This teaching is a contemplation for those who are interested in learning and practicing yoga and meditation, to silent the restless impure egoistic mind. Those who are not interested in practicing yoga or meditation to silent the mind don't need to observe or contemplate on this teaching.
Friendliness in yoga is nothing to do with outgoing sociable talkative personality or behavior, or being sociable to be accumulating personal connection and friendship with as many people as possible.
Being friendly to all beings doesn't mean that one has to be sociable and talkative, or accumulating many personal friendships that involve engagement in physical/verbal/mental interactions and activities from time to time.
Being sociable and talkative doesn't necessarily mean that one is being friendly towards all beings without the influence of egoistic discrimination of likes and dislikes, selfish intention and expectation.
Quite many people, including health professionals think and believe that being alone by oneself, or being quiet or not being talkative, especially in young children, is something 'sick/unhealthy', 'bad', 'negative', or 'wrong'. The best time for yoga and meditation practice is when everyone else has gone to sleep. Why? Because it's the only precious time of quietness and peacefulness available on earth in that time zone without people doing things, playing, arguing, negotiating, making noises, shouting, scheming, plotting, or talking. Does that quietness and peacefulness on earth when everyone/the minds being away in sleep, being non-interacting, non-socializing, non-talking, or non-action causes more chaos in the world? Nope. Instead, when people/the minds are awake, many people criticize other people who don't talk much as being unhealthy, disturbing, rude and unfriendly.
The friendliness in yoga and meditation practice is about respecting all beings as they are, being free from the sense of superiority or inferiority, without egoism of attachment, identification, possessiveness, discrimination of likes and dislikes, desire of craving and aversion, intention or expectation, without dissatisfaction, disappointment, hurt, fear, offensiveness, hostility, ill-thinking, or ill-will towards all beings, be undisturbed and without interference towards other people being what they are, being different from oneself, or having different thinking, belief, practice, values, behavior, action and reaction from oneself, without intention of accumulating friendship or companionship from other people to get rid of boredom or loneliness, or to be accessible for support and help whenever one needs one, without expecting other people have to live life, behave, act, or react in the way that one thinks how it should be, or expecting other people to treat oneself in the way that how one would like to be treated.
People who would feel disturbed or offended if other people do not join in their conversation, or are disinterested in their invitation to a function or event, are due to their own expectation towards how other people should response towards their 'friendliness'. People get unhappy, disappointed, or offended when they don't get the response that they expect to be getting from other people. Those who are truly friendly won't mind at all if other people are not interested to participate in any of their conversation or event.
Those who are truly friendly, it's not necessarily that they are sociable, or talkative, or actively engaging and interacting with other people. They might be very quiet and mind their own things. But, they have no ill-will, ill-thinking, ill-talking, judgment, criticism, condemn, gossip, slander, disrespectfulness, animosity, offensiveness, interference, or expectation towards other people's different way of life, thinking, belief, practice, values, behavior, action, and reaction.
Take a look into most of the common conversations among people, we will see that these conversations are mostly full of talking about hanging onto the past, projecting into the future, planning, plotting, scheming, worldly/personal attachment, worldly/personal identification, pride, desire, fear and worry, and lots of complaint, moaning, dissatisfaction, disappointment, blame, ill-will, ill-thinking, ill-talking, criticism, condemn, gossip, slander, back-biting, hypocrisy, lies, story telling, untruthfulness, justification, boasting, manipulation, as well as interference or expectation towards other people's way of life, thinking, belief, practice, values, behavior, action, and reaction. It's not that all these human social activities are bad or wrong, but the yoga and meditation practice is to free the mind from all these worldly habits of physical/verbal/mental/emotional activities/restlessness of impurities.
It's very common that when people want to talk to other people and they expect other people to talk to them in response to their 'friendliness', but then they would feel greatly disturbed or offended if other people don't response to their 'friendliness', or when other people talk to them but they are talking about things that they don't like and don't want to hear, that they disagree with.
The most effective way to help oneself or anyone to be free from all the 'problems' or 'suffering' that one thinks and believes is what disturbing one's mind, that one feels and thinks that one needs to talk to other people to talk about one's problem or suffering to seek help or advice, is to be quiet and listen. Listen to the Dhamma that is here and everywhere when the mind is quiet, and the mind will see the truth of 'unhappiness', 'problems', or 'suffering'. It's not about expecting someone, or other people, or guru, or God to be there to listen to one's problems, unhappiness, dissatisfaction, disappointment, frustration, hurt, fear, worry, complaint, blame, moaning, or bitching about other people that one feels angry or unhappy with, that one doesn't like and doesn't agree with, so that one will feel slightly relieved or feel better about oneself for a few moments, but then the mind continues to be restless and disturbed by the ongoing worldly life experiences that are not necessarily the way that one likes it to be, or the mind perception of names and forms that the ego doesn't like, doesn't want, and doesn't agree with, while thinking and believing that one's 'unhappiness', 'problems' or 'suffering' are caused by the experiences or qualities of names and forms that the mind thinks and believes as 'bad', 'wrong', or 'negative'.
Performing yoga and meditation practice, especially attending silent meditation retreats or courses, will allow people with a disturbed/unhappy/suffering mind to learn to be quiet and listen to or seeing the Dhamma that will free the mind from ignorance, egoism, and impurities, and thus be free from all kinds of 'unhappiness', 'problems' or 'suffering', and one doesn't need to talk/complain/boast about anything. One doesn't need someone, or other people, or guru, or God, to be there to listen to one's complaints, as there's none. The mind is silent and peaceful, so as the surrounding environment is also undisturbed by a silent peaceful mind. That is true friendliness towards all beings and the environment.
Be free.
Friendliness in yoga is nothing to do with outgoing sociable talkative personality or behavior, or being sociable to be accumulating personal connection and friendship with as many people as possible.
Being friendly to all beings doesn't mean that one has to be sociable and talkative, or accumulating many personal friendships that involve engagement in physical/verbal/mental interactions and activities from time to time.
Being sociable and talkative doesn't necessarily mean that one is being friendly towards all beings without the influence of egoistic discrimination of likes and dislikes, selfish intention and expectation.
Quite many people, including health professionals think and believe that being alone by oneself, or being quiet or not being talkative, especially in young children, is something 'sick/unhealthy', 'bad', 'negative', or 'wrong'. The best time for yoga and meditation practice is when everyone else has gone to sleep. Why? Because it's the only precious time of quietness and peacefulness available on earth in that time zone without people doing things, playing, arguing, negotiating, making noises, shouting, scheming, plotting, or talking. Does that quietness and peacefulness on earth when everyone/the minds being away in sleep, being non-interacting, non-socializing, non-talking, or non-action causes more chaos in the world? Nope. Instead, when people/the minds are awake, many people criticize other people who don't talk much as being unhealthy, disturbing, rude and unfriendly.
The friendliness in yoga and meditation practice is about respecting all beings as they are, being free from the sense of superiority or inferiority, without egoism of attachment, identification, possessiveness, discrimination of likes and dislikes, desire of craving and aversion, intention or expectation, without dissatisfaction, disappointment, hurt, fear, offensiveness, hostility, ill-thinking, or ill-will towards all beings, be undisturbed and without interference towards other people being what they are, being different from oneself, or having different thinking, belief, practice, values, behavior, action and reaction from oneself, without intention of accumulating friendship or companionship from other people to get rid of boredom or loneliness, or to be accessible for support and help whenever one needs one, without expecting other people have to live life, behave, act, or react in the way that one thinks how it should be, or expecting other people to treat oneself in the way that how one would like to be treated.
People who would feel disturbed or offended if other people do not join in their conversation, or are disinterested in their invitation to a function or event, are due to their own expectation towards how other people should response towards their 'friendliness'. People get unhappy, disappointed, or offended when they don't get the response that they expect to be getting from other people. Those who are truly friendly won't mind at all if other people are not interested to participate in any of their conversation or event.
Those who are truly friendly, it's not necessarily that they are sociable, or talkative, or actively engaging and interacting with other people. They might be very quiet and mind their own things. But, they have no ill-will, ill-thinking, ill-talking, judgment, criticism, condemn, gossip, slander, disrespectfulness, animosity, offensiveness, interference, or expectation towards other people's different way of life, thinking, belief, practice, values, behavior, action, and reaction.
Take a look into most of the common conversations among people, we will see that these conversations are mostly full of talking about hanging onto the past, projecting into the future, planning, plotting, scheming, worldly/personal attachment, worldly/personal identification, pride, desire, fear and worry, and lots of complaint, moaning, dissatisfaction, disappointment, blame, ill-will, ill-thinking, ill-talking, criticism, condemn, gossip, slander, back-biting, hypocrisy, lies, story telling, untruthfulness, justification, boasting, manipulation, as well as interference or expectation towards other people's way of life, thinking, belief, practice, values, behavior, action, and reaction. It's not that all these human social activities are bad or wrong, but the yoga and meditation practice is to free the mind from all these worldly habits of physical/verbal/mental/emotional activities/restlessness of impurities.
It's very common that when people want to talk to other people and they expect other people to talk to them in response to their 'friendliness', but then they would feel greatly disturbed or offended if other people don't response to their 'friendliness', or when other people talk to them but they are talking about things that they don't like and don't want to hear, that they disagree with.
The most effective way to help oneself or anyone to be free from all the 'problems' or 'suffering' that one thinks and believes is what disturbing one's mind, that one feels and thinks that one needs to talk to other people to talk about one's problem or suffering to seek help or advice, is to be quiet and listen. Listen to the Dhamma that is here and everywhere when the mind is quiet, and the mind will see the truth of 'unhappiness', 'problems', or 'suffering'. It's not about expecting someone, or other people, or guru, or God to be there to listen to one's problems, unhappiness, dissatisfaction, disappointment, frustration, hurt, fear, worry, complaint, blame, moaning, or bitching about other people that one feels angry or unhappy with, that one doesn't like and doesn't agree with, so that one will feel slightly relieved or feel better about oneself for a few moments, but then the mind continues to be restless and disturbed by the ongoing worldly life experiences that are not necessarily the way that one likes it to be, or the mind perception of names and forms that the ego doesn't like, doesn't want, and doesn't agree with, while thinking and believing that one's 'unhappiness', 'problems' or 'suffering' are caused by the experiences or qualities of names and forms that the mind thinks and believes as 'bad', 'wrong', or 'negative'.
Performing yoga and meditation practice, especially attending silent meditation retreats or courses, will allow people with a disturbed/unhappy/suffering mind to learn to be quiet and listen to or seeing the Dhamma that will free the mind from ignorance, egoism, and impurities, and thus be free from all kinds of 'unhappiness', 'problems' or 'suffering', and one doesn't need to talk/complain/boast about anything. One doesn't need someone, or other people, or guru, or God, to be there to listen to one's complaints, as there's none. The mind is silent and peaceful, so as the surrounding environment is also undisturbed by a silent peaceful mind. That is true friendliness towards all beings and the environment.
Be free.
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