Do not discuss the faults of your dharma friend with others. If it's a true dharma friend, these faults are actually yours.

Despite the First Noble Truth, I don't believe I have faults. Not really. I repeat the same troublesome behaviors, suggesting that I'm not that bothered. But if I won't see my own faults, how could I see those of others? Man Gong Sunim observes that genuine dharma friendship begins in my faults. Hmmm.

The meanest thing you can do is blame others for your mistake.

As Karen Maezen Miller wrote earlier this year, "It always seems like my problem starts with you but it really starts with me." That's easy to say, of course. It's much harder to take responsibility for my mess. But is there any choice, if I wish to live an upright life?

The scariest place is not hell, but the mind that produces desire, anger and ignorance.

The scariest place is not somewhere where I'm not. It's right here, right now, as I write these words. But I can take responsibility for this mind. And when I do that, the terror and fear immediately vanish. Along with my faults.