You Cannot Fool Yourself

When we sit and practice, we begin to realize what is known as the
transparency and impermanence of time and space. We realize how much
we are dwelling on our little things and that we cannot catch any of
it and build a house on it. We cannot even lay the foundation. The
whole thing keeps shifting under our feet and under our seat. The rug
is being pulled out from under us completely, simply from that
experience of working with ourselves in our practice. When we realize
that we cannot catch hold of phenomena at all, that is what is known
as tondam, or "absolute truth." There is an absolute quality to the
fact that we cannot fool ourselves. We can try to fool our teacher,
who tells us to sit; and we might think that we can fool the dharma,
which says, "Go sit. That is the only way." But we cannot fool
ourselves. We cannot fool our essence. The ground we are sitting on
cannot be fooled.

From Chapter Ten, "The Five Paths," in THE TRUTH OF SUFFERING: and
the Path of Liberation. Order your copy at:

http://www.shambhala.com/html/catalog/items/isbn/978-1-59030-668-0.cfm