Many years ago, when I was with the Enlightened One, he asked me, “What is facing yourself?”
I gave him an answer from my mind. He shook his head. I thought for a few minutes and then told him another answer. He shook his head again.
This lasted for three days.
In the end, I could no longer think about it. So I told him I didn’t know. He shook his head again.
I became frustrated. I said to myself, “Fuck this shit.” and I stopped thinking about it. I sat there and let time passed. The Enlightened One left me alone.
Hours passed. Suddenly, I saw an inner flash, and I knew the answer. I immediately told him and he nodded and smiled.
Facing yourself is whenever you see yourself doing any bad behavior, you stop it immediately. You don’t reason with your mind. No reason. No excuses. You just stop it.
This jumps you out of your bad mind pattern. The moment you jump out of your bad mind pattern, you are Zen.
You can talk about Zen all day, but if you don’t jump out of your bad mind pattern, it’s just meaningless words.
Inner Practitioner 