Believe in Yourself 100%

Zen Master Seung Sahn, our founding teacher, with his stick, used to poke us right here (pointing the stick at navel). He'd poke us and say, "Make your center Stronger....Stronger! Stronger! You must believe in yourself 100%!"

But what does that mean, believe in yourself? Make your center stronger and believe in your own true nature 100%. Not your idea of who you think you are. But that who you are, before the concept of yourself even arises. What I am talking about is that we make a self concept, "I am this, or I am that." Then we want everybody else to believe that, so we spend our lives convincing ourselves and others that "I am this and I am that." But maybe I am not really that. And in that trying to convince, I get farther and farther and farther away from that true nature.

Our Zen practice is so simple: Sit down, bring your attention to your lower abdomen, then watch. Then watch your experience. Don't push anything away. Don't grasp at anything. Observe.

By Zen Master Bon Soeng