The last line of the “Gatha on Opening the Sutra,” a verse that we all chant before Roshi or anyone else gives a talk, says, “May we completely realize the Tatagatha’s [the Buddha’s] true meaning.” We have included the chanting of the gatha in this excerpt from the beginning of a recent talk because Roshi riffs off that last line and gives a brief but riveting sermon on the topic of self-deception. “It’s not a confessional,” Roshi says. “It’s simply sitting with yourself. No self deception.”
