Buddhism Taught me that it CANNOT be Taught

“The wave does not have to die in order to become water. Water is the substance of the wave. The wave already is water.”

Buddhism, like all religions and philosophies, follows a number of sets of rules and doctrines that are passed on to its followers. For example, the Ten Commandments in Christianity  or the Five Pillars in Islam. Does the adherence to these rules make a person a follower of this faith or ideal? 

If avoiding violence makes you as pacifist and not eating meat makes you a vegetarian then would not following the Eight Fold Path or Four Noble Truths make you a Buddhist? That is not what a Buddhist would say. In fact a Buddhist would argue that strict adherence to those doctrines just for the sake of Buddhism would deter you from enlightenment and Nirvana even further.

The true essence of Buddhism cannot be taught, it can however be learned. Not through instruction nor rigorous training of the mind to block our harmful thoughts, but through one's own attainment of the knowledge. 

Buddhism is the realization that there is no duality, no relativity, and no permanence. Even though I can say these things, it does no mean that I truly understand them. How can there be no duality, how can all things be one and impermanent? After all I have experience of night and day, hot and cold, happy and sad. So how is it that these notions exist within one another? 

From reading the Heart of Buddha's teaching we can see that this can be true in regards to what Buddhism preaches but how can it be absolutely true? Better yet, how can I understand this? This notion cannot be taught, it must be learned from within, a person must experience the conjoining of realities in order to see Buddhism for what it really is.

What I have learned is that Buddhism in practice is what will actualize its teachings. I don't believe we can be taught to detach ourselves from things we have to deal with on a daily basis and appear very real to us. However by following Buddhist teachings we can prepare ourselves and learn from within that there is but one reality.