As the world evolves towards what most people believe as higher quality of life with higher standard of living, somehow the teaching/practice of 'silence' in Yoga and Buddhism is being neglected, or abandoned, or denied, or criticized. And there's nothing wrong with that, as that's the way it goes.
It's not easy for the impure egoistic passionate minds (that are being conditioned by worldly ideas, thinking and belief to think and behave, to aspire and inspire, to live life, to socialize and interact, to accumulate connections and relationships, to feel happy, confident, proud and meaningful) to penetrate the subtle meaning of silence. In many cases, silence would be perceived by the worldly egoistic passionate minds as 'cowardliness', 'non-action/improper action', 'weakness', 'submissive towards other's people bad and wrongful behavior', or 'passively encouraging evilness, bad ideas and wrong doings'. There's nothing wrong with this common worldly thinking and belief, action and reaction.
Only the dispassionate minds could penetrate the subtle reason/meaning/action/practice of silence in the teachings of Yoga and Buddhism, where it's beyond restraining the speech organ, physical and mental activities, or restraining the senses from going out chasing after the objects of the senses, but real silence comes naturally and effortlessly out of compassion upon realization of selflessness knowing what is going on in the mind of all the restless and selfless modifications of the mind perception of names and forms, egoism and the by-products of egoism, separateness, all forms of impurities, actions and reactions, intentions and expectations, aspirations and inspirations, enjoyment and suffering.
It's being aware of and acknowledging the ignorance in one's mind. It's seeing the ignorance in this mind which is not any different from the ignorance in other minds. It's seeing the truth of "the impermanent and selfless worldly life existence of the body and mind functioning and perceiving all the impermanent and selfless names and forms" as it is.
The highest Yoga Sadhana is forbearance to forbear the mind perception of unpleasantness, disagreement, undesirable experiences, constraint, selfless undesirable changes, difficulties, obstacles, challenging condition and situation, insult, humiliation, threat and hurt, without violence, animosity, ill-will, anger and hatred, which include non-craving, non-aversion, non-justification, non-retaliation, non-contentious, non-bashing, non-criticism, non-judgment, non-expectation, and so on, upon experiencing what the worldly thinking and belief categorizes as stupid, selfish, unjust, bad, undeserving, wrongful, hurtful, unkind, harsh, cruel, unreasonable, provoking, or mischievous treatment/behaviors from others, especially if it's coming from those whom we love, who are in some kind of relationship with us.
Upon realization of the truth of names and forms, the mind perception of suffering and the root cause of suffering vanished, or being free from ignorance and the consequences of ignorance - all kinds of suffering, all forms of yoga practice including forbearance become irrelevant or useless. It is needless to practice forbearance to forbear anything, as the mind has gone beyond all the modifications of the mind perception of duality, separateness and the worldly ideas, thinking, belief, actions and reactions. It is needless to practice yoga to free the mind from ignorance, egoism, impurities, restlessness and suffering, as the mind is free as it is.
After going through a prolong and unpleasant process of mind purification, the minds that are rendered pure and quiet are able to see the truth of names and forms as it is, realizing oneness/non-separateness among all the different qualities of names and forms, and the relation between silence, selflessness, compassion and non-violence, being free from the ego (the idea of 'I' exists as an individual being) and egoism, and the mind perception of 'hurt and suffering' vanished. There's no need to 'forbear' something 'hurtful and suffering'. There's no need to be 'healed' from 'hurt and suffering'. The mind is resting in silence peacefully, naturally and effortlessly, even under the great criticism/attack from many other passionate egoistic minds (those who identify themselves as 'good and kind people' empowered by the sense of self-righteousness) in the world discouraging, condemning and disagreeing with the action/practice of silence.
There's nothing wrong with most minds think and believe that people/human beings/mankind should react with 'Intolerance and discouragement towards bad and wrongful treatments/behaviors', to fight back and attack the 'bad and evil beings', to obtain revenge/justice/relief for themselves being 'the victims' of other people's bad and wrongful treatments/behaviors, as that is how all the impure egoistic minds understand and being conditioned to react in certain ways upon receiving treatments/behaviors from others that the minds perceive, think and believe as 'undeserving', 'shouldn't', 'wrongful' and 'bad'.
To contemplate on this teaching -
Let's say, there's a couple who think they love each other and are committed to be a couple.
One of them behaves in the way that most minds/people would perceive, categorize, think and believe as terrible, bad, wrongful, or hurtful.
It's normal that the other person will react and feel dissatisfaction, disappointment, unhappiness, anger, or hurt by the partner's bad, hurtful and wrongful behavior.
Out of dissatisfaction, disappointment, unhappiness, anger, or hurt, this person has the urge to complain to other people about "My partner is so bad and terrible. He/she is like this and like that. He/she did this and did that. I love him/her so much. I am so nice to him/her, but this is how he/she behaves in return for my love and care. I don't deserve to be treated like this."
This person has the freedom to express his/her frustration, dissatisfaction, disappointment, unhappiness, anger and hurt, to do and say what he/she wants to do and say, but then it only indicates that this person doesn't love the partner at all, when he/she would think and react in such way, and would do and say things that would hurt the partner in return out of the frustration, dissatisfaction, disappointment, unhappiness, anger or hurt, that he/she strongly convinced that it's caused by the partner's being unloving and unkind with his/her bad, undeserving, hurtful and wrongful treatments/behaviors.
If the partner reacts with dissatisfaction, disappointment, unhappiness, anger, or hurt towards this person's action, and would react by doing and saying something that would hurt this person in return, then this also indicates that the partner also doesn't love this person.
Both of them don't love each other at all. They only love what they desire. They would have ill-thinking and ill-will towards each other, and would hurt each other when they don't get what they like and want from one another, but they are getting what they don't like and don't want from one another.
If a person loves the partner, he/she will love him/her as he/she is, and won't do or say anything with the intention of deliberately to 'hurt' him/her, even when the person receives so called 'bad', 'wrongful', or 'hurtful' treatment/behavior from the partner.
If the partner loves this person, he /she won't be doing anything intentionally to 'hurt' his/her partner or the relationship. He/she will love the partner as he/she is, even when knowing that this person doesn't love him/her, as he/she would do and say things to 'hurt' their partner when they are dissatisfied, unhappy, angry or feel hurt by something that they don't like and don't want. The partner won't retaliate by doing or saying anything with the intention of deliberately to 'hurt' him/her in return for this person's action of complaining to other people about the partner being 'bad' and 'terrible'.
There's nothing wrong when one knows/realizes that oneself doesn't love the partner or anyone. "Because I don't love you, that's why I would do things that will hurt you and our relationship, or I would want to hurt you in return for thinking and believing that I am hurt by you and your bad, wrong and hurtful behavior."
The thinking of "I love you so much, I am so loving to you. I deserve to be loved by you and I should be receiving loving treatment. I am very disappointed, unhappy, angry and hurt by your bad, wrongful and hurtful behavior that I don't deserve. I need to tell other people about how bad, wrongful and hurtful you are, because it will make me feel better by getting support and agreement from others to also agree with me that I am good and you are bad, that I am right and you are wrong, and that's why I am the 'victim' of other people's hurtful behavior and I need/deserve support and sympathy from others," is the cause of misery arising in the mind.
The realization of "I am unhappy, dissatisfied, disappointed, frustrated, angry and hurt is because I don't love you, I only love what I like and want, and I am not getting what I like and want from you, but I am getting what I don't like and don't want from you," is what allows the mind to be liberated from misery. There's no need to 'complain', or 'condemn', or 'redeem justice'.
It doesn't mean that one allows other people to abuse one's body and mind, but one doesn't need to be disturbed or determined by other people's unloving or unkind treatments/behaviors. One can let go of the partner and the relationship in peace. It's when one couldn't let go the partner and the relationship for some reasons, and hence, one is peaceless and suffering being 'engaged' or 'stuck' in a loveless relationship that is not the way that one would like it to be.
The thinking of "We are kind and loving people, and believing that we love other people and are kind to other people, but at the same time, thinking that we are somehow hurt by other people whom we 'love' very much. Believing and expecting that all mankind 'should' be loving and kind to one another." is the cause of 'hurt and suffering'. If we truly know what is love and how to love, we love everyone as they are, we love everything as it is. There's no 'hurt and suffering' regardless of how other people think, feel, behave, act and react, and how things are.
It's great liberation either when the mind realizes it doesn't love anyone, and there's nothing wrong for being loveless/don't feel love towards someone and something or towards everyone and everything, or when the mind realizes unconditional love and loves everyone and everything as it is, without expecting everyone and everything has to be in certain ways, that everyone has to be kind and loving to one another, or has to be grateful, appreciative and thankful for goodness and other people's love and kindness. One is free to love and give without possessiveness and ill-feelings/resentment, being free from egoism of attachment, identification, craving, aversion, judgment and expectation.
There's nothing wrong when other people don't love us, or don't want to love us. Everyone has the freedom to love, or not to love anyone. Just that when there's no love, people will do and say things that will hurt one another when their minds are being over-powered by dissatisfaction, disappointment, feelings of hurt and anger due to ungratified selfish desire, including hurting people whom they think they 'love' very much, whether intentionally or unintentionally. There's nothing wrong if we feel unhappy, disappointed, hurt and angry when we are not loved by those whom we would like to be loved by them, and we would feel hurt by their unloving treatments/behaviors towards us, but that thinking and reaction is merely due to ignorance in our minds.
It's the craving and clinging towards 'love and affection' and 'receiving loving treatments' and 'possessing a loving relationship' to feel love, happy, confident, worthy, proud and meaningful about 'I' and 'my life', that is causing suffering exist in the mind.
We feel disappointed, unhappy, angry and hurt is because things are not the way that we would like it to be. We didn't get the 'love and affection' that we expect to be receiving from others, or be loved/sympathized/accepted/acknowledged/understood/supported/treated by others the way that we would like it to be, the way that we think it should be, to attain and empower the sense of love, self-esteem, purpose, confidence, pride, happiness, completeness and meaningfulness, to be 'who I am'.
If 'yoga teachers' truly want to help other beings/people to be free from the suffering of hurts/disappointment/anger/painful sorrow/grief/resentment/fear/loneliness/depression, it's not by empowering the ignorance and egoism in others through 'being a good listener listening to their complaints', or 'giving them the love and support that they are looking/craving for', or 'prescribing them with different types of healing practice', or 'being the healer that claimed to be able to heal their minds/souls from all kinds of hurts and suffering', but it's to give them the Dhamma, that will allow them to purify their own minds via their own self-effort and self-discipline, to attain self-realization to realize/see the truth of all the names and forms, to know what is going on in the mind, to know the root cause of all suffering, and free their own minds from ignorance, egoism and impurities. Buddha didn't 'take away' the ignorance and impurities from people's mind, neither did Buddha 'heal' other people from their hurts and suffering, but Buddha just gave the Dhamma to those who came to him for 'guidance how to be free from suffering', and allowing everyone whether to practice and free their own mind from ignorance and suffering, or not.
Those who live in the truth, they are peaceful and free as it is, regardless of whether there's love or loveless towards others who restlessly act and react under the influence of ignorance, egoism and impurities, and would hurt others whether intentionally or unintentionally. There's no need to forbear, or forgive, or let go anything, as they are free from disturbed, disappointment, resentment, anger, hatred and hurts. It's everyone's own responsibility to be aware of what is going on in their own minds, and whether there's self-control over their own actions and reactions, or not.
Be free.
It's not easy for the impure egoistic passionate minds (that are being conditioned by worldly ideas, thinking and belief to think and behave, to aspire and inspire, to live life, to socialize and interact, to accumulate connections and relationships, to feel happy, confident, proud and meaningful) to penetrate the subtle meaning of silence. In many cases, silence would be perceived by the worldly egoistic passionate minds as 'cowardliness', 'non-action/improper action', 'weakness', 'submissive towards other's people bad and wrongful behavior', or 'passively encouraging evilness, bad ideas and wrong doings'. There's nothing wrong with this common worldly thinking and belief, action and reaction.
Only the dispassionate minds could penetrate the subtle reason/meaning/action/practice of silence in the teachings of Yoga and Buddhism, where it's beyond restraining the speech organ, physical and mental activities, or restraining the senses from going out chasing after the objects of the senses, but real silence comes naturally and effortlessly out of compassion upon realization of selflessness knowing what is going on in the mind of all the restless and selfless modifications of the mind perception of names and forms, egoism and the by-products of egoism, separateness, all forms of impurities, actions and reactions, intentions and expectations, aspirations and inspirations, enjoyment and suffering.
It's being aware of and acknowledging the ignorance in one's mind. It's seeing the ignorance in this mind which is not any different from the ignorance in other minds. It's seeing the truth of "the impermanent and selfless worldly life existence of the body and mind functioning and perceiving all the impermanent and selfless names and forms" as it is.
The highest Yoga Sadhana is forbearance to forbear the mind perception of unpleasantness, disagreement, undesirable experiences, constraint, selfless undesirable changes, difficulties, obstacles, challenging condition and situation, insult, humiliation, threat and hurt, without violence, animosity, ill-will, anger and hatred, which include non-craving, non-aversion, non-justification, non-retaliation, non-contentious, non-bashing, non-criticism, non-judgment, non-expectation, and so on, upon experiencing what the worldly thinking and belief categorizes as stupid, selfish, unjust, bad, undeserving, wrongful, hurtful, unkind, harsh, cruel, unreasonable, provoking, or mischievous treatment/behaviors from others, especially if it's coming from those whom we love, who are in some kind of relationship with us.
Upon realization of the truth of names and forms, the mind perception of suffering and the root cause of suffering vanished, or being free from ignorance and the consequences of ignorance - all kinds of suffering, all forms of yoga practice including forbearance become irrelevant or useless. It is needless to practice forbearance to forbear anything, as the mind has gone beyond all the modifications of the mind perception of duality, separateness and the worldly ideas, thinking, belief, actions and reactions. It is needless to practice yoga to free the mind from ignorance, egoism, impurities, restlessness and suffering, as the mind is free as it is.
After going through a prolong and unpleasant process of mind purification, the minds that are rendered pure and quiet are able to see the truth of names and forms as it is, realizing oneness/non-separateness among all the different qualities of names and forms, and the relation between silence, selflessness, compassion and non-violence, being free from the ego (the idea of 'I' exists as an individual being) and egoism, and the mind perception of 'hurt and suffering' vanished. There's no need to 'forbear' something 'hurtful and suffering'. There's no need to be 'healed' from 'hurt and suffering'. The mind is resting in silence peacefully, naturally and effortlessly, even under the great criticism/attack from many other passionate egoistic minds (those who identify themselves as 'good and kind people' empowered by the sense of self-righteousness) in the world discouraging, condemning and disagreeing with the action/practice of silence.
There's nothing wrong with most minds think and believe that people/human beings/mankind should react with 'Intolerance and discouragement towards bad and wrongful treatments/behaviors', to fight back and attack the 'bad and evil beings', to obtain revenge/justice/relief for themselves being 'the victims' of other people's bad and wrongful treatments/behaviors, as that is how all the impure egoistic minds understand and being conditioned to react in certain ways upon receiving treatments/behaviors from others that the minds perceive, think and believe as 'undeserving', 'shouldn't', 'wrongful' and 'bad'.
To contemplate on this teaching -
Let's say, there's a couple who think they love each other and are committed to be a couple.
One of them behaves in the way that most minds/people would perceive, categorize, think and believe as terrible, bad, wrongful, or hurtful.
It's normal that the other person will react and feel dissatisfaction, disappointment, unhappiness, anger, or hurt by the partner's bad, hurtful and wrongful behavior.
Out of dissatisfaction, disappointment, unhappiness, anger, or hurt, this person has the urge to complain to other people about "My partner is so bad and terrible. He/she is like this and like that. He/she did this and did that. I love him/her so much. I am so nice to him/her, but this is how he/she behaves in return for my love and care. I don't deserve to be treated like this."
This person has the freedom to express his/her frustration, dissatisfaction, disappointment, unhappiness, anger and hurt, to do and say what he/she wants to do and say, but then it only indicates that this person doesn't love the partner at all, when he/she would think and react in such way, and would do and say things that would hurt the partner in return out of the frustration, dissatisfaction, disappointment, unhappiness, anger or hurt, that he/she strongly convinced that it's caused by the partner's being unloving and unkind with his/her bad, undeserving, hurtful and wrongful treatments/behaviors.
If the partner reacts with dissatisfaction, disappointment, unhappiness, anger, or hurt towards this person's action, and would react by doing and saying something that would hurt this person in return, then this also indicates that the partner also doesn't love this person.
Both of them don't love each other at all. They only love what they desire. They would have ill-thinking and ill-will towards each other, and would hurt each other when they don't get what they like and want from one another, but they are getting what they don't like and don't want from one another.
If a person loves the partner, he/she will love him/her as he/she is, and won't do or say anything with the intention of deliberately to 'hurt' him/her, even when the person receives so called 'bad', 'wrongful', or 'hurtful' treatment/behavior from the partner.
If the partner loves this person, he /she won't be doing anything intentionally to 'hurt' his/her partner or the relationship. He/she will love the partner as he/she is, even when knowing that this person doesn't love him/her, as he/she would do and say things to 'hurt' their partner when they are dissatisfied, unhappy, angry or feel hurt by something that they don't like and don't want. The partner won't retaliate by doing or saying anything with the intention of deliberately to 'hurt' him/her in return for this person's action of complaining to other people about the partner being 'bad' and 'terrible'.
There's nothing wrong when one knows/realizes that oneself doesn't love the partner or anyone. "Because I don't love you, that's why I would do things that will hurt you and our relationship, or I would want to hurt you in return for thinking and believing that I am hurt by you and your bad, wrong and hurtful behavior."
The thinking of "I love you so much, I am so loving to you. I deserve to be loved by you and I should be receiving loving treatment. I am very disappointed, unhappy, angry and hurt by your bad, wrongful and hurtful behavior that I don't deserve. I need to tell other people about how bad, wrongful and hurtful you are, because it will make me feel better by getting support and agreement from others to also agree with me that I am good and you are bad, that I am right and you are wrong, and that's why I am the 'victim' of other people's hurtful behavior and I need/deserve support and sympathy from others," is the cause of misery arising in the mind.
The realization of "I am unhappy, dissatisfied, disappointed, frustrated, angry and hurt is because I don't love you, I only love what I like and want, and I am not getting what I like and want from you, but I am getting what I don't like and don't want from you," is what allows the mind to be liberated from misery. There's no need to 'complain', or 'condemn', or 'redeem justice'.
It doesn't mean that one allows other people to abuse one's body and mind, but one doesn't need to be disturbed or determined by other people's unloving or unkind treatments/behaviors. One can let go of the partner and the relationship in peace. It's when one couldn't let go the partner and the relationship for some reasons, and hence, one is peaceless and suffering being 'engaged' or 'stuck' in a loveless relationship that is not the way that one would like it to be.
The thinking of "We are kind and loving people, and believing that we love other people and are kind to other people, but at the same time, thinking that we are somehow hurt by other people whom we 'love' very much. Believing and expecting that all mankind 'should' be loving and kind to one another." is the cause of 'hurt and suffering'. If we truly know what is love and how to love, we love everyone as they are, we love everything as it is. There's no 'hurt and suffering' regardless of how other people think, feel, behave, act and react, and how things are.
It's great liberation either when the mind realizes it doesn't love anyone, and there's nothing wrong for being loveless/don't feel love towards someone and something or towards everyone and everything, or when the mind realizes unconditional love and loves everyone and everything as it is, without expecting everyone and everything has to be in certain ways, that everyone has to be kind and loving to one another, or has to be grateful, appreciative and thankful for goodness and other people's love and kindness. One is free to love and give without possessiveness and ill-feelings/resentment, being free from egoism of attachment, identification, craving, aversion, judgment and expectation.
There's nothing wrong when other people don't love us, or don't want to love us. Everyone has the freedom to love, or not to love anyone. Just that when there's no love, people will do and say things that will hurt one another when their minds are being over-powered by dissatisfaction, disappointment, feelings of hurt and anger due to ungratified selfish desire, including hurting people whom they think they 'love' very much, whether intentionally or unintentionally. There's nothing wrong if we feel unhappy, disappointed, hurt and angry when we are not loved by those whom we would like to be loved by them, and we would feel hurt by their unloving treatments/behaviors towards us, but that thinking and reaction is merely due to ignorance in our minds.
It's the craving and clinging towards 'love and affection' and 'receiving loving treatments' and 'possessing a loving relationship' to feel love, happy, confident, worthy, proud and meaningful about 'I' and 'my life', that is causing suffering exist in the mind.
We feel disappointed, unhappy, angry and hurt is because things are not the way that we would like it to be. We didn't get the 'love and affection' that we expect to be receiving from others, or be loved/sympathized/accepted/acknowledged/understood/supported/treated by others the way that we would like it to be, the way that we think it should be, to attain and empower the sense of love, self-esteem, purpose, confidence, pride, happiness, completeness and meaningfulness, to be 'who I am'.
If 'yoga teachers' truly want to help other beings/people to be free from the suffering of hurts/disappointment/anger/painful sorrow/grief/resentment/fear/loneliness/depression, it's not by empowering the ignorance and egoism in others through 'being a good listener listening to their complaints', or 'giving them the love and support that they are looking/craving for', or 'prescribing them with different types of healing practice', or 'being the healer that claimed to be able to heal their minds/souls from all kinds of hurts and suffering', but it's to give them the Dhamma, that will allow them to purify their own minds via their own self-effort and self-discipline, to attain self-realization to realize/see the truth of all the names and forms, to know what is going on in the mind, to know the root cause of all suffering, and free their own minds from ignorance, egoism and impurities. Buddha didn't 'take away' the ignorance and impurities from people's mind, neither did Buddha 'heal' other people from their hurts and suffering, but Buddha just gave the Dhamma to those who came to him for 'guidance how to be free from suffering', and allowing everyone whether to practice and free their own mind from ignorance and suffering, or not.
Those who live in the truth, they are peaceful and free as it is, regardless of whether there's love or loveless towards others who restlessly act and react under the influence of ignorance, egoism and impurities, and would hurt others whether intentionally or unintentionally. There's no need to forbear, or forgive, or let go anything, as they are free from disturbed, disappointment, resentment, anger, hatred and hurts. It's everyone's own responsibility to be aware of what is going on in their own minds, and whether there's self-control over their own actions and reactions, or not.
Be free.
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