Self-honesty is not putting yourself down or feeling sorry for yourself. Self-honesty is looking at things as they are and then being compelled to make changes.
When you live a life devoid of ritual and convention, with honesty and self-effacement, then you are on the road to freedom.
Honesty, I went through terrible, terrible times where I just took myself over the coals. I thought I must be the most impure person in the world ... but because that is reverse egotism, I thought I must be the second most impure person in the world.
Self-honesty is absolutely necessary in the practice of Buddhism.
Personal power is really the issue. It is only through tremendous attention to detail that you will be able to gain personal power and searing self-honesty.
