Shundo David Haye

‘To be a bodhisattva is to be a bodhisattva in training, with a very long way to go. Right now we have selfish and self-protective impulses; we are greedy, grabby, fearful, territorial. This is normal. We can’t pretend we are better than we are. Pretending is pernicious. All forms of self-dishonesty hinder the practice of ethical conduct. When we sit down in meditation, we face the full truth of who we are. So the practice of ethical conduct begins with the recognition that sometimes we need to restrain our impulses. Ongoing practice gives us the eye to see what’s beneficial to ourselves and others, and what isn’t. We want to accentuate the positive and eliminate or at least gently reduce the negative.’ (The World Could Be Otherwise)