Straight shooting

There is a scroll that is often hung in the tea room:

直心れ道場
Jikishin kore dojo

It is often translated as the heart without lies, a straight forward heart, is the place of practice. Like most zen phrases, it can be interpreted many ways.

There are some people who are direct in their communication. They seem to be comfortable in their own skin and present themselves as they are with no hidden agendas. They don’t change their behavior or role depending on who they are with. This may seem uncomplicated and even naïve, but you always know where you stand with these people. There is no guessing about what they are thinking or what their intentions are. Just ask them, and they will tell you. These people will tell you the truth with no apologies and no excuses.

These people seem to have jikishin, the straight forward heart. We often call them straight shooters, which the slang dictionary defines further as having or marked by uprightness in principle and action: good, honest, honorable, incorruptible, righteous, true, upright, upstanding. If this is what jikishin means, then indeed, it is a good place to practice, not just in the tea room, but in life.