The truth of selflessness and impermanence and non-self is not something unreachable, or only to be found in the future at somewhere else that is seemingly very far away.
It is within all and everyone and everything, in all kinds of names and forms, in all kinds of qualities, in all kinds of ties and connections and relationships, in all kinds of conditions and situations, in all kinds of experiences and affairs, in this present moment NOW.
One doesn't need to go anywhere, or be in a specific location, position, direction, condition, environment, atmosphere, place, space, and time, to know the truth of selflessness, impermanence, and non-self.
The truth of selflessness, impermanence, limitation, conditional, and non-self exists in the selfless impermanent limited and conditional physical body and modification of the mind, or in any living organism, or in any non-living object, or in any affair, or in any company, or in any business, or in any restaurant, or in any hotel, or in any Ashram, or in a car, or in a house, or in any community, or in any country, or in any government organization, or in this world of many diversities, or in the universe of many diversities, or in the sun(s), or in the planet(s), or in the star(s), or in anything that the mind can think of and perceive, including wild imaginations that are not real, but only exist in the form of thoughts/ideas.
Selflessness, impermanence, limited, conditional, and non-self, that only exists for a momentary duration, is what all and everything are, regardless of perfection or imperfection, desirable qualities or undesirable qualities, long life span or short life span, resilient or fragile, adaptable or non-adaptable, mobile or immobile, sentient or insentient, conscious or non-conscious, and etc.
Anything that exists under certain names and forms, of certain qualities, that inter-dependent on the selfless support of the selfless energy and many selfless elements to be existing and functioning as what it is, that is constantly changing, that is limited and conditional, that has a beginning of existence and an end of existence, being limited and governed by the nature's law of cause and effect, is selfless, impermanent, limited, conditional, and non-self.
One just need to look into any of the names and forms under different qualities, to reflect/contemplate upon the truth, under a calm and quiet mind, devoid of the influence of any particular passionate egoistic ideas, imaginations, thinking, reasoning, understanding, beliefs, values, desires, or practices, and one will see the truth of selflessness, impermanence, limitation, conditional, and non-self, in all and everything, where all and everything are existing and functioning selflessly and impermanently inter-dependent on all and everything of many different elements/systems/components/structures to work together, as well as each and everyone need to be minding themselves performing their own individual function/duty/responsibility, without superiority or inferiority, under the selfless support of the selfless energy and elements, for all and everything to be happening, to be what they are, as they are, to be existing, changing, decaying, disintegrating, and ceased existing.
A super healthy and fit physical body with super efficient organs of the senses to perceive all kinds of sights, sounds, smells, tastes, sensations, thoughts, feelings, and emotions, efficiently and precisely, functioning under a high degree of super intelligence and vast accumulated knowledge, having extraordinary speed of learning and power of memory, extraordinary talents and skills, and accumulated many different types of experiences and qualifications and achievements in life, also doesn't necessarily mean that the mind is free from ignorance, the idea of 'I', egoism, impurities, restlessness, and the by-products of all that, of all kinds of suffering and disturbing hurtful thinking, ideas, desires, visions, inspirations, aspirations, and behaviors/actions/reactions.
That's the power of ignorance, but at the same time, even though it is not easy, but it is absolutely possible to be free from ignorance, as the truth of what all and everything are, is always here, unlimited, unchanging, and timeless, while ignorance that hinders the mind to know the truth, is something impermanent, limited, and conditional.
Just as the many highly intelligent and knowledgeable academic scholars are not necessarily be free from the influence of ignorance, the idea of 'I', egoism, impurities, restlessness, and being determined and disturbed by all kinds of inevitable and evitable physical, mental, and emotional suffering, perceiving/experiencing all kinds of disturbs, hurts, dissatisfaction, disappointment, painful sorrow, grief, the sense of self-esteem and self-worth, pride and shame, superiority and inferiority, guilt and regret, anger, hatred, jealousy, fear, separateness, discrimination, loneliness, meaninglessness, fatigue, burnout, insecurity, and etc, while unwittingly identifying with all these names and forms as 'I', or 'This is who/what/how I am,' even when they already have all kinds of knowledge or information about biology, chemistry, anatomy, and physiology, or the scientific knowledge of selflessness, impermanence, limitation, conditional, and non-self in all the living organisms and non-living objects, and in many other things in this world and beyond, unless they (the selfless thinking and acting faculty) know how to free themselves from the influence of ignorance, the idea of 'I', and egoism of attachment, identification, craving, aversion, comparison, judgment, and expectation, not being the slave of all that, not being determined or over-powered by all kinds of impurities and restlessness that come along with the idea of 'I' and egoism in the restless selfless impermanent modification of the mind, where all that has been conditioning the mind thinking and behavior pattern, influencing their way of thinking, reasoning, understanding, feelings, desires, inspirations, aspirations, behaviors, actions, and reactions.
It definitely requires a lot of patience, perseverance, determination, adaptation, accommodation, adjustment, acceptance, and intense yearning towards absolute knowledge, liberation, freedom, and peace, for engaging in the process of purifying/modifying/changing the mind thinking and behavior pattern.
It is normal and common that there are different kinds of struggles and obstacles, and it requires great effort and continuous effort, especially in the beginning stage of the mind purification process, or the process of changing/modifying the mind thinking and behavior pattern.
As long as the mind keeps practicing, without attachment/identification/craving/aversion/comparison/judgment/expectation, the effort/practice/action of purifying/modifying/changing the mind thinking and behavior pattern will become less and less struggling, and eventually, it will become effortless (the end of the practice), upon the mind attains correct understanding deriving from the direct self-realization towards the truth of selflessness, impermanence, limitation, conditional, and non-self.
The correct understanding, or the knowledge of Thyself, enables the selfless thinking and acting mind to transcend all that, to be undetermined and undisturbed by all that, to be resting in unconditional peace upon the selfless universal consciousness, beyond the selfless impermanent limited and conditional existence and function of the body and mind, or the impermanent condition/abilities/disabilities/limitation of the physical body, and the impermanent states of the mind.
Knowing the knowledge of the anatomy and physiology of the physical body doesn't necessarily means that the mind is knowing Thyself, of knowing what is the 'I' that the mind thinks and believes and identifies as 'I'. It doesn't necessarily mean that the mind is free from the idea of 'I' and egoism and impurities, not being the slave of the limited and conditional impure mind stuff, not being over-powered, determined, or disturbed by the ungratified desires of the presence of undesirable/unpleasant/disagreeable/non-enjoyable experiences, and the absence of desirable/pleasant/agreeable/enjoyable experiences, perceiving all kinds of physical/mental/emotional suffering.
The minds need to attain direct self-realization towards selflessness and impermanence and non-self, by purifying and quieting the restless modification of the mind, through the annihilation of the idea of 'I' and egoism, and all kinds of impurities that come along with the idea of 'I' and egoism, under the presence of non-violence, non-grasping, non-association, non-attachment, non-identification, non-craving, non-aversion, non-comparison, non-judgment, and non-expectation, as well as under the presence of right attitude, right attentiveness, and right effort, all by the mind itself.
Even the passionate enthusiastic yoga practitioners who have been genuinely performing regular persistent Asana and Pranayama practice, concentration and meditation practice, cleansing exercises, chanting and prayers, community services, and observing Yamas and Niyamas (Restraints and observations) as well as pure vegetarian diet, for a prolonged duration, and have been enjoying the many health and fitness benefits deriving from the different types of yoga practices and observations, are not necessarily be free from doubt, hurts, painful sorrow, and disturbs, or be free from ignorance and the consequences of ignorance, if they don't or haven't work on the elimination of the idea of 'I', egoism, passion, inspiration, aspiration, and all kinds of corrupted thinking, ideas, belief, values, and practices, being determined by all kinds of impurities.
Just as there are many people engaging in the many different types of competitive sports activities and fitness training that demand high degrees of self discipline, attentiveness, dietary control, physical and mental activity restriction and observation, perseverance, determination, great enthusiasm, and immovable dedication, to be engaging in many hours of persevered repetitive practice and skill training everyday for many years, are not necessarily be free from ignorance and the consequences of ignorance.
But then,
Anyone, regardless of whether performing or not performing some kind of regular yoga and meditation practices, regardless of the physical condition/abilities/disabilities/limitation or the mental condition/abilities/disabilities/limitation, and even the most corrupted violent impure restless minds, as long as they have the intense yearning towards knowledge (correct understanding), liberation, freedom, and peace, all minds can be free from ignorance and the consequences of ignorance, if they work diligently and persistently on eliminating the idea of 'I', egoism, passion, inspiration, aspiration, and all kinds of mental and emotional impurities, and restlessness, to be purifying/modifying/changing the the corrupted thinking and behavior pattern, to be quieting the restless thought current/activities/modification of the mind, via the middle path and non-violence, through the essential observation of dispassion, renunciation, solitude, seclusion, and silence, out of one's own conscious awareness/freewill/choice/desire/effort/action.
It is ridiculous that there are more and more unnecessary evitable mental suffering/disturbance/illness being impacted by the existence of ongoing and increasing corruption, violence, cruelty, exploitation, greed, hatred, selfishness, possessiveness, discrimination, separateness, authoritarianism, pride and arrogance, politics, oppression, power and control, bullying, intimidation, invasion, intrusion, fighting, and wars, that contribute to many unnecessary evitable hurtful destructive behavior problems under the influence of ignorance, when science and technology is getting more and more advance, when there are more and more human beings are getting better and higher quality of living, luxurious indulgence, enjoyments of the senses, physical and mental entertainments, advanced medical health care, and all kinds of conveniences, when there are more and more countries are getting higher and higher development, when there are more and more amazing architecture and engineering arising in the world, when there are more and more people are getting basic education and higher education, and easier access towards attaining various knowledge or information, and when there are endless high-tech inventions under the higher and higher advanced science and technology.
It only indicates that the eradication of ignorance and the liberation from suffering, or the existence of personal peace and world peace, is nothing to do with the availability or non-availability of all those higher quality of living, luxurious indulgence, enjoyments of the senses, physical and mental entertainments, advanced medical health care, conveniences, developments, educations, accumulated knowledge, achievements, talents and skills, various information, amazing architecture and engineering, and high-tech inventions deriving from the higher advanced science and technology.
All that didn't and doesn't eradicate ignorance, the idea of 'I', egoism, impurities, restlessness, and the consequences of all that - the existence of all kinds of unnecessary evitable ignorance inflicted suffering in this world that doesn't belong to anyone or anything.
All kinds of names and forms that all and everyone would like to have or enjoy, such as prosperity, illness free, pain free, suffering free, aging free, long life span, happy family and relationship, success in career or business, health, fitness, beauty, worldly knowledge, wealth, power, superior status and title and social class, and all kinds of possessions, achievements, and enjoyments are nothing, if the minds are not free from the influence of ignorance and the by-products of ignorance, because there is no peace in oneself, there is no peace in the surrounding living environment, and there is no peace in the world of many diversities that doesn't belong to anyone or anything, where the minds keep hurting themselves and others and the surrounding environment, out of ignorance.
Inquire the truth of everything.
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment