Craving and aversion

Some minds, including some long time yoga and meditation practitioners/teachers, don't know or don't understand what is craving and aversion.

In a simple way, if the mind feels disturbed, frustrated, irritated, angry, or unhappy upon not getting or not experiencing something that it likes, agrees with, and desires, that is the presence of craving in the mind.

Similarly, if the mind feels disturbed, frustrated, irritated, angry, or unhappy upon getting or experiencing something that it dislikes, disagrees with, and doesn't desires, that is the presence of aversion in the mind.

It's okay, and there's nothing wrong to have likes and dislikes, agreements and disagreements, and desires and don't desires.

It is the presence of craving towards something that the mind likes, agrees with, and desires, as well as the presence of aversion towards something that the mind dislikes, disagrees with, and doesn't desire, that give rise to 'disturb', 'unhappy', 'frustrated', 'irritated', 'angry', or 'suffering' state in the modification of the mind upon coming in contact with the names and forms that the mind has aversion towards, that it dislikes, disagrees with, and doesn't desire, as well as upon not coming in contact with the names and forms that the mind has craving towards, that it likes, agrees with, and desires.

The mind that is devoid of craving and aversion, it is not being determined or disturbed by the presence and absence of names and forms that the mind likes or dislikes, agrees or disagrees with, and desires or doesn't desire. Such mind is peaceful as it is, upon coming in contact with the names and forms that the mind dislikes, disagrees with, and doesn't desire, or upon not coming in contact with the names and forms that the mind likes, agrees with, and desires.

Different minds react differently towards the same thing/object/name and form/experience/affair/condition/situation.

It is not the thing/object/name and form/experience/affair/condition/situation that has the intention or quality to make the minds to be reacting or not reacting in certain way, to feel good or bad/happy or unhappy, to be disturbed or undisturbed, to be enjoying or suffering.

It is coming from the minds themselves of how they (choose to) react or don't react in certain way towards whatever they perceive and experience or don't perceive and don't experience.

The minds that think and believe that they don't have the free will to choose how they act and react, that is because these minds are being conditioned deeply by certain thinking, belief, ideas, values, desires, and practices that are influencing and conditioning the mind behavior pattern in certain way.

Yoga practice is all about transcending or eradicating such conditional mind behavior pattern by freeing the mind from being conditioned or influenced by any kind of beliefs, ideas, values, desires, and practices to think, desire, behave, act and react in certain way, including the teachings and practices of yoga and/or buddhism, via non-attachment, non-identification, non-craving, non-aversion, non-comparison, non-judgment, and non-expectation.

The mind doesn't even attach or identify towards the teachings and practices of yoga and/or buddhism as, "I am a yogi and/or buddhist," and "I am practicing yoga and/or buddhism."

It's not even about changing the mind behavior pattern to be something different from what it is.

That is also why the highly essential observation of renunciation, dispassion, silence, solitude, and seclusion for a prolonged period of time, for at least five years or more, in yoga and/or buddhism.

Some minds might also have been 'observing' renunciation, dispassion, silence, solitude, or seclusion for certain extended period of time, however they might still not free from ignorance, egoism, impurities, and restlessness, but that doesn't mean that all these observations don't work. Most probably, either they need to undergo a longer purification process of 'keep practicing and keep purifying', or they are lack of right attention, right effort, right practice, and right understanding. As there were/are some other minds attained self-realization through observing these observations under the presence of right attention, right effort, right practice, and right understanding.

Some rare minds don't even need to observe any kind of observations, and they can attain self-realization via a simple and spontaneous reflection, but certainly, these observations can help the many minds that are under the deep influence of ignorance, the idea of 'I', egoism, impurities, and restlessness, to attain liberation from all that, provided if all these observations are being observed under the presence of right attention, right effort, right practice, and right understanding.

Even Siddhartha Gautama Buddha also needed to undergo first few years of wandering around under the observation of renunciation (moving away from worldly life affairs, duties, responsibilities, family, relationship, and community), learning and practicing different kinds of practices from different lineages and teachers, and still hadn't attain liberation, not until he came to a conclusion of immersing into deep meditation in silence, solitude, and seclusion (stop wandering around, and stop looking outward for teacher, guidance, assistance, and answer), as well as under taking the middle path.

Be free.

Inquire the truth of everything.