Inquire towards the power of belief

All kinds of beliefs are not necessarily the truth of things, however, any kind of belief among all kinds of different beliefs is something so 'powerful' in the world of ignorance and egoism, as it is influencing the minds that are functioning under the veil of ignorance and egoism to think, reason, desire, and behave in certain way, that is influencing the general condition and situation in the world to be in certain way.

Power can be something constructive or destructive. Power can build or destroy. It's the same with all kinds of beliefs as well as all kinds of influential elements.

'Belief' becomes something very powerful (destructively), when certain minds with selfish greedy desires and ambitions used 'all kinds of beliefs' to manipulate, tempt or threaten, exploit, and control the thinking, the reasoning, the desire, and the behavior of many other minds, to gain certain power or advantage, that help them to achieve all their selfish greedy desires and ambitions.

'Power' or 'powerful' is neither something good nor bad. It depends on whether it is something that promotes peace and harmony among all kinds of diversities in this world that doesn't belong to anyone and anything, or not.

Just by 'believing in' something, even if that something doesn't really exist, can influence the thinking, the reasoning, the desire, and the behavior of the many minds in certain way, and hence, impacting the condition and situation in the world in certain way.

Even though any kind of belief is something 'powerful' as it is highly influential, just as all kinds of famous charismatic admirable respectable figure or influencer and inspirational event, but all these are not the most powerful thing in the world.

The minds that are free from the influence of ignorance and egoism, they are not being determined or influenced by any kind of belief, or any kind of influential element. They don't need the existence of any particular belief to set as a guideline to live life in certain way. They don't need the existence of any 'leader' to lead them, or to make decision for them. That 'mental and emotional independence of not being determined or influenced by any kind of belief or influential element' is the most 'powerful' among all kinds of so called 'powerful influential elements' in the world, as the liberated mind is not being determined or influenced by any kinds of influential elements, regardless of whether it is some kind of influential belief, or famous charismatic admirable respectable figure/influencer, or inspirational event, or impactful experience, or condition, or situation. The liberated mind is not even being determined or influenced by the ceaseless selfless impermanent changes that are happening in the body and the modification of the mind that is existing and functioning under the selfless support of the selfless energy and elements.

The different minds that are functioning under the influence of ignorance and egoism, they are being conditioned and influenced by the many different kinds of beliefs that are existing in the world, to be thinking and believing that all minds cannot live life without believing in any kind of belief to be the guidance that leads to a particular way of living and behavior, where they believe all and everyone need to hold onto certain belief to live life and behave in certain way, that give rise to a sense of belonging, direction, refuge, purposefulness, meaningfulness, accomplishment, and personal/family/community pride.

All kinds of beliefs are neither good nor bad, but the mind is not free, if it is being conditioned and influenced by certain belief to think, reason, desire, and behave in certain way, regardless of whether the mind thinks and believes that the beliefs are something good or bad, and something agreeable or disagreeable.

The teachings and practice of yoga and/or buddhism, is to free the mind from all that, while respecting the existence of all kinds of beliefs being what they are, as there are many minds still 'need' to hold onto these beliefs to set as a guidance to live life, or else, they will be lost under the sense of purposelessness or meaninglessness, if without setting a specific direction or goal in life.

Before the mind attains mental and emotional independence transcending all kinds of beliefs, or before the mind attains self-realization transcending the selfless impermanent modification of the mind, where it still needs to hold onto certain belief to live life, think, desire, and behave in certain way, that give rise to the momentary sense of goodness, righteousness, positiveness, joyfulness, meaningfulness, refuge, or direction/goal, however, this mind also needs to understand that it cannot impose its own belief unto any other minds/people, where it expects all the others should also believe and follow its own belief to live life, think, desire, and behave in certain way, or the way that it thinks and believes is the good and right way, or the best way to be existing as a human being, while judging others who are different from oneself as bad and wrong, and be disturbed or offended by others who are different from oneself, that oneself dislikes and disagrees with based on one's own belief about how things and everyone should be like. One keeps one's belief only to oneself, and not impose one's belief unto any other, not even one's close family members or community, not to say, all the others that are not one's family members or community. Meanwhile, the mind can keep striving to be free from ignorance, to transcend its own belief or the modification of the mind, to attain mental and emotional independence or self-realization, if it wants.

The world is having so much unnecessary chaos or suffering, is due to there are many minds that are functioning under the influence of ignorance and egoism impose each of their own particular belief unto all the others, and be disturbed and offended by the others whom they dislike and disagree with based on their own particular belief, while generate actions and reactions that are violent and hurtful unto the others who are different from them.

Inquire the truth of everything, and be free.

The belief of good and bad karma

This teaching is for those who want to learn and practice yoga and/or buddhism, and those who think and believe that they are practicing and/or teaching/propagating yoga and/or buddhism.

Under certain worldly passionate egoistic family, cultural, social, spiritual, and/or religious beliefs, ideas, values, and practice, there are minds that believe in good or bad karma, which appeared to be very similar to the teachings of yoga and/or buddhism about the nature's law of cause and effect, or actions and the consequences of actions, but there is a huge difference between 'the selfless nature's law of cause and effect' and 'the passionate egoistic belief of good and bad karma deriving from good/right and bad/wrong conducts/actions/reactions', as what is good or bad, and what is right or wrong, in accordance to the many different worldly passionate egoistic beliefs, ideas, values, and practices, are nothing to do with the selfless nature's law of cause and effect that is merely being what it is, that is non-judgmental and non-discriminate, that is neither good nor bad, neither right nor wrong, neither positive nor negative, neither meaningful nor meaningless, neither joyful nor sorrowful, or neither pleasurable enjoyment nor painful suffering.

The nature's law of cause and effect is merely what things are. It is non-judgmental/non-discriminate and it's not based on the quality of good and bad or right and wrong, being projected and generated by the minds under the influence of ignorance, egoism, impurities, and restlessness. The belief of good and bad karma is not necessarily what things are, and it is judgmental and discriminate, and it's very much based on the quality of good and bad or right and wrong, being projected and generated by the minds under the influence of particular worldly passionate egoistic belief, ideas, values, and practice.

The minds that are practicing yoga and/or buddhism, and have intense yearning towards liberation, and want to attain self-realization to be free from ignorance and suffering, the inquiry or investigation towards the truth of everything, is the fundamental essential practice. Although it's the freedom of all and everyone towards what they want to do and practice, or not.

The yoga and/or buddhism practitioners are never believers or followers, not to say, blind-believers or blind-followers, or blind-practitioners and blind-propagators.

The teachings of yoga, or the dhamma of buddhism, that is all about self-inquiry and self-realization, is neither a belief, nor a practice that promote the generation and accumulation of good karma or avoid the generation and accumulation of bad karma. It's about non-attachment and non-identification towards the actions and the fruit of actions. It's about renouncing the fruit of actions, regardless of what the minds think and believe and judge as 'good and bad', or 'right and wrong', or 'meaningful and meaningless', or 'deserving and non-deserving', or 'pleasurable enjoyment and painful suffering', in accordance to the many different worldly passionate egoistic beliefs, ideas, values, and practices.

The mind that is practicing yoga and/or buddhism is desireless, devoid of craving towards 'good karma' and aversion towards 'bad karma', but all and everyone is responsible for one's actions and the consequences of one's actions, where no other can remove or replace oneself for the effect deriving from the cause that oneself have been generating, and one is not being determined or disturbed by the actions and the fruit of actions being what they are, as they are, regardless of whether they appeared to be pleasant or unpleasant, desirable or undesirable, agreeable or disagreeable, meaningful or meaningless, success or failure, deserving or non-deserving, and enjoyable or non-enjoyable.

The yoga and/or buddhism teachings is about the truth of what things are or truthfulness, by allowing the minds to see, to confront with, and to respect the truth that is not necessarily always pleasant, agreeable, or desirable, and to attain direct realization towards the truth of everything by oneself via an open mind, through self-effort, self-inquiry, and self-realization.

It's never about out of certain possession, identification, affection, concern, fear, or worry towards the world being or not being in certain way in accordance to one's desires and doesn't desires, or agreements and disagreements, or out of selfish intention, desire, vision, and ambition to create a world that one likes and desires, and hence, there are many hypocrisy, untruthfulness, lies, story telling, or fairy tales being generated and propagated, particularly in many things that they don't know, that they don't understand, and that they couldn't explain, to be threatening and conditioning the minds with lots of untruthfulness that gives rise to fear, in order to influence and control the thinking and behavior of the minds to be and not to be in certain way.

The belief of good and bad karma, is being used by the minds to either tempt or threaten other minds to behave or not behaving in certain way. "If you do this, or if you don't do that, you will be rewarded and enjoying. And if you don't do this, or if you do that, you will be punished and suffering." Or it is being used to justify certain things that they can't understand and can't explain, or to justify certain hurtful behavior.

Just as a parent is afraid of the child doesn't behave in the way that it likes and desires, or a leader is afraid of the followers don't behave in the way that it likes and desires, or a teacher is afraid of the students don't behave in the way that it likes and desires, or everyone is afraid of all the others don't behave in the way that each and everyone thinks and believes how everyone should and shouldn't behave. And hence, there are many story telling or fairy tales that are either 'tempting' or 'threatening' the minds to behave and not behaving in certain way.

There are some minds, including the minds that are practicing and/or teaching/propagating yoga and/or buddhism, were/are being conditioned to believe in,

"All and everyone are existing here, experiencing what they are experiencing, is because of their own good and bad karma. Good karma deriving from good and righteous conducts gives rise to pleasurable enjoyment, prosperity, desirable condition, good health, abundance, success, joy, happiness, easiness, or kind treatment, in this present life existence, and will give rise to 'superior reincarnation of a superior next life existence in a superior realm' in the future, and so on, while bad karma deriving from bad and wrongful conducts gives rise to painful suffering, poverty, undesirable condition, ill heath, insufficiency, failure, sorrow, unhappiness, hardship, or ill treatment, in this present life existence, and will give rise to 'inferior reincarnation of an inferior next life existence in an inferior realm', and so on.

All and everyone who had been or were experiencing certain ill treatment, abusive affair, ill heath, bad encountering, painful suffering or difficulties in the past, or are experiencing certain ill treatment, abusive affair, ill heath, bad encountering, painful suffering or difficulties in now, are due to their past accumulation of bad karma either in this present life existence and/or from the many past life existences.

One must receive all kinds of unpleasant conditions, hurtful experiences, corrupted affairs, abusive family ties and relationships, ill treatments, ill heath, painful suffering, or difficulties in silence, in order to 'burn off' the past accumulated bad karma. Where it is 'good' to be suffering as much as possible, while silently 'encouraging' others to behave badly and hurtfully unto oneself, or even coming from oneself generating all kinds of unnecessary damaging effects, difficulties, and inconveniences unto oneself, or punishing/hurting one's own body and mind deliberately under the terms of 'repent' and 'penance', in order to 'burn off' any past accumulated bad karma, that seemingly bottomless.

Meanwhile, in order to avoid any kind of painful suffering or difficulties manifesting in oneself (personal karma) and/or in the collective surrounding environment shared by many others (collective group karma), one needs to be on high alert and be judgmental towards one's and/or others' thinking and conduct, where one and/or others should only generate good karma and avoid generate any bad karma, based on the worldly passionate egoistic family, cultural, social, spiritual, religious, national, political or commercial beliefs, ideas, values, and practices about what is good and bad, what is right and wrong, what is positive and negative, what is appropriate and inappropriate, what is meaningful and meaningless, what is success and failure, what is prosperity and non-prosperity, or what is should and shouldn't.

If someone thinks and believes that itself has been good and kind, and has been performing many good and kind actions, and never did anything bad or wrong in this life existence, but somehow, it is still encountering many badness, undesirable experiences, hurtful affairs, ill treatments, difficulties, or painful suffering, then that is due to the past accumulated bad karma from the previous life existence."

That is everyone's freedom of thinking and belief, reason and understanding, action and reaction.

Inquire towards all these thinking and belief, ideas and values, and practice. These are nothing to do with the teachings and practice of yoga and/or buddhism.

The difference between 'the nature's law of cause and effect' and 'the belief of good and bad karma' - 

Under the nature's law of cause and effect -

If apple seed is planted, it will grow into an apple tree, and not a mango tree or a banana tree.

If mango seed is planted, it will grow into a mango tree, and not an apple tree or a banana tree.

And so on.

Does that mean apple is good and mango is bad, or vice versa? Neither.

As simple as that.

Meanwhile, under the belief of good and bad karma -

If one does bad, there is bad karma, and one will be suffering badness. If one does good, there is good karma, and one will be enjoying goodness. What is good and bad, what is goodness and badness, and what is enjoyment and suffering, can be very different under different beliefs, ideas, values, and practices.

Regardless of what or who the mind thinks and identifies as 'I', and whether the mind thinks and believes that it has been good or bad, kind or unkind, selfish or unselfish, healthy or unhealthy, educated or uneducated, knowledgeable or non-knowledgeable, or have been accumulating lots of so called good karma or bad karma, and so on, all and everyone are under going the inevitable process of selfless impermanent changes, of growth, ceased growing, ceaseless maintenance, decay, aging, weakness, illness, ceased functioning, and disintegration/death. This natural process of selfless impermanent changes can be very unpleasant and painful physically and mentally. Does that mean selfless impermanent changes is something related to bad karma?

Selfless impermanent changes is just what all and everything are. It is neither good nor bad, neither positive nor negative, neither meaningful nor meaningless.

If the mind is free from ignorance and egoism, the mind respects the selfless impermanent changes as they are, devoid of craving and aversion towards the body and mind, or towards all kinds of names and forms, experiences, interactions, ties and relationships, affairs, conditions and situations, to be or not to be in certain way, and hence, there is no suffering arise in this mind.

If the mind is under the influence of ignorance and egoism, where the mind has desires of craving and aversion towards the physical and mental condition, ability, performance, and achievement, and towards all kinds of names and forms, experiences, interactions, ties and relationships, affairs, conditions and situations, to be and not to be in certain way, and when the desire of craving and aversion is ungratified, or when the body and mind and something that it perceives and experiences, is not being the way that the mind likes, desires, and agrees with, there is suffering arise in this mind.

It's about one takes responsibility towards one's action and inaction under the influence of one's desires and doesn't desires, likes and dislikes, agreements and disagreements, or understanding and non-understanding, as well as be responsible towards the consequences of that, without self-blame or blame others.

"I believe or disbelieve in this belief," or "I want or do not want to let go this belief," or "I want or do not want to have this relationship," or "I want or don't want to do this," or "I want to be here and live here," or "I want to go and live somewhere else," or "I want to eat here and this," or "I don't want to eat there and that," and so on. It's one's own choice and decision. And no matter the outcome of one's choice and decision and action/inaction is pleasant or unpleasant, desirable or undesirable, and agreeable or disagreeable, one either accepts or doesn't accept, or either be determined or undetermined by all that, it's one's own choice and responsibility.

Even if someone else is making all the choices and decisions for oneself, it is oneself who allows or disallows that to be happening, to accept or reject, and to go along with or not going along with all those choices and decisions made by others. That's why it's one's own responsibility towards all kinds of pleasant or unpleasant experiences, regardless of whether it's one's own choices and decisions, or it's others' choices and decisions.

How common that the mind says, "I am unselfish. I love you very much. I don't do anything for myself. I am doing everything for you, according to what you want and don't want. Because, I want you to be happy. I don't want you to be unhappy. I don't want you to get upset and be angry with me. I want you to love me. I don't want you to dislike me. I am doing all these for you." Nope. The mind is not even aware of itself is being so selfish. Everything is being done in accordance to 'what I want and what I don't want'.

Similarly, regardless of whether under the presence and absence of ignorance and egoism, and whether there is suffering arise in the mind, or not, upon coming in contact with certain names and forms/experiences/conditions/situations/affairs/happenings/ties and relationships that are unpleasant, disagreeable, undesirable, non-enjoyable, hurtful, disturbing, or painful, that are deriving from ignorance and the consequences of ignorance, that are evitable, it is nothing to do with good or bad karma.

The minds that are free from ignorance and egoism, naturally, if they want, they know how to avoid coming in contact with and/or move away from the minds, beings, objects, interactions, dealings, affairs, happenings, areas, conditions, or situations, that are under the influence of ignorance and the consequences of ignorance, as much as possible, to minimize unnecessary damages or energy/life wasting. If it is not possible to avoid coming in contact with or move away from such ignorance, they deal with all that in peace.

Those who are happened to be existing or living in an area that is having all kinds of ignorant affairs, violent and hurtful happenings, or unnecessary evitable damages and painful suffering, that affect all and everyone not only in that area, but also affecting the entire world in certain way, regardless of whether they have been doing something good or bad, right or wrong, and whether they are selfish or unselfish, kind or unkind, it is not because of their bad karma, it's mainly because of the ignorance and the consequences of ignorance, of certain minds that are ignorant, prideful, ambitious, greedy, possessive, selfish, discriminating, hating and violent in this present moment.

The mind will understand all these, knowing what is true or untrue, if it performs inquiry towards "What is time?" / "What is 'I'?" / "What is the thinking mind?" / "What is the modification of the mind?" / "What is past and future?" / "What is selflessness?" / "What is impermanence?" / "What is suffering?" / "What is cause and effect?" /"What is liberation?" under an open mind not being influenced by any particular worldly passionate egoistic beliefs, ideas, values, and practice, and attains direct self-realization towards timelessness, or there's neither past nor future, there is only NOW, and it's changing, or selflessness and impermanence, or knowing Thyself.

Inquire the truth of everything, and be free.

About belief and disbelief from the point of yoga

Being curious and asking about what other people believe and disbelieve is not yoga practice, and it doesn't lead to liberation from ignorance.

What everyone want to believe and disbelieve, is everyone's freedom.

There's neither good nor bad with different people having many different kinds of belief and disbelief.

Meanwhile, for those who want to practice yoga, is about opening the mind by going beyond all kinds of different belief and disbelief in the world, while detaching and dis-identifying from all kinds of belief and disbelief that are already existing in one's mind that have been influencing how this mind analyzes, judges, behaves, acts and reacts, and at the same time, respecting others for their belief and disbelief, or what they practice and don't practice.

What this mind believes and doesn't believe is not important.

What you think you believe and don't believe, or what you think you want or don't want to believe is not important.

What others believe and don't believe is not important.

One allows others to express what they want to express and to give their opinion and advice about this and that, but one shouldn't be influenced or determined by what others think, believe, disbelieve, or their opinion and advice about anything, or what others telling you what you should and shouldn't believe or disbelieve, even if it's coming from one's beloved and respected people in the world.

Those who are truly wise and compassionate wouldn't tell anyone what they should and shouldn't believe or disbelieve, but would be encouraging everyone to inquire the truth of everything. Those who would be offended by others who don't accept or follow their thinking, belief, disbelief, opinion and advice, only indicates that these minds are not free from the influence of ignorance and egoism. And it's everyone's freedom and responsibility for how they react towards everything.

Without blind-believing or blind-disbelieving in anything, but inquiring the truth of everything through self-inquiry.

The truth of things is not a belief. It's what things are, and everything is selfless and impermanent.

Yoga practice is about letting go all kinds of belief and disbelief, freeing the mind from being conditioned by any existing belief or disbelief in one's mind, not to say, being conditioned by any other people's belief or disbelief, but learning how to purify, discipline and quiet the mind to allow the mind to see things as they are.

Inquire the truth of everything.

How to break free from fear towards letting go certain thinking and belief?

There's no comment/judgment towards any thinking and belief as true or untrue. Learn to see things as they are. Need not judging or categorizing everything into 'this' or 'that'. Everything is just what it is. Neither good nor bad. Neither right nor wrong. All are impermanent and selfless. Whatever being perceived through the mind in this worldly life existence of names and forms, are all subject to impermanence and selflessness, including all kinds of thinking, beliefs, values and practices.

All kinds of thinking and belief existing for their own reason, for the minds that are under the influence of egoism and impurities to hang onto, to have a sense of direction, while navigating their way in the worldly life existence that is subject to uncertainty, impermanence and selflessness.

It's all about whether the mind is free from egoistic attachment and identification, or not. It's not about which thinking and belief is true or untrue, or which is truer and better than all the others.

Asians are bound by Asian cultural thinking and belief, but are not being bound by the western cultural thinking and belief to live life and behave in certain way. Westerners are bound by the western cultural thinking and belief, but are not being bound by the Asian cultural thinking and belief to live life and behave in certain way. Though both can respect each other's different ways of life and behavior due to the influence of different cultural thinking and belief.

The mind took up and attached onto Christianity or Hinduism thinking and belief and practice, and identifying itself as a 'Christian' or 'Hindu', or as a 'follower' of 'Christianity' or 'Hinduism'. Christians are bound by Christianity thinking and belief and practice, but are not being bound by the Hinduism thinking and belief and practice. Hindus are bound by Hinduism thinking and belief and practice, but are not being bound by Christianity thinking and belief and practice.

Christians have no fear of 'not following' Hinduism thinking and belief and practice at all, but there's fear of 'unfollow' Christianity thinking and belief and practice, fear of sin and punishment and 'The hell for (bad) Christians'. Hindus have no fear of 'not following' Christianity thinking and belief and practice at all, but there's fear of 'unfollow' Hinduism thinking and belief and practice, fear of sin and punishment and 'The hell for (bad) Hindus'. Though both can respect each other's different way of thinking and belief and practice, and their respective 'Hell for their (bad) followers'.

Without taking up or without attachment and identification towards any particular thinking and belief and practice, there's no binding by any thinking and belief and practice, and there's no need of 'unfollow' any thinking and belief and practice, as there's no particular thinking and belief and practice that need to be 'unfollowed'. What is fear of 'unfollow' any thinking and belief and practice?

Those who were never being exposed to or never picked up any particular thinking and belief and practice, or those who have no attachment and identification towards any particular thinking and belief and practice are not being bound by any particular thinking and belief and practice, to live life and behave in certain way. The notion of 'unfollowing' or 'letting go' or 'abandoning' certain thinking and belief and practice doesn't exist at all. Though one can respect all the others with their particular thinking and belief and practice, to live life and behave in certain way, as most egoistic minds/people need to hang onto certain thinking and belief to have a sense of direction in life, but it's unnecessarily for the minds that are free from ignorance and egoism.