From the perspective of one reality (that entails non-duality), Chih-i considers the Two Truths to still be the expedient means for the purpose of revealing the One Truth. This situation is compared with a metaphor quoted from the Mahāparinirvāṇasūtra:

“What is called the two truths is in fact one truth. It is called two as expedient means. It is like a drunk person who has not yet vomited [and regained his sobriety], who sees the sun and the moon spinning around and says that there is a sun which is spinning around and a sun which is not spinning around. A sober person sees only that which is not spinning around and does not see the spinning.”

Applying this simile to the case of various teachings of the Buddha, Chih-i comments:

“Those of the Tripiṭaka [Teaching] belong to the duality of spinning, like that drunk person. All the Mahāyāna sūtras express the One [Truth] of non-spinning in the form of the two [modes of] spinning. The present Lotus Sūtra directly abandons expedient means and only expounds the unsurpassed Path. The non-spinning is the one Ultimate [Truth], and therefore, it is subtle.

According to Chih-i, the perception of reality is related to the state the person is in. A deluded and drunk state causes mistaken views to arise, from which reality is wrongly perceived. This is the state of the śrāvaka. Mahāyānists are in a sober state and can correctly perceive reality as an integrated unity. Nevertheless, truth that is verbalized is still relative due to inadequacy of language. Ultimately, truth cannot be explained and is beyond language, since any attempt to verbalize it would only result in distorting it. Hence, No Truth (Wu-ti) conveys most adequately what real truth is, which is characterized as quiescent. (Vol. 2, Page 115-116)