Self-Reflection

The moral, therefore, of my sermon on this small mount is this— even a mirror will not show you yourself, if you do not wish to see.

Roger Zelazny, Lord of Light

Self-reflection is one of the most important aspects of the Buddhist religion, and a critical component of emotional intelligence. And yet, self-reflection is surprisingly difficult to do. Peering into oneself, seeing the ugly sides of our personality, and not running away from it is a difficult thing to do.

But it can also be an illuminating experience if you are willing to face your darker self, and wind it backwards and figure out why it is there, why you feel or think the way you do.

As much as we like to think we are responsible, good people, the reality is is that our “shadow self” (to paraphrase Jung) is there, and it makes a mockery of many things we do. It doesn’t mean we are bad people or fake, just that we have to acknowledge that we are still motivated by basic needs, and that these are irrational and selfish. Hairless apes, in other words. 😉

Namu Shakamuni Butsu