Examples Illustrating Empirical Realization

Question: On my birthday, friends came to congratulate me. Friend A gave me 100 yuan, Friend B gave me 100 yuan, and Friend C gave me 50 yuan. I forgot how much money I originally had in my pocket, so I took it out and counted it. I discovered that after removing the 250 yuan from my friends, I originally had not a single cent. Does this situation count as empirical proof that I originally had no money in my pocket?

Answer: This certainly counts as empirical proof that there was originally no money in my pocket. Because this is something I witnessed with my own eyes, counted with my own hands, and observed directly in reality—it is an undeniable, irrefutable, living reality that leaves no room for doubt. It is not obtained through reasoning, imagination, speculation, or estimation. For another example, when doing business, every night upon returning home and counting the money, one empirically verifies the exact amount earned that day. This amount is not estimated, imagined, speculated, or conjured up—it is counted firsthand, witnessed with one’s own eyes. This is what is called empirical proof and personal realization; anything else does not qualify.