Different people teach and guide other people in different ways or methods to perform the yoga practice, to inquire and reflect upon the teachings of yoga, to purify their minds, to eliminate ignorance, egoism and impurities, to realize unconditional love and peace that is undetermined by the qualities of names and forms that are impermanent and selfless, that is always there as it is, but this unconditional love and peace is unknown to the mind due to the veil of ignorance and impurities.
Not all who teach yoga to other people are evolving simultaneously with the similar realization through their own sincere practice. It's like peeling away many different layers of ignorance/impurities to allow the mind to see the one knowledge but it appears to be in many different names and forms due to the different layers of ignorance and impurities. Meanwhile, all these knowledge appear in different names and forms will continue to lead the impure, but open mind towards the pure consciousness, until the deepest/last layer of ignorance/impurities is completely removed, the mind sees the truth as it is, selfless, oneness, nameless, formless, attributeless, birthless and deathless.
When different people learn and practice yoga under different people, they might learn different teachings and ways of practice that are distinct from one another. Some might like and agree with certain teachings and ways of practice, while some others don't like and disagree with the same teachings and ways of practice. It is not because these teachings and ways of practice are good or not good, are right or not right, but they are mere different degrees/stages of realization. Also, different minds have different life experiences, temperament and personality, and hence, different minds react differently towards the different teachings and ways of practice taught by different people.
It's the matter of whether the minds are open, or not, towards the different teachings/knowledge/ways of practice, by investigate/inquire/reflect upon the truth of all the different teachings/knowledge/ways of practice that they come in contact with from different people with different degrees/stages of realization.
There is nothing to be compared or argued about. The mind only knows what it knows, and what it doesn't know, it doesn't know. And there's nothing wrong with there are things that the mind doesn't know. It's more harmful/dangerous when the mind is blind-believing in or propagating many things that it doesn't really know whether they are true or untrue, just because those were what they heard from or taught by their beloved elders or teachers, or knowledge that they had read and accumulated from books, or the opinions and points of view that are agreed, liked, shared and supported by many other people or majority of the people. More important is that what the mind agrees or disagrees with and what the mind likes or dislikes under the influence of ignorance, egoism and impurities, are not necessarily true/untrue.
It's a great obstacle for the mind to evolve, to go beyond the 'partial/incomplete/impure' reality that the mind perceives under the influence of ignorance, egoism and impurities, if the mind is not open towards what is unknown to the mind, to investigate the truth of something that is unknown or unfamiliar to the mind, but it reacts with intense rejection/disagreement towards something that it doesn't know, or that is different from or contradicted with its existing thinking and belief and familiarity.
Just like people who never come in contact with apples before, would deny the existence of apples when being informed by other people whom have come in contact with apples. The minds that are open, neither believe nor disbelieve towards the existence of apples, until they directly come in contact with apples. Even so, the apples that were informed by others might appear to be different from the apples that they experience, but the origin of the different varieties (names and forms) of apples is rooted in the one same source, or else it's not apple, it's something else. Even if it's something else, such like oranges, all kinds of names and forms are still existing on the one same truth - impermanence and selflessness. Beyond different kinds of impermanent and selfless names and forms, it's namelessness, formlessness, attributelessness, birthlessness and deathlessness. Realizing this, all kinds of fear and superstitious beliefs vanished. All kinds of positiveness/negativeness, meaningfulness/meaninglessness, goodness/badness, auspiciousness/inauspiciousness, happiness/unhappiness, suffering/non-suffering are nothing but the products of ignorant and impure minds.
Many 'yoga teachers' teach or guide other people about yoga that is about promoting positive thinking and good actions, accumulating good karma and developing 'positive mind power' to fulfill the desire of achieving a good and meaningful life, because that is all that they know about yoga, so far. And there's nothing wrong with that.
While some teach or guide other people about yoga that is beyond 'promoting positive thinking and good actions, accumulating good karma and developing 'positive mind power' to fulfill the desire of achieving a good and meaningful life', because they have realized the higher knowledge of oneness, namelessness, formlessness, attributelessness, selflessness, desirelessness, birthlessness and deathlessness. There's neither positive nor negative. There's neither good nor bad. There's neither enjoyment nor non-enjoyment. There's neither suffering nor end of suffering. There's nothing to be known, nothing to be understood, nothing to be perceived, nothing to be connected with. There's no other(s).
'Yoga teachers' must be vigilant to be cautious of (tiny) pride arising in one's mind due to accumulated knowledge and achievements deriving from 'reading books on yoga', 'attending yoga courses', 'attaining certifications', or 'teaching yoga/yoga classes to other people'. Praise, compliments, supports, agreements, appreciation, honour, respect, glorification or idolization from the yoga students, might be feeding the sense of pride in the mind unwittingly, if one is not cautious of it. One would think and feel that 'I am a good yoga teacher' or 'I am an experienced yoga teacher' or 'I am well-loved and appreciated by all these students'. Those who are aware of the mischievous egoistic nature in one's mind, will allow other people to show praise, compliments, supports, agreements, appreciation, honour, respect, glorification or idolization, or not, but one doesn't interested in receiving any of these at all, and there's neither attachment nor identification towards all these names and forms, then one is considered 'safe'.
It's the same as 'yoga students' who receive praise and compliments from the teachers or other fellow students, who have been accumulated knowledge and achievements deriving from 'reading books on yoga', 'attending yoga courses' or 'attaining certifications', who think and believe that oneself is 'advanced yogi/yoga practitioner' after practicing yoga for a long time, or having attended many 'advanced yoga classes/courses' and attaining many 'yoga certificates'.
Those who are wise, won't be telling themselves and others that "I am a wise being. I am very wise."
Those who have been advancing in their yoga practice, won't be telling themselves and others that "I am an advanced yogi. I am very advanced in yoga practice. I am practicing advanced yoga."
Beware of pride and self-glorification.
Be free.
Not all who teach yoga to other people are evolving simultaneously with the similar realization through their own sincere practice. It's like peeling away many different layers of ignorance/impurities to allow the mind to see the one knowledge but it appears to be in many different names and forms due to the different layers of ignorance and impurities. Meanwhile, all these knowledge appear in different names and forms will continue to lead the impure, but open mind towards the pure consciousness, until the deepest/last layer of ignorance/impurities is completely removed, the mind sees the truth as it is, selfless, oneness, nameless, formless, attributeless, birthless and deathless.
When different people learn and practice yoga under different people, they might learn different teachings and ways of practice that are distinct from one another. Some might like and agree with certain teachings and ways of practice, while some others don't like and disagree with the same teachings and ways of practice. It is not because these teachings and ways of practice are good or not good, are right or not right, but they are mere different degrees/stages of realization. Also, different minds have different life experiences, temperament and personality, and hence, different minds react differently towards the different teachings and ways of practice taught by different people.
It's the matter of whether the minds are open, or not, towards the different teachings/knowledge/ways of practice, by investigate/inquire/reflect upon the truth of all the different teachings/knowledge/ways of practice that they come in contact with from different people with different degrees/stages of realization.
There is nothing to be compared or argued about. The mind only knows what it knows, and what it doesn't know, it doesn't know. And there's nothing wrong with there are things that the mind doesn't know. It's more harmful/dangerous when the mind is blind-believing in or propagating many things that it doesn't really know whether they are true or untrue, just because those were what they heard from or taught by their beloved elders or teachers, or knowledge that they had read and accumulated from books, or the opinions and points of view that are agreed, liked, shared and supported by many other people or majority of the people. More important is that what the mind agrees or disagrees with and what the mind likes or dislikes under the influence of ignorance, egoism and impurities, are not necessarily true/untrue.
It's a great obstacle for the mind to evolve, to go beyond the 'partial/incomplete/impure' reality that the mind perceives under the influence of ignorance, egoism and impurities, if the mind is not open towards what is unknown to the mind, to investigate the truth of something that is unknown or unfamiliar to the mind, but it reacts with intense rejection/disagreement towards something that it doesn't know, or that is different from or contradicted with its existing thinking and belief and familiarity.
Just like people who never come in contact with apples before, would deny the existence of apples when being informed by other people whom have come in contact with apples. The minds that are open, neither believe nor disbelieve towards the existence of apples, until they directly come in contact with apples. Even so, the apples that were informed by others might appear to be different from the apples that they experience, but the origin of the different varieties (names and forms) of apples is rooted in the one same source, or else it's not apple, it's something else. Even if it's something else, such like oranges, all kinds of names and forms are still existing on the one same truth - impermanence and selflessness. Beyond different kinds of impermanent and selfless names and forms, it's namelessness, formlessness, attributelessness, birthlessness and deathlessness. Realizing this, all kinds of fear and superstitious beliefs vanished. All kinds of positiveness/negativeness, meaningfulness/meaninglessness, goodness/badness, auspiciousness/inauspiciousness, happiness/unhappiness, suffering/non-suffering are nothing but the products of ignorant and impure minds.
Many 'yoga teachers' teach or guide other people about yoga that is about promoting positive thinking and good actions, accumulating good karma and developing 'positive mind power' to fulfill the desire of achieving a good and meaningful life, because that is all that they know about yoga, so far. And there's nothing wrong with that.
While some teach or guide other people about yoga that is beyond 'promoting positive thinking and good actions, accumulating good karma and developing 'positive mind power' to fulfill the desire of achieving a good and meaningful life', because they have realized the higher knowledge of oneness, namelessness, formlessness, attributelessness, selflessness, desirelessness, birthlessness and deathlessness. There's neither positive nor negative. There's neither good nor bad. There's neither enjoyment nor non-enjoyment. There's neither suffering nor end of suffering. There's nothing to be known, nothing to be understood, nothing to be perceived, nothing to be connected with. There's no other(s).
'Yoga teachers' must be vigilant to be cautious of (tiny) pride arising in one's mind due to accumulated knowledge and achievements deriving from 'reading books on yoga', 'attending yoga courses', 'attaining certifications', or 'teaching yoga/yoga classes to other people'. Praise, compliments, supports, agreements, appreciation, honour, respect, glorification or idolization from the yoga students, might be feeding the sense of pride in the mind unwittingly, if one is not cautious of it. One would think and feel that 'I am a good yoga teacher' or 'I am an experienced yoga teacher' or 'I am well-loved and appreciated by all these students'. Those who are aware of the mischievous egoistic nature in one's mind, will allow other people to show praise, compliments, supports, agreements, appreciation, honour, respect, glorification or idolization, or not, but one doesn't interested in receiving any of these at all, and there's neither attachment nor identification towards all these names and forms, then one is considered 'safe'.
It's the same as 'yoga students' who receive praise and compliments from the teachers or other fellow students, who have been accumulated knowledge and achievements deriving from 'reading books on yoga', 'attending yoga courses' or 'attaining certifications', who think and believe that oneself is 'advanced yogi/yoga practitioner' after practicing yoga for a long time, or having attended many 'advanced yoga classes/courses' and attaining many 'yoga certificates'.
Those who are wise, won't be telling themselves and others that "I am a wise being. I am very wise."
Those who have been advancing in their yoga practice, won't be telling themselves and others that "I am an advanced yogi. I am very advanced in yoga practice. I am practicing advanced yoga."
Beware of pride and self-glorification.
Be free.
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment