Some people get confused by the yoga asana, pranayama and concentration practice that is about influencing the state of the mind (intentionally changing the state of the mind to be something different by purifying and rendering the impure restless wandering mind to be pure and calm and focus) and the practice of observing the mind perception of names and forms/thought activities and allowing the mind perception of names and forms/thought activities to be there as it is, without attachment, identification, judgment, expectation, craving or aversion towards the function/modification/thought activities of the mind, and allowing all the impermanent changes of all the names and forms to be there, as they are.
It seems like a contradiction of practice, but it's not really.
The mind is like the lake and the state of the mind is like the surface of the lake. The reflections are being reflected as they are when the surface of the lake is still, and the reflections are contorted when the surface of the lake is moving. By rendering the state of the mind calm and still will allow the mind to see things as they are or allowing the perception of names and forms to be reflected as it is, but it doesn't change the truth of the names and forms being what they are.
The modification/thoughts activities/perception of an individual reality of the mind is like the image/reflection of the sky or the sun or the moon being reflected on the surface of the lake, and no matter the images reflected on the lake is as they are or are contorted, (and if the lake has an egoistic thinking mind of likes and dislikes, agreements and disagreements, craving and aversion towards the reflection of the sky, the sun or the moon on itself, and desires to change the sky, the sun or the moon to be the way that it likes it to be,) the lake doesn't change the sky or the sun or the moon. And if the lake doesn't exist, there's no reflection of the sky, the sun or the moon, it still doesn't affect the sky, the sun or the moon being there as they are.
The reflection on the surface of the lake doesn't belong to the lake. The modification of the mind or the mind perception of pleasant/unpleasant/agreeable/disagreeable names and forms doesn't belong to the mind.
Just like all the contents of good and bad qualities of names and forms existing in this space cannot affect the space and they don't belong to the space. Neither will the space has desire to interfere with all the contents in it.
The space and the mind is still what it is, whether the mind perceives something as good or not good existing in the space. The space and the mind is still what it is, whether the mind perceives pleasant smells or unpleasant smells in the air. The space and the mind is still what it is, whether the mind perceives beautiful happening or disgusting/horrible happening in this space.
Different minds perceive its personal/individual reality differently under the same condition and situation. Such like, different minds feel differently while being in a place full of 'good' happenings or being in a place full of 'bad' happenings. Death is neither good nor bad. Some people are sad and mourn for the death of the leader of the country/party/ideal/vision that they supported, while some other people are glad and celebrating it. Positive minds perceive names and forms positively, while negative minds perceive names and forms negatively, but it's not the truth, as all the names and forms are just what they are, they are neither positive nor negative. The reality is just what it is, but qualities are being projected onto the perceived reality of the mind perception of names and forms out of the different states of the mind.
The modification/thought activities/perception of an individual pleasant or unpleasant reality, is like the reflections on the surface of the lake. The state of the mind (pure or impure, peaceful or peaceless, with good/bad attributes or attributeless) influences how the mind understands/reacts towards the perception of names and forms perceived through the senses, or life experiences, but all the perception of names and forms, or life experiences, or the understanding/reactions/modifications/activities cannot affect/hurt/disturb/change the mind, except due to ignorance and egoism, there's a false identity in the mind (the ego) is being disturbed and determined by all the perception of names and forms, and has the desire/idea of changing the perceived reality to be the way that it likes it to be.
The practice of yoga asana, pranayama, concentration and self-inquiry serves as the tool to maintain and render the mind pure and calm to be fit for higher realization of freedom from ignorance and suffering. The yoga asana and pranayama practice is to prepare the mind to be fit/ready for self-inquiry and meditation by balancing the restless/agitated/dulled state of the mind via body positions/movements (yoga asana practice) and control of the breath (pranayama practice), to render the mind calm and quiet.
The concentration practice/exercises/training is to restrain the mind to focus at one point for a prolonged period of time, and to keep the mind in the present refraining the mind from wandering into the past or the future, or getting lost in random ceaseless thinking and imaginations. Meanwhile the practice of renunciation/solitude/seclusion is to free the mind from getting entangled in the mind perception of a worldly life existence.
These practice/training are developing the awareness to be aware of or to observe the modifications of the mind, rendering the mind to be calm and quiet, to be free from restlessness and to be open to inquire the truth/nature of everything, preparing the mind for meditation - seeing the truth as it is.
The inquiry into the truth/nature of names and forms will help to strengthen dispassion, right discrimination, non-attachment, non-identification, free from craving and aversion, judgment and expectation, and this will lead the mind to be less disturbed or completely undisturbed by all the perception of names and forms of a worldly life existence, and generate less impurities or completely be free from impurities, which eventually lead to the annihilation of ignorance and suffering of the mind perception of a worldly life existence of impermanence and selflessness.
The pure egoless mind stands as a witness witnessing/observing the mind perception of a reality as it is, or observing the mind perception of names and forms/the states of the mind/the activities in the mind/the thoughts/the feelings/the physical sensations, condition, ability and limitation/all the selfless impermanent changes, as they are, without interfering with all these modifications of the mind.
Whatever the mind perceives through the senses or whatever the mind comes in contact with, all the perceptions of names and forms/thoughts activities/images/individual reality, and all states of the mind are just what they are. They are impermanent and selfless. They don't belong to the mind or the perceiver. The worldly life existence perceived by the mind is impermanent and selfless. It doesn't belong to the mind. It's neither 'I' nor 'mine'. Suffering and all kinds of corrupted thinking and behavior arise when there is ignorance, egoism and impurities in the mind, where there's an idea of 'I' generate attachment, identification, desire of craving and aversion, judgment and expectation towards the modification of the mind, thinking and believing that there's an existence of 'I', and that all the perceived objects/experiences/relationships are 'mine'.
Without a calm and quiet mind, when the mind is in a state of impurity and restlessness due to egoism and impurities, it's impossible for the mind to inquire towards the truth of things to be free from ignorance, as whatever is being perceived/understood through the senses are under the influence of or being contaminated by the impurities and restlessness.
It seems like a contradiction of practice, but it's not really.
The mind is like the lake and the state of the mind is like the surface of the lake. The reflections are being reflected as they are when the surface of the lake is still, and the reflections are contorted when the surface of the lake is moving. By rendering the state of the mind calm and still will allow the mind to see things as they are or allowing the perception of names and forms to be reflected as it is, but it doesn't change the truth of the names and forms being what they are.
The modification/thoughts activities/perception of an individual reality of the mind is like the image/reflection of the sky or the sun or the moon being reflected on the surface of the lake, and no matter the images reflected on the lake is as they are or are contorted, (and if the lake has an egoistic thinking mind of likes and dislikes, agreements and disagreements, craving and aversion towards the reflection of the sky, the sun or the moon on itself, and desires to change the sky, the sun or the moon to be the way that it likes it to be,) the lake doesn't change the sky or the sun or the moon. And if the lake doesn't exist, there's no reflection of the sky, the sun or the moon, it still doesn't affect the sky, the sun or the moon being there as they are.
The reflection on the surface of the lake doesn't belong to the lake. The modification of the mind or the mind perception of pleasant/unpleasant/agreeable/disagreeable names and forms doesn't belong to the mind.
Just like all the contents of good and bad qualities of names and forms existing in this space cannot affect the space and they don't belong to the space. Neither will the space has desire to interfere with all the contents in it.
The space and the mind is still what it is, whether the mind perceives something as good or not good existing in the space. The space and the mind is still what it is, whether the mind perceives pleasant smells or unpleasant smells in the air. The space and the mind is still what it is, whether the mind perceives beautiful happening or disgusting/horrible happening in this space.
Different minds perceive its personal/individual reality differently under the same condition and situation. Such like, different minds feel differently while being in a place full of 'good' happenings or being in a place full of 'bad' happenings. Death is neither good nor bad. Some people are sad and mourn for the death of the leader of the country/party/ideal/vision that they supported, while some other people are glad and celebrating it. Positive minds perceive names and forms positively, while negative minds perceive names and forms negatively, but it's not the truth, as all the names and forms are just what they are, they are neither positive nor negative. The reality is just what it is, but qualities are being projected onto the perceived reality of the mind perception of names and forms out of the different states of the mind.
The modification/thought activities/perception of an individual pleasant or unpleasant reality, is like the reflections on the surface of the lake. The state of the mind (pure or impure, peaceful or peaceless, with good/bad attributes or attributeless) influences how the mind understands/reacts towards the perception of names and forms perceived through the senses, or life experiences, but all the perception of names and forms, or life experiences, or the understanding/reactions/modifications/activities cannot affect/hurt/disturb/change the mind, except due to ignorance and egoism, there's a false identity in the mind (the ego) is being disturbed and determined by all the perception of names and forms, and has the desire/idea of changing the perceived reality to be the way that it likes it to be.
The practice of yoga asana, pranayama, concentration and self-inquiry serves as the tool to maintain and render the mind pure and calm to be fit for higher realization of freedom from ignorance and suffering. The yoga asana and pranayama practice is to prepare the mind to be fit/ready for self-inquiry and meditation by balancing the restless/agitated/dulled state of the mind via body positions/movements (yoga asana practice) and control of the breath (pranayama practice), to render the mind calm and quiet.
The concentration practice/exercises/training is to restrain the mind to focus at one point for a prolonged period of time, and to keep the mind in the present refraining the mind from wandering into the past or the future, or getting lost in random ceaseless thinking and imaginations. Meanwhile the practice of renunciation/solitude/seclusion is to free the mind from getting entangled in the mind perception of a worldly life existence.
These practice/training are developing the awareness to be aware of or to observe the modifications of the mind, rendering the mind to be calm and quiet, to be free from restlessness and to be open to inquire the truth/nature of everything, preparing the mind for meditation - seeing the truth as it is.
The inquiry into the truth/nature of names and forms will help to strengthen dispassion, right discrimination, non-attachment, non-identification, free from craving and aversion, judgment and expectation, and this will lead the mind to be less disturbed or completely undisturbed by all the perception of names and forms of a worldly life existence, and generate less impurities or completely be free from impurities, which eventually lead to the annihilation of ignorance and suffering of the mind perception of a worldly life existence of impermanence and selflessness.
The pure egoless mind stands as a witness witnessing/observing the mind perception of a reality as it is, or observing the mind perception of names and forms/the states of the mind/the activities in the mind/the thoughts/the feelings/the physical sensations, condition, ability and limitation/all the selfless impermanent changes, as they are, without interfering with all these modifications of the mind.
Whatever the mind perceives through the senses or whatever the mind comes in contact with, all the perceptions of names and forms/thoughts activities/images/individual reality, and all states of the mind are just what they are. They are impermanent and selfless. They don't belong to the mind or the perceiver. The worldly life existence perceived by the mind is impermanent and selfless. It doesn't belong to the mind. It's neither 'I' nor 'mine'. Suffering and all kinds of corrupted thinking and behavior arise when there is ignorance, egoism and impurities in the mind, where there's an idea of 'I' generate attachment, identification, desire of craving and aversion, judgment and expectation towards the modification of the mind, thinking and believing that there's an existence of 'I', and that all the perceived objects/experiences/relationships are 'mine'.
Without a calm and quiet mind, when the mind is in a state of impurity and restlessness due to egoism and impurities, it's impossible for the mind to inquire towards the truth of things to be free from ignorance, as whatever is being perceived/understood through the senses are under the influence of or being contaminated by the impurities and restlessness.
Just like a dirty, dusty and moving mirror cannot reflect the image of an object placed in front of it as
it is. The mirror also cannot/doesn't see itself without the help of another
'mirror' or 'reflector'. And all the dirt, dust and movements don't
belong to the mirror. All the yoga, pranayama and concentration practice
act as the tool to render the mind to be free from impurities and
restlessness (cleaning up and stilling the 'mirror' to reflect the images as they are), and meditation is the 'mirror'/'reflector' that allows the
pure and calm mind to see itself, as it is, beyond all the modifications
of the mind.
That's why it is very important to render the state of the mind pure and calm, in order to allow the mind to inquire the truth of names and forms, to be free from ignorance. Upon seeing the truth of names and forms, or the truth of itself, it enable the mind to stand as a silent selfless witness, allowing all the names and forms to be what they are. Or else, the ignorant egoistic minds has desire to interfere with the names and forms that it doesn't like by trying to change/control it to be the way that it likes it to be, as well as interfere with the names and forms that it likes by trying to stop it from changing into something else or damaging/disappearing, and there arise all sorts of suffering of dissatisfaction, anger, hurt, discrimination, intolerance, interference, offensiveness, defensiveness, hostility, hatred, fear, violence, and etc, if the desires are not being gratified.
It's up to everyone to work on their own liberation through their own effort and pace.
That's why it is very important to render the state of the mind pure and calm, in order to allow the mind to inquire the truth of names and forms, to be free from ignorance. Upon seeing the truth of names and forms, or the truth of itself, it enable the mind to stand as a silent selfless witness, allowing all the names and forms to be what they are. Or else, the ignorant egoistic minds has desire to interfere with the names and forms that it doesn't like by trying to change/control it to be the way that it likes it to be, as well as interfere with the names and forms that it likes by trying to stop it from changing into something else or damaging/disappearing, and there arise all sorts of suffering of dissatisfaction, anger, hurt, discrimination, intolerance, interference, offensiveness, defensiveness, hostility, hatred, fear, violence, and etc, if the desires are not being gratified.
It's up to everyone to work on their own liberation through their own effort and pace.
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