Question
Master, I am fully aware that pride, self-centeredness, and arrogance are sources of suffering and frustration, and that anyone seeking to realize the Way must free themselves from them.
So I have tried to free myself through meditation, but I succeed only partly, not deeply. Perhaps my meditation is clumsy, but if so, I do not know how to correct it.
Could you favor me with your advice?
I would be very grateful.
Mathieu
Master Kosen’s answer
We must accept our humanity with its faults and characteristics without indulging them; this is called the Middle Way. If we know how to dose them, poisons become medicines. Wanting to lose all arrogance, pride, and self-centeredness is nothing other than arrogance, pride, and self-centeredness. Medicine itself can become poison.
What is precious in you is your honesty and your desire to grow and improve. Continue in this spirit, and you will grow.
Kosen