The literal meaning of "不得其解" (bù dé qí jiě) is being unable to find an explanation or understand the reasons behind something. It generally refers to being unable to find the entry point to unravel a mystery, or being unable to break free from a logical deadlock in one's mind. It describes a persistent state of being unable to understand something, stuck in a mental bottleneck or emotional black hole.
Why do people become unable to understand?
Sometimes, it's because of insufficient information. They only see one side, not the whole picture.
Sometimes, it's because their perspective is not broad enough. When caught in the middle of a situation, they only see immediate gains and losses, failing to see the longer-term causes and effects.
Sometimes, it's because their minds are not calm enough. Resentment, fear, anxiety, and prejudice in their hearts only lead to more confusion, making things increasingly unclear.
And sometimes, it's because their standards have changed. If they only use interests, power, success, and failure to measure everything in the world, they will find many things inexplicable; but if they look at things through the lens of good and evil, cause and effect, human nature, and natural law, some things will gradually reveal their underlying principles.
"Being unable to understand" reminds us that not everything can be explained by surface phenomena, nor can all confusion be resolved through cleverness. True understanding often requires honesty, kindness, and patience.
From the perspective of "truth," many instances of "being unable to understand" stem from living within our own defined "reasons" and the need to save face, unwilling to acknowledge objective, even invisible, truths.
Many people are unable to understand because their view of the world is incomplete. Some only see propaganda, not the obscured truth; they only hear conclusions, not the voices of those involved; they only see others being labeled, without asking: what is the true situation?
If a person fears the truth, avoids the truth, or even habitually substitutes their stance for facts, then of course they will be "unable to understand." Because the answer lies within the truth, yet they have bypassed it.
From the perspective of "kindness," facing conflict with malicious speculation or adversarial thinking only tightens the knot. When people are confused, if they lack kindness, they easily succumb to indifference and extremism. Seeing others suffer, one says, "There must be a reason"; seeing the weak bullied, one says, "It's their own fault for not understanding the rules"; seeing kind people misunderstood, one says, "That's just how the world is."
Such explanations, on the surface, seem like profound understanding, but in reality, they shut down one's conscience.
True goodness allows one to retain warmth even when "unable to understand":
Perhaps I don't understand everything, but I cannot easily harm the innocent;
Perhaps I can't see the underlying reasons, but I cannot treat suffering as a joke;
Perhaps I don't understand now, but I am willing to stand on the side of goodness.
Goodness is not naivety. Goodness is a higher form of judgment. It allows one to maintain direction in complexity and humanity in chaos.
From the perspective of "forbearance," many problems cannot be solved immediately. A person at a low point in life may be unable to understand; a kind person misunderstood may also be unable to understand; many people will be unable to understand when injustice occurs in a society.
Compassionate forbearance towards evil: Seeing through the inevitable fate of evil in the laws of history and the universe. Faced with an extremely thick fog and shadow, one's heart remains unmoved, maintaining a steadfast and righteous mind. For those evils that have completely lost their humanity, one sees their true nature through composure, thus carrying out a complete eradication. This is precisely a higher manifestation of upholding the "truth" and "goodness" of the universe.
When a person encounters a higher truth or a deeper reality, many previously incomprehensible questions suddenly become clear. Their thinking thus moves from confusion to clarity, from limitation to openness; their heart is also strongly shaken by the resolution of years of doubt, generating a feeling of excitement, gratitude, awakening, and even rebirth. This is a process from "not understanding" to "sudden enlightenment," and also a moment when the mind moves from bewilderment to sublimation.
Having encountered the phrase "not understanding" in an extremely valuable book, I will discuss its surface meaning and its personal inspiration here. For a deeper and more profound understanding, please refer to the original book.