We say “conscience,” but that conscience is mostly based on selfish ideas. Real conscience is more than a verbal thing. More than you can think about, or you can feel. Only when you are very strict with yourself will real conscience appear. In other words, as long as you are seeking for something, for some truth, or some understanding from outside, you will not find out what it is. Only when you are strict with yourself will you find out what is needed for you.
Photo by Rowena Pattee (Kryder)
—cuke.com/ig for links to the source of the photo. Excerpt from Shunryu Suzuki lecture 69-03-16 as found on shunryusuzuki.com, edited by PF. Go to instagram.com/cuke_archives for the Instagram version.