Higher education and academic achievement doesn't guarantee correct understanding in the mind

Many people, particularly those who are in the field of any kind of empowerment, would think and believe that happiness, peace and harmony in individual and the community in the world is based on higher financial status that comes from success and achievement in education and career. They believe that lack of education or low education is the reason for low financial status, where they believe that low financial status is the reason why there's unhappiness, peacelessness and disharmony in individual and the community, while higher education and higher achievement in education and career will lead to higher financial status that will bring happiness, peace and harmony in individual and the community.

Happiness, peace and harmony in individual and the community is nothing to do with higher financial status that comes from success and achievement in education and career. It's deriving from having correct understanding.

Correct understanding is nothing to do with the presence and absence of basic or higher academic education. One can be having correct understanding without receiving any formal academic education or higher education. While one might not have correct understanding even after receiving formal basic or higher academic education, attaining success and achievement in career, and having a higher financial status.

Receiving basic or higher academic education and attaining high achievement in academic education doesn't necessarily guarantee success and achievement in career, while success and achievement in career doesn't necessarily lead to higher financial status that is inline with the rising cost of living and property market under the exploitation of capitalism, where success in career or higher financial status doesn't necessarily come from higher education achievement, and higher financial status or success in career doesn't necessarily lead to happiness, peace and harmony in individual or the community in the world.

Similarly, some people would think and believe that happiness, peace and harmony in individual and the community is coming from having a particular cultural, spiritual or religious belief, values and practice. Regardless of whether people are having a particular cultural, spiritual or religious belief, values and practice, or not, it's about the presence and absence of correct understanding in the mind that is determining whether there's happiness, peace and harmony in individual, or not, that will contribute more peace and harmony into the community, or not, regardless of whether there is peace and harmony in the community, or not, due to not all individuals in the community are all in happiness, peace and harmony, depending on the presence and absence of correct understanding in each individual.

It's all about whether the mind is having correct understanding, or not, upon the absence or presence of ignorance, egoism and impurities in the thinking mind.

Fine as you are, happy as you are

So many people in the world growing up being conditioned and empowered by certain ideas and values, at home, in school, in workplace, or in the society, about "You need to strive to be like this or that, think like this or that, behave like this or that, do this or that, achieve this or that, possess this or that, become this or that, be empowered, be competitive, be outstanding, be charming, be beautiful, be attractive, be strong, be fit, be healthy, be positive, be optimistic, be inspired, be ambitious, be successful, be rich, be powerful, be famous, be acknowledged, be recognized, be respectable, be proud of, and then you will be blessed with satisfaction, happiness and meaningfulness," or "Do something that will make you happy," or "Do something meaningful with your life existence," or "Do everything that you want to do before you die, enjoy life to the maximum, so that you won't regret when you die."

While in the process of accomplishing all that, one would do anything regardless of hurting oneself and/or others, as well as the surrounding environment, either intentionally or unintentionally, directly or indirectly, in order to achieve one's aspiration of being 'somebody good enough or successful enough' that is 'deserving' satisfaction, happiness and meaningfulness, so that one can live a pleasurable lifestyle and comfortable life with many physical and mental enjoyments and conveniences, so that one will be satisfied and happy, feel meaningful, and won't regret about anything.

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You can be happy as you are, if you want.

You don't need empowerment.

You don't need to be empowered/competitive/outstanding/strong/fit/healthy/beautiful/attractive/inspired/ambitious/successful/rich/powerful/acknowledged/respectable, or do and achieve anything in order to be satisfied and happy, feel meaningful, or have no regret.

You don't need to to be living a pleasurable lifestyle with many physical and mental enjoyments and conveniences that exploit many people and the surrounding environment to the maximum in order to appreciate life and be happy.

You don't need to be somebody with particular quality/achievement/possession/recognition to deserve something.

You don't need to be 'deserving'.

You don't need to be 'good enough' or 'successful enough'.

You don't need to be special or extraordinary.

You don't need to be a hero.

You don't need to be proud of yourself.

You don't need others to be proud of you, not even your parents.

You don't need any encouragement, praise and compliment, understanding, acceptance, validation, appreciation, sympathy or empathy, from anyone.

You don't need anyone to make you happy. None can make you happy if you want to be unhappy.

You don't need to make anyone happy. None can make others happy if they want to be unhappy.

You are fine as you are. You are happy as you are.

It's the freedom of being what you are, as you are, that no one can give you or take away from you, even though all is impermanent.

What you are, is impermanent.

How you are, is impermanent.

What you think and how you feel, is impermanent.

You can be as successful as you can be, do and achieve anything that you desire, if it's possible, if you want, within your current capability, without hurting yourself and/or others and the surrounding environment, but all these actions, abilities and achievements are not you, and they are impermanent.

Above all, there's no 'You'.

It's just selfless impermanent names and forms, arising, changing, and passing away, even though there's cause and effect.

There are ceaseless changes, ups and downs, laughter and tears, people coming and going, togetherness and separation, sunny days and rainy days, hot and cold, comfort and discomfort, pain, injury, sickness, weakness, old age, decay, and disintegration.

And it's okay.

Happy as it is.

And if you want, inquire the truth of everything without blind-believing, blind-following, blind-agreeing, blind-practicing, and blind-propagating.

Peaceful and happy as it is, transcending impermanent feelings and emotions

A happy mind or an unhappy mind, is not about whether the mind is feeling happy or unhappy most of the time, or all the time. A happy mind can be unhappy some of the time, and an unhappy mind can be happy some of the time. The mind is neither happy nor unhappy. It's merely some impermanent feelings and emotions arising and passing away. It's about whether there's attachment and identification arising in the mind attaching and identifying towards the impermanent feelings and emotions, and hence, swaying restlessly between feeling happy and unhappy under certain conditions, or the mind is being content and happy as it is, unconditionally, transcending the impermanent happy and unhappy feelings and emotions that ceaselessly arising and passing away.

The minds that are free from ignorance and egoism, that are not being conditioned or determined by the presence and absence of certain qualities of names and forms, or the perception/experience of something pleasant/unpleasant, desirable/undesirable, or agreeable/disagreeable, or the gratification/non-gratification of desires to be happy or unhappy, they are resting in the state of unconditional contentment, being content as they are and happy as it is, unconditionally, transcending all kinds of pleasant/unpleasant experiences, void of attachment and identification towards the impermanent modification of the mind, while respecting the selfless impermanent changes as they are.

It doesn't mean that these minds don't perceive anything as something pleasant/unpleasant, desirable/undesirable or agreeable/disagreeable, or wouldn't be having and/or expressing any understanding or emotion of like and dislike or agreement and disagreement, however, all kinds of reactions under different emotions that are impermanent, don't determine, influence, affect, disturb or change the state of the mind that is being content and happy as it is, unconditionally.

Such minds can be perceiving and reacting towards certain ideas, behaviors or events, expressing agreement or disagreement towards certain ideas, behaviors or events, and there are different feelings and emotions arising and passing away in the mind, but, it doesn't mean that these minds are happy or unhappy minds, as there's no attachment, identification or association towards the impermanent modifications of the mind.

Healthy minds are capable of being peaceful and happy as they are, where they are not being determined by the presence and absence of interaction, attention, love, care, support, encouragement, acknowledgement, appreciation, agreement, praise, compliment, sympathy or empathy from others, to feel happy, love, good, positive and meaningful, or not. They don't need any others to keep checking on them, "How are you?", "Are you OK?", "Are you happy?", and so on. 

These minds are peaceful and happy as they are, regardless of the different impermanent feelings and emotions arising and passing away in the mind, under any circumstances, conditions and situations, void of grasping, or attachment and identification, transcending the intellectual cognition towards rightfulness and wrongfulness, goodness and badness, happiness and unhappiness, agreement and disagreement, like and dislike, achievement and non-achievement, easiness and difficulty, success and failure, meaningfulness and meaninglessness, and etc.

These minds don't need to rely on any external influences of pleasant/desirable/agreeable experiences that give rise to the momentary sense of satisfaction and happiness, or rely on the momentary effect of certain physical exercises or positions, breathing control, mental control, sound vibrations, or drugs and intoxicants that induce momentary calmness, relaxation, unwind, contentment or happiness, for being peaceful and happy as they are, unconditionally.

There's awareness towards some impermanent happy or unhappy feelings and emotions arising and passing away, but there's no attachment or identification of "I am happy or unhappy." Neither there's desire of craving and aversion of "I want to be happy," or "I don't want to be unhappy."

Meanwhile, due to ignorance and egoism, the egoistic minds need to have specific 'happiness deserving' reasons/factors to feel happy and be happy, or will be unhappy being determined by specific 'unhappiness deserving' reasons/factors, being influenced and determined by the presence and absence of pleasant/unpleasant, desirable/undesirable, and agreeable/disagreeable experiences, relationships, interactions, events, places, environments, conditions and situations, swaying between the state of being happy and the state of being unhappy, restlessly.

There's attachment and identification towards the happy and unhappy feelings and emotions of "I am happy or unhappy." There's also desire of craving and aversion of "I want to be happy," and "I don't want to be unhappy."

The minds that are under the influence of ignorance and egoism, that couldn't go beyond the attachment, identification, desire of craving and aversion, comparison, judgment and expectation towards the presence and absence of certain qualities of names and forms to be the specific reasons to be happy or unhappy, can also realize this unconditional state of the mind that is "peaceful and happy as it is," upon the weakening, thinning out and annihilation of ignorance and egoism.

Fine as it is

Most minds are being conditioned by the worldly thinking and belief about "One has to be happy in order to live life meaningfully, as well as one has to live life meaningfully in order to be happy."

What is "live life meaningfully" and what the mind believes as "happiness" is different for different people.

Be free from the thinking and belief about one has to be happy to live life meaningfully, and vice versa, is a great liberation.

It's okay that sometimes the mind is not okay, that the mind doesn't feel happy in this present moment, or for some time. It's impermanent, and it's not 'I'. It's okay that sometimes the mind doesn't feel living life meaningfully in this present moment, or for some time. It's impermanent, and it's not 'I'. The mind doesn't need to be happy or feel meaningful all the time.

People like to say "If there's no happiness, life is meaningless." and most people think and believe that happiness and meaningfulness is the presence of something good and positive and the absence of something bad and negative. Some people also say, "If there's no good health, there's no happiness."

Many people relate "live life meaningfully" as being able to do what we like to do, go where we want to go, live where we want to live, have a healthy body, have a decent livelihood, live a good quality of life, have different varieties of social circles/networks, make a lot of friends, and either live a happy single life, or find a good life partner/spouse to set up a happy family.

People who have a difficult life condition, or have been experiencing ill-treatment from other people, or have to deal with physical injury or health problems, or suffer from physical or emotional damages due to other people's ignorance and ignorant behavior, or couldn't make a living due to bad economy or oppression, or under went a painful divorce or break-up, or would love to have a family, but for some reasons, they couldn't have a family, it doesn't mean that they can't live life meaningfully or be happy, disregards all the ordeals or difficulties that they have to go through. All these undesirable experiences don't give rise to suffering or the sense of meaninglessness to those who truly practice yoga and realize yoga. Only those who are not free from ignorance and egoism, who attached onto qualities of names and forms to be happy and feel meaningful, or not, will be determined by all kinds of desirable and undesirable life experiences to be who they are, to be happy and feel meaningful, or not.

In yoga, it's about freeing the mind from this conditional thinking and belief about the achievement and possession of certain qualities of names and forms to be the reasons for one to be happy, or to deserve happiness and to live life meaningfully, or else, the absence of the achievement and possession of those qualities of names and forms will result in no reason for one to be happy, or to deserve happiness and to live life meaningfully.

One doesn't need to be happy or feel happy all the time, in order to feel meaningful or to live life meaningfully. One doesn't need to feel meaningful or to live life meaningfully, in order to be happy. One is peaceful and happy as one is.

Those who are free, they do their best to do what they like and want to do, and achieve what they want to achieve in this life existence, but they are not defined by what they like and want to do, or what they want to achieve, and whether they are able to do what they like and want to do, or achieve what they want to achieve, or not, in order to be happy, or to feel meaningful and to live life meaningfully, or not.

There's nothing wrong that many people believe that all human beings need to have motivation and expectation to keep pushing themselves, to keep improving, to attain success or higher and higher success in life, as well as to have faith in their religion or 'God', then they deserve happiness or will be blessed with happiness and living life meaningfully. Or else, they believe that those who are contented with the present moment as it is, or don't have any religion practice, or don't believe in 'God', they don't deserve happiness or will not be blessed with happiness or don't live life meaningfully. But, that's not the truth, because people can still be unhappy and suffering from all kinds of impurities in their own minds, if their minds are not free from ignorance and egoism, even if people attain success in life from time to time, or have a healthy body, or have a higher quality of life, or have a religion practice and believe in 'God'. Their minds will still be disturbed by something that they don't like, don't want and don't agree with. There's no peace.

If 'God' exists, and if 'God' is almighty and all love, 'God' bless all and everyone and everything to be sharing this space of the universe, disregards human beings believing or disbelieving in 'God', including all those that are non-human beings, that don't have any particular thinking and belief of a religion or 'God'.

While yoga practice is to inquire the truth of everything that the mind comes in contact with (including the teachings of yoga), and be free from being conditioned or limited by all kinds of worldly thinking and belief, freeing the mind from ignorance, egoism and impurities, being free from attachment, identifications, desire of craving and aversion, judgment and expectation, being free from anger, hatred, jealousy, dissatisfaction, disappointment, hurts, guilt, regret, violence, ill-will, animosity, speculation, anticipation, agitation, depression, sorrow, defensiveness, offensiveness, loneliness, anxieties, longing, fear and worry, being free from the pleasant and unpleasant past experiences and future imaginations, living in the present from moment to moment, to realize unconditional peace and love that is beyond all the worldly objects of different qualities of names and forms about what is and what is not "happiness" and "live life meaningfully".

One doesn't need to keep pushing the body and mind to go beyond its limitation in order to attain success, or higher success, in order to be happy, or to live life meaningfully. One can be very successful in everything that one wants to achieve, but one is not defined by the success or the achievements to be 'I', to be happy or to live life meaningfully.

One doesn't need to be someone that will make oneself and other people feel proud of, to be happy or to live life meaningfully.

One doesn't need to be good enough according to the worldly thinking and belief about what is "good enough", to be happy, or to deserve happiness and live life meaningfully.

It doesn't mean that one stops performing actions, but one doesn't need any motivation or expectation to motivate one to perform actions that are wholesome to oneself and others. Actions are being performed without the need of motivation or intention, without attachment, identification or expectation towards the actions and the fruit of actions.

It's okay if people don't like this yoga teaching and practice. That's their freedom.

Be free.

Who is being unhappy and wants to be happy?

It's the ego that is being unhappy and wants to be happy. Minds that are free from ignorance and egoism is peaceful and joyful as it is and don't need to feel good and meaningful, or to be happy.

Most minds will try to do something that they like and enjoy, and to achieve something that they want to achieve, to feel good and happy and meaningful.

There's also nothing wrong with people want to do good and be kind to others because it makes them feel good and happy, but, that's not the teaching or practice of yoga.

Yoga practice is not about trying to do something to make the ego feels good and happy and meaningful (as this is empowering the ego and egoism) but, it's to remove the root cause of unhappiness - ignorance and egoism. Once the root cause of unhappiness is eliminated, one will be happy as one is.

When the mind is free from egoism of attachment, identification, desire of craving and aversion, and expectation, one will be peaceful and happy as one is. One doesn't need to do something, or not do something, to feel good and happy or meaningful. One doesn't need to take intoxication/alcohol/drugs or to achieve certain results, social status and network, health condition, fitness level, body image, physical and mental ability and good relationships, to feel good and happy and meaningful. One doesn't need other people's love, acceptance, support, acknowledgment, recognition, friendliness and companionship, or any entertainment, enjoyment, achievement and success to be happy or feel good and meaningful.

The teaching and practice of yoga is to abandon all these egoism, one will be peaceful and happy as one is. One can perform good actions and be kind to others out of compassion, without selfish intention or expectation of "I am doing all these because I want to feel good and meaningful and be happy."

Be free.

Joyful and peaceful as it is, unconditionally

There's nothing wrong and it's very common that most minds will feel good, happy, contented and peaceful when the mind experiences something that will make it feels good, happy, contented and peaceful, or when the mind comes in contact with qualities of names and forms that it likes and wants and doesn't come in contact with certain qualities of names and forms that it doesn't like and doesn't want. And the mind won't feel good, happy, contented or peaceful, or it will feel bad, unhappy, discontented and not peaceful when the mind doesn't experience something that will induce good, happy and peaceful feelings in the mind, or when the mind doesn't come in contact with the qualities of names and forms that it likes and wants, and when the mind comes in contact with the qualities of names and forms that it doesn't like and doesn't want.

The mind that is not free from ignorance and egoism will always be conditioned or determined by the presence or absence of certain qualities of names and forms or all the mind perceptions of names and forms through the senses to feel good, happy, contented and peaceful, or not.

The mind that is free from ignorance and egoism will be joyful, contented and peaceful as it is, unconditionally, being uninfluenced and undetermined by all the perceptions or experiences of different qualities of names and forms that are impermanent. There's no fear or grief when this mind is approaching death or when someone who is related or closed to this mind is approaching death. This freedom doesn't come from the momentary effects of drugs or intoxication numbing the mind, but coming from the realization of the truth of life existence of the body and mind. There's no clinging onto any names and forms, including existence and non-existence. Those who are not free from ignorance and egoism couldn't comprehend this and they will perceive or recognize this as a form of 'coldness' or 'heartlessness' or 'abnormality' or 'inhuman' or 'wrong'. That's their freedom of life and thinking.

If there is thinking or identification of "I am happy and peaceful because ..." or "I am not happy or peaceful because ..." Then know that this mind is not free. It doesn't matter if the reason of being happy and peaceful is 'something is good', or 'everything is good', or 'life is good', or 'health is good', or 'the state of mind is good', or 'relationship is good', or 'children are good', or 'job is good', or 'people are nice', or 'the world is good and peaceful', or 'yoga practice is good', or 'meditation is good', 'the teacher is good', 'the class is good', or 'weather is good', or 'food is good', and so on.

There's nothing wrong with "being grateful and thankful, contented and happy when there is something good", but the mind is still not free yet. When "there is nothing good" or "there is something not good or something bad", but the mind is still peaceful as it is, then this mind is free.

There's no "I am happy and peaceful because ..." or "I am not happy or peaceful because ..." when the mind is free from ignorance and egoism. This egoless/selfless mind itself is unconditional peace. It doesn't need to feel or be peaceful.

The liberated mind being free from ignorance and egoism and suffering is unconditioned or undetermined by any qualities of names and forms to be happy and peaceful, or not, being aware of all the impermanent changes of all the perceptions of names and forms, without attachment, identification, desires of craving and aversion, judgment or expectation, allowing all the names and forms to be there as they are, to be what they are, but all these names and forms have no intention or quality to induce happiness and peacefulness or unhappiness and restlessness, without intention to change or control all the names and forms to be the way that 'I' like it to be, or the way that 'I' think it should be.

It's the ego that wants to feel good, happy, contented and peaceful, and doesn't want to feel bad, unhappy, discontented and not peaceful. It's the ego that has lots of ceaseless desires of craving and aversion waiting to be gratified in order to attain good feelings and the sense of happiness, or to escape bad feelings and the sense of unhappiness. If the desires of craving and aversion are being gratified, the ego feels good, happy, contented and peaceful. If the desires of craving and aversion are not being gratified, the ego feels bad, unhappy, discontented and not peaceful. The mind is free as it is, when the ego is annihilated.

To know the truth or the root cause of suffering or unhappiness is neither complicated nor difficult. But to have the willpower to be able to free the mind from ignorance and egoism seems to be very challenging for many. And it's okay. That's why the yoga practice is here, without judgment or expectation, keep practicing non-attachment, non-identification, non-craving, non-aversion, non-judgment, non-comparison and non-expectation to be free from ignorance and egoism.

Contemplate on this, and be free.

If people don't like or disagree with or don't want this unconditional peace and happiness, but they prefer to be determined by the gratification of desires of craving and aversion through coming in contact with or non-coming in contact with certain qualities of names and forms that they like or dislike and want or don't want to feel good, happy, contented and peaceful, or not, and if people prefer to take drugs or intoxication to get momentary relieving or numbing effect to deal with unhappiness, discontentment, disappointment, hurt, guilt, regret, grief, depression, painful sorrow, meaninglessness, loneliness, fear or suffering, that's their freedom.

"Do things that will make you happy" is not yoga practice

There's nothing wrong with "Do things that will make you happy", just that it is not yoga practice.

The one who needs to do or achieve something that it thinks will make it happy in order to be happy, is the ego. This happiness coming from doing or achieving something that will make the egoistic mind happy, is impermanent. It's everyone's freedom whether people choose to enjoy impermanent conditional happiness, or people wish to realize unconditional peace and happiness.

At one moment people celebrate and be happy about something that they desire, like, and agree with, at another moment people mourn and suffer about the same thing that has changed into something that they don't desire, dislike, and disagree with.

Yoga is the realization of selflessness, being free from egoism, or the ego, or the idea of 'I' and the desires that deriving from 'I'.

By feeding the egoistic desires or the fulfillment of the desires of 'I' might give the egoistic mind momentary happy feelings and satisfactory, but it doesn't take away the unhappiness or dissatisfaction that derived from unfulfilled desires and losing the possessed happiness and satisfactory.

Yoga practice is to stop feeding the ego and its desires.

Be free from the ego, there's no need to rely or depend on any impermanent qualities of names and forms (objects, experiences, actions, results, possessions, love, kindness, sympathy, empathy, agreement, knowledge, intelligence, acknowledgements, supports, family ties, connections, relationships, companionship, conditions, abilities, achievements, identities, status, and etc) to be happy and feel meaningful, or not.

The selfless being doesn't need to find happiness or be happy and feel meaningful. One is happy as it is.

 

All and everything are neither meaningful nor meaningless.

Unconditional happiness beyond qualities of names and forms

Most people are looking for happiness, or want to be happy. Those who are happy, they don't need to look for happiness, or desire to be happy. When we think and feel we want to be happy, it's because we are not happy. We are not happy is because we think we are not free. We think we are not free is because ignorance.

Under the influence of ignorance, we think happiness is coming from freedom of thinking, action and speech, and doing what we like to do, be who we want to be, achieve what we want to achieve, receive love and support from other people, be acknowledged and approved by other people, have good health, good livelihood and good living condition, and being with people whom we loved and who love us. But, all these qualities of names and forms will only give us momentary happy feelings that are impermanent. We fall into great misery and painful sorrow when impermanence strikes, when we lose all the good qualities that we think will make us happy, if we are determined by all these names and forms to be who we are, to be happy, or not. It's not the unconditional happiness that is beyond all the qualities of names and forms, when the mind is free from ignorance and egoism.

When we seek happiness through certain qualities of names and forms that we like and desire, and we will feel happy when we get what we like and want, it doesn't mean that we won't experience unhappiness anymore, or we will be free from impurities of anger, hatred, jealousy, greed, dissatisfaction, disappointment, pride, arrogance, feelings of hurt, guilt, regret, fear and worry. By achieving happiness through doing and getting what we like and want doesn't mean that our surrounding living environment will be free from names and forms that we don't like and don't want. And thus our minds are constantly restless being in a mixture state of happiness and unhappiness. There's no permanent satisfaction. The craving for what we desire and the aversion towards what we don't desire is what hinders the mind from realizing the unconditional happiness beyond qualities of names and forms.

If we know how to be free from the desire of craving and aversion towards happiness and unhappiness that comes from ignorance and egoism, we will be happy as we are. We do not rely on any qualities of names and forms to be happy, or not. Even when there is restriction or limitation of thinking, action and speech, and we are unable to do what we like to do, unable to be who we want to be and not achieving what we want to achieve, or, we are not receiving love and support from other people, unacknowledged and disapproved by other people, not having good health, good livelihood and good living condition, and not able to be with people whom we loved and who love us, we are still happy as we are. This happiness isn't determined by or coming from any qualities of names and forms.

Ignorance is not knowing the truth of names and forms.

To free the mind from ignorance, we need to free the mind from impurities. To free the mind from impurities, we need to free the mind from egoism. To free the mind from egoism, we need to free the mind from ignorance, as egoism derives from ignorance. It is a loop that has no beginning or ending.

Due to ignorance and egoism, the ego attached towards the impermanent physical condition and ability, the impermanent states of the mind, likes and dislikes, agreements and disagreements based on certain conditional thinking and belief, knowledge, achievements, possessions, and all kinds of relationships, to be identifying as 'I'. This 'I' is constantly disturbed by the craving and aversion towards all these impermanent qualities of names and forms, and being restless and experience suffering when the craving and aversion is not being gratified the way that it likes it to be. The ego is determined by the gratification of its craving and aversion to be happy, or not. There is no possibility for contentment and peace, due to the truth of impermanence in all the names and forms, as well as this 'I' is a false understanding and identification. This constant restlessness hinders the mind to be free from ignorance.

That's why it's not an easy task to be free. But, it's possible if we know how to discipline and purify the mind by restricting the mind activities and quieting the mind by moving the mind away from worldly objects of names and forms, to breakdown this loop of ignorance. And hence, retreat for observing silence exists to help to discipline and purify the mind efficiently.

Retreat for the observation of silence is to disconnect with our worldly life connections, family and friends, social interactions, habits, personal or religious and cultural belief and practice. It doesn't mean that we abandon our life, family and friends, and our personal or religious and cultural belief and practice, but, it's to allow our minds to have the opportunity to be free from the contact with the objects of names and forms that are directly and indirectly related to restlessness, distractions, cares and anxieties, and allowing the mind to be opened for contemplation on the truth.

It's normal that people have fear towards letting go certain religious or non-religious thinking and belief that influence the way of life and conduct, self-image and personal identity. There is fear of the unknown consequences of letting go those thinking and belief. There is fear of exile, criticism and condemn from the 'group' that we think we belong to. There is fear of being unaccepted by the society. There is fear of non-existence. The ignorant minds constantly seek recognition, agreement, approval, support and acknowledgement from the society to be who we think we are, or who we want to be. This is one of the obstacles that hinders the mind to see the truth of names and forms as it is.

Those who have gone beyond the idea of 'I', or the identification with qualities of names and forms to be identifying as 'I', they don't even attach onto their devotion towards the teachings and practice of yoga to identify oneself as 'yogi', not to say to attach onto certain conditional worldly thinking and belief. Meanwhile other beings can have the freedom of thinking to refer or label them as 'yogi'

Many people who think they love yoga and practice yoga might think and believe that yoga is to connect with all and everything. We think we need to connect with other people or something that we think is not 'I', which are separated from 'I', is ignorance. Upon the realization of selflessness and non-separateness, there's no connection with anything that is not 'I', as there's no 'I' that generates separateness. Just like when people think they want to make connection with God, it's because they think they are something separated from God. Oneness is beyond connection that consists of more than one party.

The essential yoga practice of silence, is to retreat and disconnect the mind from the society and all sorts of worldly life connections and social activities. Retreat from worldly life connections and social activities, and isolation from other people including family and friends, help tremendously to turn the mind inward for self-introspection and self-inquiry to see the truth of names and forms, to be free from ignorance, and thus be free from unhappiness and suffering.

Though freeing the mind from ignorance is the greatest contribution to the society and world peace, the practice of silence in solitude and seclusion might appear to be 'selfishness', 'anti-social' or 'abnormal behavior' by the worldly minded people who attached to worldly life conditioned by certain thinking and beliefs about how human beings should and shouldn't behave. Most minds would want to runaway after a few days of observing the practice of silence in solitude and seclusion, not to say to be completely cut off from the social world for many years.

In the tradition of yoga, to be isolated from the society and be in seclusion for a long period of time for at least five to six years is a very important observation. One should learn how to be happy and comfortable with oneself in solitude, being isolated from all other beings, before one mixes into the society, or gets involve in any kind of relationships with anyone, without expecting someone or something that is not 'I' to make us happy, or give us happiness. Or else we generate so much tension and unhappiness in ourselves and those whom we want to love and be loved.

When one is free from ignorance and egoism, one doesn't need to be loved, be supported, be acknowledged, be approved, or be connected, to feel meaningful or be happy. One will be free whether being in a relationship, or not. There's no loneliness. When one knows how to be happy as one is, the society will be benefited tremendously by the existence of this being, without any intention from this being to benefit anyone or anything.

But, many yoga practitioners nowadays who attached strongly to their worldly social life don't just not interested in observing this traditional practice, but they condemn this practice. And that is their freedom of thinking, action and speech.

Be free.

Seeking freedom through the knowledge of life

Why does my family has to suffer so much even though they are really good and kind-hearted people? They don’t do bad things and they have helped many people whom they know and don’t know from the past until the present. They give and give without discrimination and never expect gratefulness or rewards in return for the kindness and friendliness they shown to others, or from those who receive kindness and friendliness from them. Friends and relatives and strangers took advantage of my family’s kindness and friendliness, until they got themselves into lots of unnecessary problems and troubles where everyone in the family is affected physically, mentally, emotionally and financially.

Why did my childhood best friend kill herself even though she had everything she ever wanted? She came from a wealthy family background. She was intelligent, highly educated and knowledgeable. She had a high paid job and was financially independent. She had a wide social network, friends and family in her life. She did all the activities that she liked to do and went for holidays in places that she liked to go. She also had her childhood dream came true about having her own children as the greatest achievement and happiness in life.

It’s because happiness and freedom from suffering is nothing to do with being good and kind-hearted, or do good and don’t do bad, or attaining high level of education and accumulating knowledge, or having high income and success in career, or having dreams come true and achieving whatever we want to achieve that we think it will make us happy, or give us happiness.

Education and knowledge might provide the useful information, facts and skills for people to do something in life to live and survive and interact with other beings in this world, and to build a society with all the high-tech conveniences coming from the latest technologies, engineering and inventions. They might help to improve quality of life and influence our way of life and conduct. But receiving education and accumulating knowledge as well as different types of qualifications and certifications doesn’t guarantee that the mind will be free from ignorance, confusion, corrupted thinking and selfishness, or know how to make wise decisions, or won’t behave selfishly and ignorantly, or won’t experience suffering and unhappiness.

Educated people are not necessarily be free from dissatisfaction, disappointment, anger, hatred, jealousy, greed, feelings of hurt, and fear, or won't be engaging in immoral conducts and violent behavior. There's no guarantee that those who have been receiving education on morality will uphold morality. It's a personal awareness and conscience with self-control and self-restraint that one would refrain oneself from engaging in immoral conducts or activities.

For example, there are laws in some countries that would punish convicted thieves by cutting off their hand(s). The risk of getting their hands cut off will not stop the thieves from committing theft, although if the thieves are caught and prosecuted under those laws, it might be physically challenging for them to commit theft again without their hands. But, there are thieves that don't need to perform theft at the scene personally, or with their hands physically, and theft are still existing everywhere and anytime. With their hands cut off under those laws might let them experience inconvenience in everyday life in return for their actions of stealing, just like how they cause financial, physical, mental and emotional damages and inconvenience to those whom they steal from, but it doesn't necessarily remove greed from their minds, or stop them from stealing again and again. Those who disagree with inhumane treatment or physical punishment for criminal say that people needs to receive proper education to reduce crime rate in the society. But receiving proper education on 'Do good and don't do bad' doesn't necessarily will remove ignorance, greed, desires of craving and aversion, and the urge to cheat and steal from the criminal minds. Meanwhile, all kinds of inhumane treatment and physical punishment also don't guarantee that the criminals would be free from ignorance and won't commit crime again and again.

Living in the world of many ignorant minds that generate all kinds of stupidities in the society intentionally and unintentionally, we might feel frustrated and annoyed by many things that are not in our control to be the way that how we would like it to be. We feel angry or disturbed by some thinking and behavior that are contradicted with our thinking and belief about what is right and wrong, good and bad, acceptable and unacceptable, appropriateness and inappropriateness.

We think we are more intelligent than other people that we can change the world or the society to be the way that we think how it should be. The more we try to change the world to be the way that we want it to be, the more frustrated and disappointed we become. It's because none can change another being's ignorant behavior. None can free another being from ignorance. Studying under the greatest teacher in the world and receiving all kinds of worldly knowledge also doesn't guarantee that one will be free from ignorance and suffering. One can only change and improve oneself, and free oneself from ignorance through one's effort of persistent self-discipline, self-control, self-awareness, self-inquiry and self-realization.

The cause of suffering and unhappiness is ignorance. Ignorance is not knowing the truth of life existence, or what we think is who we are. Suffering, and the freedom from suffering is unrelated to whether we think we are good or not, knowledgeable or not, well-educated or not, religious or not, spiritual or not, well-cultured or not, and believing in God existence or not.

By learning, knowing and gathering lots of information, facts and skills about this and that doesn’t mean that the mind is free from ignorance. We can be highly educated and knowledgeable about many things in the world that we live in, we can read and write and speak many different languages, we can be kind-hearted, friendly and sociable, we can be doing many good actions and not doing anything that we believe as bad actions, we can be very talented and creative, but because of ignorance, we might still be determined, disturbed and affected by what we see, hear, smell, taste, touch and think, whether it’s something that we like or dislike, agree or disagree with, and we experience suffering of unhappiness, grief, frustration, irritation, depression, discontentment, disappointment, greed, anger, hatred, jealousy, pride, feelings of hurt, guilt, regret, animosity, humiliation, insult, ill-thinking, ill-will, doubt, fear and worry.

Knowing how to build a beautiful and practically functional house doesn’t guarantee one and those who live in the house will be peaceful and happy. Knowing how to save lives through advanced medical skills and effective medicines doesn’t guarantee one and those whose lives were saved will be free from ignorance, unhappiness and suffering. Those who perform charity and those who receive charity also doesn’t mean that they will be free from feelings of hurt, anger, jealousy, discontentment, disappointment, fear and worry, and be peaceful and happy.

It doesn’t matter who we think we are, or what we are, we will experience suffering and restlessness if the mind is functioning under the influence of ignorance.

Ignorance brings along egoism, attachment, identification, desires of craving and aversion, and all sorts of impurities which is why we experience suffering and restlessness. It is nothing to do with whether our lives, or the world, is the way that we think it should be, or not.

It doesn’t matter what kind of social status we think we have in the society, and what we know or don’t know, our minds constantly react towards all the perception of names and forms through the senses of what we see, hear, smell, taste, touch and think, reasoning and judging everything based on the conditional thinking and belief in the mind under the influence of ignorance. Suffering and restlessness is the responsibility of the mind itself for being ignorant towards the truth of names and forms, when it generates attachment, identification, craving and aversion towards all the impermanent names and forms that it perceives, or comes in contact with.

Whenever the mind comes in contact with the objects of names and forms that it likes and agrees with, it generates clinging and craving towards them. Whenever the mind comes in contact with the objects of names and forms that it dislikes and disagrees with, it generates aversion towards them. When the desire of craving and aversion is not being gratified – when it is getting what it doesn’t like and doesn’t want; when it doesn’t get what it likes and wants; when it is losing what it likes and wants, the mind reacts with all sorts of impurities like dissatisfaction, disappointment, anger, hatred, jealousy, animosity, feelings of hurt, fear, worry, and so on. The mind is suffering from its own reactions of impurities.

By learning how to free the mind from ignorance and impurities, and attaining the knowledge of life through mind purification, self-inquiry and self-realization, will lead us to unconditional peace and happiness, regardless of what is the condition of our lives and the situation of the world we live in. We will have peace and be happy as we are, undetermined by the impermanent changes of names and forms, pleasant and unpleasant experiences, and different types of thinking and behavior that our minds agree or disagree with. We adjust ourselves to adapt and accommodate any life conditions and situations, and not expecting life to change into something that can accommodate all our desires of craving and aversion.

If the mind is under the influence of ignorance and egoism, and generates attachment, identification, craving and aversion towards all the impermanent qualities of names and forms to be identifying as ‘I’ and ‘my life’, then even though everything might be the way that we like it to be, or nothing is the way that we don’t like it to be, our minds will still be restless and anxious if there is attachment towards what we like and don’t like, as we will have fear towards losing the things that we like and want, and we don’t want the things that we like and want to change into something that we don’t like and don’t want, even when they are not happening or don’t exist in the present moment. There is fear towards old age, sickness, separation from our loved ones, coming in contact with the people, objects and events that we don't like and disagree with, not getting what we want, losing what we like, getting what we don't want, disability, and death. And everything will change and pass away, whether we like it, or not.

It is the awareness of being able to see the truth of things as it is and allowing the truth to be what it is, and being free from egoism, attachment, identification, craving and aversion and all sorts of impurities, that allow the mind to be in peace, regardless of all the impermanent changes that are happening ceaselessly inside and outside this body and mind, which are not in the control of ‘I’ to be the way that how ‘I’ would like it to be. The body and mind depends on so many elements to be existing and functioning, they don’t belong to ‘I’, as there is no 'I', not to say all the pleasant and unpleasant experiences perceived through the senses.

We make use of the existing knowledge, information, facts, skills, talents and creativity that we have to perform actions that we think and believe would be beneficial to ourselves and the society, but without attachment towards our actions and the results of our actions. We are not determined by our actions and the results of our actions to be who we are. We just do our best for what we think is the best, and allow the world to evolve in its own way and rhythm.

Freedom from ignorance, egoism, attachment, identification, craving and aversion is the real freedom of unconditional peace and happiness beyond all the impermanent qualities of names and forms.

The world is just what it is. It is neither good nor bad, neither positive nor negative, neither a happy place nor a suffering place. It’s how the mind reacts towards all the names and forms that it perceives through the senses that generates the ignorance of duality, personal identity and separateness. All sorts of fear and anxieties arise from duality, personal identity and separateness. It’s not because of the names and forms that we perceive or experience are being bad, or wrong, or negative, or unhappiness, that generates restlessness and suffering in us. The attachment, the identification and the desires of craving and aversion towards all the names and forms that the mind believes as good and bad, right and wrong, positive and negative, happiness and unhappiness, is the real cause of suffering.

Suffering exists as long as the mind is under the influence of ignorance. Suffering doesn’t exist when the mind is free from ignorance.

Freedom of the mind is beyond the freedom of thinking, actions and speech in the society, or beyond any physical and mental limitations. We might be restricted by some forms of physical and mental limitations, and are unable to think, or do, or say what we would like to think, or do, or say in our personal life, or in the society, but it doesn’t stop us to achieve freedom of unconditional peace.

There is a saying of “Do what will make us happy” circulating in the world of social media. Somehow, freedom to do whatever we like to do that we think will make us happy, is not the real freedom, as we won't be happy if we are unable to do what we like to do that will make us feel happy. There are people who find happiness, or enjoyment, or excitement in performing actions that would hurt themselves and/or other beings, whether intentionally or unintentionally. The more they hurt themselves and/or others, the more excited and satisfying they feel, even if it's just momentarily. That's not freedom.

May all be free.

Unhappy about something that we don't like or disagree with?

Look into our mind, and see what's really happening when we feel unhappy (about something that we don't like or disagree with).

When we think we are unhappy because of something that we experience, or what we perceive through the senses of what we see, or hear, or smell, or taste, or touch, or think, it is coming from our own mind's reaction towards the names and forms based on what the mind likes and dislikes, agrees and doesn't agree with, it is not coming from the names and forms that the mind thinks is what causing the mind to be unhappy.

This is different from people who suffer from depression. People who suffer from depression is depressed or unhappy is not because they come in contact with something that they don't like and disagree with, or aren't getting something that they like and want. They just feel down and depressed most of the time without any particular reasons, even when everything in life is good and fine. Those who don't suffer depression can never truly understand what is happening in the mind of the people who suffer from depression. We should be compassionate towards people who suffer from depression as they couldn't help themselves for how they feel, and accept them as they are.

For most people who are being unhappy because they are getting something that they don't like and don't want, or they are not getting what they like and want, that is due to ignorance, egoism, attachment, craving and aversion. We also can be compassionate towards these people who could be happy, but they chose to be unhappy because they are under the influence of ignorance.

Om shanti.

Do something that will make us happy?

We hear this "positive and motivational" message very often - "Do something that will make us happy."

There's nothing wrong about want to make ourselves (or the mind) happy by doing something that we (the mind) like to do, that will give us (the mind) some sorts of satisfaction and happy feelings, or to get rid of dissatisfaction and unhappy feelings. But know that if we need to depend on doing something that we like to do, or depend on certain qualities of names and forms to be happy, then it is not what yoga practice is about.

Yoga practice is unattached towards any qualities of names and forms, and be free from craving and aversion which is the cause of dissatisfaction and unhappiness. When the mind is free from dissatisfaction and unhappiness, when the mind is not being dissatisfied or unhappy, it doesn't need to do something to get rid of dissatisfaction and unhappiness, or depend on any qualities of names and forms to be happy.

It's about knowing how to be happy as we are, undetermined by any qualities of names and forms, impermanent changes, what we do or don't do, and what we have or don't have, to be happy, or not.

Om shanti.

May all be happy and peaceful as we are...

There's nothing wrong with being happy when we are doing something that we like to do, or being with people whom we like to be with, or being at places that we like to be at, or achieving something that we like to achieve. We should appreciate and enjoy all these names and forms that we like when they are here.

If we are still happy and peaceful as we are, when all these names and forms are not available to us in the present moment, we realize the freedom of non-attachment, and unconditional peace and happiness that is beyond all the egoistic likes and dislikes, craving and aversion towards any names and forms.

May all be free.

Something beautiful and rare...

When two people in a relationship have gone beyond egoism and attachment, personal cravings and desires, the relationship will be only joy and happiness. Such relationship is beautiful and rare.

Freedom in love relationship?

Freedom in love relationship is when our love comes to a point that we don't want anything from the one whom we love, but only wish him or her to be safe and happy.

Love relationship is a training ground for letting go...

If we truly love someone, we need to be able to let go of expectation and attachment towards the love we have for him or her. Allow him or her to love us as he is, as she is.

The one who truly loves us will not do anything to hurt us without us expect anything from him or her. If he or she doesn't want to love us and wants to go, we will let him or her go, wishing him or her peace and happiness, even though it's not easy, it might be painful.

If someone we love very much would do things that will hurt us, it means that he or she doesn't love us or appreciate us at all. We can't do anything about it. We have to accept that he or she doesn't love us.

What's the point holding on strongly towards someone who doesn't love us and doesn't appreciate us, who doesn't respect the existing relationship with us, who doesn't care if it will hurt us out of selfishness and passionate desires?

Once we develop compassion towards ourselves, we will let go of our love towards him or her, and just allow him or her to be what he is, what she is. We will treat and love him or her as a friend who doesn't appreciate someone who loves them, not as my lover or my partner. Then whatever he or she does will not generate hurt in us anymore.

If we feel hurt when we realized the one whom we love doesn't really love us, is because we think and expect the one whom we love will love us, and if he or she loves us, he or she won't do anything to betrayed our love for him or her. But that is a selfish thinking and expectation. We can only allow him or her to love us out of his or her free-will, then without our expectation, he or she will love us without us ask him or her to love us. Out of their own free-will and self-control, they won't do anything to hurt us because they love us. And that is freedom.

When we allow the one whom we love to love us as he is, as she is, it doesn't mean that we should allow him or her to intentionally doing things that will hurt us, if he or she doesn't love us. It's not okay. But we can choose to let go of this love relationship that is meaningless.

We don't have to love someone who doesn't love us. And that itself is loving ourselves and the one who doesn't love us, by letting go the love we have for him or her. If we still feel hurt, it's because we couldn't let go the love we have for the one who doesn't love us, even though they might tell us they love us, but they don't really love us, because they only love what they like and what they want from us. Why do we want to be hurt for loving someone who is selfish and doesn't deserve our love?

If we couldn't let go, we generate tension in ourselves and the person in the relationship with us, whether the one in the relationship with us loves us or doesn't love us. We won't be peaceful or happy being in a tensed relationship, even though we think we love him or her very much.

When we rise above the pain of letting go the one whom we love, our hearts find love and peace that come from loving our loved one unconditionally.

Do not be jealous with other people's relationship that is full of joy and happiness, and think that it's not possible to have such flawless and beautiful relationships in this world. When two people have gone beyond egoism and attachment, personal cravings and desires, the relationship will be only joy and happiness. Such relationship is rare but it exists.

Do cheerful people only have happy feelings and don't have any unhappy feelings?

Being cheerful doesn't mean that there is not any unhappy feelings and there's only happy feelings all the time.

There's nothing wrong with happy and unhappy feelings. It's part of the normal function of the mind to react upon coming in contact with the objects of the senses that the mind likes and dislikes, agrees and disagrees with. Or, due to mood swing caused by hormones imbalanced. But cheerful people know that all these feelings are impermanent. They do not have clinging or craving towards happy feelings, or aversion towards unhappy feelings. When happy feelings are absent, they are still cheerful as they are. When unhappy feelings arise in the mind, they are still cheerful as they are.

Those who know non-attachment towards happy and unhappy feelings, they are not being determined by all these fleeting happy and unhappy feelings to be who they are, to be happy or not, to be confident or not, and to feel meaningful or not.

Cheerful people might have unhappy feelings when their minds come in contact with the objects of name and form that the mind dislikes and disagrees with, or when they are not getting the names and forms that the mind likes and wants. Or, when their hormones are imbalanced. But, they know how to let go of unhappy feelings more easily and quicker than those who have attachment towards all the perception of names and forms to be determining them to be who they are, to be happy or not, to be confident or not, and to feel meaningful or not.

The lesser and weaker attachment towards any names and forms, there will be less reasons or lower chances to be unhappy, and vice versa.

Those who have less demand and less expectation, who are less fussy and easily content, who are patient, tolerant, generous, forgiving, adaptable, adjustable and accommodating will have less trigger of unhappy feelings, and vice versa.

Go beyond the identification of 'happy being' and 'unhappy being'.

Keep practicing non-attachment without expectation until the mind is completely be free from any impurities that derived from ceaseless reactions towards objects of name and form influenced by the desires of craving and aversion.

We will realize unconditional peace that is beyond all kinds of happy feelings, and undetermined by any qualities of name and form, when we are free from the desire of want to feel happy and want to be a 'happy being', or don't want to feel unhappy and don't want to be an 'unhappy being'. But, allow all the happy and unhappy feelings to come and go without generate attachment or identification, without craving or aversion.

Love ourselves as we are even though the mind is not being happy all the time.

Be free.

Ignorance and be free from ignorance...

There are people who read a lot, and some may read a little, while some don't read at all, but it doesn't determine whether they will be happier, or more unhappy than one another. As whether reading a lot, or a little, or not reading at all, doesn't determine whether our mind will be free from ignorance, egoism, attachment, identification, craving, aversion and all sorts of impurities, like anger, hatred, dissatisfaction, disappointment, depression, jealousy, fear, worry, feelings of hurts, and etc.

Knowing a lot of things through reading a lot, doesn't determine that one will be free from unhappiness and suffering.

It's the same as, what we believe and don't believe, what we eat and don't eat, what we like to eat and don't like to eat, what we do and don't do, what we can do and cannot do, whether we think we are good or not good, whether we think we did a lot of good actions or not, whether we have good intentions or bad intentions, whether we think we are spiritual or non-spiritual, whether we think we are intelligent or unintelligent, also don't determine whether one will be free from ignorance, egoism and suffering.

Those who think they are not good enough, or they are not spiritual, or they don't know much about this or that about science, mathematics, geography, history, politics, sociology, biology, chemistry, physics, phycology, anatomy, physiology, religion and culture, and etc, they still can be free from ignorance and suffering, if they know how to free the mind from egoism, attachment, identification, desires of craving and aversion.

Those who think they are good beings, or they are spiritual, or they know a lot about this and that about science, mathematics, geography, history, politics, sociology, biology, chemistry, physics, phycology, anatomy, physiology, religion and culture, and etc, they still can be not free from ignorance and suffering, if they don't know how to free the mind from egoism, attachment, identification, desires of craving and aversion.

It doesn't matter who we are, how we are, where we are, what we do or don't do, what we believe or don't believe, religious or non-religious, spiritual or non-spiritual, good or not good enough, feel good or don't feel good, it is through ceaseless effort to restrain the activities of the mind and quieting the mind, to keep the mind in the present, to eliminate the egoism, to free the mind from both worldly and spiritual attachment, identification, desires of craving and aversion, judgment, comparison, expectation, and all sorts of impurities, to know the truth of things as they are, to realize attributelessness, namelessness and formlessness, and thus realize unconditional love and peace, and hence be free from ignorance and suffering.

If people have different point of views about what is freedom and happiness to them, that is their freedom of thinking and understanding, and freedom to strive for what they believe in.

Be happy.

Basic steps towards peace and happiness in oneself...

Basic steps towards peace and happiness in oneself -

Be kind to ourselves and others. Stop judging ourselves, stop comparing with others, stop expecting ourselves to be in certain way that we think it should be. Stop judging others, stop comparing others with others, stop expecting others to be in certain way that we think it should be.

Accept ourselves as we are even if the egoistic mind thinks that we are not perfect, not smart, not good enough. It's okay if we are not perfect, not smart, or not good enough. To be peaceful and happy is not necessarily that we have to be all perfect, smart and good. As peace and happiness doesn't come from being perfect, smart or good. Or else all the perfect, smart and good beings in the world are all peaceful and happy beings, but it's not necessary so.

Love ourselves as we are even if the egoistic mind doesn't like something about ourselves and expect ourselves to be somebody else whom we are not. Love others as they are even if our egoistic mind doesn't like something about others and expect others to be somebody else whom they are not.

Free our mind from being disturbed by anger, hatred, jealousy, pride, arrogance, dissatisfaction, disappointment, frustration, irritation, fear and worry, by free the mind from ignorance, egoism, attachment, identification, judgment, comparison, expectation, craving and aversion.

Do our best, perform all our actions, duties and responsibilities towards oneself and others, and let go of the fruit of actions.

Be happy.

Be truly happy and peaceful by free the mind from ignorance and egoism...

By doing something that will make us feel good and happy will only give us momentary good and happy feelings. This good and happy feelings will be disturbed and disappeared.

If we are looking for peace and happiness that is always there which doesn't increase nor decrease, then we need to learn how to free the mind from ignorance and egoism, and realize compassion and be truly compassionate towards ourselves and all other beings.

One can never be truly happy nor satisfied no matter how many things one can perform or attain through the body and the mind in the world of impermanent names and forms. If the mind hasn't be free from ignorance and egoism, then one will still be disturbed and determined by whatever the mind perceives through the senses, and be restless and unhappy from time to time, even though occasionally the mind might feel good and happy when it is able to do and attain the things that it likes and wants.

There's nothing wrong with being unhappy from time to time when the mind reacts towards the objects of names and forms that it doesn't desire, dislikes and disagrees with, or being unable to do or attain the things that it likes and wants, but if we don't have self-control, we might generate actions and speech that will hurt ourselves and other beings out of the unhappy state of mind.

If we want to be truly happy and peaceful, then we should realize compassion or selflessness by free the mind from ignorance and egoism.

Om shanti.

Desires?

Whenever we feel unhappy or disappointed, ask ourselves, "What's really going on?"

We will see that it is deriving from unfulfilled desires. We have some desires that are not being gratified the way that we like it to be.

There's no problems.

It's just that we couldn't let go of desires, we are not free from desires, and we are still very much influenced by desires of wants and don't wants, including the desires of wanting something good and positive, and don't want something that is opposed to good and positive.

Om shanti.