As the Buddha lay dying, he said to his disciples, “Be a lamp unto yourself, be a light, let yourself shine.”  With Truthfulness, the seventh parami (emanation of an awakened being), we vow to illuminate our lives through discovery and openness to the truth.

To follow the path of meditation is to open our eyes and our hearts to see and sense clearly the naked truth of our lives in a new and open way.

Close your eyes for a moment.  Sense, as you sit quietly, your breath, this life, and this body.  Sense your desire and capacity to see the truth, to tell the truth, to know and live the truth.  Listen quietly and attentively.  Ask yourself: “what truth in my life needs to be told?”  What truth do you need to admit—about your body, your heart, your mind and relations in the world around you?  What do you know is true that it is time to acknowledge, honor, listen and attend to?  Sense your capacity to rest in the truth, in the very center of your being, to open to and live in it.

This is the spirit of the perfection of Truthfulness, the basis of spiritual life.  When our practice is based on fierce love of the truth, we’ve begun the journey, stretching the mind and heart to include tenderly all aspects of experience:  the “good,” the “bad” and the “ugly.”  When we see truthfully the work to be done, it may be difficult, but immeasurably rewarding and onward leading.

With metta,
Gina Sharpe,
Guiding Teacher