Wisdom is the ability to face the truth and not be unnerved or frightened. It is the capacity to be disillusioned, but not disheartened. It is the ability to consider the contingency and the groundlessness of all things, oneself included, and not turn away from that consideration in fear. Wisdom means setting aside illusions about oneself and the world and being strengthened by that encounter with the truth. It entails willingness to avoid seeking the security of the unchanging and to open oneself to a world of flux and complex relations. This includes, as the Vimalakirti Sūtra puts it, “overcoming the habit of clinging to an ultimate ground.” One way to say this is that bodhisattvas – those who seek wisdom and open transformation throughout their lives – can be distinguished in terms of how much truth they can bear, how many illusions of comfort and security they are willing or able to set aside.