Undertaking a Fearless Self-examination

It is significant to say that we reveal our own hidden faults — not someone else’s. Revealing hidden faults does not mean exposing someone else, calling them out in public, or telling your guests that your partner snores and [has anger issues]. This is an inward journey of self-honesty. It requires bravely facing all the squirrely places in your mind and thoroughly owning them.

In the teachings on radical self-knowledge, all faults should be dug up, actively revealed, and acknowledged with commitment to work on them. It means to go inward and bring the light of awareness to things we have been hiding with ulterior motives. But do not think that this is a journey filled only with hardships — it is the other way around. There is tremendous joy once we commit to this inner work — so much that we will feel that our whole being cooperates in moving toward freedom.

Anam Thubten
from Into the Haunted Ground; A Guide to Cutting the Root of Suffering
Section: Revealing Your Hidden Faults