A person's inner intention goes far towards determining the extent to which a particular action is Good and Evil, pp. In theistic traditions, God sees into the heart and requites a person according to his or her inmost reality. In some of the passages gathered here, sincerity means the natural and spontaneous flow of the mind, devoid of all pretense and all egoistic grasping. Even when the outward form of an act is obedient and faithful, the person's inner intentions become manifest in the end. The concluding passages examine how differences in the progress made in the religious life are due to the different hearts with which people approach the same task.
Sincerity is the single virtue that binds divinity and man in one.
Jingishoju It matters not whether you do much or little, so long as your heart is directed to Heaven. Accordingly, when serving the kami in worship, if one has a mind of sincerity, the kami will surely respond. No relish in its taste. O Lord, without sincerity Is no piety. Rig Veda 10.151.4-5, p. 752.