The ignorant person and the Sage, let’s say, find themselves in the desert. Both see the appearance of a pool of water in the distance.

The ignorant one, exclaiming “Finally, I will slake my deep thirst!,” runs toward it, only to discover that it’s a mirage. It’s actually just a heap of sand–just sand and more sand.

Meanwhile, the Sage, an enlightened being, is not surprised. He only ever saw the reality that is sand even though the appearance of the pool of water was no less and no more evident to him that it was to the ignorant person.

This is the only difference between the ignorant one and the Sage: both see the same appearances, but only the Sage knows–always–the underlying and all-pervasive Reality.