Honesty

Definition

Sincerity, truthfulness, and the alignment of words with actions.

The lesson

The Zen Warrior does not pretend to possess mastery. He practices with humility and lets his actions provide the evidence of his character.

Honesty fails in the gap between what you say you are doing and what you repeatedly do. Set one stated aim beside the hours you actually lived. Receive one correction without a defense, and change the next repetition. Leave the gap visible.

How. Write one aim, then what you actually did. Or receive one correction and change the next attempt.

Watch. A confession that sounds brave and does not move the next action.

The book finishes this. The self-deceptions of capable men, and the longer practice of making words and repeated actions meet.

The rest of this virtue