, to come together and be apart, like oscillating on a giant swing from oneness…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlotte-sophia-kasl/intimacy-requires-an-ability-to-both-merge-and-be-separate-to-come/) [Charlotte Sophia Kasl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlotte-sophia-kasl/) > [ \[Wise men\] have tried to understand our state of being, by grasping at its stars, or its arts, or its economics. But, if there… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-fort/wise-men-have-tried-to-understand-our-state-of-being-by-grasping-at/) [Charles Fort](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-fort/) > [“The glue that holds the natural world together appears to be a harmonious balance of opposites: day and night, light and dark, winter and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-robbins/the-glue-that-holds-the-natural-world-together-appears-to-be-a/) [Tom Robbins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-robbins/) > [Can you dissolve your ego? Can you abandon the idea of self and other? Can you relinquish the notions of male and female, short…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laozi/can-you-dissolve-your-ego-can-you-abandon-the-idea-of-self-and-other/) [Laozi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laozi/) > [The word religion comes from an origin which means "coming together." But priesthood has been doing just the opposite, it has created splits in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rajneesh/the-word-religion-comes-from-an-origin-which-means-coming-together/) [Rajneesh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rajneesh/) > [“When the world is at peace, when all things are tranquil and all men obey their superiors in all their courses, then music can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hermann-hesse/when-the-world-is-at-peace-when-all-things-are-tranquil-and-all-men/) [Hermann Hesse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hermann-hesse/) > [The lasting value of our public service for God is measured by the depth of the intimacy of our private times of fellowship and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oswald-chambers/the-lasting-value-of-our-public-service-for-god-is-measured-by-the/) [Oswald Chambers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oswald-chambers/) > [“Why would our brains have this capacity to sense the oneness of the universe, a sense that can be induced in many ways, even…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kara-dalkey/why-would-our-brains-have-this-capacity-to-sense-the-oneness-of-the/) [Kara Dalkey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kara-dalkey/) > [“The journey towards oneness emphasizes the opposites and we are caught in their conflict.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/llewellyn-vaughan-lee/the-journey-towards-oneness-emphasizes-the-opposites-and-we-are/) [Llewellyn Vaughan-Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/llewellyn-vaughan-lee/) > [“Everything we perceive to be solid and static is made up of almost entirely empty space.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-p-kauffman/everything-we-perceive-to-be-solid-and-static-is-made-up-of-almost/) [Joseph P. Kauffman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-p-kauffman/) > [“The Illusion - The source of suffering can be linked back to a condition of the mind that creates the illusion of separation--the state…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/l-m-blanchard/the-illusion-the-source-of-suffering-can-be-linked-back-to-a/) L.M.Blanchard [Browse all 842 Oneness quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/oneness/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“The opposite of every truth is just as true! That’s like this: any truth can only be expressed and put into words when it is one-sided. Everything is one-sided which can be thought with thoughts and said with words, it’s all one-sided, all just one half, all lacks completeness, roundness, oneness. When the exalted Gotama spoke in his teachings of the world, he had to divide it into Sansara and Nirvana, into deception and truth, into suffering and salvation. It cannot be done differently, there is no other way for him who wants to teach. But the world itself, what exists around us and inside of us, is never one-sided. . A person or an act is never entirely Sansara or entirely Nirvana, a person is never entirely holy or entirely sinful. It does really seem like this, because we are subject to deception, as if time was something real. Time is not real, Govinda, I have experienced this often and often again. 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