25 / 108 Gates of Dharma Illumination

[Shokai]

30 Quaint gate.jpg
一百八法明門
IPPYAKUHACHI-HOMYOMON
One Hundred and Eight Gates of Dharma-Illumination

[25] Truth is a gate of Dharma-illumination; for [with it] we do not deceive ourselves.

The core of Buddhist truths centers on the Four Noble Truths: life involves dukkha, suffering is caused by craving/attachment, suffering can end, and the way to end it is by following the Noble Eightfold Path. These truths offer a pragmatic framework for understanding dissatisfaction and achieving liberation through ethical conduct, mental discipline, and wisdom, addressing the impermanence and interconnectedness of all things.

This is all very close to previous gates. How do you handle this iin your Daily Practice and how does that make you feel???


合掌,生開
gassho, Shokai
stlah
仁道 生開 / Jindo Shokai
"Open to life in a benevolent way"

[Ryūdō-Liúdào]

To me, this gate is really about staying honest in real-time. Not the big, abstract truths, but the small ones: this is craving, this is avoidance, this is me spinning a story again. When I see that clearly, I don’t need to argue with it or fix it right away. Seeing it is the practice.

Daily, this shows up as a quiet checking-in during zazen and ordinary life, and especially while teaching. I try to pause and ask myself, “Am I adding anything of value here, or can I just let things be as they are?” When I catch myself deceiving myself, I try not to fret about it; Note it, abide it, and let it slide on.

How does that feel? Lighter, smoother, and honestly, easier. Fewer internal negotiations. Less pretense or performance (and teaching can be a lot of performance, hahaha). Just a steady sense that I’m not fighting or forcing reality, and that feels like a pretty solid place to stand.

Gasshō,
流道-Ryūdō-Liúdào
Satlah

[Seikan]

As noted in the last Gate, I find this one to be so closely related as to almost be synonymous with the 24th Gate. To help identify any tangible differences, I compared the SZTP translations of the previous Gate and this one with our Nishijima translations. They are almost interchangeable, but maybe not quite so . . .

The 24th Gate was rendered as "veracity" by Nishijima and "truth" by the SZTP. This Gate (#25), is rendered as "truth" by Nishijima and "Genuineness" by the SZTP. I originally suspected that they might have simply been reversed in one of the translations, but the rest of the wording for each Gate is largely identical. The 24th Gate focuses on our truthfulness with others (i.e., gods and human beings) while the 25th Gate deals with out ability to be truthful (i.e., genuine) with ourselves. It is that "directional" difference that sets these two gates apart.

Just as we seek to be honest in our actions, words and thoughts with others (24th Gate), we also seek to be honest in body, speech and mind with ourselves (25th Gate).

I am very good at telling myself all sorts of "stories" about why things are the way they are in my life, yet through our practice, I have slowly found those stories to become less and less engaging as I grow more accustomed to simply being present with things as they are. The less layers of additional "meaning" that I create and place upon my experiences, ideas, etc., the more "genuine" that my relationship with those same experiences, etc. will be.

I also find it very interesting how these two Gates add so much more depth and perspective to the precept of being truthful. And it's funny (in a good way) how that precept shows up elsewhere in many different, yet similar guises. It really is an important foundational element of our practice on so many levels.

Gassho,
Seikan
stlah

[Tenryu]

For me, this gate continues what the previous one already set in motion. Where veracity asks me to be careful and truthful in how I meet others, this gate turns the same attention inward.

In daily practice, it shows up as a willingness to notice where I gloss over things, where I narrate myself kindly or harshly without really looking. When I stay with that honestly, without drama, it feels grounding and clarifying rather than heavy.

Gasshō,
Patrick
sat today & lah

[Choujou]

Like I stated in the last gate, being honest with yourself is crucial, otherwise all action afterwards is not rooted in veracity. If you are not honest with yourself, by default you will deceive others.
My practice transformed my life… it made me take a really hard look at it and make changes to it that more aligned with truth. My truth, the truth of situations, the truth that others held… my life changed dramatically. Ever since receiving the precepts my life was flipped upside down, but it needed to be. I wasn’t being honest with myself… with how I felt about my relationship, my life, how I viewed the world… I wasn’t feeling authentic. To truly practice the path of a Buddha, one must be as authentic as it gets! Now I do my best to stay true to myself, to who I am, and what it is I am doing, and this makes me feel really good. Like I am on the right track… it is very healing and wholesome, and it makes me feel more ready to serve others too. If I am authentic with myself first, I can be with them too. People can always feel that authenticity and it helps to foster a better connection with others.

Gassho,
Choujou

sat/lah today

[Tairin]

Thank you Shokai

My first Zen teacher used to teach centred around the stories we told ourselves. The Myth of Me. What stories do we spin to make ourselves feel good, make ourselves look good, maybe hide away the less pleasant parts of ourselves or the parts we are less proud of.

That teaching has really stuck with me.

I had never really given much thought about it until I started with this practice and realized how much the myth of me was actually clouding my view of who I really was. By extension, I think it has helped me see others more clearly too because I don’t layer my stories on them too.


Tairin
sat today and lah

[dorgan]

Where veracity (Gate 24) establishes non-deception toward gods and human beings (the external field), truth (Gate 25) establishes non-deception toward oneself (the internal field). Together, they create complete transparency; no place remains where deception can hide.

The structure "for [with it] we do not deceive ourselves” indicates that truth is instrumental and active. Truth is not a state achieved once but a continuous discriminating awareness applied moment by moment to detect emerging self-deception. It is the practice of meeting one's experience without the mediating filter of self-justification, rationalization, or comfortable interpretation.

One who deceives themselves about their understanding, attainment, or nature inevitably deceives others, even if unintentionally. The teacher who falsely believes they have realized may speak with veracity (saying what they genuinely believe) yet still mislead students. Only when self-deception is eliminated does genuine veracity become possible—not merely saying what one believes, but having one's beliefs accord with reality.

The reflexive structure of "we do not deceive ourselves" points to the circular trap of self-deception: the self that might be deceived is the same self that would be doing the deceiving. This is not two entities but one process examining itself. Breaking through self-deception, therefore, requires something more than introspection—it requires seeing through the very structure of self-reference that makes deception possible.

When we stop lying to ourselves about what we are, what we've attained, what we understand, and what we're actually doing, reality can be seen as it is. The gate also implies vulnerability and courage. Self-deception is comfortable; it protects us from difficult truths about our limitations, failures, and fundamental groundlessness. Not to deceive ourselves requires the willingness to see what we would rather not see, to acknowledge what we would prefer to deny, and to remain with the uncomfortable truth rather than flee into consoling falsehood. This is why truth is practice, not merely knowledge.

Gates 24 and 25 together establish that dharma-illumination requires complete integrity: no gap between inner understanding and outer expression, and no place where deception (whether toward others or oneself) can establish itself. The practitioner stands transparent; to others through veracity, to themselves through truth. In this transparency, dharma shines through unobstructed.

This level of honesty requires courage, peeling back layer after layer of self-deception and the defensive habit of hiding imperfections, from ourselves and others. Radical honesty entails taking risks and being vulnerable. As I balance loving-kindness, compassion, empathetic joy and equanimity with truth and veracity, I feel a gentleness towards all beings descend over and through me. We are one afterall.

gassho, david
stlah

[dorgan]

Each fall in Canada, the leaves turn multiple colours, showing us how beautiful "letting go" can be.

[Chikyou]

Truth is something that we can’t practice without. We have to see what is in order to effectively practice without it.

Self-deception is something I’ve had a tendency for as long as I can remember, but I only recently became mindful of it. When I notice that I might be engaging in self-deception, I try to consider what the truth actually is, and why I may be telling myself stories about it at this moment.

Gassho,
SatLah,
Chikyō