Buddhism teaches that there are truths that are true whether we believe them or not, and then there are truths that are true simply because we believe they are true. For example, when the temperature outside drops below 32 degrees Fahrenheit and there is sufficient moisture in the air, it will snow instead of rain. This is true whether we believe it or not. On the other hand, it is true that gold is more valuable than silver only because we collectively believe it to be so. If there were no humans on the planet, gold and silver would have no inherent value. It’s a conceptual truth.
