Non-violence or non-hurtful vs good and evil or right and wrong

Non-violence or non-hurting towards oneself and/or others and the surrounding environment, is the basic foundation of the teachings and practice of yoga and/or buddhism.

What the mind thinks and believes or identifies as good or evil and right or wrong, are not necessarily representing or reflecting the presence or absence of non-violence or non-hurtful.

Under the influence of the many different types of beliefs, values, and practices, different minds have different standard or understanding about what is good or evil, and what is right or wrong.

Out of ignorance, or under the restless disturbed dissatisfied discontented unhappy suffering prideful state of mind, the mind can be generating action/reaction/behavior that is violent and hurtful unto itself and/or others and the surrounding environment that it thinks and believes or identifies as evil and wrong, based on its particular belief, values, and practices about what is good and evil or right and wrong.

It is not about what the mind thinks and believes or identifies as good or evil and right or wrong.

It's about the absence of violent and hurtful ideas, desires, actions, and reactions in the modification of the mind that turn into physical actions or behaviors that are violent and hurtful, that hurt oneself and/or others and the surrounding environment.

All kinds of diverse beliefs, values, and practices, are not necessarily universal. That's why different minds have their own different standard and understanding about what is good or evil and what is right or wrong, and it's not necessarily free from violence and hurtful ideas, desires, actions, and reactions, towards what each and everyone thinks and believes or identifies as evil and wrong, that give rise to the consequences of all that - never ending of violence and hurtful activities and affairs.

The teachings and observation of non-violence or non-hurtful is universal, regardless of what type of belief, values, and practices that all minds have, that leads towards peace and harmony in oneself and among the many diversities, and in the surrounding environment.

Non-violence in thoughts, actions, and speech.

Non-violence in oneself, in the family, in the relationship, in the community, in the surrounding environment, and in the world.

Non-violence can be developed and empowered. But it has to come from the mind itself to be willingly to practice non-violence (freewill - not being forced by others - out of conscious choice, self-control, and self-effort).

Whenever there is a violent hurtful thought/idea/desire arise in the thinking, the mind just need to be aware of it, and not to be over-powered by that thought/idea/desire, and not externalize or turn it into physical action/reaction or behavior that is violent or hurtful, under certain degrees of willpower or self-control, and more importantly, without attachment, identification, craving and aversion, judgment, or expectation.

Not attaching and not identifying with this or any thought/idea/desire as 'I', or 'mine'. All kinds of pure or impure thoughts/ideas/desires are not 'I', and they don't belong to 'I'.

Not judging this violent hurtful or some other impure egoistic thought/idea/desire, or the thinking in the mind, as 'bad', 'evil', 'negative', or 'wrong', and not judging some other kind of thought/idea/desire that the mind believes and identifies as 'good', 'noble', 'positive', or 'right' based on the existing belief and values in the mind, as good, noble, positive, or right.

Non-craving and non-aversion towards the absence or presence of any particular thought/idea/desire.

Not expecting this thought/idea/desire doesn't/shouldn't/won't appear in the modification of the mind, or expecting the thought/idea/desire to disappear immediately or at specific timeline, but allowing the thought/idea/desire to arise, change, and pass away, as it is.

This is non-violence from the mind towards itself and the selfless modification of the mind.

Eventually, any kind of impure egoistic thought/idea/desire will be less intense, and then will pass away in the mind, without turning into physical action/behavior/activity that hurt oneself or others or the surrounding environment, under certain amount of effort or self-restraint/self-discipline/self-control.

Do not confuse the term 'self discipline' with 'self punishment' or 'self inflicting violent hurtful activity unto oneself in order to repent'. That is what most mind interpret and understand the term 'self discipline' under their specific belief, values and practice.

While keep practicing like this without attachment, identification, craving/aversion, judgment, and expectation, and eventually, there will be less and less violent hurtful or any other kind of impure egoistic thought/idea/desire arising in the mind, effortlessly. It takes a lot of patience, forbearance, adjustment, adaptation, accommodation, perseverance, and determination for constructive evolution (changes/to build or remove any kind of habit) to happen.

If someone (the mind) is holding something (thought activities) that is hurtful/undesirable/unpleasant/disagreeable in its hand (the modification of the mind). It might want to damage that thing while holding in its hand, or on a surface somewhere, aggressively, but then itself will be in pain for doing that. That is what most minds are trying to do. Or, it can just let it go. Not hurting itself or the object that is hurtful. That is real and practical practice of non-violence.

There is no 'self punishment' or 'punishment' in the path of yoga and/or buddhism, not to say, 'punished by others' or 'punishing others', or 'to inflict punishment from one unto oneself and the others'.

It has to come from the mind itself (that is being over-powered by impure egoistic thoughts/ideas/desires and acting/reacting/behaving violently/hurtfully or selfishly/ignorantly) to willingly to come out from such condition (freewill/conscious choice/not being forced by others), to make effort to come out from such condition (self-effort), to stop hurting itself and/or others and the surrounding environment (self-control/self-discipline/self-restraint).

And upon self-realization towards the the truth of itself - Selflessness and Impermanence, of knowing Thyself, under a calm and quiet (non-violent/restless/ignorant) modification of the mind, everything become effortless. There is needless of any self-effort, self-control, self-discipline, self-restraint or practice to restrict or control or remove any impure egoistic thought/idea/desire that doesn't exist upon the annihilation of the idea of 'I', egoism, impurities, and restlessness, upon the selfless mind transcends its own modification of the mind, or not being over-powered by the selfless modification of the mind that is pure or impure, that is impermanent, limited, and conditional, effortlessly.

That's why non-violence or non-hurtful under non-grasping, or non-attachment, or letting go, is the universal practical practice for inner peace and world peace, regardless of what type of belief, values, and practices that the different minds have or don't have.

Meanwhile, letting go, or non-attachment/non-grasping, doesn't mean that one doesn't or shouldn't perform necessary action or existing duty and responsibility to be looking after oneself and/or others and the world.

This is the upmost important knowledge or duty (not a belief or value) that exists in all minds, regardless of what they are, of what they think or don't think, believe or don't believe, know or don't know, understand or don't understand, intelligent or non-intelligent, knowledgeable or non-knowledgeable, educated or non-educated, fit or unfit, healthy or unhealthy, behave or don't behave, can do or cannot do, enjoying or suffering, and so on.

All these are practical and absolutely possible.

"The most violent (disturbed) minds in the world also can attain peace (liberation from ignorance)." - Siddhartha Gautama Buddha

Inquire the truth of everything.