Stand Firm in Being Yourself, and Don't Betray Yourself

I. Only You Know
Only you know how far you have come.
Only you know how hard the battles you have fought have been.
Only you know how foul the mud you have waded through has been.
Only you know the moments when your true nature shone brightly.
Only you know how much turmoil and painful struggle you experienced during times that looked ordinary to outsiders.
Only you know what trauma and pain your dark side came from, and what you have done to transform and redeem it.
Only you know your own silent sobbing.
Only you know the depth of your sincerity toward people, toward things, toward the world.
Only you witness those knowing smiles in moments of deep connection.
Only you know your own courage and confidence.
Only you know how fucking amazing you are.
Your past self was much weaker than you are now, lacking so much knowledge and so many resources. Yet that self faced painful, terrifying experiences that even your present self would struggle to handle—experiences your past self found ways to avert.

II. You Are Your Own Sole Eyewitness, Judge, and Liberator
You are your own sole eyewitness. You are also the only judge who can clear the injustices you have suffered, bring the truth to light, and release you from the hell of unending torment.
The scrutiny of the world, of the big Other, is mechanical. Other people’s scrutiny cannot see you as you truly are. Only your own scrutiny has even the theoretical possibility of seeing things as they truly are, of opening a way through. Only you can solve the countless unresolved and mysterious cases in your life. If you simply and brutally treat doubt as grounds for a harsher verdict, you will spend your whole life suffering under an unjust accusation.
Only you can release yourself from Shawshank jail. Find release, find liberation. On the day you find release, the birdcage dissolves. The sky stretches wide for the bird to fly.
I am neither an eyewitness nor a judge. What right does anyone have to put me on trial?
I simply exist freely and unconditionally. The universe never intended to put people in cages. Heaven and earth are not benevolent; they treat all things as straw dogs. The cage is this alienated historical stage of development under private ownership.

III. Only by Steadfastly Being Yourself
A human being is an atom of the universe, brought to life by a convergence of circumstances. We have only one lifetime, and only one thing to do in that lifetime: be ourselves. And being ourselves means only one thing: living in the present.
Only by steadfastly being yourself can you live as your true self and move beyond the small self.
Only by steadfastly being yourself can your convictions manifest and your circumstances change with your mind.
Only by steadfastly being yourself can you be true to what is, act without a calculating mind, accord with the Way, and live in the present. The present is itself the other shore.
Only by steadfastly being yourself can you know your gifts and your destiny. Your gifts are your destiny; your destiny is your gifts.
Only by steadfastly being yourself can your mind serve you. Mind and spirit become one; heaven and humanity become one. Sitting in forgetfulness, fasting of the mind, flow, following your heart, free and easy wandering. Free and at ease.
Only with confidence in yourself and love for yourself can you have the ability to trust and love others, and can others trust and love you. Only by treating yourself with compassion, clarity, and natural ease can you possibly treat others with compassion, clarity, and natural ease.
Only those who are loyal and sincere toward themselves can possibly be loyal and sincere toward others.

IV. Do Not Stab Yourself in the Back
If you do not take pride in yourself, firmly believe in your convictions, and steadfastly live as yourself, you are betraying yourself and severing your connection with yourself.
Countless times, you have stabbed yourself in the back. You did not bear witness for yourself; instead, you joined in other people’s belittling, slander, and attacks. And countless times, you have forgiven the self who stabbed you in the back.
Being yourself, being true to what is, takes courage. Until we grow that courage and leave uncertainty and timidity behind, our true nature is always waiting for us. Even in our most wretched moments, when we fall apart and stab ourselves in the back, we are still taking care of ourselves. So the light of our true nature has never collapsed. Returning from breakdown and anguish to tranquility, the spirit’s rebirth through fire, is an expression of the true nature human beings display from infancy. Our true nature is always there beneath the cliff to catch us.
Our true nature knows that the person stabbing us in the back is simply falling apart, simply defending against collapse in a clumsy, ignorant way.
Who could have expected that our true nature possesses innate wholeness? Who could have expected that our true nature is neither defiled nor pure, neither increasing nor decreasing?
I want to sing the praises of my true nature, but my true nature does not need my praise. I want to describe my true nature, and my true nature gazes gently at me. The Way that can be spoken is not the constant Way. The Way follows what is naturally so.
Embracing and nurturing the self who stabs you in the back is an act of loyalty and sincerity toward yourself. So you must be loyal and sincere toward yourself.