Beck helps us see how that essence can be revealed. We need to meditate on the truth, on the essence of phenomena, and the way things really are. If we do that, we can clean away all the delusions that have been covering up our inner essence. Once we see the truth of everything, all the deluded aspects can't exist at the same time. Beck doesn't tell the reader this straight out. She gives real life examples of the right and wrong ways people react to situations. Beck stresses the need to be true the self and not to others. The true self is nothing at all, and sitting meditation is the purpose of better understanding the true self, our Buddha-nature. .
Buddha-nature can also be seen as an environment in which enlightenment can develop (Strong, 158). In Zen, this environment is created through meditation. Beck stresses the importance of meditation in Zen practice. At the beginning, meditation may be hard; it can be hard to clear your mind and also it can be painful to sit in one position for a long period of time when you are not used to it. Beck says this pain is good; it helps you to stay focused. She incorporates information on the practice of meditation in a voice the reader can relate to. She says the discomfort of sitting meditation is so valuable that if it didn't exist, it should. The fact that she point out that it is uncomfortable is notable to me. In all the reading I have done on this subject, no one has ever done that before, and I personally find it incredibly uncomfortable to sit with my legs crossed. .
Beck talks quite a lot about meditation. She asserts that meditation is about ourselves, not about accomplishing something or changing something. Sitting in meditation is a simple act, it is creating and empty space, here and now. It is a way to bring out and express the Buddha-nature within ourselves. Beck also talks in a way about the relation of the Buddha-nature to relationships.