be free, be happy, be peaceful

May all find the teacher within to guide oneself towards unconditional love and peace

Sunday, June 29, 2014

Yoga classes?

Yoga classes are in great demand, as there are many people interested in joining yoga classes. And there are many "yoga classes" available in many places in the world, where people can attend one or a few "yoga classes" everyday, or a few days weekly or monthly, or once in a while. But, what is a yoga class?

Yoga classes that exist under certain names and forms that are available in particular time and space, with some teachers giving some forms of yoga teachings and giving instructions on how to perform some yoga practice (including the basic observations of Yama and Niyama, yogic cleansing practice, selfless service, study of the teachings of yoga, chanting, yoga asana practice, pranayama, concentration and meditation practice), act as the doorway to yoga, or as a foundation for us to start to perform our own yoga practice to eliminate ignorance and egoism. And yoga practice exist everywhere and in every moment, unconditioned and unlimited by name and form, time and space. It is not limited in a "yoga class" getting some instructions from a teacher to tell us what we should do and shouldn't do.

When we attend some "yoga classes" or "yoga courses", our motivation or intention is to learn about yoga and the yoga practice which can lead us to realize yoga, under a teacher's guidance and advice. But, we have to walk the path by ourselves. The teacher cannot do the practice for us, cannot eliminate the ignorance and egoism in us, cannot free us from suffering. Nether by attending "yoga classes" regularly due to the reason we don't have self-discipline to be performing our own regular yogic practice will guarantee us liberation. It's not about attending a "fitness training exercise class" doing some yoga asana exercises under the instructions of a teacher, to attain some physical and mental fitness and health benefits, to boost our confidence, self-worth and physical performance. Though there is nothing wrong with this intention and expectation for attending "yoga (asana) classes". As just by performing regular yogic exercises without the intention for spiritual realization will also bring some basic purification effects to the practitioner. But without the practice of non-attachment and letting go of the egoism, ceaseless impurities keep arising in the mind, which hinders the mind to see the Truth of things as they are.

There are people who carry out the teachings of yoga in all aspects in everyday life, but they don't or never attend any yoga classes at all.

After we learn about the teachings and practice of yoga from some yoga teachers, and have certain degrees of awareness, basic understanding, non-attachment, self-control and self-discipline; then the entire worldly existence is a yoga class or journey that allows us to materialize the yoga teachings and practice at everywhere and in every moment.

Every single life experience that made out of the objects of names and forms that the mind perceives through the senses of sights, sounds, smells, tastes, sensations, and thoughts, are the yoga teachers who carry the teachings of yoga. The mind itself is the greatest teacher among all, as well as the yoga practitioner. The mind is teaching and training itself. And what enable the mind to be at peace, and be free from egoism and attachment, unattached towards all the perceptions of names and forms, unaffected, undisturbed, uninfluenced and undetermined by all the pleasant and unpleasant life experiences, and be free from any impurities, is the yoga practice. Realization of the ultimate Truth, of selflessness, oneness, non-duality, fearlessness, attributelessness, namelessness and formlessness, transcending birth and death, is yoga, or liberation.

The moment the mind comes in contact with the objects of the senses, perceiving names and forms, whenever there are thought activities or thinking process happening in the mind, there is when and where the yoga practice is happening. The yoga class, the yoga session, the yoga teachings and the yoga practice, the teacher and the student, are all happening in the mind in this present moment now, no matter who we think we are, where we are, how we are, in actions or actionless, under any conditions or circumstances, yoga practice exists in every moment of life existence.

Observe, be aware, no attachment... Perform necessary actions, duties and responsibilities, selflessly without identification.

There's no success nor failure, no good nor bad throughout the journey.

Just that, when there is attachment, suffering exists. When there is no attachment, suffering doesn't exist.

Om shanti.

Thursday, June 26, 2014

Intelligence, kindness, peace and happiness?

Wisdom and ignorance, happiness and unhappiness has nothing to do with high intelligence nor low intelligence, Low intelligence doesn't guarantee kindness, peace and happiness as well. Kindness without non-attachment doesn't guarantee happiness either.

Happiness is already and always there in oneself. We are disconnected with this happiness when the mind is under the influence of ignorance, egoism, attachment, craving and aversion.

Intelligence and knowledge is neither good nor bad, and has no quality to make anyone happy or unhappy, kind or unkind. We can make use of the intelligence and knowledge to be doing something good or bad for oneself and others, but it also doesn't guarantee peace and happiness.

Just like a person might have the intelligence, knowledge and skills, to think, to design, to construct, to build a highly ecological and functional beautiful house to live in, but it doesn't guarantee this person who creates the house, or the people who live in the house will be compassionate, peaceful and happy, be free from being affected, disturbed, influenced or determined by ignorance, selfish desires, egoism, attachment, craving, aversion, pride, arrogance, anger, hatred, greed, dissatisfaction, disappointment, feelings of hurts, fear and worry. And all these defilements has nothing to do with the degree of intelligence and knowledge about this and that.

Real kindness or compassion, peace and happiness, shine in oneself disregards the degree of intelligence and accumulated knowledge, when oneself is free from all these defilements, stop making oneself miserable and unhappy, and stop hurting oneself or others out of these defilements.

Om shanti.

Tuesday, June 24, 2014

Pantai Cenang...








This is the beautiful Pantai Cenang this afternoon...

Plunge into your Sadhana, right now...

If you are aware of the state of your mind
is imbalanced,
restless,
swaying back and forth
between satisfaction and dissatisfaction,
between elevation and depression,
between happiness and sadness,
between feelings of love and hate,
between meaningfulness and meaninglessness,
between high confidence and low confidence,
between clarity and confusion,
between affirmation and doubts,
between energetic and low energy,
between motivated and demotivated,
and etc,
it is a sign telling you that you might have forgotten your Sadhana,
and have left your meditation practice far behind.
It's time to pick up your Sadhana and meditation practice again.
No one can do it for you.
No one can tell you how you should live your life or use your time and energy,
or what you should do and shouldn't do.
No one can control you for what you do and don't do.
You'll need to have intense self-discipline and determination to let go of your unnecessary "worldly affairs" which distract you and pull you away from your Sadhana,
and plunge into your Sadhana,
right now.
If you truly want to free your mind from restlessness,
and have peace.
Especially if you think you want to help the world to be a better place.

Om shanti.

Monday, June 23, 2014

Humanity?

Humanity alone doesn't free us from unhappiness or suffering. Without realization of the truth of selflessness, or attributelessness, namelessness and formlessness, humanity is also one of the many qualities of names and forms that binds us to unhappiness and suffering.

Just by identify ourselves as human beings and attach to the thinking and belief about - As "human beings", we all should behave like how "proper", or "normal", or "good" human beings should behave... is also part of the play of ignorance and egoism, and is what generating separateness, discrimination, prejudice, disappointment, dissatisfaction, anger, hatred, superiority and inferiority, craving and aversion, fear and worry, where all these defilements are the cause of disharmony, restlessness or suffering in oneself and in the society.

This doesn't mean that we shouldn't have humanity in the society, or we don't have to be "good" human beings. We do our best, perform all our duties and responsibilities, but be free from ignorance, egoism, identification, attachment, judgment, comparison and expectation towards oneself and others that we all as "human beings" must comply to what we think and believe what humanity is. Then the real unconditional "humanity" that is beyond all the qualities of names and forms will shine in oneself and in the society. There's no difference or separateness between human beings and non-human beings, or between "good" human beings and "bad" human beings.

Only through this realization, the society can be free from anger and hatred, or have peace and harmony, starting from oneself.

It's the same as in a family, or in a community, or in any relationships, or in a corporate work place, or in any organizations. Egoism is the root cause of disharmony and inefficiency in all fields. And the vanish of egoism is the underlying criteria for harmony and efficiency in any fields.

Om shanti.

Sunday, June 22, 2014

Know what we really really want, and be free...

It doesn't matter who and what we think we are, or what we want ourselves to be, we can call ourselves 'this' or 'that', and tell ourselves and other people what type of life we want, or we can tell different things about ourselves to different people, it doesn't mean that 'this' is who we are. Only ourselves will know what is going on in our mind, and what the ego really wants to do or what it truly desires. And we can give in to the ego and let the ego leads this life existence based on its desires and craving. Or, we can be determined to develop non-attachment and self-control, and be free from being influenced or over-powered by the ego and its endless desires. There's neither good nor bad, neither right nor wrong. It is about what we (the egoistic thinking mind) really want for ourselves, for this life existence. Be happy.

When we feel unhappy, troubled or depressed being disturbed by some "problems", or when there is some "difficult" decisions that we need to make, this is because we don't know what we really want, and we have fear towards taking the responsibility towards our decisions and actions, and the consequences of our decisions and actions.
 
Before we get what we think we want, and after we got what we think we want, we are still not satisfied, not happy, and have doubts, because we don't know what we really want.

It doesn't matter how we identify ourselves with certain names and forms of particular specie, gender, sexual orientation, family background, social group, race, nationality, culture, thinking, belief, religion, education, social status, appearance, living condition, life style, personality, characteristic, behavior, financial status, possession, relationship, and etc, it makes no difference when we are ignorant towards the truth of who/what is this "I" that we think is who we are, and we attach strongly onto all these impermanent qualities to be who we are, where all these different qualities of names and forms, are subject to selfless impermanent changes. And ignorance doesn't stop at the point where we identify ourselves with all these qualities to be who we are, but this life existence that built on confidence, self-esteem, self-worth, happiness and meaningfulness are also being determined by all these qualities.

For example, we are being determined by the impermanent conditions and abilities of the physical body and the mind with certain qualities of names and forms to feel good and confident about ourselves, or we are being determined by other people's judgment towards ourselves to feel good and confident about ourselves, or we are being determined by other people's liking, friendship, support, agreement, acknowledgment, affirmation and social interaction to feel good and meaningful about life and ourselves, or we being are determined by how intelligent or how attractive we are to feel confident about ourselves, or we are being determined by whether we are able to do what we like to do, and not doing anything that we don't like to do, to feel happy, or not. And so on.

There's nothing wrong with all these worldly identification, thinking and behavior coming from the ego and egoism. But we are not free, being disturbed and affected by the impermanent changes of qualities of names and forms to feel meaningful, happy and confident, or not. And this will affect our relationship with our own self and with others. As whether we will like and accept ourselves or not, and whether we will be satisfied in a single intimate relationship or not, is being affected and determined by the forever dissatisfaction towards ourselves, due to the endless craving towards possessing the qualities that we would like to be identifying with, but these qualities are not available to us in the present moment, and even after we possessed certain qualities that we want to be identifying with, they are impermanent and will change and disappear.

When we practice yoga and meditation, we are letting go of all these attachment and identification towards impermanent qualities of names and forms.

The entire life existence is free from being determined by all these impermanent qualities of names and forms to be meaningful, happy and confident, or not.

When egoism and ignorance vanished, there's no "I" existing. There's no "I" being there that needs to be identified as 'somebody' with certain qualities of names and forms, to feel good or confident about oneself, or "I". The mind is peaceful as it is, because it is no longer being determined by any qualities of names and forms that is impermanent, that is not in the control of "I", that is ever dissatisfying, that is not what it is.


Be free.

Om shanti.

Thursday, June 19, 2014

Photo Album - Vegetarian home cooked food

 Aubergines with garlic, chillies and herbs

 Yellow curry with potato and mango

 Mushroom soup and home made bread

 Green curry with mix vegetables

 Long beans with ginger, dried chillies, mustard seeds, curry leaves and turmeric

 Red curry with potato and mango

  Tofu stew with home made tomato sauce

 Broccoli and long beans

 Roast potatoes with herbs and olive oil

 Carrot cake

Home made Red, Yellow and Green Curry Paste


Wednesday, June 18, 2014

Keep practice, without intention nor expectation, allow the result to be what it is...







By being able to perform any physical exercises or yoga asana poses that requires certain skills, stamina, strength and flexibility doesn't guarantee us to be free from ignorance, unhappiness or suffering, nor will guarantee us unconditional peace and compassion.

Unconditional peace and compassion that derives from realization of the truth and be free from egoism and attachment, is not determined by the conditions and abilities of the physical body to do this or that.

Yoga practice of letting go of the egoism, attachment, identification, craving and aversion, requires great patience, determination, perseverance, tolerance, forbearance, acceptance, adjustment, adaptation, accommodation, non-judgment, non-comparison and non-expectation. Throughout the journey towards the realization of the truth or selflessness, there's no judgment, comparison nor expectation. Just keep practice, without intention nor expectation, and allow the result or the fruit of our actions / yoga practice / duties and responsibilities to be what it is, as it is.

In the process of practicing any yoga asana poses, in order to be able to come into any of the poses effortlessly without struggle, we need to be patient, be determined, be persevered, be tolerant, be able to forbear any discomforts physically, mentally and emotionally, be able to adjust ourselves to adapt and accommodate the practice under any circumstances, conditions or situations, be able to accept the body and the mind as they are from moment to moment while allowing changes or improvement to be happening naturally as it is, allow the physical body and the mind to develop all the requirements that allow the body to come into the yoga poses effortlessly without struggle, without giving up, without judgment, comparison, expectation nor intention, and allow the result or the fruit of the actions / yoga asana practice to be what it is, to be there as it is.

In the process of performing all these yoga asana practice, it is not about achieving certain results or attaining certain benefits from the practice, nor it's about to look good and feel good about ourselves (the ego), to boost self-esteem or self-confidence, nor strengthening the egoism, identification and attachment towards the qualities of names and forms, but we should be letting go of the egoism, letting go of identification and attachment towards the impermanent conditions and abilities of the body and the mind, letting go of attachment towards any qualities of names and forms, letting go of attachment towards the egoistic likes and dislikes, agreements and disagreements, craving and aversion, judgments, comparisons, expectations, intentions, and eventually be free from being disturbed, or affected, or influenced, or determined by the qualities of names and forms, or the result of our actions, and be free from impurities of anger, hatred, jealousy, greed, dissatisfaction, disappointment, feelings of hurt, guilt and regrets, pride, arrogance, agitation, depression, fear and worry.

When the mind is free from egoism, attachment, craving, aversion, and impurities, the mind is able to perceive the truth of everything as it is, uncontaminated, uninfluenced, undetermined by impurities that arise due to egoistic reactions towards the perception of names and forms based on what the mind believes what things are, under the influence of incorrect information, thinking, beliefs, judgment, imagination, projection, likes and dislikes, agreements and disagreements, craving and aversion. And this allows us to realize unconditional peace and compassion.

Even if our physical body is in good conditions, being strong and flexible, and is able to perform all the yoga asana poses perfectly and beautifully, but if we don't know what is letting go of the egoism, identification, attachment, selfish desires, intentions and expectations, craving and aversion, then we will still be affected, disturbed, influenced and determined by impurities of anger, hatred, jealousy, greed, dissatisfaction, disappointment, feelings of hurt, guilt and regrets, pride, arrogance, agitation, depression, fear and worry coming from the egoistic reactions towards the objects of the senses (qualities of names and forms) perceived by the mind through the eyes, ears, nose, tongue, body and thinking faculty. The mind is constantly being in a state of restlessness, and have no peace nor be compassionate towards oneself or others.

Om shanti.

Monday, June 16, 2014

Non-identification - Letting go of worldly identification with certain qualities of names and forms...

In the world of names and forms, our mind is being conditioned to believe that it is very "important" about having an "identity" of who we are that attached to certain qualities of names and forms to be "who we are".

There's nothing wrong with this worldly thinking and belief, but we need to know how to accept ourselves as who we think we are, without expecting other people to accept us as what we think we are, and allow other people to be free whether to accept us as what we think we are, or not.

In yoga practice, we are letting go of any identifications with any qualities of names and forms to be "who we are". We don't even need to accept ourselves as we are, nor expecting anyone to accept us as we are. As there is no "I" existing to be identified as "somebody" with certain qualities of names and forms.

Realize this and be free.

Om shanti.

Sunday, June 15, 2014

Eliminate the ego and transcend all the qualities of names and forms to realize non-separateness or oneness...

Non-separateness or oneness is not coming from making all the different qualities of names and forms into one single uniform quality, nor by having one uniform type of name and form, thinking, belief, language, culture, behavior, interest and vision, but it's coming from realizing the one same true nature of everyone and everything that is beyond all the different and impermanent qualities of names and forms possessed by everyone and everything.

The realization of the one true nature in ourselves which is also the same true nature of all, beyond all the different qualities, thinking, beliefs, languages, cultures, behavior, interests and vision, dawns upon the annihilation of the egoism.

If the mind is still influenced or over-powered by egoism, it will be ignorant towards its true nature, and being influenced by the perception of all the different qualities of names and forms possessed by itself and all the others, where separateness arise separating itself from everyone and everything that have different types of qualities of names and forms from itself.

Just by having the idea and belief or identification of "I" am a "human being" or a "good human being", is also generating separateness between ourselves and everything else that are "not human being" and "not good human being". We are not free.

When we realize the one true nature of all, which is impermanence and selflessness, we won't be discriminating anyone or anything influenced by the mind perception of the different qualities of names and forms possessed by all. We will respect all for being different from one another.

The humans created problems or unrest in the world, such like discrimination, racism, prejudice, injustice, corruption, hatred and violence are not because of everyone and everything are different from one another, or have different types of qualities of names and forms, different thinking, beliefs, languages, cultures, behavior, interests and visions from one another. It's because of ignorance towards the truth and being influenced by egoism and separateness.

Fear and worry vanished upon the moment egoism or separateness disappears, where compassion shines unconditionally. All types of discrimination, racism, prejudice, injustice, corruption, hatred and violence will also vanish from one's mind.

Beyond egoism and separateness, beyond all the qualities of names and forms, there's no "I" am this or that. There's no "I" or "The others that are not I".

May all beings be free.

Om shanti.


Tuesday, June 10, 2014

Fearlessness in giving and sharing...

Fearlessness in giving and sharing.

Just like the sun. Ceaselessly, indiscriminately, unconditionally, inexhaustibly giving and providing the element of fire to support the existence of everything in this solar system.

Just like the sun, perform all our actions, give and love without intention, without attachment, without discrimination, without expectation, and have no fear towards certain spiritual/cultural thinking and belief about absorbing other beings' "negative or bad energy", or losing our own "positive and good energy" being "stolen" by other beings, which is nothing to do with the teachings of yoga, where everyone is responsible for their own cause and effect, where nobody can interfere with other people's energy.

The light illuminates from (you) which (you) think (you) are sharing and giving to other beings, isn't coming from (you), nor does it belongs to (you). (You) gain nothing nor lose anything by sharing the light, or compassion, or wisdom that illuminates (yourself) with (other beings). As there is no (you).

Without identification, without egoism, without separateness, without intention, without attachment, without expectation, without discrimination, without selfish desire of accumulating friendship, connection, liking, love, support, appreciation, or interaction in return, there is no gain or loss, there is no fear.

Without the other elements of water, wind, earth and ether, the element of fire alone doesn't support anything to be existing, and hence, what is there to be so proud and arrogant for being existing for others to be existing, or to be able to serve oneself and others?


The selfless sun doesn't need gratefulness, thankfulness, agreement or appreciation from anyone or anything for it to be giving and sharing ceaselessly. Performing its duty and responsibility without identification or attachment. No matter how much it shares and gives to all and everything, its illumination is inexhaustible, or being contaminated by its actions or the result of the actions. The illumination of the sun will be depleted in its own cause eventually, but not because it has been giving to others.

Egoism generates individual identification with certain qualities of names and forms, and thus generates separateness from those who/which possess different qualities of names and forms from itself. Separateness gives rise to duality, and thus generates the perception and discrimination of good and bad, positive and negative, happiness and unhappiness, pleasure and suffering, gain and loss, praise and condemn. From duality, the ego generates craving and aversion towards what it likes and dislikes, wants and doesn't wants, agreements and disagreements. Restlessness, dissatisfaction and fear arise from all these plays of the ego.

Free from egoism doesn't mean that there are no more actions being performed, but all actions that are free from egoism are not different from inaction, just like the sun illuminates the solar system selflessly, intentionlessly, that is free from the bondage of Karma.

Actions - egoism (identification, separateness, intention, attachment, discrimination, expectation, desires, craving, aversion) = Selfless actions = Inaction = Compassion = Fearlessness

Om shanti.

Tuesday, June 3, 2014

Realize the truth of non-duality, attributelessness, namelessness and formlessness, and be free...

When the mind is being negative, whatever it perceives through the senses will be contaminated or influenced by the negativity in the mind. Same as when the mind is being positive, everything that it perceives will be also be contaminated or influenced by the positivity in the mind. But the truth of everything is beyond positive and negative.

Realizing the truth of non-duality, attributelessness, namelessness and formlessness is the path to be free from suffering or unhappiness that derives from ignorance which accompanied by dualism, separateness, egoism, attachment, likes and dislikes, agreements and disagreements, craving and aversion.

Just by studying, talking, discussing or teaching about non-duality, attributelessness, namelessness and formlessness from the books that we read and from what other people told us and without direct self-realization, doesn't free us from suffering or unhappiness.

Keep purifying the mind, remove egoism, attachment, craving and aversion, until the mind starts to see the truth of everything as it is, without being contaminated nor influenced by any impurities, elements or substances (both positive and negative.)

Om shanti.

Video - The teachings and practice of yoga (2) Audio

This is part of the audio recordings from the yoga classes in one of the yoga retreats in March 2014 at Yoga Now Langkawi Malaysia.


Reviews of Yoga Now Malaysia on Trip Advisor

Followers

About Yoga

Know thyself. Everything is impermanent and selfless. There is no 'I'. There is no 'I am selfless'/'I am not selfless'. There is no 'I am hurt'/'I need to be healed from hurt'. Non-blind believing, non-blind following, non-blind practicing and non-blind propagating, but be open-minded to inquire the truth of everything. Be free. Be peaceful. Be happy.

About Meng Foong

My photo
Inquire the truth of everything.

Link to Yoga Now Malaysia website

Link to Yoga Now Malaysia website
Yoga retreats and yoga workshops in Malaysia

Blog Archive

whos.amung.us

visitor maps