The truth is still what it is whether we agree or disagree with it...

The truth, it is not necessarily something pleasant for the egoistic mind, or the way that the egoistic mind would like it to be.

It is the freedom of every mind to have certain thinking and belief, to be conditioning the mind to think in certain ways and to believe in certain beliefs, to influence our action and reaction, or how we behave.

There's nothing wrong for the mind to generate agreement and disagreement towards everything that it comes in contact with, based on how the mind thinks and what the mind believes what things are.

It is the natural habit of the prideful egoistic mind to argue and criticize about something that it disagrees with, for being different from its own thinking and belief, to prove that this is right (my way, my thinking and my believe) and that is wrong (other ways, other thinking and other beliefs). Or else the world would be quiet being free from argument, dispute, criticism and condemn.

Argument, dispute, criticism and condemn coming from the prideful egoistic mind about certain thinking and beliefs are right and good (my way of thinking and my belief), and all the others are wrong and bad (anything else that is being different from my way of thinking and my belief), is subjective and pointless.

The same object, some say it's beautiful, some say it's ugly, based on their own standard of what is beauty and what is ugliness. It is individual projection from each mind to label everything into this and that. The object is just what it is. It is neither beautiful nor ugly. There's nothing wrong with some minds think it's beautiful, and some minds think it's ugly, but it is not the truth of the object.

When we start to let go of attachment towards a particular type of thinking and belief including the thinking and belief in our own minds, as well as all the teachings of all kinds of different philosophy of life existence, we start to see things as they are. There's no right or wrong, good or bad, but just being different. And everyone takes full responsibility for the consequences of their own freedom of choice to take up certain thinking and belief to live their lives, for how they want to think and what they want to believe.

If we expect everyone else in this world to also comply to the same thinking and belief that we attached to, we'll get frustrated, unhappy, angry and hating when they are being different from us. It is coming from our own attachment and expectation, it's not because we are right and they are wrong.

Yoga is about to free the mind from ignorance and egoism through the practice of renunciation, dispassion, desireless, non-attachment, non-identification, and realize non-duality, oneness or non-separateness, or namelessness and formlessness.

Some people including those who think they are practicing yoga or teaching yoga, might dislike and disagree with this teaching and practice. And it's okay.

Those who don't practice yoga because they dislike and disagree with the teaching and practice of yoga, and so, they don't.

Those who love to practice yoga or want to teach yoga, but, they would prefer the yoga that they want to be practicing or teaching, to be the way that they would like it to be, or to be what they think it should be. They don't want to hear or talk about renunciation, non-attachment, dispassion or desireless. And there's nothing wrong with that, and nothing to be arguing about. They have the freedom to think and believe in what they want to think and believe. They are practicing yoga, just that not as what it is, but how they like it to be.

That's the point of what yoga is about. It's oneness, non-separateness, namelessness and formlessness. It is beyond all the different qualities of name and form. There's no prideful egoism, attachment, identification, judgment or expectation, and hence there's no argument, criticism, or condemn.

If someone disagrees with what has been said here, they can't say anything.

Either they say something to argue or criticize, or they don't say anything, not arguing or criticizing, it also shows that there's nothing wrong with this teaching.

If they want to say something about their disagreement on this, and want to argue or criticize about this, it proves that this teaching is true, that every prideful egoistic mind that attached to certain thinking and beliefs, will want to argue and criticize about something that it disagrees with for being different from its point of views based on how it thinks and what it believes.

If they don't say anything, it also proves that this teaching is true, that there's nothing to be argue or criticize about. It is not about what is being said here is true, or not true.

Those who truly practice yoga don't argue or criticize about something that the mind disagrees with for being different from its own thinking and belief, based on how it thinks and what it believes.

Whether the mind agrees or disagrees with something, it is still what it is. Whether we think and believe the apple is tasty or not tasty, the apple is still what it is. It doesn't has the intention or quality to be tasty or not tasty. But coming from each individual's likes and dislikes towards different tastes, different minds have different opinions towards the same taste. It's the same for all the other names and forms of sights, sounds, smells, sensations and thinking.

Any thinking and belief, no matter how good and right we think they are, it is still within the subjective point of views.

Go beyond all the different thinking and beliefs, and realize the universal truth, that everything is just what it is with different names and forms. And beyond all the different names and forms, all is one, there's no separateness. There's no superiority nor inferiority. The mind rests in silence, at peace.

But the ego doesn't like this at all. It prefers the distinctiveness between superiority and inferiority, and ceaselessly strives to make itself more superior than others, and to maintain that superiority. It doesn't like to be in silence, or to be at peace. It enjoys restlessness, stimulation or excitement. And there's nothing wrong with that.

Those who don't like and disagree with this teaching are free to think what they want to think, to agree or disagree with anything, to debate and argue about everything.

May all be peaceful.

Be free.

Righteousness, criticism and condemn...

Righteousness can cause a lot of damage and generates disharmony in our lives and in the society. It initiates dispute, argument, anger, hatred and unrest in a family, in relationships, in friendships and in the society, as everyone has different thinking and beliefs, and everyone has the freedom of speech and actions. For what? Just because there are ignorant and selfish people out there who didn't behave correctly and righteously, and as a good citizen and human being, we are obliged to make sure everyone behave the way that we think they should behave? Does it worth to cause damage and disharmony in our lives for other people's ignorance and ignorant behavior?

If we are truly compassionate, we do not cause further disharmony in our lives while expecting the world to be a better place, the way that we think it should be. How can we expect everyone in the world should think and behave, the same as ourselves?

Those who are truly compassionate will just perform the necessary actions without getting involve in the ignorance of other beings. As even by criticizing and condemning what and who we think are ignorant, will not remove the ignorance from anyone. Or else, Buddha could have just go around criticizing and condemning this and that being as his duty and responsibility as a good human being, and all ignorant beings would be free from ignorance, and the world would have be free from all kinds of ignorant beings with ignorant behavior.

If we think we are right and being righteous, we should criticize and condemn others for what we think is wrong and bad, but then why are we getting so upset when other people criticize and condemn us for what they think is wrong and bad, but we think is nothing wrong or bad?

Take a look into ourselves. When we get upset and angry with something that we don't like, don't want and don't agree with, it is not coming from other people ignorance or ignorant behavior, but it is because we cannot have the reality the way that we want it to be. We are getting something that we don't like and don't want. We are not getting the thing that we like and want. It's the craving and aversion in us that initiate the dissatisfaction, disappointment, frustration and anger in us. It is nothing to do with other people's ignorant thinking and behavior.

We can be peaceful as we are, and do what we can do to maintain peace and harmony in ourselves and in others, and not by generate further disharmony among us and everyone else who are free to be different.

Think about it and be happy.

When we are aware of our mind is too busy with all sorts of imprints from all the worldly inputs that the mind being exposed to, then maybe it's the time for retreating from the worldly affairs, names and forms, to take care our mind before it goes wild.

Have peace in oneself if we want peace in the world.

Om shanti.

Righteousness, fearlessness, criticism and condemn...

There's nothing wrong when people make criticism and condemn towards other people and things that they dislike and disagree with. That is their freedom of thinking, actions and speech.

Letting go of the urge to criticize and condemn, no matter what our mind think and believe how right we are, and how wrong they are (those whom we dislike and disagree with), is one of the observations for yoga and meditation practitioners.

Some people might think that being righteous and supporting the freedom of speech means that they need to criticize and condemn anyone that they dislike and disagree with, to make a standpoint that they are good and right, and those whom they criticize and condemn are bad and wrong, as well as to induce the sense of righteousness in others, to get supports from others to also criticize and condemn what and who they dislike and disagree with, it doesn't matter if it will provoke anger, hatred and violence in other people and those whom they criticize and condemn, where they think that this is an act of righteousness and fearlessness. But this is not the right discrimination and fearlessness that we are talking about in yoga and meditation practice.

This is pure ignorance, whether intentionally or unintentionally provoking and inducing anger, hatred, violence and disharmony between us and other beings who are different from us, whom we dislike and disagree with, whom we think they are wrong, and we are right, based on what our own particular thinking and belief about what is right and wrong.

It is the tendency of the assertive ego to criticize and condemn - 'I' am good and right, and what is oppose to what 'I' think and believe as good and right, is bad and wrong. As a righteous and good being, 'I' should criticize and condemn what 'I' believe is bad and wrong.

 

It is the ego that doesn't want to let go of the urge to be self-righteous, to be a critic, to be the one who has the right thinking and righteousness to teach other people a lesson, to punish other people for their wrong doing based on what our minds believe what things are, about how people should and shouldn't think and behave.

If we want to help the world to be a more peaceful and harmony place, why are we constantly generating unrest and disharmony into the world by constantly generating criticism and condemn through action and speech that will induce anger and hatred among all beings who are different from one another?

It's purely the play of ignorance and egoism.

If we want to help to promote and maintain peace and harmony in the society, it's by stop sharing intentional information (resources from somewhere) that will provoke disharmony, doubts, anger and hatred among the different diversities in the society. Meanwhile there are many people are unaware of themselves are being used by some people, or politicians, or social medias, to achieve what they want to achieve for their personal ambitions and desires.

As yoga and meditation practitioners, while living among the society, if possible, one can learn to observe, unattached and uninvolved with the egoistic 'games' that the worldly people are playing in order to gain their personal interests and benefits.

That was what the Gurus and teachers in the past had advised anyone who wants to practice yoga and meditation, that they must stay away from vain talks, gossips, criticism, condemn, slandering, back-biting, boasting, and so on.

Using the time and energy that we spend on criticism and condemn to be performing our yoga and meditation practice will be more helpful for promoting and maintaining world peace.

Om shanti.

Discrimination or hatred towards those who discriminate others?

We are not any different from those whom we think they discriminate others, when we discriminate them for discriminating others.

And hence, if we truly are against discrimination, how can we discriminate anyone?

Embrace silence. Rest in silence.

Be happy.

Criticism?

If what others say or criticize about us is true, why are we unhappy?

If what others say or criticize about us is not true, then we shouldn't be unhappy at all.

And so, either what others say about us is true or not true, there's no reason for us to be unhappy.

It is just a reaction coming from the egoism if the mind feels unhappy about something, it's all because it is something that the ego doesn't like, doesn't want, and doesn't agree with.

A well-trained mind free from egoism will not react the same.

Be happy.

Why is the elimination of the ego can bring us unconditional peace?

When we think we are 'good' people, and get upset and agitated when we hear other people say something 'not good' about us that we disagree with, then we are not really as 'good' as what we think we are.

Yoga practice is there when we need to forbear or withstand any mental, emotional and physical discomforts, pain, sickness, unrest, disturbance, inconvenience, not getting what we want, getting what we don't want, 'insults', 'humiliation', 'attack', 'discrimination', 'hatred', 'injustice', 'disrespectfulness', 'condemn', 'criticism', 'inappreciation', 'ungratefulness', 'obstacles', and whatever our mind recognizes as 'undesirable', 'not good', 'not right', 'bad', 'negative', 'unhappiness', and 'suffering'.

If we are truly 'good', we don't need any recognition, agreement, approval or appreciation from other people to acknowledge us as 'good people'. And the 'good' in us won't be affected nor contaminated by other people's judgment, inappreciation, insults, criticism or condemn.

The one who needs recognition, agreement, approval or appreciation from other people to be acknowledged as 'good people' who have been doing many 'good' actions contributing to the society, and gets upset and unhappy when not getting all these 'reactions' from other people that it wants, is the ego.

Yoga practice is all about eliminating this ego, to realize non-duality, non-separateness, selflessness, compassion, attributelessness, namelessness and formlessness. What else are we practicing in yoga if not eliminating the ego?

We can tell ourselves and others, "I have been practicing yoga and meditation for 40 years everyday, I know yoga and meditation more than you do, who are you to criticize and insult me?"
Well, if we are truly practicing yoga and meditation (disregard how long we have been practicing yoga and mediation, as realization of the truth is not determined by how long we have been practicing yoga and meditation,) we won't have such identification with the qualities of names and forms, and won't have such reaction towards what we see or hear that we disagree with, or what we think is not true and not right.

Those who knows yoga, who are selfless, are not disturbed, nor affected, nor determined by any 'insults' or 'criticism'.

When the ego is eliminated, who is there being insulted by anyone or anything?

Om shanti.

Discrimination, prejudice and hatred...

Most of us would like to live in a peaceful environment for ourselves and the people whom we love. We would like the society to be free from crime, violence, unjust, hatred, prejudice and discrimination. We want to be free from insecurity, fear and worry.

When discrimination happens to us, we would like other people to stop being discriminative towards us, as being discriminated is really not a nice experience and it contributes restlessness in us. We will feel disturbed and are not peaceful.

We want to be treated equally and respectfully by everyone. But, are we also treating everyone in the world (with different types of beliefs, behaviors, characteristics and personalities) equally and respectfully?

We will be angry with some people whom are being discriminative and prejudice towards us, but think again, most probably we are not aware that sometimes we are doing the same thing towards some other beings as well.
 
We need to reflect towards our own actions, reactions, thinking, speech and behavior to see if we are also being discriminative and prejudice towards other beings without us being aware of it.

Being discriminative and prejudice towards other people based on race, skin colour, religion, political views, belief, nationality, disability, education level, family background, inheritance, ranking, social status, job, income, lifestyle, gender, sexual orientation, age, physical condition and appearance, past and present behavior, or anything that we can think of, is something that we all need to empty out from ourselves, before we 'expect' the world to be free from discrimination, prejudice and hatred.

When we start to react towards other people's what we ourselves believe as wrongful and inappropriate behavior by criticizing or condemning their behavior as bad and evil doings, and judging them as bad and evil beings, we are starting to behave just like these people whom we criticize and condemn. As those who really live in the truth, they won't criticize or condemn anyone, not even the most evil being in the world. As there is no need to do so. As by criticize and condemn, it won't make these people to change their behaviors to become what we think how it should be. It will only intensify repulsion and hatred in people's mind.

When we criticize or condemn other people for what we believe as wrongful and inappropriate behavior, because we think we are better human beings than them, not to say, when we are also behaving the same unwittingly, then we are not any different from those whom we criticize or condemn.

Sometimes we have discrimination among ourselves within the same race, not to say, being racist towards other race that are different from us. Discrimination also exists within the same family, in the same gender or in the same religion, not to say, discrimination exists among the names and forms that are distinctively different from each other.

There is no doubt that discrimination, prejudice and hatred promotes unrest, insecurity and fear in people's mind. But if we realize unconditional peace and love in us, all these unrest, insecurity and fear will not arise in us even though discrimination, prejudice and hatred exist in our society.

Discrimination, prejudice and hatred derived from craving and aversion of the egoistic mind towards what our ego likes and dislikes, agrees and disagrees with, based on our own particular thinking, belief, values and practice. Out of ignorance, we have attachment and identification towards the qualities of names and forms. We will have judgment and comparison towards the different qualities of names and forms, that we perceive in ourselves and in others. Fear and insecurity arise due to attachment and identification towards these qualities of names and forms. We have great frustration, dissatisfaction and disappointment when our desire of craving and aversion, or our expectation are not being gratified.

Because of fear and insecurity, we want to think and feel that we are more strong and superior than other people, and we don't want to think and feel that we are more weak and inferior than other people.

When we are free from egoism and ignorance, when we realize the truth of names and forms, we don't need to be stronger or superior than anyone or don't want to be weaker or inferior than anyone. Beyond all the different qualities of names and forms, beyond all the different types of thinking, beliefs, values and behavior, we all are the same selfless momentary existence of names and forms, when we see the truth in everything. There is neither superiority nor inferiority. There is neither good nor evil. And thus there is no fear towards "evil" beings or "evil" doings.

Being discriminative towards other people's racist behavior and speech is not any different from being a "racist" ourselves. We need to learn to accept and respect everyone as they are, even if some people are being racist, prejudiced and discriminative towards us or other people.

Being undisturbed or undetermined by the existence of discrimination in the world and without criticizing or condemn discrimination in the world, it doesn't mean that we are agreeing with or supporting discrimination in the world. It also doesn't mean that we don't or wouldn't perform any selfless actions that would help to reduce discrimination in the world, or to bring more peace and harmony into the world of diversity.

Everyone has the freedom to say or do whatever they want to say or do. We want to fight for freedom of speech and be free to have our own particular cultural, social, political, spiritual or religious beliefs, but how come we discriminate and criticize other people who say and do things that we disagree with and don't like, who have different cultural, social, political, spiritual or religious beliefs that are different from ours?

If we really practice Dhamma, we will stop discrimination, prejudice and hatred from ourselves towards other people who think and behave the way that we don't agree with.

Respect everyone as they are, even if they are being discriminative, prejudice and hating towards some others. It doesn't mean that we have to agree with them or support them for their behavior, or allowing ourselves to be harassed and insulted by abusive speech or behavior. But we don't have to be affected, or disturbed, or influenced, or determined by other people's abusive and insulting speech and behavior due to ignorance and egoism. We also don't have to behave exactly the same like them.

When somebody makes a statement or judgment, it is only his or her own point of views, it is not the truth of what things are. Why bother being determined and getting upset by somebody's subjective opinion and judgment? There is no need of justification as well. How other people want to think and express is their freedom, but we don't have to be determined by other people's thinking and expression, even if it appears to be something very unpleasant.

Let everyone take responsibility for the consequences of their own thinking, speech, actions or behavior. We don't have to react towards other people inappropriate thinking, speech, actions or behavior. It doesn't mean that we don't care for what is happening in the world. We can act wisely, out of compassion, without attachment towards our actions and the fruit of our actions, without being affected or influenced by other people's wrongful or inappropriate behavior.

Just like keeping the house clean everyday. No matter how many times we try to clean the house everyday, dust and dirt keeps coming back. If we want to live in the house, we have to keep cleaning it without getting frustrated, or disappointed, or exhausted. Until the house, or the dust and dirt stop existing, then there is no need of cleaning anymore, but that is something unlikely to happen.

We cannot expect everyone to act and react the same way that we act and react, as everyone has very different types of beliefs, thinking, behavior, personalities and values or meanings of life. We cannot expect other people to be endowed with perfect self-control and ethical values, without any defilement or unrighteous behavior.

We ourselves are not perfectly pure or completely be free from defilement yet, how can we judge and criticize, or discriminate those whom we think they are bad and evil?

If we really want to improve our society or the world that we are living in, we must change ourselves and purify ourselves, remove ignorance, impurities and egoism in us. We need to realize what is unconditional peace and compassion, be able to be kind and compassionate towards all beings without discrimination, prejudice or hatred, including those who are generating discrimination, prejudice or hatred in the society.

It doesn't matter how unfair or insulting is other people treating us, we can still be kind towards everyone without being disturbed, or affected, or influenced, or determined by their respective behavior.

It is certainly not about, "You are nice to me, and I will be nice to you...", or "If you are not supporting me, I will not be nice to you...", or "You disagree with me, and so you are not my friend...", or "I am nice to you, so you have to be nice to me...", or "You are not nice to me, so why do I have to be nice to you...", or "You hate me, I hate you too..."

It has to start with ourselves. Fill ourselves with peace, love, compassion and wisdom, or correct understanding. Radiate peace, love, compassion and wisdom into the surroundings. Smile and be friendly to everyone without any selfish intentions or desires, without discrimination, prejudice or hatred, without expectation towards other people's reactions and behavior. Respect all beings as they are.

Develop magnanimity, kind wishes, forgiveness, courage, loving kindness, calmness, generosity, nobility, patience, tolerance, adjustment, adaptation, accommodation and acceptance, which will help to eliminate egoism and ignorance. Let go of petty-mindedness, ill will, discrimination, prejudice, selfish intentions or desires, expectation, anger, hatred, fear, jealousy, greed, disappointment, and all sorts of impurities that feed and fueled by ignorance and egoism simultaneously.

We wish the world, "May all beings be happy, be free." including those beings whom we think they are bad and evil. As they are the ones who needed to be free from ignorance, to be free from suffering, and then there will be less beings in the world that generate harmful actions and consequences into the world.

We cannot change or control other people to think and behave the way that we think they should think and behave, but we can change ourselves, and develop the noble qualities that might or might not bring awareness to other people to reflect upon themselves or their behavior, so that other people can also develop the awareness of seeing the ignorance in themselves, and out of their own free will, whether they want to change themselves, to let go of egoism, to remove ignorance, and to have self-control over their own thoughts, speech and actions, or not.

It is not through anger, hatred, discrimination, violence, oppression or control, to change the society, or to make the world to be a better place. But it is through peace, love, compassion and wisdom in ourselves, that can help to bring awareness and reflection in other people, to allow them to see themselves, to be aware of their own ignorance and ignorant behaviors, and to change themselves out of their own free will. This is how the world will change, when everyone starts to change themselves.

It takes great amount of love, peace, patience, forbearance, perseverance, determination, will power and courage to help the world to evolve, to eliminate evilness, and to promote goodness. Most importantly, it starts with ourselves. We shine as an embodiment of unconditional love and peace, if we wish the best for the world.

Om shanti.

Being strong vs real strength...

We think that we need to be strong, hard and aggressive to protect ourselves from being bullied or hurt by other people... But if we are really that strong, why do we still need to "be" strong, hard and aggressive to "protect" ourselves?

That means we are not really strong. We "pretend" to be strong. This is due to low self-esteem, not trusting ourselves, and need to depend on some external "protection shields" of being hard and aggressive to "protect" or to defend ourselves from potential bullies and hurts. Because of this sense of defensiveness, we will become offensive even before other people try to "bully" or "offend" us. In fact, nobody has the intention to bully us, it is our own fear and projection, thinking that "All these people are going to bully me, and so, I have to defend myself, I need to be strong and aggressive, so that I attack them first before anyone attacks me..."

Those who are truly strong, they don't need to show that they are strong by being hard, aggressive, offensive or defensive. Instead their whole being projects gentleness and calmness.

Real strength comes from compassion and wisdom. It is being compassionate and wise. It is being free from doubts, anger, hatred, jealousy, greed, dissatisfaction, disappointment, pride, arrogance, low self-esteem, aggressiveness, violence, offensiveness, defensiveness, agitation, depression, fear, worry, craving, aversion, and attachment towards qualities of names and forms... There is no fear towards other people's harshness, aggressiveness, bully or "potential" bully, offensiveness, arrogance, jealousy, criticism, condemn, slander, unfriendliness, and etc...

We are able to tolerate, adjust, adapt, accommodate, withstand, forbear and accept...

We are able to accept the reality of the present moment now as it is, not necessarily the way that we like it to be. We are able to adjust, adapt, accommodate, withstand and forbear any uncomfortable conditions and situations that we don't like or disagree with...

We are able to perform actions without being influenced by any impurities in the mind. We are able to perform actions to help everyone including ourselves to evolve, to be peaceful and happy...

We are able to perform all our duties and responsibilities without attachment, without judgment, comparison and expectation. We perform actions and renounce from the result or the fruit of actions...

This is real strength.

We don't need to be hard, aggressive, offensive or defensive to "protect" ourselves from getting bully or hurt from anyone...

It doesn't matter what are the behaviors, actions and reactions of other people towards us, it is our own ego doesn't like or disagree with their behaviors, actions and reactions, and feels irritated and unhappy about them. It is our ego that feels that we are weak, but we don't like to be weak and don't want other people to think that we are weak, and so we "pretend" to be strong, by being hard and aggressive to defend ourselves from any potential "attacks" from anyone...

No one can bully or hurt us but our own mind creations of fear. It is our own mind being ignorant and influenced by impurities... It is absence of compassion and wisdom.

Whenever we feel irritated or getting angry about other people's offensive behavior, it is ourselves being defensive... We feel offended by other people's actions and speech... It is coming from being low self-esteem and feel being intimidated by other people's confidence all the time. This intimidation is not coming from other people. No one can intimidate us unless we allow that to happen by being low self-esteem. It is our own low self-esteem thinking that other people are trying to press us down, or bully us, or hurt us... Even if other people have the intention to intimidate us, but it won't affect us if we are truly confident...

If  we don't like other people to contradict with our actions and speech, we like and want other people to agree and support our actions and speech, as we will feel irritated, frustrated and unhappy when other people don't like and disagree with us or our actions and speech, but out of our own offensiveness and defensiveness, we constantly contradict with other people's actions and speech, criticize and attack other people with harsh speech and aggressiveness, then how can we expect other people not to be offended by our own offensiveness and aggressiveness? And when other people feel offended by our own offensiveness and aggressiveness, and react by being aggressive towards us, and we criticize them as "aggressive people" who bully and hurt us, and blame them for causing us painful sorrow and unhappiness?

When we start to attack other people with aggressiveness to show that "I am stronger than you, and I won't let you bully or hurt me...", then make sure that we will take full responsibility towards the consequences of our aggressive behavior... Don't blame other people for being aggressive towards us.

And if there's somebody is being aggressive towards us even though we didn't offend anyone intentionally, we can choose to be gentle and remain calm, and move away... Allow this person to express what he or she wants to express, and let him or her be irritated and unhappy for being aggressive. We don't have to disturb our own peace and happiness by throwing back aggressiveness towards him or her... Or we can choose to feel offended and start to be aggressive and offensive to defend ourselves and be irritated, frustrated and unhappy.

Om shanti.

Being angry with other people's violent behavior?

The mind is the source of happiness or unhappiness... When we are angry with other people's violent behavior, aren't we also behaving exactly the same of whom we are angry with? Ourselves are also committing violence.... No difference. How can we judge and criticize other people for committing violence when we ourselves are as violent as them?

Om shanti.

The ego feeds on agreement and support from other egos...

Have you ever came across this type of feeling; When someone says something that is supporting what we think and say, and when someone is agreed with what we think and say, we’ll be feeling so great, so right, so successful and superior?

We will have this feeling; Yes! I’m right! Because some other people also agree with what I think and say.

Know that this is the reaction that comes from the ego.

Beware…

Especially when we are talking something bad about another person, or criticizing somebody about this and that. We will feel that we are a better person and that we are right about somebody’s imperfection, when someone else is also talking bad about the same person and is criticizing the same person just like what we have been doing.

We will have this thought and will say; Look! It’s not just me thinking and saying like this. Another person is also thinking like that and saying the same thing. This proves that I’m right about this.

And this makes us (the ego) feel so good about ourselves…

The people (the egos) who like to engage and indulge in criticism and slandering about other people to feel good about themselves, are not any better than those whom they criticize and slander…

And hence, we should move away from criticism and slandering…

Those who forbear, endure or withstand any amount of criticism and slandering, and not utter a single bad word about those who criticize or slander about them, they are the real yogis, great saints and sages…

About Gossip And Criticism...

The path of yoga is love, peace, compassion and wisdom.

If we have love and peace in our heart, if we have compassion and wisdom, we will not indulge in meaningless chatting involving gossips and criticism.

It is when there is anger, hatred, frustration, dissatisfaction and disappointment, the ego wants to express its disagreement and frustration through speech and action. If there's an identification towards the ego and attachment toward the mind's activities, we will want to express all these disagreement and frustration through gossiping and criticizing. This might give a momentary satisfaction to the ego to feel better and to feel good about itself by criticizing other people's imperfection and weakness, which might "show" that we are somehow smarter, stronger and better than the people that we are criticizing.

A person who is humble, confident and content will not criticize other people even though in truth, this person is much wiser and better than the other people. Nobody should criticize anybody because we all are imperfect, and we all are subject to impermanence and changes.

By gossiping and criticizing about this and that will not help the world to become better, but it will generate more negative energy into ourselves and into the surrounding people and environment, creating more tensions and hatred among people.

The path of yoga teaches us to move away from egoistic gossiping and criticism and not indulging in these activities which will generate more unrest, tension and hatred in ourselves and other people.

The mind will get agitated and stimulated by gossiping and criticism and this will make the path of mind control much harder.

That's why for people who want to get serious in the path of yoga and meditation, they will go into seclusion, refrain from any contact or communication with the worldly people, and observe complete silence to restrict the activities and stimulation of the mind, and to reduce the excessive unnecessary inputs from the senses of sight, sound, smell, taste, touch and think. This will help to quiet the mind and stilling the thought waves for meditation and self-inquiry.

When the mind is free from agitation and stimulation; free from impurities of anger, hatred, jealousy, greed, lustful desire, craving, aversion, fear, worry, frustration, irritation, anxiety, disappointment, dissatisfaction and depression; and the mind is free from intention, judgment, comparison and expectation; free from debate, conflicts, criticism and argument, and with the calm mind, it will see the truth of things and know what we really are, of what the mind thinks and believes is 'I'.

Wisdom will arise when the mind is calm and still. When there is presence of wisdom, we will not be disturbed or affected by the worldly activities and surrounding people and environment anymore. It doesn't matter if we are in the world or out of the world, it won't change what we think we are, which is selfless, and the wisdom and compassion is still the same wisdom and compassion.

Gossiping and criticizing about other people bad behaviors or ignorance will not stop these people from behave what they are behaving and do what they are doing. This will only put us in the same ignorance level as these people that we want to criticize. When we criticize other people who we think they are bad, then we ourselves are not any different from them at all.

The path of yoga is being aware of what is right and wrong, what is good and bad, but without attachment, without craving and aversion. And not being disturbed or affected by all the wrong doings and bad happenings in the world. With this non-attachment, we are able to transform negativity into constructive energy to perform appropriate actions to help to improve the bad situation in the world and to help other beings to become wiser and happier, by disseminating Dhamma and ignite awareness or reflection in the minds under the influence of ignorance, and to help make everything better, without frustration, anger, hatred, disappointment, fear and worry.

 

Dissemination of Dhamma and igniting awareness into the world of ignorance and egoism, by pointing out certain corruptions and ignorance that are existing in the world without discrimination or selfish intention, is not the same as worldly social interactions and conversations and discussions that involved the element of gossips and criticism deriving from subjective agreement and disagreement based on particular passionate egoistic thinking, belief, values and practice about right and wrong, or good and bad.

Only through loving kindness, compassion, wisdom, non-attachment and forgiveness, we can perform all the actions that need to be done for the well-being for ourselves and for the world, without getting disturbed or affected by the happenings in the world.

Out of selfless compassion, we perform all actions for ourselves and for other beings without intention and expectation. And thus we will be free from tensions, stress, fear, worry, frustration and disappointment.

We cannot stop ignorance and hatred by provoking anger and hatred in ourselves and in other people's mind. What is our intention behind all these gossips and criticism about somebody in front of some other people? What benefits are we going to get from gossiping and criticizing? Are we helping the world to become better by gossiping and criticizing? Or is it just to satisfy our own big ego to feel more superior than other people?

Discussion about some other people's wrong doings and behavior is nothing wrong, if we can develop awareness and learn something from that discussion. But if we are caught up in the uncontrolled heated discussion about "this is bad" and "this is wrong", and generate negativity, anger and hatred in ourselves and in other people who are involving in the discussion, then this won't help ourselves to become better or to help the people who we are criticizing to become better.

Quiet and calm down our own mind, everything will take care by itself.

Don't be upset and worry so much for what we think and believe are other people's wrong doings and ignorance. The nature's law of cause and effect will take care of everything.

Om shanti.