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Thursday, June 6, 2019

Social conversation / talking / sharing / caring?

Most people need/like/love to talk to some other people most of the time, or even talking to themselves if other people are not available. Talking is a normal thing to do, and a common way to know, learn, express and share, or to have an activity to pass time to chase away boredom and to gratify curiosity. 
 
In many cultures in the society, it's considered 'rude', or 'impolite', or 'inappropriate', or 'wrong', or 'something is wrong', if there's silence among people (especially for a prolonged period of time), or if someone doesn't interact with other people or doesn't get involved in a conversation with other people around, especially those who know one another, even if someone who can't hear or speak, or don't speak the same language, or those who are new comers/complete strangers showing up in a place with some other people around, are also being 'expected' to show at least some sort of acknowledgement through body language/facial expression/sign language/gesture to be conversing/interacting/communicating with other people.
 
People would feel offended, or disrespected, or mistreated, if they don't get any 'expected' response from those whom they want to talk to, where either people didn't give any response, or people talked about something that they aren't interested or don't like to hear, especially something that they perceive and judge as 'offensiveness' that they disagree with.

Many people aren't satisfied with some people just giving a friendly non-intimidating smile to acknowledge or greet other people, but they believe and expect that all human beings need to have certain physical/mental/emotional conversation/communication/interaction/involvement/connection with each other to build a 'healthy' and 'caring' society.
 
Someone who keeps to oneself, who has no unfriendly discrimination or intimidation towards everyone else, but doesn't interested in engaging in any kind of physical/mental/emotional contact/conversation/interaction/communication/involvement/connection with anyone, is being seen as 'wrong', 'selfish', 'unhealthy', or 'sicked', by all the others who 'expect' certain 'normal' and 'healthy' behavior/action/reaction/interaction among 'normal' and 'healthy' human beings.

Many passionate/sociable/friendly/caring people couldn't understand or respect that there are people who prefer complete quietness/solitude or some quiet/alone time and space for themselves. People would either feel 'bad' or get 'offended' when other people reject or don't accept their friendly invitation to meet up, or get together, or to chat.

People need/want to share 'what I think is who I am' and 'how I think and feel' with other people and they want other people to share with them 'what they think is who they are' and 'how they think and feel'.
 
Majority of the worldly so called 'normal', 'healthy', 'friendly' and 'caring' society is all about developing and empowering that egoistic 'self-identity' which attached and identified with certain qualities of names and forms and 'the modification of the mind of impermanent thinking, emotions and feelings' as 'this is I' and that is not 'I', even in the yoga community that is supposed to be free from all kinds of egoistic attachment and identification, to realize selflessness/namelessness/formlessness/attributelessness.

For those who know each other, mostly the conversation begins with "How are you?" and then naturally will be followed by talking about the past and the future, "What have you been doing and where did you go and what's next?"
 
While for those first time meeting/knowing each other, it's mostly talking about self-introduction of each other about "Who I am/who you are." or "This is me and my name/my nationality/my life/my family/my relationship/my friends/my experience/my knowledge/my interest/my ambition/my passion/my vision/my point of view/my ideas/my talent/my skill/my achievement/my non-achievement/my success/my failure/my pride/my shame/my good/my bad/my happiness/my unhappiness/my guilt and regret, and so on. This is who I am, where I come from/where I live and what I do for living and at free time, and what I think/believe/feel/like/dislike/agree with/disagree with/want/don't want, my good/bad/happy/unhappy experiences, and what I did in the past and will be doing in the future." As well as talking about "This is good/better/right/positive/excellent/happy/funny/meaningful/encouraging and that is bad/worse/wrong/negative/terrible/unhappy/sad/meaningless/discouraging." or some 'obligated social ethical manner' of pleasant words, praise and compliment. And sometimes there will be scheming, plotting, cover-up/made-up stories telling, or hypocrisy, or lies, or gossip, or mocking, or teasing, or flirting, or criticism, or condemn, or slander, or back-biting, or finger pointing, or argument, or intimidation, and etc.

Social conversation or talking is an intense physical/mental/emotional energy consuming process that keeps the mind ceaselessly stimulated and restlessly receiving/processing inputs and generating/delivering outputs, while all these ceaseless mind inputs and outputs generate further random mental/emotional imprints that doesn't allow the mind to be quiet, and unwittingly empowering egoism of worldly/spiritual attachment, identification, desire of craving and aversion, judgment, comparison and expectation that feeds ignorance and egoism in oneself and others.

For those who sincerely want to meditate or practice yoga to be free from ignorance, it's all about freeing the mind from being unwittingly empowering all those names and forms, of duality, attachment, identification, past experiences, future anticipation, passionate desires, craving/aversion, judgment, comparison, expectation, restlessness, impurities, and etc, to stop feeding egoism and ignorance. And hence, the important practice of silence, renunciation, seclusion and solitude.

Without renunciation from the worldly society, one is being 'obliged' to meet up/get together/communicate/interact with many other people of family/relatives/friends circle/community and spend so much energy into social conversation/interaction/communication/activity with all the others around in order to 'build' and 'maintain' a 'healthy, caring and friendly society' that might make the mind feels 'love', 'kindness', 'acknowledgement', 'goodness', 'positiveness', 'liveliness' and 'meaningfulness'. 
 
There's nothing wrong with that, but it doesn't help to free the mind from ignorance and egoism, to quiet/annihilate the restless modification of the mind. Instead, the mind might attached stronger onto the sense of 'love', 'kindness', 'acknowledgement', 'goodness', 'positiveness', 'liveliness' and 'meaningfulness' deriving from the impermanent and selfless worldly names and forms of all kinds of attachment and egoistic identity, actions and the fruit of actions.

From the perception/achievement/notion of "Life in this world is good and meaningful," give rise to the desire of "We need to preserve and protect life in this world to stay good and meaningful." And from there, it gives rise to the sense of 'dissatisfaction', 'frustration', 'hurts', 'depression', 'unhappiness', 'anger', 'disappointment', 'fear', 'worry', and etc, when things are not being the way that the mind desires it to be, when there are obstacles/difficulties/circumstances that hinder the gratification of that desire to be building/maintaining/protecting what the mind think and believe as 'Good and meaningful life in this world'. This is attachment/clinging/craving/expectation.

First, there's an idea/thought arise in the mind, then arise the attachment/clinging onto that idea/thought which gives rise to the desire to materialize that idea/thought to become action/creation, and then there's possessiveness/identification/expectation/protection towards that action/creation and the result/fruit of that action/creation. If things turn out to be the way that is not what the mind desire/expect it to be, the mind feels disturbed/dissatisfied/disappointed/hurt/sad/unhappy/depressed/frustrated/angry/aggressive/violent and so on. And ceaseless random ideas/thoughts arise to counter those 'tension' accumulating in the mind. Restless.

Those who have firm foundation in non-attachment and dispassion, or those who know thyself or selflessness, or maybe those who think and believe "I have done and achieved everything that I desire and I can die in peace at any time from now without regret," can mix into the worldly society and perform many actions to help to build a 'caring and friendly society' in the world, but without being distracted or influenced by the constant restless physical/mental/emotional interaction/activity, being undetermined by the actions and the fruit of actions, being free from disturbs, hurts, disappointment, dissatisfaction, frustration, or guilt/regret. This is non-attachment/non-clinging/non-craving/non-expectation.

One can mix with many people and constantly talk about "This is my name, my nationality, my family, my friends, my relatives, my community, my past, my present, my future, my actions and fruit of my actions, my thinking/belief/culture/point of view/feelings/emotions/experiences, or this and that is happening/has happened/will be happening here and there, and so on." as all these names and forms are what most people talk about in any conversation and where people identifying with all these names and forms as "who they think they are", but knowing clearly that all these names and forms are not "who I am" or 'I' for the minds that know thyself or selflessness.

When someone is being alone or in silence at peace being in their own 'space', people around will be concern and ask, "Are you okay? Is there something bothering you? You can talk to me. I'm here to listen."

There's nothing wrong when people feel sad, or unhappy, or depressed, or disappointed, or frustrated, or negative once in a while, and most people feel that they need to talk to someone to share their feelings and what's bothering them, to release some tension or to get some advice. People don't have to be okay, or satisfy, or happy all the time. But those who know what is going on in the mind, they know that all pleasant and unpleasant emotions and feelings are impermanent, and they do not attached or identified with any pleasant or unpleasant emotions and feelings. There is nothing to be sad, unhappy, depressed, disappointed, frustrated or negative about, that need to be talking or sharing with someone else, or to release any tension, as there's no tension built up, or to get any advice, as there's no problems.

Those who know this, they can be peaceful and happy as they are, no matter what.

Those who don't know this, they don't have to be happy all the time and they can't be happy no matter what.
 
It's okay sometimes the mind is not okay and not happy with certain things. There's nothing wrong with that. But when they think no body is being there to share their thinking/feelings/problems, to be talking to other people, or to be listening by other people, they might feel more sad, unhappy, disappointed, depressed, frustrated, or negative. And hence, people believe that "People should be available to be talking to and listening to other people all the time. Most people need to feel better through talking to other people. While those who want to listen and share about other people's feelings and emotions would feel good and meaningful when there are people want to talk to them." There's nothing wrong with that but it doesn't free the mind (of the one who talks and the one who listens) from ignorance/attachment/craving/expectation. Just like giving an unhappy and crying child the sweets and sugary drinks that the child wants every time to make the child stop being unhappy and crying if the child doesn't get the sweets and sugary drinks, doesn't really help the child at all. There's no freedom.

"It feels so good talking to you. Let's meet up regularly and talk more," and "Talking to me can make you feel better and make me feel so good and meaningful. Let's meet up and talk more often." If for some reasons that these two people are not possible to meet up and talk as expected/desired/needed, both would feel bad, sad and disappointed. There's no freedom.

Just like practicing yoga exercises and teaching yoga to other people would generate the momentary sense of well-being, goodness and meaningfulness, and if for some reasons one couldn't practice yoga exercises or teach yoga for a prolonged period of time, one would feel frustrated, disappointed and meaningless. There's no freedom.

Most people/minds don't like to hear this.

"Compassion is not about giving the mind what it likes and wants, or what it craves for, to be empowering the ignorance and egoism in the mind to make the ego feels better, good, satisfied or happy. Compassion is allowing the suffering unhappy disturbed mind to inquire into the truth of suffering, unhappiness and disturbs, by freeing the mind from ignorance, egoism, restlessness and impurities, to see the truth of the root cause of all suffering of disturbs/hurts/unhappiness/disappointment/dissatisfaction/fear/worry, where all kinds of suffering is deriving from one's ignorance and egoism or ceaseless egoistic mind reactions towards the gratification/non-gratification of the desire of craving and aversion. If one's desire is being gratified by getting what one likes and wants, and not getting what one doesn't like and doesn't want, then the mind reacts and feels good, satisfied and happy. And when one's desire is not being gratified, where one is not getting what one likes and wants, but is getting what one doesn't like and doesn't want, then the mind reacts and feels bad, dissatisfied and unhappy. It's nothing to do with the experiences or names and forms being 'bad', 'wrong', 'terrible', 'disturbing', or 'hurtful'."
 
Upon seeing the truth of what is going on in one's mind, this mind doesn't need anyone to be there to be listening to any 'disturbed feelings and emotions', as there's none. There's no problem that need to be shared or talked about. This is maturity. This is real independence. This is freedom. But, unfortunately not many people appreciate this independence and freedom, but only looking forward to be building mental and emotional connection and dependency among one another to feel good and meaningful.

The teachings/practice/process of freeing the mind from ignorance and egoism, it's not something pleasant or agreeable to the worldly ignorant egoistic passionate minds at all, but it can effectively free the mind from suffering deriving from ignorance and egoism.

It's everyone's freedom for what they want to practice, or not.

Be free.

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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.

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