Want to learn and practice yoga? (7)

In the beginning of the yoga practice, no doubt that many impure minds are being conditioned by worldly thinking, belief, values and practice to behave, act/react and expect in certain way, and hence, they needed to rely on certain 'intention', 'inspiration', 'aspiration' or 'encouragement' to ignite the interest and motivation to be practicing yoga, to set a goal/resolution to be the inspiration of one's practice. However, this is neither the entire practice nor the end of practice.

There's a very common values and practice among the many different types of worldly egoistic thinking, beliefs, values and practices, where many people believe that most human beings don't have initiative and discipline to be doing and achieving something, and so, people need to be 'pushed' or 'lured' to perform and engage in certain actions/activities. In order to 'attract' and 'encourage' people to be doing and achieving something, they needed to be given some kind of 'sweets', or 'advantage', or 'pleasant rewards', to motivate them to do and achieve something, or else people won't have self-initiative and motivation to do or achieve anything if without any 'nice rewards' in return. Most people are being brought up in such way, and hence, being conditioned to act and react and expect in such way. "Well done!", "Good job!", "I'm so proud of you!", "Yeah!", "Fantastic!", "Congratulation!", "Thank you!", "Your work is much appreciated!", "I'll give you something that you want, if you do this or achieve this," and so on. While some people even use discipline, punishment or threat to threaten the people to perform or engage in certain action/inaction. "I won't give you what you want, or I will 'hurt' you (or your loved ones), if you do this (or don't do this.)"

This is not yoga practice at all, but somehow, someone under the worldly egoistic thinking, belief, values and practice had introduced this type of practice into the path of yoga.

The yoga students or yoga practitioners must inquire towards what is egoism, and how to eliminate egoism.

The one that needs to set a specific intention or goal, and constantly receiving some kinds of motivational praise and encouragement and rewards to be performing actions that would benefit oneself and/or others, as well as to keep going, is the ego. The one that would be threatened by certain threats to engage in certain action or inaction, being fearful towards not getting something that one desires or losing something that one loves, is the ego.

Either by temptation (something pleasant and enjoyable) or threat (something unpleasant and painful) to 'influence', 'attract', 'lure', 'make' or 'force' some others to do or don't do something, either out of good or evil intention, are merely the play of ignorance and egoism.

Many 'yoga teachers' were learning and being trained in the 'yoga teachers training course' to teach about 'setting intention, or goal, or resolution (Sankalpa)' in the 'yoga class' as part of the yoga practice, such as "I am strong", "I am pure", "I am good enough", "I am healthy", "I am whole", "I am positive", "I am this and that". And then, somehow it turns into "I can achieve this and that" or "All my desires will be gratified." It's not about right or wrong, however, most minds aren't aware of this practice doesn't help to eliminate egoism from the mind, but instead, it's empowering egoism and ignorance.

'Yoga teachers' are also being trained to be equipped with the knowledge or information about what are the mental and physical 'effect' or 'benefit' of the different yoga practices, and to teach 'yoga classes' by explaining all kinds of benefits and goodness of each practices or yoga asana/pose/position/movements (If you do this, you will receive certain pleasant rewards in return), as well as precautions and badness (If you do this, you will receive certain unpleasant rewards in return), to indicate that they are well-trained, well-informed and professional enough to teach yoga classes. They are also being trained to say 'positive' and 'motivational' words and sentences, in order to motivate/compliment/please the ego, or not saying anything that the ego doesn't like and doesn't want to hear in order not to demotivate/offend/displease the ego. All these are nothing but part of the worldly egoistic thinking, belief, values and practice.

Meanwhile, yoga practice is indeed about 'starving' and 'breaking' the ego to its annihilation, by the mind itself. That's why in the very few and rare traditional yoga schools, many worldly passionate egoistic minds would feel 'disturbed' and 'offended' by the teachings and the teachers' certain way of teaching and guiding the minds to be aware of and eliminate the ego. It's not the teacher being the one that 'breaks' the student's ego. The teacher is only guiding the student to be aware of what is going on in the mind, and out of the student's own awareness and will, it 'breaks' its own ego by itself. The egoistic minds need to be guided to look within, and see how the mind is behaving/acting/reacting, functioning under the influence of ignorance and egoism, and of course, it's not a pleasant process, and even could be extremely painful for certain passionate egoistic minds, but it's an inevitable process to free the mind from ignorance and egoism.

It's not about "Being afraid of offending/displeasing the ego, and they don't want to practice yoga anymore," but then the 'yoga practice' that the passionate egoistic minds love, that pleases them, that makes them feel good and meaningful, doesn't lead them towards what yoga is about, no matter how long they have been 'practicing yoga'.

The main reason that supports the idea of "Do not offend/displease the students/clients, keeping their ego happy and satisfied," is about not wanting to hurt 'the business' or 'the income' from running and teaching 'yoga classes', 'yoga courses', or 'yoga retreats'.

It's the mind's own responsibility and will, whether it will or will not practice yoga, as it is. If they don't want to practice yoga to eliminate ignorance and egoism, because they reject and couldn't allow the teachings and practices being what they are, not necessarily being the way that they like and agree with, it's their freedom and choice. The teachers don't have to manipulating/modifying the teachings and practices to 'attract' and 'lure' the minds to be practicing 'yoga' that is not what it is. The mind might think and believe that this is compassion, to treat the minds carefully, don't offend/hurt the ego, but it's not compassion, but mere ignorant egoistic loving kindness, sympathy and empathy. Just as how some children are being 'pampered' and 'ruined' by the 'loving' parents.

Life is uncertain, selfless and impermanent. Life doesn't change or modify or adjust itself into the way to adapt and accommodate the different desires of all and everyone. All and everyone learn how to respect life as it is, and learn how to adjust, adapt and accommodate life being what it is, as it changes selflessly, under the law of cause and effect. The Truth cannot be contaminated and doesn't change into something else to accommodate everyone's desire and don't desire, even if ignorant egoistic minds could 'manipulate' everything into something else under selfish intention and aspiration.

From the very beginning in the path of yoga, it's very important to be taught about what is self-inquiry and how to allow the mind to be opened, to investigate the truth of everything, without blind-following, blind-believing, blind-practicing, or blind-propagating anything that we learned from different types of teachers in life, including everything that we learned from the yoga teachers training courses, even when the mind is under the influence of ignorance and egoism strongly. If the mind will be offended and rejects, let it be, it's their freedom and choice for what they want and don't want.

All minds that want to learn and practice yoga, regardless of the degrees of ignorance, must develop the basic understanding towards "All the action and reaction in one's mind is the responsibility of the mind itself." Where, "It's because of you/him/her/them/this, that's why I behave, act and react in certain way, and it's because of you and your wrongful behavior, that's why I feel good or bad, I am happy or unhappy, I am pleased or hurt," is mere ignorance. The very basic foundation to be engaging in yoga practice, is to be aware of one's actions and reactions is one's own responsibility. The mind wants to be happy, none can make it become unhappy. The mind wants to be unhappy, none can make it become happy. The mind wants to be free, none can stop it from being free. The mind doesn't want to be free, none can liberate it.

The real 'teachers' won't be offended, if the students are offended and rejecting the teachings and practice of yoga, not to say, if the students are practicing non blind-following, non blind-believing, non blind-practicing and non blind-propagating, and be initiative to purify the intellect and reasoning power, to discipline and quite the mind, to develop self-inquiry, to investigate and reflect the truth of everything, to attain direct realization towards the truth of the teachings. It's not like certain 'teachers' and 'teachings' that demand their followers to be blind-following, blind-believing, blind-practicing and blind-propagating their teachings, while prohibiting their followers to question or investigate towards the truth of the teachings, or else, one is considered sinful, and would be condemned and be punished, if one questions or investigates the truth of the teachings.

Letting go the intention or aspiration of trying to influence, change or control the world to be in certain way, even if it's out of 'good and positive' intention to be creating a 'good and positive' world. It doesn't mean that one doesn't perform or stop performing any actions that would benefit the world in certain way, if without 'intention' or 'aspiration'. The sun, the earth, the wind, the water and the space don't have any intention or aspiration, but their selfless existence and intentionless action is allowing everything else to be existing and changing.

Without the intention or aspiration to influence, control or change the world to be or not to be in certain way, just do one's best utilizing one's opportunity, knowledge, experience and ability to be performing selfless actions that could benefit the world in certain way, without attachment, identification, craving, aversion, judgment, comparison, or expectation.

Reflect and realize the ONE nature of everything, which is selflessness and impermanence.

There's no "I am strong", "I am pure", "I am good", "I am positive", "I am deserving", "I am meaningful", "I am healthy", "I am this or that", not to say, "Gratifying all my desires, where everything is the way that I desire it to be."

Inquire the truth of everything, including all the teachings here.