People who ask questions of, and claim they wish to hear the truth from others will likely induce suffering in themselves and others unless they can do the following:

1. Be prepared to hear the worst answer they can imagine.
2. Reward the truth even if it’s worse than the worst answer they could have imagined.

The first proactively undermines the possibility of surprise, and thus any emotional rushes and/or cognitive instabilities which surprise tends to trigger. This is important to maintaining the composure necessary to assimilate truth, if not merely to remember why one asked the question to begin with. Such a position is in sharp contrast to,  say, tumbling headlessly down an insecurity-greased, blame-jagged drama hill.

The second is proof of one’s own worthiness to be told the truth. Think, “Berate me once for telling the truth, shame on you. Berate me twice for telling the truth, shame on me.”

I’m tempted to elaborate further, but it occurs to me anyone who doesn’t get this much is likely unfit for further truth on the matter.