chapter 30 - Neither good nor bad

Many people misunderstood about the term of 'neither good nor bad', or ‘there is no good and there is no bad’. They misuse this term and do whatever they want to satisfy their cravings and moods.

The truth is that the essence of everything including all kinds of names and forms, of food, plants, living beings, non living beings, money, drugs, alcohol, love, passions or anything that the mind can perceive, that they are neither good nor bad in nature because these names and forms have no quality and intention to be good or bad.

They exist because there is a cause or reason for them to exist. Such like germs, bacteria and worms are here to create illness, and decompose the dead body.

For example, knife. It is invented as a convenient tool to help daily life  task more easy. It has no intention to be good or bad. It is the intention of the knife user that uses the knife as a convenient tool for cutting something or as a weapon to hurt another person.

Other examples like drugs and alcohols. They exist for a reason in the medical field. But the intention of the people leads to the misuse and abuse of drugs and alcohols is causing so much unpleasant and unhappy consequences.

The craving and addiction towards alcohols and drugs (soft or hard) to get high (‘stoned’) is so powerful to make a person loses its self-control, morality and sanity to think right and do right. They will ignore or neglect their duties and responsibilities towards themselves, their family and friends, the society or the surrounding environment.

Most of the alcohols and drugs addicts disconnect themselves from their duties and responsibilities towards themselves and/or others. Sometimes one would steal, lie or do anything at all cost in order to satisfy one's craving, when the craving is so intense or overpowering.

Unless a person’s clarity, morality, duty and responsibility is not being affected at all by the moderate consumption of alcohols and drugs, just like eating rice, fruit and vegetables, and drinking water in moderation, and if one is not being over-powered or influenced by the alcohols and drugs, then there’s nothing wrong with alcohols and drugs.

How many times a person wake up in the morning feeling sick and idle due to the consumption of alcohols or drugs on the previous night, and not willing to work, or not able to perform their daily duties and responsibilities?

How can the parents take care of their children under the influence of drugs or alcohol?

Many people did not realize that they are under the influence of these cravings or addictions, and that it is damaging their over-all well-being, personality, physical and mental health, clarity, self-control and relationships with others in a long term period of time.

People who practice yoga and meditation don’t need to take drugs to help them to relax or unwind, and should not be craving towards the sensations or effects from taking drugs (to runaway from the worldly tensions and troubles temporarily), when the teachings and practice of yoga is to relax the body and mind through performing the yoga practice, self-inquiry and meditation practice that give rise to correct understanding, and not by running away from problems, but to confront the problems, and also to work on minimizing and controlling of our cravings towards sensual pleasure.

By using drugs to get a momentary/temporary state of peacefulness, or momentary disconnecting from the senses, such as anesthetic will numb our senses and take away the feeling of pain for a short while for surgery, but it is not the end of our journey of suffering or unhappiness because we will have to come back from that momentary ‘peacefulness’ or 'numbness' as soon as the effect of the drug is gone.

We still have to confront the past accumulated karma (actions and consequences of actions), what is here now, being manifested out of our own thoughts, actions and speech under the influence of ignorance and egoism.

It is so dangerous when a person is under the influence of drugs or alcohol, one doesn’t have self-awareness or self-control over one's own actions, or what others can do to oneself. We might do something so terrible to ourselves and/or others, even without awareness. Usually we can not recall any memory from the time when we were under the effect of anesthetic or under the influence of drugs and alcohols.

We might cause unnecessary injury to ourselves or others, when we have no awareness towards what is going on when we are under the influence of drugs or alcohols.

Certainly this is not the state of meditation, because in the state of meditation, we will have full awareness of what is happening and have full control of ourselves.

And so, what is so great about being high then? Just for temporary sensual enjoyment, but risking the clarity of our mind?

Many of the drug addicts are trapped in the craving/addiction towards getting the effect from taking drugs although it is harming their over-all well-being, "I know it's not good for me but I just can't help it". And it doesn’t help them to get rid of ignorance and realize wisdom that leads to true and lasting unconditional peace.

As long as there is an idea of running away from unhappiness/suffering or longing towards happiness, we won’t be able to attain what is called self-realization or enlightenment (selfless infinite peace), even if we do not take drugs/alcohols, and doing a lot of practice (Tapas), because we are still trapped in the egoistic desire of want and don’t want.

Some people complain that to carryout the teachings and practice or the disciplines (Tapas, or austerity) is a very hard thing to do or an extremity. It is not the middle path, so say some people.

Actually, it is the ignorant egoistic mind rejecting the disciplines, the rules, the restriction of activities and the restraint of conduct, that are really irritating them because it’s against their desire of doing what they like to do and not doing what they don’t like to do.

When a mind is under the influence of the desire of craving and aversion, it will try to avoid any talks or teachings or practices that is contradicting with its desire, and just want to think of whatever reason/justification that can support its desire and to prove that it is right.

It is the ignorance, selfishness, desire and greed that transform so many things into evilness and have bad reputation even though in their nature, they are attributeless, and have no quality or intention of good and evil, such as money or love relationships.

Money doesn’t hurt people, love relationship doesn’t bring suffering. It is when the intention of a person is impure, that is selfish, lustful, greedy, immoral and lack of self-control, then money and relationship will bring painful sorrow and suffering to oneself and others.

When a person with pure intention that is kind, content, unselfish and under self-control, then money and love relationship will bring joy and happiness to oneself and others.

Every being, mobile or immobile, has neither pure goodness nor pure badness in it. We cannot judge anybody and anything, as well as to judge our own self, because in every living being, there is some goodness and some badness in them.

Only by the persevere practice of self-restrain, self-discipline, self-control, purification, self-inquiry, concentration and meditation, and attain self-realization, we can unveil the selfless universal consciousness that is unknown to us under the veil of ignorance and egoism.

There's no good or bad karma being generated upon self-realization, even actions are being performed under the presence of wisdom and compassion.

Inquire the truth of everything.