Any kind of purification or cleaning-up process is naturally and inevitably unpleasant or even painful

There are different kinds of purification or cleaning up process in the world of human beings.

There are endless 'rubbish' and 'messiness' being generated by human beings unto oneself and into the surrounding environment, that need ongoing cleaning/tidying up or cleansing activity, or else, all and everything will be 'drowned' by the excessive ceaseless and endless generation and accumulation of 'rubbish' and 'messiness', or ignorance and the consequences of ignorance, in the world that doesn't belong to anyone or anything.

There is the essential observation of maintaining internal and external cleanliness, or the engagement in internal and external purification/cleansing process in the teachings of yoga and buddhism.

Internal cleanliness is about the physical and mental purification process. 

Physical purification process to remove physical fatigue, laziness, idleness, under activity, over activity, energy blockage, stiffness, heaviness, sluggishness, inflammation, infection, illness, disease, and etc.

Mind purification process to remove the veil of ignorance, restlessness, cloudiness, murkiness, inattentiveness, passion, the idea of 'I', egoism of attachment, identification, craving and aversion, comparison, judgment, and expectation, and all kinds of impurities, to be free from the conditional restless impure egoistic thinking and behavior pattern under the influence of worldly passionate egoistic ideas, beliefs, values, desires, and practices, or to be free from the corrupted thinking and incorrect understanding and the consequences of that.

External cleanliness is about the cleanliness/tidiness and simplicity of the surrounding environment as well as the living space and the physical yoga practice space.

Not only the personal living space and yoga practice space need ceaseless ongoing effort for cleaning and tidying up regularly, but also the public space, community space, work space, all kinds of organization, political corruption, as well as natural disasters aftermath and/or ignorance inflicted events aftermath, and so on.

External cleanliness or cleansing process towards the surrounding environment individually and collectively doesn't mean interfering/controlling/influencing/manipulating/reforming/changing/forcing others to be the way that one desires, likes, and agrees with, to chase away/wipe out anyone or anything that oneself doesn't desire, doesn't like, or doesn't agree with.

It has to come from all minds themselves, to be self-initiated to reform/change/purify themselves to be free from the influence of ignorance and the consequences of ignorance, to be free from all kinds of corrupted thinking and incorrect understanding and hurtful damaging behavior, all by the mind itself, out of its own conscious awareness, freewill, desire, and effort.

One can only serve as a selfless intentionless desireless indiscriminate 'mirror' that enable others to be reflecting upon themselves, or not.

All kinds of purification or cleaning up process will naturally and inevitably give rise to some unpleasant and even painful side-effects or consequences.

Just like cleaning up the long time never been cleaned garbage container of intense stubborn stain and foul smell. It's extremely unpleasant and disgusting, but one needs to have the courage or indifference to confront all that during the process of cleaning up. And after that, one needs to have the consistent initiative and effort to clean up the garbage container regularly from time to time, and the cleaning process will become less and less unpleasant, and eventually, without any unpleasantness at all.

The process of eradicating any kind of impurities, or 'rubbish', or corruptions, or hurtful damaging behavior/activity in the physical body, in the modification of the mind, in the diverse community, in all kinds of organization, especially in the world of corrupted egoistic politics, and in the surrounding environment, regardless of personally/individually or communally/collectively, is an unpleasant and exhausting ongoing process. Just as the ongoing maintenance or cleaning process of the garden. Just as the endless maintenance of life existence to be attending ceaseless hunger and thirst and the elimination of waste products until the selfless impermanent life existence comes to an end.

The activation of the conscious mind purification process of eradicating the veil of ignorance, the idea of 'I', egoism, and all kinds of impurities or restlessness, is the same as the engagement in selfless actions of cleaning up/reforming process of eradicating all kinds of corruptions/ignorance and consequences of ignorance in the world of human beings, which is an extremely challenging and prolonged ongoing process.

All kinds of corruptions in the world of human beings are deriving from the corrupted minds functioning under the influence of the veil of ignorance.

Ignorance can only be eradicated by the mind itself, out of its own conscious awareness, freewill, initiation, effort, yearning for liberation, determination, and perseverance. 

Yoga and buddhism practice is all about the purification/eradication/elimination/cleansing process of annihilating the veil of ignorance in the mind, by the mind itself.

Collective duty cannot happen if without looking after individual duty. By looking after individual duty of reforming one's own conditional thinking and behavior pattern that has been conditioned by the worldly passionate egoistic restless ideas, beliefs, values, desires, and practices, to be free from the influence of the veil of ignorance, to have the clarity of thinking and correct understanding, and naturally, that engagement in looking after one's own individual duty itself is not separated from the collective duty, where there is less a corrupted mind generating corruption or corrupted thinking and destructive hurtful behavior into the surrounding environment that doesn't belong to anyone or anything, as well as, there is more a peaceful mind contributing peace and harmony into the surrounding environment.

It is greatly unpleasant and even painful for the mind especially in the beginning, and it might continuously be unpleasant and painful from time to time, until the mind developed the basic essential fundamental qualities/elements/disciplines, independence or self reliance, and correct understanding, that will eventually lead the mind towards the complete annihilation of the veil of ignorance, or the ultimate liberation from ignorance and the consequences of ignorance.

Similarly, the cleaning up or reforming process of the long time built up political corruption that exists in many areas or countries, that ceaselessly inflict and promote fear, violence, anger, hatred, unrest, destructive hurtful bullying behavior, selfishness, possessiveness, greed, manipulation, exploitation, discrimination, and separateness among the diverse individuals and diverse communities in the world that doesn't belong to anyone or anything in order to gratified certain selfish agendas, aspirations, and desires of certain human beings, that affects the life existence of all and everyone locally and globally, is highly challenging, exhausting, and unpleasant.

There are many minds have been broken by the ongoing prolonged political corruptions where the many minds are being conditioned by the many corrupted political ideas/beliefs/values/desires/practices/cultures to be thinking, believing, reasoning, understanding, feeling, desiring, behaving, acting, and reacting in the way that hurt oneself and others and the surrounding environment, that not only impacting all and everything locally, but also globally.

From the corrupted thinking and behavior in oneself, it expands to the family ties and connections (corrupted parenting method and family interaction/behavior), to the community (corrupted education/information/aspiration/vision/organization/government/policy/law making/leadership and social interaction/behavior), and to the world of many diversities and the surrounding environment that doesn't belong to anyone or anything (the sense of pride/superiority and inferiority/possessiveness/selfishness/nationalism (this is our country/land and space that belongs to us)/patriotism/globalization/gangsterism/bully/discrimination/hatred/interference/invasion/offensiveness/defensiveness/power greed/wealth greed/status greed/enjoyment greed/expansion greed/reproductive greed/exploitation/manipulation, and so on, that give rise to all kinds of unnecessary evitable painful suffering in the world and damages to nature or the surrounding living environment).

The mind purification process, or conscious mind evolution of changing the conditional thinking and behavior pattern, can only be happening in oneself, by oneself.

All minds need to reform oneself, and naturally/eventually, there will be less and less corrupted minds in the world contributing any kind of corruption, or ignorance and consequences of ignorance into the world that doesn't belong to anyone or anything.

If there is fear or aversion towards the inevitable exhausting and unpleasant side-effects that arise during the process of cleaning up, where one is reluctant to be engaging in the individual and collective cleaning up process, but then, one will have to deal with all kinds of harmful effects of the ceaseless accumulation of impurities/corruptions/'rubbish'/'messiness'/ignorance and consequences of ignorance that are detrimental to the overall welfare of oneself and others and the surrounding environment, where there won't be any suitable conducive internal and external environment, for anyone or anything to be existing and functioning as what all and everything are.

Just as, there are many minds are reluctant to cut off 'ties and connections' with some 'bullies', and rather accepting all kinds of continuous endless 'bullying behaviors' of 'the bullies', empowering 'the bully and its bullying behaviors', because the minds think and believe that they cannot be independent, and that they have to rely on the bullies for 'something that they want'.

Inquire the truth of everything. 

Is yoga a spiritual practice?

Yoga, similar to the teachings and practice of buddhism, is universal.

Spirituality and/or religion, is non-universal.

Even so, like the selfless existence and function of all and everything, spirituality or religion is neither good nor bad.

Just as any kind of cultural belief, values, and practice, spirituality and religion served its own particular purpose or influence in the daily life affairs, interactions, and behaviors of many minds, especially for the minds that are still functioning under the presence of the idea of 'I', egoism, impurities, and restlessness, that are being determined by all kinds of duality (good and bad/right and wrong/positive and negative/superiority and inferiority/gain and loss/success and failure/pride and shame, and so on), that perceive all kinds of doubts, fear, insecurity, disturbance, dissatisfaction, disappointment, hurts, sorrow, and undesirable painful physical and mental or emotional suffering.

It depends on the state of the different minds, where the existence and function of spirituality or religion can be understood and used by the minds constructively or destructively, under the different states of mind having different understanding, behaviors, intentions, or desires.

The existence and function of the different spiritual or religious beliefs and practices doesn't serve any purposes or influences (constructive or destructive) for the mind that knows Thyself, upon the presence of mental and emotional independence, upon the absence of the veil of ignorance, the idea of 'I', egoism, impurities, restlessness, and the consequences of all that - all kinds of disturbance and painful suffering.

Yoga and buddhism, is all about the mind and mind conquest, or conscious mind evolution (changing the conditional mind thinking behavior pattern under the influence of ignorance, the idea of 'I'/the ego, egoism, impurities, and restlessness), or the restless impure egoistic modification of the mind (the veil of ignorance) and the conquest of the restless impure egoistic modification of the mind, or Silence, or the annihilation of the veil of ignorance.

It is nothing to do with any form of spirituality or religion, not to say, it doesn't belong to any particular name and form.

If yoga 'belongs' to any particular name and form, of any particular spirituality, or religion, or culture, or community, or area, or country, or leadership, or organization, then that 'yoga' is something non-universal, it is not yoga as it is.

Just as the children were born or coming from their parents, but they don't belong to their parents.

None and nothing belongs to themselves, not to say, belongs to anyone or anything. (Selflessness and Non-self)

Just as there are many different types of spiritual and religious or cultural beliefs and practices in the world, that belongs to and only valid for certain minds or specific community, and hence, they are non-universal.

Even so, all kinds of spiritual and religious or cultural beliefs and practices (different ways of life/living/values/conduct/vision) are neither something good nor bad, and they have their own particular purpose/values that work for certain minds, particularly to have a sense of direction in life, to have a refuge in the mind to take some rest or find comfort within the restless impure egoistic modification of the mind, as well as to justify the unknown, or many things that the minds don't know or don't understand, and to justify as well as to deal with many things that the minds don't like and don't desire, that are uncomfortable or painful physically and/or mentally/emotionally.

Why yoga and buddhism is universal, while spirituality and religion is non-universal?

Regardless of having particular spiritual or religious belief and practice, or not, and regardless of the different qualities of names and forms that all and everyone have, or possess, or identifying with, all minds can practice yoga and/or buddhism to be free from ignorance that exists naturally along with the selfless existence and function of the restless modification of the mind under the presence of conscious awareness, while not all minds (need to) have particular spiritual or religious belief and practice to be existing and functioning as they are.

Just as all living organisms and non-living objects depend on the availability of energy and different elements for all and everything to be existing and functioning as what they are. That is universal.

All living organisms need to consume energy/food to be existing and functioning as what they are, and that is universal, but the type of food/energy consumption can be different for the different living organisms. That is non-universal.

The truth of selflessness, impermanence, limitation, conditional, and non-self, exists and valid in all and everything. All and everything (living organisms and non-living objects) are undergoing the forming, decaying, and disintegrating process at their own particular pace and cause. That is universal.

The many different types of subjective ideas, knowledge, beliefs, values, practices, behaviors, visions, understanding and non-understanding, desires and don't desires, likes and dislikes, or agreements and disagreements, and etc, only exist and valid for specific minds, and not all minds. That is non-universal.

Yoga and Hinduism have certain connectivity and similarity, but they are completely two different things.

Yoga is universal. While Hinduism, as well as all kinds of different spirituality and religion beliefs and practices, is non-universal.

What is universal, it is valid for all and everything. What isn't valid for all and everything, but only valid for specific individual, or community, or something, is non-universal.

Decay and death or mortality, is universal.

What is good and bad, right and wrong, and the perception/judgment/projection towards all kinds of qualities and all kinds of duality, that are being perceived/judged/projected differently by the different minds, is non-universal.

The nature's law of cause and effect, is universal.

The many different rules and regulations created by specific minds under specific understanding, intention, desire, and vision within a family, a community, an area, a leadership, or an organization, locally and/or globally, is non-universal.

The presence and absence of ignorance and the consequences of ignorance in the minds, is universal.

The conditional momentary peace and happiness, or the sense of happiness and unhappiness, positiveness and negativeness, righteousness and wrongfulness, goodness and badness, meaningfulness and meaninglessness, deserving and non-deserving, success and failure, strength and weakness, superiority and inferiority, pride and shame, and etc, of all kinds of duality, is non-universal.

Not all minds that identifying themselves as 'Buddhists' are buddhism practitioners who practice buddhism as it is.

Similarly, not all Hinduism followers/practitioners are Hinduism practitioners who practice Hinduism as it is, not to say, not all Hindus are yoga practitioners, even if they might think and believe and identify themselves as yoga enthusiasts and practitioners, while performing some kind of yoga practices regularly or irregularly.

Yoga practitioners are not necessarily Hindus, or the followers/believers of any particular religion or spirituality. Although there are many yoga practitioners begin their yoga practice coming from their own particular religious, or spiritual, or cultural background.

Similarly, not all minds that think and believe and identify themselves as yoga enthusiasts and practitioners, that are observing the teachings of yoga and/or performing some kinds of yoga practices regularly or irregularly, are practicing yoga as it is. 

And there is neither right nor wrong with all that.

All minds take their own cause and pace to evolve (consciously and unconsciously) as they are.

Regardless of what type of religious or non-religious background, and what type of spiritual or non-spiritual background that one has or came from, yoga is neither religious nor spiritual.

Before the direct self realization towards the truth of selflessness and non-self, yoga can appear to be something spiritual or non-spiritual for the different minds under different states of mind. 

When the minds are still functioning under the influence of the veil of ignorance, the idea of 'I', egoism, impurities, and restlessness, that are still mentally and emotionally dependent on something 'greater'/'more perfect'/'more wise'/'more powerful'/'more independent' than the minds themselves, then yoga can appear to be whatever the minds would desire it to be.

It can appear to be something religious for the minds that are religious and that have particular religion belief and practice, while it can appear to be something non-religious to the minds that are non-religious and that don't have any particular religion belief and practice.

Similarly, it can appear to be something spiritual for the minds that believe in spirituality, or it can appear to be something non-spiritual for the minds that disbelieve in spirituality.

Yoga and/or buddhism, if being practiced as it is, without being contaminated or possessed by any cultural, spiritual, or religious elements, is universal.

Regardless of religious or non-religious, believing or disbelieving in spirituality, and what type of religion or spirituality that the different minds believe in and practice, or not, all and everyone have the universal selfless impermanent limited and conditional function of the conscious restless impure egoistic modification of the mind, or the perceptive cognitive intellectual emotional thinking and acting faculty, and regardless of the different types of characteristics, personalities, genetic inheritance, family background, cultures, beliefs, values, practices, desires, or behaviors, all and everyone and everything are selfless, impermanent, limited, conditional, and non-self.

And the restless impure egoistic modification of all minds can be purified, or weakened, or thinned-out, or silenced, or subjugated, or conquered, or annihilated by the mind itself, out of the precious conscious awareness/cognition/understanding/freewill/initiation/effort/desire/yearning towards liberation from the selfless impermanent limited and conditional restless impure egoistic states of mind, or modification, or function, or thought current, that is non-self, that doesn't even belong to the existence and function of the mind itself.

Religion and spirituality is something non-universal, and no doubt that it provides momentary refuge, comfort, hope, escape, or relief towards the conscious awareness/perception/experience towards all kinds of undesirable/unpleasant physical and mental or emotional restlessness and painful suffering, but it doesn't eliminate the root cause of suffering - The veil of ignorance. It doesn't eliminate the veil of ignorance, because the existence and function of all kinds of religion and spirituality is arising from and fed by as well as empowering the idea of 'I' and egoism of attachment, identification, desire of craving and aversion, comparison, judgment, and expectation, that empowers mental and emotional dependence.

If all minds are mentally and emotionally independent, all kinds of spirituality and religion beliefs and practices will loose its functionality, and ceased existing.

Yoga and/or buddhism is universal, and it leads towards mental and emotional independence, or the absolute liberation from the root cause of suffering via the annihilation of the veil of ignorance, a.k.a. the idea of 'I', egoism, impurities, and restlessness.

Not all minds have religious or spiritual belief and practice, and not all minds that have particular religious and/or spiritual belief and practice are having the one same universal religious and/or spiritual belief and practice. With, or without any particular religious or spiritual belief and practice, the minds are still what they are, life existence is still what it is, the ignorance and the consequences of ignorance is still what it is, and the truth of things is still what it is.

Both the teachings and practices of yoga and buddhism is all about the mind, or the selfless impermanent limited and conditional modification of the mind, or the restless impure egoistic thought current, that is universal, regardless of what type of genetic inheritance and cultural background that the different minds have or identifying with, and whether the minds are having any particular religious and/or spiritual belief and practice, or not.

Yoga, as well as buddhism, is the teachings and practices that enable the selfless mind or the selfless perceptive cognitive intellectual emotional thinking and acting faculty of the selfless physical body to transcend the restless impure egoistic modification of the mind, under the presence of conscious awareness, conscious desire, conscious freewill, conscious initiation, conscious yearning, conscious effort, and conscious evolution, transcending all kinds of egoistic ideas and beliefs, values and practices, including all kinds of existing religious and spiritual ideas and beliefs, that are all merely part of the selfless impermanent limited and conditional manifestation/creation in the restless impure egoistic modification of the minds, that were/have been/are functioning under the influence of the idea of 'I', egoism, impurities, and restlessness a.k.a. the veil of ignorance, and the consequences of all that.

Upon the direct self realization towards the dhamma, or the teachings of yoga and/or buddhism, that is both centered in the truth or the essence of selflessness and impermanence in all and everything of all kinds of selfless impermanent limited and conditional manifestation of countless diverse names and forms arising and passing away under different qualities/functionalities/duties/purposes/causes and effects, the mind will know that both the teachings and practices of yoga and/or buddhism (even if there are some differences between them), is neither something religious nor spiritual.

And then, some minds might start to think and understand that, since if it is not something spiritual, then it must be merely a form of physical and mental exercise or activity for sustaining and empowering physical and mental health and fitness condition. But, the physical and mental health and fitness condition or the presence of physical and mental abilities and limitations doesn't determine the presence and absence of ignorance, or determine the mind is practicing yoga, or not, and whether the mind will realize yoga/the dhamma/the truth of things/unconditional peace, or not.

Just as the optimal physical and mental health and fitness condition, long life span, easy life condition, the degrees of intelligence, education, creativity, and the accumulation of knowledge/experiences/skills/relationships/achievements/wealth/titles/positions/authority/power/possessions/enjoyments, doesn't relate to or determine the presence and absence of ignorance, or the states of mind, or the desires and behaviors, or the actions and reactions.

All kinds of religious and spiritual ideas and beliefs/values and practices/rituals are being created and practiced by the restless impure egoistic minds to counter and justify the suffering/the imperfections/the selfless impermanent changes/the limitations and conditions/the restrictions/the unknown/the uncertainty/the fragility/the unpleasantness/the undesirableness/the disagreeableness/the unrest/the painful sorrow/the conflicts/the fear/the disappointments/the sense of loneliness or emptiness/the constructive and destructive power of nature, and etc, that the minds don't desire, to create and have a momentary space/refuge/faith/trust/hope/direction/focus within the disturbed confused restless suffering modification of the mind, where they can hang onto or be in within the mind, that gives them certain degrees of momentary rest, comfort, escape, and relief from the ceaseless disturbance, confusions, restlessness, and suffering, as well as to have certain power of leadership/authority/control/influence/manipulation/bullying/dominance towards the others, or the family members, or the mass community, to live life and behave in certain way and not in certain way. - Ignorance and the by-products/side-effects/consequences/creations of ignorance

The mind that knows Thyself, that is mentally and emotionally independent, upon direct realization towards the truth of selflessness, impermanence, limitation, conditional, and non-self, is free from all that.

Renunciation and liberation, is all about renouncing all that, and be liberated from all that.

Siddhartha Gautama Buddha and Swami Sivananda that existed in different era, were both coming from Hinduism background and prestigious background, and both had renounced all that and immersed into persevered and determined sadhana/contemplation/meditation in silence, seclusion, and solitude for a prolonged duration, and eventually attained direct self realization towards the timeless dhamma, or the universal truth of selflessness, impermanence, limitation, conditional, and non-self upon the annihilation of the veil of ignorance, or upon the silence of the restless impure egoistic modification of the mind. And they disseminated the same universal timeless realization/dhamma/truth of things under the different names of 'Buddhism' and 'Yoga Vedanta'.

The universal timeless dhamma/truth of things that is directly realized and disseminated by any minds under any different names ('Buddhism', or 'Yoga Vedanta', or some other names, but all are the same universal timeless dhamma), doesn't belong to anyone or anything.

The universal timeless dhamma/truth of things doesn't change into something else regardless of the different names, the different era/timing, the different minds, the different backgrounds, the different understanding and non-understanding, the realization or non-realization, or the different causes and effects.

There is neither good nor bad in all the mind creation of the many different religion and spiritual ideas/beliefs/values/practices/ways of conduct/ways of living for the restless confused suffering minds that need to have a refuge in the mind to be resting upon from time to time, or to have some hope amidst all kinds of hardships and undesirable/unpleasant experiences, not until the restless impure egoistic minds started to misuse the existing specific religious or spiritual ideas and beliefs, values and practices, or ways of conduct and living, to become a political influence/manipulation/threat/power/tool/weapon to achieve their own specific greedy ambitious agendas/desires/aspirations/visions in the family, or the relationship, or the community, or the world, generating all kinds of unnecessary hurtful activities unto oneself and others and the surrounding environment.

Inquire the truth of everything, including all that is here. 

Selflessness is not a state of mind or being or realm, but the truth of what all and everything are

There are minds, especially yoga and/or buddhism enthusiasts from the Chinese language background, would think and believe or understand that selflessness (無我) is a state of mind or being or realm (無我境界), that it is a state of highest level of spirituality, or purity, or merit and virtue that is reached or attained after engaging in certain persevered observations and practices, where there are many studying or reading materials about the Dhamma, or the teachings of Buddhism, that are being written in Chinese language, or that are being transcribed into Chinese language by many different minds from different era and location, have been describing, or transcribing, or referring selflessness (無我) in such way, that it is a form of physical, mental, and spiritual development, or transformation, or evolution, or achievement of changing from the contaminated impure state of 'self-ness' to become or return to the original pure state of 'selflessness'.

That is why the highly importance of renunciation, to renounce or move away from all kinds of worldly egoistic learning, ideas, beliefs, values, practices, knowledge, interactions, activities, affairs, communities, or ties and connections, to observe silence in seclusion and solitude, for the mind to be free from the influence of all that, to be quieting the mind effectively, that allows the mind to see the truth of things as it is, upon silence, upon the thinning-out and annihilation of the restless impure egoistic modification of the mind, a.k.a. the veil of ignorance.

Selflessness is also largely being misunderstood as the quality of unselfishness (無私), or a quality that is achievable by and that only belongs to certain minds or beings that are 'good', 'kind', 'generous', 'pure', 'wise', 'sympathetic', 'empathetic', 'unselfish', 'self-sacrificed', 'meritorious', 'virtuous', 'righteous', 'moral', 'respectable', 'peaceful', or 'enlightened'.

Similarly, compassion is also being misunderstood in such way, that it is a sympathetic and empathetic sentimental quality of unconditional indiscriminate loving kindness that can be presence or absence, that can increase or decrease, that it can be learnt and practiced, that can be developed and empowered, that it is about giving happiness to others and removing unhappiness from others, or that one can be transforming or evolving from non-compassionate or less compassionate, to becoming more compassionate or highly compassionate.

One can be kind to one another. One can help one another. One can support one another. One can guide one another. One can be generous and empathetic towards one another. One can show the path towards wisdom, kindness, and peace to one another, and etc. Or, not at all. But, none can give happiness/realization/liberation to others or remove unhappiness/ignorance/suffering from others.

Compassion, is merely the selfless power of creation/manifestation that enables all kinds of selfless impermanent limited and conditional momentary names and forms to be manifesting, existing, and functioning as what they are, to be arising, changing, and passing away, under the nature's law of cause and effect.

All and everyone and everything cannot exist or function as what they are, if without the selfless power of creation or compassion that exists in all and everyone and everything, regardless of what type of quality that one has or doesn't have.

It is not "I/You/He/She/We/They are selfless and full of compassion, while the others are not selfless and lack of compassion." or "Compassion exists in living beings and not in non-living objects."

All are selfless, and compassion exists in all and everyone and everything, that is the essence which enabling all and everything that are all selfless, impermanent, limited, and conditional to be what they are, to be existing, changing, and ceased existing as they are.

One doesn't (need to) evolve and become selfless. All are selfless, as it is.

All are selfless, regardless of what type of states of mind, or what kind of qualities and achievements that one has and doesn't have, or what type of belief and disbelief, understanding and non-understanding, knowledgeable or non-knowledgeable, talented or non-talented, successful or non-successful, good or bad condition, healthy or unhealthy, good or bad behavior, kind or unkind, pure or impure, selfish or unselfish, generous or non-generous, happy or unhappy, positive or negative, desire and don't desire, peaceful or peaceless, and etc.

Similarly, one doesn't (need to) learn and develop and empower and practice compassion. Compassion exists in all and everything, and it doesn't increase or decrease, regardless of wise or ignorant, kind or unkind, positive or negative, easy or difficult condition, good or bad behavior, constructive or destructive, peaceful or peaceless, living or non-living, conscious or non-conscious, sentient or non-sentient, and so on.

Selflessness is not a practice, or an achievement, or a theory.

Meanwhile, ego-lessness, or 'I'-lessness, or the annihilation of the ego or the idea of 'I' and egoism - to be consciously transforming or evolving from the state of egoistic modification of the mind under the presence of the ego or the idea of 'I' to the state of non-egoistic modification of the mind under the absence of the ego or the idea of 'I', is a practice, or transformation, or conscious mind evolution, or achievement.

Selflessness - There is no permanent independent infinite immortal existence of self/I (individual existence of an individual identity/consciousness/soul/spirit) existing in all kinds of names and forms, regardless of living organisms or non-living objects, to be undergoing the impermanent selfless process of coming into existence, forming, existing, functioning, changing/transitioning, developing/strengthening/weakening, different qualities, different names and forms, different appearances, different states of consciousness, different states of mind, different internal and external conditions, different causes and effects, decaying, disintegrating, ceased functioning, and ceased existing.

Egolessness/'I'lessness - The absence of the ego, or the idea of 'I', or the conscious notion/acknowledgement/awareness of 'I' in the form of a continuous stream of countless thought/idea arising and passing away in the restless modification of the mind under the presence of conscious awareness in the state of consciousness and semi-consciousness (the ego doesn't exist in the state of unconsciousness - there is no notion/acknowledgement/awareness of "I am unconscious" in the state of unconsciousness, under the absence of conscious awareness), that doesn't have a real or solid or independent or permanent existence, that only exists dependently and impermanently within the selfless impermanent limited and conditional existence and function of the modification of the perceptive cognitive thinking and acting mind under the presence of the selfless support and influence of energy and different elements.

The ego attached onto and identifying/non-identifying and desiring/non-desiring towards the conscious mind perception/cognition/recognition/experience towards the selfless impermanent limited and conditional qualities of names and forms, of all kinds of identities, possessions, ties and connections, relationships, communities, interactions, activities, affairs, experiences, memories, wild imaginations, conditions, situations, family/communal/tribal/social/cultural/spiritual/religious/political/national/commercial/philosophical ideas, beliefs, values, and practices, knowing, learning, understanding and non-understanding, development and non-development, birth place, living area, travelling/moving, genetic inheritance, gender, species, sexual orientation, characteristic, personality, physical appearance, intelligence, states of mind, happiness and unhappiness, abilities and disabilities, talents and skills, limitations and non-limitations, actions/inactions and the consequences of actions/inactions, achievements and non-achievements, success and failure, social status, financial status, family status, marital status, religious/spiritual status, cultural status, lifestyle status, behavior status, health and fitness status, random ideas and creativity, positive or negative thinking, pleasant or unpleasant feelings and emotions, desires and don't desires, likes and dislikes, agreements and disagreements, inspirations and aspirations, visions and ambitions, impermanent changes, strengthening and weakening process, decaying and disintegrating process, and so on, as "I am this or that, and I am not this or that," while takes pride and superiority in the identification and possession of higher superior qualities, and takes shame and inferiority in the identification and possession of lower inferior qualities.

x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x

Selflessness is what all and everything are. It is a direct realization or understanding of the mind towards the truth of all and everything, upon silence, or the annihilation of the veil of ignorance, a.k.a. the absence of the idea of 'I', egoism, impurities, and restlessness.

Regardless of whether the mind realizes or doesn't realize selflessness, all and everything are selfless.

The truth of selflessness, as well as impermanence, limitation, conditional, and non-self in all and everything doesn't change into something else, regardless of what/who/when/how/where, regardless of whether the mind knows/understands or doesn't know/understand, whether the mind likes or doesn't like and agrees or disagrees with.

Before the direct realization towards the truth of selflessness, impermanence, limitation, conditional, and non-self, it is common and normal that the restless impure egoistic mind functioning under the influence of the veil of ignorance is having intense aversion, dislike, and disagreement towards the truth of things, where the mind perceives or recognizes the truth of things, or the one same natural and universal reality that is selfless, impermanent, limited, conditional, and non-self, that all minds are perceiving or undergoing or experiencing, is a form of undesirable painful suffering. The mind has the desire of changing the undesirable reality into something else that is not what it is.

Upon the direct self realization towards the truth of things, the mind has the correct understanding towards the truth of things, and doesn't perceive the truth of things as a form of undesirable painful suffering, but instead, it is absolutely liberating by realizing or knowing the truth of things, where the mind is resting upon unconditional peace that is always there devoid of the veil of ignorance. The mind accepts and respects the truth of things as it is, and lives/exists/functions in peace and harmony under the perceived reality as it is.

Upon the direct self realization towards the truth of selflessness, all kinds of violence, upset, unhappiness, resentment, bitterness, hurt, anger, hatred, argument, debate, distress, unrest, disturbance, conflict, justification, clinging, longing, insecurity, discontentment, greed, possessiveness, offensiveness, defensiveness, interference, fear, guilt, regret, shame, pride, mourning, grief, painful sorrow, expectation, wishful thinking, hopefulness, all kinds of duality, and so on, disappear from the mind.

There is nothing wrong or negative that there are many minds are still functioning under the influence of ignorance and egoism, even if the minds might be ceaselessly generating hurtful ideas/behaviors/actions/reactions that hurt oneself and others and the surrounding environment under the influence of ignorance and egoism, because it is natural that the minds are being ignorant towards ignorance due to ignorance.

That is why this world is what it is, full of confused minds and ignorant egoistic hurtful ideas and behaviors that give rise to the consequences of all that (all kinds of unnecessary evitable painful suffering, unrest, or violence that doesn't need to be there at all). It is a form of mild to serious mental illness (the different degrees or thickness of the veil of ignorance a.k.a. the egoistic impure restless modification of the mind), that exist in most minds, that can be removed only by the mind itself, out of its own initiation and effort, under the precious presence of its own conscious awareness/freewill/desire/yearning towards liberation from ignorance and the by-products of ignorance (the precious conscious awareness/perception/cognition/acknowledgement/notion/idea/thought/understanding/desire of, "I am not free. I am not happy. I am not peaceful. I want to be free. I want to be happy. I want to be peaceful." as well as, "I don't want to hurt myself. I don't want to hurt others.").

Just as the minds that haven't realized the truth of selflessness yet, and they cannot grasp or comprehend selflessness ("How can I that is existing here and now, that is perceiving and understanding my own existence, that is inquiring and realizing that there is no existence of I, or I don't exist?"), the minds that are still functioning under the influence of ignorance and egoism, cannot comprehend the other minds that are free from the influence of ignorance and egoism, while the minds that are free from the influence of ignorance and egoism naturally understand towards all the other minds that are functioning under the influence of ignorance and egoism, that influencing them to be thinking/reasoning/evaluating/understanding/behaving/desiring/aspiring/acting/reacting in certain way and not in certain way, that gives rise to all kinds of unnecessary evitable affliction and destruction in oneself and into the surrounding environment, wittingly and unwittingly.

Selflessness, where there is no permanent independent immortal infinite individual existence of self/I existing in any names and forms to be undergoing the selfless impermanent limited and conditional non-self existence and function of the body and mind as well as the ceaseless changes of the body and mind upon coming into existence, of undergoing the forming/growing/decaying/disintegrating process during the momentary existence, it doesn't mean that this selfless mind of this selfless impermanent physical body, that is momentarily existing and functioning here and now, that is undergoing ceaseless changes, that is being consciously aware of itself as well as the surrounding environment of all and everything that are all selfless and impermanent, or all these, don't exist.

All these exist, both the perceiver and the perceived, but momentarily, selflessly, impermanently, limitedly, conditionally, and non-self, where the momentary existence and function of all and everything don't even belong to the names and forms themselves.

Under the influence of ignorance and egoism, many minds perceive, interpret, and understand selflessness and self-inquiry is about "I am existing here and now to be aware of and inquire towards I don't 'really' exist?" Or even, out of wild imagination having been listening to many stories telling/fairy tales, studying and reading many novels/scriptures/books, and watching many movies, the mind thinks and believes that, "I don't really exist here in this reality that is not real and not perfect. I exist in another reality that is real and perfect. This reality that I am perceiving now, is not real. This is not my real existence. My real existence is somewhere else in another reality that is real and perfect. This is just a dream. I am in a dream. I need to wake up from this dream (this unreal and imperfect reality, that is full of imperfection, unhappiness, dissatisfaction, disappointment, violence, unrest, fear, hurt, painful sorrow, decay, hunger, thirst, illness, old age, mortality, or suffering) to be waking up back to my real existence (the real and perfect reality where I really exist in, that is devoid of imperfection, unhappiness, dissatisfaction, disappointment, violence, unrest, fear, hurt, painful sorrow, decay, hunger, thirst, illness, old age, mortality, or suffering)."

Similarly, the ego (Ahamkara) is widely being misunderstood as a quality or state of mind/being, referring to the presence and absence of self-importance, self-centered, selfishness, or pride and arrogance, "I/You/He/She/We/They have big ego and are highly egoistic. The others have no ego and are not egoistic, or have smaller ego and are less egoistic."

The ego, is merely a natural manifestation of conscious thought/idea/self-awareness/self-acknowledgement in the perceptive cognitive intellectual emotional thinking and acting mind/faculty/mechanism of the selfless impermanent limited and conditional mortal physical body under the presence of conscious awareness, that claims identification as well as ownership/possession towards the selfless existence and function of the body and mind to be 'I' and 'my' and 'mine', as well as the surrounding environment to be 'my' and 'mine'.

Similarly, ignorance is widely being misunderstood as 'stupidity', 'non-education', 'low education', 'low intelligence', 'non-knowledgeable', 'lack of knowledge', 'laziness', 'short-coming', 'bad', 'wrong', 'negative', 'low mentality', 'evilness', 'humiliation deserving', 'suffering deserving', 'condemn deserving', 'shameful', 'failure', and so on. But it is not at all.

Ignorance, is merely a natural manifestation of restless thought activities/thought current/thought process/modification of the mind under the presence of conscious awareness/perception/cognition/recognition/knowing/thinking/reasoning/desiring/feeling/acting/reacting, where the mind is occupied by the continuous stream of countless ideas of 'I'/self-acknowledgement/self-identification, egoism of attachment, identification, desire of craving and aversion, judgment, comparison, and expectation towards its selfless impermanent limited and conditional existence and function that doesn't even belong to itself, and towards the surrounding environment that doesn't belong to anyone or anything, as well as towards the ceaseless manifestation of all kinds of impurities (restless impure egoistic thoughts activities) deriving from the idea of 'I' and egoism, that generates the state of restlessness/murkiness/turbulence, a.k.a. the veil of ignorance, that hinders the mind to see/know/understand things as they are, where the truth of selflessness and compassion that is always there, is unknown to the mind.

Even the highly educated, highly knowledgeable, highly intelligent, highly talented, highly skillful, highly respectable, highly positioned, or highly successful and accomplished mind can also be functioning under the presence/influence of the veil of ignorance.

Similarly, selflessness as well as genetic traits inheritance, limitations and conditions, and the nature's law of cause and effect, is also being misunderstood as there is no conscious freewill or activities/actions in the conscious living organisms that can determine and influence what type of conscious activities/actions/reactions/causes to be generated that would lead to the respective consequences/effects of all that, that can be influencing and affecting the selfless impermanent changes/evolution in oneself and others and the surrounding environment in certain way and not in certain way, under the presence of the supportive elements and conditions, that are limited and conditional. Even if there is the absence of the supportive elements and conditions that enable certain activities/actions/causes to be happening in NOW, it doesn't mean that there is no conscious freewill and effort to make appropriate adjustment/adaptation/accommodation and decisions to be performing or not performing some other activities/actions/causes that are possible in NOW, under the presence of conscious awareness, and under the presence of the supportive elements and conditions for all those activities/actions/causes to be happening.

Certain inevitable unconscious involuntary activities/actions/causes that are being generated under the absence of conscious freewill under the absence of conscious awareness, it doesn't mean that there is no responsibility of the selfless action performer/body and mind towards all kinds of selfless conscious and unconscious activities/actions/causes being generated either wittingly or unwittingly, voluntarily or involuntarily through the particular body and mind, not to say, all kinds of conscious activities/actions/causes being generated under the presence of conscious awareness/freewill/decision/intention/desire.

All actions are selfless actions, regardless of conscious or non-conscious, voluntary or involuntary, intentional or intentionless, constructive or destructive. All selfless actions will lead to the respective consequences of actions, that are not necessarily what the mind thinks, desires, anticipates, imagines, and expects what/how it should be.

Selfless actions, or selflessness, doesn't mean that there is no responsibility or accountability in all kinds of actions and consequences of actions/causes and effects being generated through the selfless body and mind. Each selfless body and mind is indeed the one that is generating countless selfless actions/causes that lead to countless consequences/effects through the respective body and mind, both consciously and unconsciously, even if there is no permanent independent infinite immortal existence of self/I existing in the selfless body and mind to be responsible for all that.

Similarly, the teaching of "I am not the body, the body is not I or mine. I am not the mind, the mind is not I or mine," is also being misunderstood as "The finite impermanent limited conditional imperfect mortal impure body and mind is not what or who I really am. What/Who I really am, has an infinite permanent unlimited unconditional immortal pure existence. All kinds of yoga and meditation practice will lead me to reconnect with and regain my true identity of who I really am." But, it is merely about there is no permanent independent infinite immortal existence of self/I existing in any names and forms to be identifying with the names and forms or any qualities as what I am, as well as the self-acknowledgement of 'I' in the conscious perceptive cognitive living organisms, is merely a continuous stream of countless idea of 'I' in the form of thought, ceaselessly arising and passing away in the thought process under the selfless support of energy and elements, that exists momentarily, selflessly, impermanently, limitedly, conditionally, and non-self, where the manifestation of ceaseless thoughts or ideas don't even belong to the thoughts or ideas themselves, not to say, they don't belong to the mind, or the thinking faculty of the physical body, where the manifestation of random thoughts or ideas are ceaselessly arising and passing away under the selfless support and influence of energy and different elements.

Similarly, the mind purification process is also being misunderstood as, "Transforming from the state of impurity to regain the state of purity. Transforming from the limited imperfect impure mortal I to regain the unlimited perfect pure immortal I. Transforming from the evil selfish greedy joyless unhappy negative I to regain the good unselfish contented joyful happy positive I. And so on." But, it is merely about thinning-out and annihilating the veil of ignorance, or quieting and stilling the restless impure egoistic thought current, that is occupied and over-powered by the idea of 'I', egoism, and all kinds of impurities and restlessness deriving from the idea of 'I' and egoism, that hinder the mind to see/know/understand the mind perception of everything as they are, as it is.

That is why the highly importance of non-blind believing, non-blind following, non-blind practicing, non-blind propagating, and non-blind glorifying.

Inquire the truth of everything, including all that is here, and all kinds of teachings of yoga and buddhism coming from anyone and everywhere.

It is absolutely possible to be free from ignorance and all those madness/wild imagination/wishful thinking/stories making and telling deriving from ignorance.