Developing correct understanding

Developing correct understanding towards the relationship between identity, separateness, possessiveness, selfishness, fear, greed, desire, anger, hatred, discrimination, unrest, and violence.

All these terms are inter-related or 'good friends' to one another.

All these names and forms are the products of ignorance, the idea of 'I', and egoism.

The presence of the idea of 'I', and egoism, gives rise to individual, family, social, community, and group identity, attaching towards certain similar qualities of names and forms to be identifying as 'I' and 'us'.

The presence of identity gives rise to separateness between 'I' or 'us' and the others that are 'not I' or 'not us'.

The presence of separateness leads to possessiveness towards names and forms that don't belong to anyone as 'my' and 'our', or to be 'mine' and 'ours'.

The presence of possessiveness gives rise to selfishness (these are mine or ours), fear (of losing the possession), and greed (towards possessing more and more possession, and there are endless desires and ambitions).

The presence of selfishness, fear, and greed gives rise to self-protectiveness, defensiveness, offensiveness, dissatisfaction, anger, hatred, intimidation, invasion, occupation, oppression, and discrimination towards ideas, values, practice, activities, affairs, or those that are detrimental to or going against 'my' or 'our' desires and ambitions.

The presence of dissatisfaction, anger, hatred, intimidation, invasion, occupation, oppression, and discrimination leads to unrest and violence, a.k.a. devoid of peace at all levels.

Devoid of peace, or the presence of unrest and disturbance feeds ignorance that fuels the idea of 'I' and egoism.

To be free from all that - Annihilate the veil of ignorance.

To annihilate the veil of ignorance - Attain self-realization, or know Thyself.

To attain self-realization - Perform self-inquiry towards what is 'I', or towards the truth of names and forms (selflessness and impermanence).

To perform self-inquiry towards what is 'I', or towards the truth of names and forms - Purifying the intellectual reasoning and understanding, calming and quieting the restless thought-wave, or thought-current, or thought activities, or annihilating the restless impure egoistic modification of the mind.

To purify, calm, quiet, and annihilate the restless impure egoistic modification of the mind - Annihilate or let go the idea of 'I' and egoism.

To annihilate or let go the idea of 'I' and egoism - Stop feeding or fueling the idea of 'I' and egoism.

To stop feeding or fueling the idea of 'I' and egoism - Freeing the mind from attachment, identification, desire of craving and aversion, comparison, judgment, and expectation, by developing non-attachment, non-identification, desirelessness, non-craving, non-aversion, non-comparison, non-judgment, and non-expectation.

To facilitate or implement all that - Observe or practice dispassion, renunciation*, seclusion, solitude, mental and emotional independence, simplicity, truthfulness, straightforwardness, contentment, gratitude, generosity, non-possessiveness, non-hoarding, non-greed, kindness, non-violence, non-blind believing/disbelieving, non-blind agreeing/disagreeing, non-blind following, non-worshiping, non-glorifying, non-blind practicing, non-blind propagating, mental strength and stamina (patience, forbearance, perseverance, determination), mental flexibility (acceptance, adaptation, adjustment, accommodation, forgiveness, cheerfulness), mental skill (openness, intentionlessness, desirelessness, correct understanding, right discrimination, right attitude, right effort, right focus, self-discipline, self-control, reasoning, inquiring the truth of everything), Yama (Restraint), Niyama (Observation), Asana (postures), Pranayama (breath control), Pratyahara (withdraw the senses from the sense objects), Dharana (concentration, or being in the present moment), Dhyana (meditation - prolonged concentration/non-grasping/non-association), Samadhi (silence/stillness/timelessness/non-separateness/devoid of 'I' or separateness), the middle path (moderation/balance), self-introspection, and self-inquiry.

Inquire the truth of everything.

*Renunciation - It's nothing to do with becoming a monk or nun living in a monk or nun community. It's about giving up, or letting go, or renouncing the idea of 'I', egoism, impurities, restlessness, the fruit of action, worldly passionate egoistic way of living, identities, titles, status, desires, inspirations and aspirations, ambitions, ideas, values, beliefs, superstitions, practices, affairs, ties and connections, social interactions and activities, glory and fame, pride and arrogance, superiority and inferiority, authoritarianism, grouping, power and control, the sense of belonging, self-esteem and self-worth, guilt and regret, fear and worry, grief and sorrow, clinging and longing, meaningfulness and meaninglessness, positiveness and negativeness, goodness and badness, appropriateness and disappropriateness, accomplishment and non-accomplishment, self-righteousness, possessiveness, separateness, discrimination, prejudice, ill-will, offensiveness, defensiveness, day dreaming, building castle in the air, wild imagination, the past and the future, pleasurable enjoyments of the senses, luxurious indulgence, wealth hoarding/accumulation, extreme hardship, hypocrisy, story telling, fairy tales, lies, slandering, back-biting, gossiping, vain talk, self-glorification, boasting, attention/praise/compliment fishing, lust, jealousy, anger, hatred, feelings of hurt, dissatisfaction, disappointment, resentment, bitterness, vengeance, cruelty, violence, fighting, conflict, debate, argument, justification, selfishness, petty-mindedness, stinginess, corruption, bribery, blaming, competition, comparison, judgment, expectation, intention, interference, self-blame/self-harm/self-torture, extremity, intoxication, obsession, physical and mental addiction, under-active, over-active, over-eating, under-eating, over-sleeping, under-sleeping, mental and emotional dependence, blind faith, blind believing, blind agreeing, blind following, blind worshiping, blind practicing, blind propagating, glorification, admiration, love seeking, praise seeking, acceptance seeking, approval seeking, recognition seeking, agreement seeking, and etc.