The sincere yoga or buddhism practitioner who is determined to attain direct realization towards the truth of selflessness, to be free from the veil of ignorance, egoism, impurities and restlessness, needs to know how to follow the middle path, neither too tight nor too loose, where one eats enough, sleeps enough, actives enough, rests enough, works enough, not over-eating or under eating, not over sleeping or under sleeping, not over active or under active, not over resting or under resting, not over working or under working, and so on.
The middle path is the path of yoga and/or buddhism.
A life of simplicity with enough basic needs, without intentionally torturing oneself in hard living condition or indulging in easy comfortable living condition chasing after excess livelihood or comfortable pleasurable enjoyment of the senses, is the middle path.
Although under certain reason, if there is not enough basic needs for life maintenance, where the practitioner is living in a state of insufficiency, where the physical body and mind has to be spending excessive attention, energy and effort into looking after the maintenance of life, as well as maybe looking after some others in life financially, physically and mentally, and there might not be attention or energy left for performing certain physical yoga or meditation practice under particular name and form, it's okay, as all those attention, energy and effort being spent on the action of looking after the maintenance of life and looking after some others who are financially, physically or mentally dependent on oneself, are indeed the practical nameless formless practice under right effort, when one knows what is non-attachment, non-identification, non-craving, non-aversion, non-judgment and non-expectation towards the actions and the fruit of actions, free from dissatisfaction, discontentment or greed, while allowing the fruit of one's attention, energy and effort to be what it is.
This is different from the passionate desire of egoistic attachment, affection and clinging towards the physical body and all kinds of ties and relationships with some others under the presence of attachment, identification and expectation, where the duty and responsibility is being performed under the intention of gratifying worldly passionate desires and aspirations, then that is not part of the practice under right effort.
While those who are living in an easy comfortable living condition with more than enough basic needs for living, they need to be aware of not losing themselves in a comfortable condition, or losing oneself in chasing after higher and higher pleasurable enjoyment or the accumulation and hoarding of wealth, unwittingly. One needs to be able to let go all kinds of pleasurable enjoyment of the senses that are easily accessible to oneself, and only keep enough for living in simplicity that enables oneself to be focusing on the path towards the annihilation of ignorance and egoism, without spending too much attention, energy and effort into looking after life maintenance, while letting go the excess abundance to some others who are living under insufficiency, and need not continuously generating and accumulating wealth that contributing to many kinds of exploitation and damages in the world. Without attachment, identification, craving, aversion, judgment or expectation towards the practice or the fruit of the practice.
The mind that is lost in the generation, accumulation and hoarding of wealth will justify that its intention is to be able to perform as much charity as possible with those accumulated wealth, while not knowing that the presence of such intention or idea is merely a form of greed or ambitious, which is already swaying away from the practice.
Some minds also justifying that the indulgence in a comfortable luxurious pleasurable lifestyle is also part of the practice of non-attachment and non-identification, where they continuously indulging in such indulgence, thinking that they are also practicing non-attachment and non-identification towards such indulgence. That's their freedom of thinking and belief, however, what they are not aware of, is that the accumulation of wealth that support such luxurious pleasurable lifestyle is deriving from and empowering the many exploitation and corruptions in the world that give rise to many desperate conditions and suffering to many others in the world as well as contributing to many unnecessary damages to the surrounding environment, either directly or indirectly. And all these will lead to impactful consequences to all and everyone regardless of who and where.
Some minds mistaken the middle path as there's no need to refrain the senses from indulging in pleasurable enjoyment. That's their freedom of thinking and desire, however, the middle path includes the highly important practice of refraining the senses from chasing after the objects of the senses, or indulging in pleasurable enjoyment of the senses.
The presence of the idea or intention of "building and organizing bigger and more yoga classes, yoga events, yoga schools, yoga studios, yoga community, yoga organization, or yoga association, to be attracting more people into the world of yoga," is already a form of greed or ambitious, that is already swaying away from the practice, that the minds aren't aware of.
A yogi is not determined by the easy or hard life condition, the good or bad health and fitness condition, or the amount and size of the charity works or the dissemination of the teachings of yoga to others that one can performed under good intention.
Inquire towards the truth of everything.
No comments:
Post a Comment