1. Philosophy: the study of the fundamental nature of knowledge, reality, and existence.

2. Self-inquiry: looking within for answers; looking for the real self among the many selves.

3. Objective: the end of suffering:

• Gautama Buddha reportedly used the Sanskrit word dukkha, which has various transliterations such as suffering, impermanence, and conditioned states of mind.
• We yearn for the unconditional: love, truth, certainty, permanence, etc.

4. Focus: finding our true identity.

5. How: going within:

• Life is a hard lesson.
• The absolute trust, love, or peace, etc., that we're looking for can only be found within, at the core of our being.
• It's there, awaiting our discovery.
• We're there, awaiting our recognition.
• When we find it, we see the suffering in/of life with a new perspective.

6. Primary technique to facilitate discussion groups: confrontation:

• Comes from a root meaning of "face to face."
• A friendly questioning aimed at helping participants see the obstacles in their paths.
• Each participant has an opportunity to voice a strong opinion or complaint relevant to their life and well-being, followed by questions from others.
• Monitored by one participant who stays outside the fray.

7. Questioning (98% of the process):

• Not to solve incidental problems but to remember the focus and objective.
• Trying to avoid loaded questions (selling our "superior" views), advice, preaching, etc.
• An exercise in empathy; asking questions to help feel and understand where the other person is "coming from."
• Helping to challenge and see through faulty identifications (dis-illusionment).
• This process may rock the boat, threatening our core beliefs, producing angry, defensive reactions when our ego-self is offended.

8. Doing Zen

• "Zen" comes from the Sanskrit word dhyana meaning concentration or focus.
• Count your breath silently for 5 minutes.
• How many did you get to before losing count?
• If you were consciously watching the counting, you were "doing Zen."
• The ultimate purpose of Zen is self-realization: knowing our true, present identity with full awareness (to borrow a phrase from Douglas Harding).
• That's also the purpose of philosophical self-inquiry. Intentional self-inquiry incorporates Zen.
• To know your present identity, you need to be in the present.
• Doing Zen or self-inquiry is moving in that direction – by watching the mind and watching the watching. Being in the present brings us back beyond time.