Every single person, without exception, lives by wrapping a false self around the true one. Yet almost no one knows this. We have come this far without knowing it. Only those who have connected with “the study of the heart” have, in this present time, taken this truth into themselves—at least as knowledge. They have received the guidance to “look at the heart,” and, just as they were told, are now each practicing it within the circumstances of their daily lives.
Even while feeling how challenging it is to “look at the heart,” it is true that they are trying to do so in the midst of everyday life. Of course, not everyone connected to this study is necessarily doing so, but in any case, they have encountered the very idea of “looking at the heart.” From here on, it falls to each of us to make this something firm and real within.
Meanwhile, there are countless others who pass their days without ever knowing what it means to look at the heart, and who will in time have no choice but to lay down their present body. And it is also a fact that such people are the ones driving the present age. Small wonder the world has gone awry. People who think themselves sensible yet do not look at their heart, do not know how, or refuse to look even when they know—they are all deranged. Deranged consciousness takes form and appears, and its signs grow increasingly stark.
Amid this current, some feel it clearly, some vaguely, some not at all. And within such a flow, humanity gathers its wisdom and power, striving in every field to build a better future. As a result, we share both blessings and harms. Whether what reaches us is boon or bane, it does not change the fact that we exist within a vortex of desire. The belief that the false self is the self is what stirs up greed.
If we persist in looking at the heart and take time each day to sit quietly in meditation, I believe we will begin to feel, in our hearts, the folly of what humans do. At the same time, within that folly we will feel the joy and importance of truly looking at the heart. And further, we will sense that we ourselves must cross beyond the boundary of our own foolishness—because it was none other than we ourselves who painstakingly built that foolish self. A counterfeit remains counterfeit, no matter what you do.
How foolish are human beings? So foolish that even if they amass everything they can, they do not realize—even in death—that all of it was counterfeit and therefore worthless. Thus, with every birth, they try to possess something again. They gather a great many things, convinced that if they fill themselves with them, they will find something to make them happy; and so they chase after one thing after another.
But if the one doing the seeking is counterfeit, no matter what is obtained, one can meet only counterfeits. Love is one of these—indeed, not knowing anything but counterfeit love is, I believe, humanity’s greatest misfortune. Counterfeit love may soothe the false heart for a time. But will it truly heal you forever? Will it be your lasting salvation? Somewhere within, don’t you already know it is only temporary?
Do you not long, instead, to meet an eternal love—one that truly heals, softens, and moistens the heart? If so, how do we come to that? Don’t you want to know?
The answer begins—again and again—with this: look squarely at the self you are now. Strip away, one by one, the adornments around you and face yourself. Begin by meeting your naked self. Those who possess much are troublesome; let them start by seeing the belief within that what they have is valuable. Those who have nothing are also troublesome; by this I mean not those who choose to have little, but those who cannot have what they want or refuse to have and thus remain without. These, too, each harbor powerful habits of thought and heart. First, come to know them well.
The human heart is pitch-black. Take this as your starting premise and look steadily within. Then you will learn that you were born precisely because of that blackness.
The encounter with the true self begins with the encounter with the pitch-black self. Without that meeting—without knowing your own state—there can be no such thing as a gentle-hearted person, a righteous-hearted person, a person deep in love. From the stance that takes the body as the self, no matter how eloquently one speaks of justice or love, it is neither true justice nor true love—and those who speak thus must themselves come to realize this in their own hearts.
In Japan, counterfeiting is all the rage. For now it shows itself in visible things like food, but in truth, false justice and false love are rampant throughout society. Messages declaring this is counterfeit call out to us one after another. You may take these calls as warnings. For a society that takes form to be real, the warning is surely harsh. Yet within that severity I sense an indescribable tenderness: our own desperate cry, We want to meet what is real; we can no longer go on as counterfeits.
Each phenomenon bears a message: Turn from grasping things as form to feeling them as vibration in the heart. Without this, nothing can be understood. It is severe, not easily accepted—but still, it is kind. I now think that the truth begins when the false self bows deeply to the true self and says, We were wrong.
It is hard to bow so deeply; I know that. Even so, only by doing so can we lead ourselves to happiness and joy. If you keep looking steadily at the self you are now, you will feel that the time is not far off when you will bow your head to yourself. Each of us will be given opportunities to repent from the bottom of the heart—I’m sorry; I was mistaken.
Repentance from the depths: for human beings who have repeated folly without learning, what brings about such repentance will, of course, be great and grave events. Let us face the reality that unless great things occur, we can no longer awaken.
These are uneasy times. People “snap” at the slightest thing. If something does not go their way, they can kill without hesitation. For a bit of money, they take life. For their own desires, they trample others. The methods are taught in detail over the internet—that is the world we live in. And yet, on the other hand, people preach the preciousness of life and cry out for love. But even that is suspect.
Yes, those who commit crimes are people whose inner darkness has surfaced. If we trace their upbringing and circumstances one by one, we may find pitiable reasons. Perhaps things happened as they were bound to happen. Still, they harmed others; they warped the courses of lives. That must be atoned for.
Even so, ask yourself: what difference is there between those who commit crimes and serve their sentences, and those who speak fluently and respectably, quietly or passionately preaching love, urging people to value life?
What is good, what is evil? What is real, what is fake? By what standard do you judge? If one day you learn that what you believed—without a shred of doubt—to be genuine is in fact counterfeit, what will you do? If it is something trivial, you shrug: So it was fake; that’s the way of the world.
But I am speaking of what touches the root—your very self, your existence, the conviction that this, now, is me. What will you do if you learn that this is counterfeit? No one can lightly accept that. No one doubts that the self they now take as themselves is indeed themselves. Everything starts from pointing to what is visible—ourselves as physical objects—and saying “this is me,” “this is you.” The world runs on that basis, laboring for the happiness, joy, and prosperity of ourselves as objects. That is the current of this world. If anything could overturn that current at its roots, you sense, dimly perhaps, that it would be nothing less than a world-shaking upheaval.
There have been many things that lured the fleshly self toward joy. First among them is the supreme pleasure of being recognized—of compelling acknowledgment of “me.” For a human being who lives taking the body as real, there is no greater glory. Now I feel keenly how pitiful that is.
We have feared to face the fact—the reality—that we lost sight of our true self and wandered on and on. Such is the human being. But as long as we cannot face ourselves and seek to know only the counterfeit self, no matter how hard we try we will never, ever be happy. That was the conclusion I came to upon meeting this study and upon meeting Mr. Taike Tomoyoshi.
For a long time, driven by our own craving, we sought the invisible world of power—represented by gods and Buddhas—outside ourselves. We did not know the error and the danger of wishing and praying. When trouble comes, do you not find a prayer rising in your heart? Do you not long for salvation? Do you not expect some mysterious power?
In truth, such thoughts all arise from having forgotten the true self. Having forgotten, we put our hands together and offer prayers. Have you ever considered to what, exactly, you are directing those hands and those prayers? Likely not. Because you think that joining your hands and praying is a good thing. You have not realized that the very thought which performs the act profanes yourself. It is proof that you have existed to this day without knowing what you are.