Exaggeration and denial.

Accumulating merit and wisdom free from the 

extremes of exaggeration or denial is the supreme path.

Karmapa Rangjung Dorje

Taking our own life and circumstances as the path is not easy. We face a lot of uncertainty and doubt. There are lots of maps but none of them fit your coordinates.  We have problems and obstacles, friends and enemies. Some of these problems are big, some are small. Sometimes we have genuine insight, other times just fanciful ideas.   

It is easy to fall into exaggeration or denial on the path. Exaggeration and denial prevent progress on the path, they keep us stuck and we don't learn the lesson that we need to learn.  

Exaggeration is self-importance, fixation on how special our experience is, how special we are. Even small acts of kindness become elevated to acts of praise.  

Denial is a refusal to acknowledge your reality. You pretend like it didn't happen, don't participate, refuse to face. Denial binds us. It prevents us from gaining authentic experience. We never gain the wisdom of direct experience if we don't acknowledge how we really feel or act. Instead we promulgate concepts and stories about what could have been or should have been.  

The supreme path free from exaggeration or denial is simple, humble, and straight forward. It is not deceptive, to ourselves or others. It is genuine and authentic, pragmatic and meaningful.

Recognizing the downfalls of exaggeration and denial, the path can really clarify our own confusion and neurosis. We directly encounter our own confusion, and have the opportunity to let it go. 

Liberation becomes possible when we are honest with ourselves.