‘What is very important about “menju” [face-to-face transmission] is that when you are one of two existences, and you meet and receive something, you do not just receive it, you also accept yourself. Menju is acceptance of self, through acceptance of another. The one who is giving, handing down, is not someone else. Complete trust exists, as if you are him or her, whether teacher or student, so that the giving and receiving, through another’s body, is actually the same. You could say the student and teacher don’t exist as teacher and student, just, something is going on. This “men” is a very strong word. It’s a face, a presence.
When you see the real face, the face which is not real disappears, and the face which is real appears. If we do not see the real face, it is because we do not want to see it. A different word for “face” might be “existence.” It’s not reflection, or imagination. To see a real face in the mirror of nothing is using the sharpest and most merciless sword, like facing death. It’s so fine, you don’t feel it going through. Transmission is like this. It has to be done by yourself before it is done.’ (Embracing Mind)
Shundo David Haye 