About Non-identification With The Body And Mind

Non-identification with the body and the mind – I am not this body, this body is not mine. I am not this mind, this mind is not mine. I am not the body, the body is not I. I am not the mind, the mind is not I. It also means the realization of the attributeless, nameless, formless, birthless and deathless eternal unchanging Self, or selflessness - the selfless/I-less/ego-less nature of all kind of impermanent names and forms.

This is the essential teaching of yoga. All the other practices are to help us to attain this realization of the Self.

It doesn’t mean that we should neglect our body and the mind, torturing them and not respect them. Instead we should be appreciating our lives, be grateful to have this life existence to be here to experience so many things and to learn what is selflessness and to return to our original state of consciousness which is beyond existence and non-existence, beyond birth and death, beyond good and evil, and beyond names and forms. We should take good care of this body and the mind, and make them strong and healthy for us to walk the path towards self-realization. But at the same time we do not attach to the impermanent condition and limitation of this physical body and the mind. They are great instruments for us to evolve spiritually. By doing wholesome acts with this body and the mind that are beneficial to all beings including our own self, and by attaining self-realization, is the best way to show appreciation and respect towards our body and the mind.

By having this mortal physical body and unrest mind, it allows us to experience what is suffering and how does worldly life existence being limited and conditioned by impermanence. Suffering is a great experience for us to start searching for the real meanings of life. Once we know the real meanings of life, we won’t see or feel that the world and life existence as something suffering nor not suffering. It is just being what it is.

And by having this unrest mind, limited intellect and forever dissatisfied ego, they allow us to realize the defects or imperfection of the functions of this conditioned body and mind which give us all the experiences of different names and forms, which creates all the suffering and discontentment in us.

We are sure to be thankful to this body and mind, and all the experiences of this life existence that act as the pathway for us to go back “home”. And with all the practices of purification, detachment, observances, refrains and restrains, self-control, concentration, meditation and immovable faith which will unleash the wisdom and compassion in us that act as the bright lights that shine on the entire path for us to see the direction and to avoid or remove any obstacles on our way “home”. While positive thinking, cheerfulness, letting go, humility, forgiveness, adjustment, fearlessness, contentment, patience, determination and perseverance are the fuels for us to reach “home” – the eternal peace.

Yoga and Buddhism never condemn this mortal and changeable body and mind as something bad. But the compassionate teachings of yoga and Buddhism tell us about the defects of this life existence of body and mind, because they want us to realize the deficiency and dissatisfaction of having this temporary body and mind, and to know how to not attach to everything that is related with this body and mind, and we will not get lost in the indulgence of momentary worldly pleasure and enjoyment, or get lost in painful suffering and unhappiness, cravings and aversions, and totally forget about the real meanings of life. They want us to realize that all the good and bad experiences that we are having in this life existence are the same, no differences at all. Both good and bad experiences, likes and dislikes, happiness and unhappiness/suffering are very temporary and not the real us. They do not and cannot determine us as good or bad beings. They are just some products of the mind under the functions of the mind, the intellect, the ego and the senses.

The wisdom of yoga and Buddhism allows us to develop right view and right understanding about the worldly life existence, about all the phenomena that we are experiencing under the functions of the mind and the senses.

By having wisdom and compassion, we will know that we all are the same no differences at all, beyond all the names and forms, beyond good and evil, beyond happiness and unhappiness, beyond living beings and non-living beings. We all have to go through impermanence and we all depend on the elements to be exist here. Without these elements, we all are nothing, no body. And hence what is “good” beings and “bad” beings? What is “superiority” and “inferiority”? What is “living beings” and “non-living beings”? What is “happiness” and “suffering”?

When we are hungry and thirsty, we all are the same. When we have anger, hatred, jealousy, greed, lustful desires, arrogance, selfishness, irritation, frustration, depression, aggression, disappointment, we all are the same. When we are happy or sad, we all are the same. When we are selfless, compassionate and wise, we all are the same. When we were born and when we die, we all are the same. We all have the same functions and habits of the body and the mind. It is just the level of understanding and self-control is different from each being and creates the different behaviors and different personalities among all beings. And we all have different appearances, sexes, beliefs, cultures, characters, languages, skin colours, likes and dislikes, and interests, but after take away all these changeable and temporary names and forms, we all are the same deep inside us.

The sun, the water, the air, the earth and the space treat all and everything equally without any differences of good beings or bad beings, modern beings or ancient beings. In fact we all are ancient beings from the very beginning of existence going through many times of births and deaths, and manifestations of different names and forms. The elements of nature act selflessly and have no expectations at all and just give and provide unceasingly. And this is selflessness. In fact we all are the same selfless consciousness as all these elements of nature.

But having the impure and unrest mind, we don’t see or can’t see our true nature at the moment. We think we are this and that. We think we are “sick” when our body experiencing illness and pain. We think we are “weak”, “ugly” and “old” when our body is experiencing decaying and old age. We think we are “not good” when our mind is having negative and bad thoughts and feelings. We think we are “incapable” and “bad beings” when our body couldn’t perform the things that we wanted to do. We think we are “good being” when our body did some good actions and our mind felt good. We think we are “suffering” and “sad” when our body and the mind is experiencing uncomfortable and bad conditions. But we are not. It is just the body and the mind experiencing some good and bad conditions, comfortable and discomfortable sensations, happy and unhappy feelings. It is not us. The body and the mind is going through unceasing changes under the law of impermanence, from good to bad, from bad to good, but our true nature is not being affected by this at all.

We think we all are different from all and everything. We have discrimination of all the dualities, attach strongly to everything with all the names and forms, have likes and dislikes, and have great expectations for all our actions. We think we own the body, the mind and our lives existence. But it is not really so. All the thoughts, feelings and sensations that we are experiencing from moment to moment unceasingly, they all are very momentary and don’t belong to us at all. They come and go as they like. They don’t need to ask for our permission to stay and change and disappear. We have no control at all when all these thoughts, feelings and sensations crop up in our body and the mind. We have no choice but to witness all these phenomena that is happening in our body and the mind, and have awareness of what is going on and not attach nor react to all these thoughts, feelings and sensations, if possible. We can have self-control over the thoughts by being aware of them and let them go, not attach to them. And we can have control over the actions and speech so that our actions and speech is not harmful to other beings and ourselves. But we can’t have control of our thoughts anymore if the mind gone mad. We will be having imaginations and illusions all the time, don’t know what is real and unreal anymore. And we can’t have control over the ability of our body anymore when the nerves, or the brains, or any of the internal organs, or the glands, or any of the body systems doesn’t function properly. And thus how can we say we own the body and the mind?

Maybe for a temporary time we own the body and the mind, and do what we want to do and think what we want to think. But can we have a forever young, strong, flexible, healthy and undecaying body? Can we avoid old age, illness and death to this physical body? Can we be at our best state of body and mind forever and not having any changes, or declines, or damages to our “perfect” state of the body and the mind, being healthy and strong, young and fit, beautiful and attractive, feel happy and contented for this “perfection”? Can we just feel good, positive and happy all the times and not having bad feelings, negativity and unhappiness? Can we move our limbs or see with our eyes when the nervous system breaks down? Can we just experience pleasant and comfortable sensations and not having unpleasant and discomfortable sensations at all? Can we go back to the past and undo things that were unhappy and not good or preserve those happy and good things? We can’t. Not even an enlightened being can avoid all these changes or impermanence that is happening in the body and the mind. But the enlightened beings do not identify with the body and the mind, and know how to not attach to them and stand as a witness towards all the changing phenomena in the body and the mind and not react to them, and remain equanomous and peaceful all the time.

And we all are the attributeless unchanging Self. Our hearts can remain selfless, compassionate, wise and peaceful, unaffected, uninfluenced and undisturbed by all the phenomena that is happening in our body and the mind, as well as all the phenomena that is happening surrounding the body in our lives in the world.

This body and the mind is just being temporary with us and they function on their own. Even when we are asleep have no awareness of the physical body and the mind, they still continue to function unceasingly without the need of our control. When the breath stops coming, when the heart stops beating, do we still own this body and the mind? They don’t really belong to us and they are not us. They are just the body and the mind. We are who we are, the awareness that is aware of all the phenomena that is experiencing through the functions of the body and the mind.

We are not “good”, we are not “not good”, we are not “good” nor not “not good”. We are not anything. We are what we are, and being what we are. It is true that sometimes the mind feels good and sometimes it feels bad. While sometimes the mind is positive and behaving in “good ways”, and sometimes it is negative and behaving in “bad ways”. But know that these are not our true self. It is not us. It is an action and reaction of the body and the mind while experiencing different names and forms of happiness and unhappiness in the world of perception.

We need to be responsible for all our thoughts, actions and speech, but know that all these do not affect our true self at all. Our true self is untainted by good and evil, positive and negative, happiness and unhappiness, action and non-action.

Once we realize that we are not this body and not this mind, we will be fully responsible for all our thoughts, actions and speech, very carefully we will control all our thoughts, actions and speech. Because we know that it is these three things that are generating all the good and bad karma that will give us the good and bad experiences in worldly life existence, which means we will not be free and being bound by the limitations and conditions of worldly life existence that has the differentiation of happiness and unhappiness, births and deaths, good and bad, likes and dislikes, and lots of impurities of the mind.

It doesn’t mean that we can do whatever we want and don’t have to be responsible for our actions. We need to have positivity (good, kind and wholesome acts) to eradicate negativity (evil, unkind and unwholesome acts) in us. But once there is no more negativity, there is no need to have positivity. Everything and every act is becoming pure. And thus we will be free from both dualities. When there is no more dualities, there is no likes and dislikes, happiness and unhappiness, craving and aversion, good and evil, positive and negative, birth and death.

May all beings be free and go back home to eternal peace.

Yoga And Buddhism

The essential teachings of yoga and Buddhism is about selflessness, impermanence, the wheel of birth and death, transcending suffering, and egoism and ignorance as the root cause of suffering.

Cultivate detachment, non-attachment, non-identification, dispassion, renunciation, right discrimination towards the real and unreal, purification, loving kindness, charity, generosity, selfless service, eradication of the impurities of anger, hatred, jealousy, passionate lustful desire, greed, pride and arrogance.

Practice self-control over the thoughts, actions and speech, control over the sexual desire/sexual energy, universal common sense, right conduct, right view, right understanding, positive thinking, gratitude, patience, perseverance, tolerance, adaptation, acceptance, adjustment and accommodation.

Following the middle path, finding a Guru/teacher, renunciation from worldly life, retreat from worldly sensual pleasure and material enjoyments.

Detach from likes and dislikes, craving and aversion.

Philosophy about selflessness/non-separateness/oneness/equality/non-dualism, the consciousness, the perceiver and the perceived, mind perceptions of names and forms, limitations and conditions of life existence and the physical body, and the bondage of ceaseless and restless selfless impermanent changes – governed by the nature's law of cause and effect.

Practice about mind purification, quieting the restless modification of the mind, disciplining the senses, concentration, meditation, self-reliance, self-discipline, fearlessness, faith under direct experience, self-inquiry, self-realization, truthfulness, calmness, compassion and wisdom.

Everything is non-self or selfless/existence of life or object depends on energy and the element of ether, fire, earth, wind and water.

Practice control and withdrawal of the senses from the objects, stand as a witness towards the worldly phenomena and impermanence, non-identification with the body and the mind, non-attachment towards actions/renounce from the fruit of actions.

Philosophy about namelessness and formlessness, attributelessness, silence, samadhi, consciousness and subconsciousness, transcending good and evil, positive and negative, right and wrong based on worldly egoistic thinking and belief.

The nature of all and everything, the selfless universal consciousness, or the universal selfless Self, is pure existence, pure knowledge, pure bliss, peaceful silence, oneness/non-separateness – universal consciousness and individual consciousness is the same consciousness.

Practice eradication of mental defilement or corruption, do good and stop doing bad, non-harming, non-violence, simplicity, contentment, Satsanga/company of the wise, right livelihood, right thinking, right actions, right speech, Mauna/silence.

Controlling the thought waves/thought activties, practice one-pointedness of the mind, stilling the thought waves.

Philosophy about food energy influencing the states of the mind, and controlling the basic craving of hunger and thirst.

Seeing and accepting the truth in everything as it is, being at the present moment from moment to moment, letting go the past and the future. The only reality is the present moment now. The past is just histories and memories. The future is just wild imaginations projecting into the future.

The path of self-realization/enlightenment, is knowing the ultimate Truth – who am I? or What is 'I'? Beyond existence and non-existence. Transcending time, space and causation.

Wisdom and self-realization is arising from within, not coming from the outside, not from studying, but from purification and eradication of the ignorance, egoism and impurities in our mind and stilling the thought waves.

And thus, we can see there are many paths with different practices under different names and forms and terminologies, but they all came from the same origin/root and will lead us back to the same place/our real refuge/eternal peace. If we don’t know what is non-attachment and non-identification, or namelessness and formlessness, then we will not know and understand what is non-dualism, selflessness and oneness. We will only see lots of differences in this and that, but we cannot see beyond all the differences of names and forms, that everything is one same consciousness and there is no differences in the nature of everything - selflessness and impermanence.

One of the habits of the mind is to find faults and differences in everything, and have judgment and comparison towards everything. But this is the biggest hindrance in the path towards realizing the Truth. It is bringing the mind further away from the Truth. We can never grasp what is non-duality, selflessness and oneness. One of the ways to understand this teaching of oneness from the wise, is to let go any judgments, comparisons and faults finding towards everything. Accept everything as it is. Quiet the mind. And then we will start to see the truth of no differences/oneness/non-separateness beyond all the names and forms.

If we are becoming more calm, cheerful, positive, fearless and worry-less, not being affected by our likes and dislikes, and having less cravings and aversions, then know that we are on the right path. If we are becoming more grumpy, agitated, unhappy, depressed, negative, full of fear and worries, easily being affected by our likes and dislikes, and having more cravings and aversions, then know that we have moved away from the right path. If so, just be aware, let go the past, move back onto the right path, and move on with more vigor and correct understanding. There is no need to keep watching other people’s practice and progression, but always be aware of our own practice and progression on the path, without attachment, identification, judgment, comparison or expectation.

No Good No Bad

Non-dualism teaches us that there is no good, there is no bad, all are same and no differences. But many people either can’t understand about it or misunderstood about what does “neither good nor bad” really means?

In this human world of diversities, desires and temptations, everything (products and activities) is created by the mind to satisfy its characteristic of greed and craving for sensual pleasures and material enjoyments.

The mind is such an incredible machine that could create the internet, the electricity, the phone, the television, the microwave oven, the air-conditioner, the airplane, the space rocket, and all other stuffs.

When the first thing was being invented, it was just one type, one name, one form and one price. But very soon, the mind is bored with just one. And so, it had created different models, names, forms and prices. A car is not just a car. It is BMW, Mercedes, Jaguar, Toyota, Ford, Mitsubishi, Renault, and others. And within BMW itself, there are many different series of models. It is the same thing for all the other names. And then within one of the series itself, there are many different colours and accessories.

This is not just happening in car industries, it is the same thing happening in all industries, from food to computers, from fashions to yoga. All the endless diversities exist trying to satisfy the greed and craving of all the minds (the consumers). And diversities, greed, desires and cravings of the consumers are the great opportunity for the producers to make money (accumulate wealth) or take advantage out of it. All these high-tech creative products are not necessary a good thing for the environment, just to give some conveniences and enjoyments for the human beings, but at the same time, all these products are creating lots of damages to the environment as well, either directly or indirectly.

Since there are so many choices, there are lots of comparisons. And there isn’t something came out as the most perfected one, because there never will be one. Because there will be more and more new inventions coming up unceasingly. And even though there are so many choices to choose from, people are still not satisfied with what the entire business market already have.

Why?

Because all these objects and activities are the creation of the minds. The creators themselves are never satisfied. And the minds of the consumers are just the same, will never be satisfied. It is the characteristic of all minds that are under the influence of ignorance, egoism, impurities and restlessness to always be dissatisfied, and keep looking for new things and new excitements to satisfy their greed, desire and craving. The minds get bored easily. The minds change its likes and dislikes easily and regularly. The minds cannot sit still, not moving, not talking, not being curious, not expressing, and not thinking. Today the mind likes something red and fast, but tomorrow the mind might like something blue and slow. How can the mind be satisfied?

Everything in the world that were being created or produced by the mind, they have no qualities and no intentions of good and bad. Good and bad are the products of the mind. The mind projects into all the things out there under its good intention, the things appear to be having the quality of being good. If the mind projects all the things out there under its bad intention, the things appear to be having the quality of being bad.

All the judgments, comparisons, competitions, criticisms and expectations are coming from the mind, and all these habits in the mind have generated the duality of positive and negative, good and bad in themselves under different types of conception and perception.

For example, sweating and heat produced in the body while doing some physical activities. Some people like these sensations very much but some other people dislike them. Some people like the feeling of soreness after exercise while some others dislike the same type of soreness. The sweating, the heat and the soreness themselves have no intention to make people feel good or feel bad. They don’t have the quality to be good or to be bad. They are just being what they are, and it is up to the mind to perceive them as good sensations or bad sensations, as something comfortable or not comfortable. And then the ego will generates likes and dislikes, craving for the sensations that the ego likes and feels comfortable with, and aversion towards the sensations that the ego dislikes and feels not comfortable with. It is the same for tastes and smells, sounds and sights, touches/feels, emotions and thoughts, every single mind has different conception and perception about which type of tastes, smells, sounds, sights, touches, emotions, or thoughts that they think is good or bad. But all those names and forms themselves have no intention or quality to be something comfortable or not comfortable for anybody, and they don’t have the quality to be something good or bad. It is the conditioned and limited intellectual egoistic mind categorized them into comfortable or not comfortable, and labeled them as good or bad.

In fact the mind itself is just a selfless projector. It doesn’t has the intention to be good or bad, positive or negative, pure or impure. It is the function of the intellect functioning under the influence of ignorance and egoism and impurities, and the ego (the idea of 'I') that is born out of ignorance, that are creating all the differences of good and bad, negativity and positivity, purity and impurity in the mind. Once the mind is purified, where the intellect is purified, free from the conditioning influences of ignorance, egoism and impurities, and when the ego is eliminated, then this mind is a great tool for us to attain self-realization, to realize what is selflessness, non-separateness, love, peace, compassion, and wisdom. Love, peace, compassion and wisdom are always there within all and everyone. They are not something to be gained from the outside, of certain possessions, of certain identities, of certain achievements, of certain objects, of certain activities, of certain positions and directions, or from learning and studies. We just need to realize them from within ourselves.

When there is the presence of negativity in our mind, we need to have positivity to conquer these negativity. When there is no more negativity, we will realize that there is no positivity either, because there is no need to have positivity when there is no negativity. Positivity exists only when there is negativity, and vice versa.

There is no such thing being recognized as big if there is nothing smaller than it to be comparing with. And there is no such thing being recognized as fast if there is nothing slower than it to be comparing with.

It is the intention of the mind that had created so many good and bad in the world. People abuse drugs and alcohols, and thus drugs and alcohol are being labeled and recognized as something bad. But when come to medical field, drugs and alcohol have become something good and helpful in surgeries and medical treatments.

Good and bad exists only in our mind, not in the names and forms that we perceive through our senses.

That’s why it's highly important to discipline and purify one's mind until there is no more ignorance, egoism and impurities, and then we will know what does 'neither good nor bad' mean, and what does 'transcending' negative and positive mean.

We will know that duality exists only in the mind. Names and forms also exist only in the mind. Happiness and unhappiness also exist only in the mind. And thus, we will stop giving values or meanings to all the names and forms that our mind perceives through the senses, or whatever is happening within our physical body. Maybe the body is experiencing some illness, or injuries, or weaknesses in this present moment, but we don’t see these impermanent phenomena as something negative or bad anymore. We accept everything as they are, and accept the world as it is. Not trying to change anything, or trying to control anything out there, except for filtering or modifying our own modification of the mind, of thoughts, actions and speech. We can’t even own or control our own body and mind, how can we own and control others' body and mind? When impermanence strike, we will lose our youthfulness, memories, strength, flexibility, mobility, functions of the senses, the organs and the nerves, the muscles, the bone density, the good health, and the selfless impermanent worldly life existence.

It doesn’t matter how beautiful we are, how rich we are, how successful we are, and how knowledgeable and intelligent we are, no one can escape impermanence. And we don’t really own all these names and forms. They are just temporary being with us. Everything and every beings in this world have to go through impermanence and depending on the elements and energy to be existing here. Without the space, the sun, the earth, the water, and the air, we all won’t be here. We can’t even promise anything or judge anything because everything is undergoing changes all the time. The condition of the body and the mind of everyone is changing all the time. Every moment our body is experiencing different sensations and the mind is experiencing different thoughts and feelings. In one minute we could be feeling so good. In another minute we could be feeling so bad.

Know that all these selfless impermanent names and forms are the creations/projections of the mind. Watch the mind, and be the silent witness towards all these selfless impermanent phenomena, and not identifying or associating with them, and not giving any values or meanings to them, and stop generating desires of craving and aversion. Without desires of craving and aversion, there is no discontentment, irritation, frustration, disappointment, anger, fear and worry. And thus, we will be at peace and contented at all time.

May we all attain peace at this very moment by understand what is 'neither good nor bad'.

It doesn’t mean that since there is no god and no bad, we can do whatever we like, and hurt somebody intentionally without any emotion, or eat poisonous food, or drink alcohol and take drugs abusively.

 

It doesn't mean that we don't appreciate peace and harmony in ourselves and in the surrounding environment. It doesn't mean that we support or promote peacelessness and disharmony.

It is upon the annihilation of ignorance, egoism, impurities, and restlessness in this mind, there is no need to have goodness and positiveness to be countering badness and negativeness that doesn't exist in this mind. There is no craving towards goodness and positiveness, and there is no aversion towards badness and negativeness. It is when there is no suffering, there is no need to be free from suffering.

Om shanti.

About God And Religion

 

When we understood that everything is the same and no difference at all between existence and non existence, life and death, happiness and suffering, we will understand that it is doesn’t matter if there is a God or there is no God.

Anyway, if there's a God existence, God is infinite and indescribable. We all are depending on a source to be exist in this world. Lives are depending solely on the nature of different elements which are not in our own control. We are all the same when we have pain, sorrow, heart broken, disappointment, anger, jealousy, greed, wickedness, selfishness, aggressiveness, fear, worries, passion, lust, ignorance, arrogance, happiness, joy, love, compassion, good or evil intention, and all types of feelings and emotions, regardless of whether there is a God or no God, whether we believe in God or don’t believe in God.

We should respect everyone’s belief and no need to argue or debate about God and no God, ‘your’ God, ‘his’ God, or ‘my’ God. Anyway if there is a God, He does not belong to anybody, or any name and form that we human beings put on to Him. He doesn’t belong to any church or temple or any name and form that we give to those buildings that people go for prayers, rituals and contemplation.

He is He. He is not mine, not yours, not theirs. He is everyone’s guardian, parent, friend, lover, companion, healer, teacher or anything that we would like Him to be. Everyone deserves Him. It doesn’t matter when we think ourselves or others are good or not good. Because He is all pervading, all love and compassion, all powerful and infinite.

If we want to attain God, we need to purify our impurities and remove the discrimination of dualities. We need to know what is intentionlessness, non-duality, oneness, non-separateness, attributelessness, namelessness and formlessness. If we don’t understand what are these terms, then we are building up an invisible wall between God and us which prevents us to realize Him. We thought God didn’t love us. We would question God why did he allow so much suffering and unfair happenings in the world.

God is always here with us whether sometimes we are good and happy, and sometimes we are not so good and unhappy. Even when we are still full of impurities and ignorance, when we are being imperfect, whether our body is clean or dirty, whether we are sleeping or awake, God has never left us. He is always with us, guiding us and shows us the way to see Him or realize Him in our heart, not with this fleshy eyes. Because if it's the almighty God, God is nameless and formless without attributes. We can’t perceive Him through our fleshy eyes and the mind. Whether we believe there’s a God or not, He is always there unmoved by our little mind with qualities, names and forms. It doesn’t matter what languages are we speaking, what cultures are we having, what religions are we practicing, what nationality we have, God is still the same God at anytime and anywhere.

When we do realize Him, our heart is full of love, peace, joy, compassion and wisdom. There is no words that can express that in definite except being silent. We would repent all our past wrong doings but at the same time also forgive ourselves and let the past go. We would not ask anything from God if we truly realize Him. We would see Him in all and everything and everyone. We would be content. It is only when we don’t realize Him and perceive separation from Him, that we will pray to Him and ask for His blessings.

If it's the almighty God, God doesn’t live in a restricted building, or only be at some specific places in the world. He is everywhere and anywhere at all time, from ancient to the future, from before the beginning of existence to the period of existence and to destruction and after destruction. He is within us and without us. He is all pervading, all presence and all knowledge.

How can He be limited by us, human being, into certain name and form? How can He be limited in some small buildings on earth in so called church, or temple, or mosque, comparing to this vast space of unlimited infinite universe?

If we believe there is a God, and we believe in Him and love Him, how can we own Him selfishly and limit Him of his love, power, knowledge, presence and infinity only available to a particular quality of name and form? How can we use His name to hurt and torture other human being’s feelings and lives, and cause painful sorrow to others, physically and mentally, through generating invasion, wars and killings under the name of international boundary, caste, creed, sect and different names of religion, that discriminate all and everyone?

Some people need a God to be their guide in life, or else they will be lost in this ocean of ignorance, miseries and distractions.

Some people have found their own belief to be their guide to suit their own temperament and convenience, and some people have found their own Self to be the guide.

Are we not the same when death comes to us? Are we not the same when we are angry and have hatred? Are we all not the same when we cry and laugh? Are we all not the same when we want to love someone and want to be loved? Are we not the same when we are truly peaceful and compassionate?

Are we all not breathing the same air from the same space in the same universe?

Are we all not being alive by eating the food and drinking water coming from the same earth with the same sun shining on us?

Does the sun only shines on certain religion people and not to the others?

Is the air that we breathe in only accessible for ‘good’ people and not for ‘bad’ people?

Does the earth only allow certain human beings to step on it, to live on it and to put so much shit and rubbish on it, and not allowing other human beings who have different beliefs and religions to live on it?

When we lost someone that we loved so much, isn’t it the same painful sorrows for everyone with different religions, skin colours, castes, creeds, sects, languages, genders, sexual orientations, cultures, and levels of education and knowledge?

When we suffer headache, toothache, injuries or sickness, are we all not the same having pain and fear towards death and the unknown?

Every religion or philosophy talks about morality. All talk about love, peace, compassion, wisdom and selflessness. Why do human beings create so much problem and suffering out of discrimination for themselves and others? It's ignorance.

If we have established a firm discipline and self-control over our thoughts, speech and actions, we all are the same regardless of whether we believe or disbelieve in anything.

We will check all our out going thoughts, before we generate any speech and action, so that we will not harm or hurt anyone’s feelings, and will not create painful sorrow for other people, intentionally.

If there is one true religion, it is non-discriminative, purity, compassion and wisdom, it's accessible to all. All are the one same nature of impermanence and selflessness. When we realize the truth of neither good nor bad, or non-duality, it doesn’t mean that we can hurt somebody recklessly, or indulging in lustful desires and drug/intoxicant abuse, and hurt anybody’s feelings selfishly. It is about going beyond both quality of good and bad, and transcending happiness and unhappiness, enjoyment and suffering. It is void of intentional evil actions and free from craving/longing for generating and accumulating good karma from performing good actions.

It doesn’t matter if some people say that they don’t have any religion or don’t believe in spirituality at all, but maybe they are more spiritual than many people who call themselves spiritual and religious, and belong to a certain spirituality or religion. Not having a religion doesn’t mean that a person is not spiritual. Not being spiritual or religious doesn't mean that one is not peaceful, wise and compassionate. Being spiritual and religious doesn't mean that one is peaceful, wise and compassionate.

Just because it is called ‘religion’ or ’spirituality’, it should not be limited by the name and form to justify anyone is religious or spiritual, or not. It is something within us whether we are aware of it, or not, realize it, or not, calling it a religion or spirituality, or not.

It is the unconditional non-discriminative love, peace, compassion and wisdom that everyone has.

We should respect that everyone is free to do what they want to do, and think what they like to think, even if they intentionally harm themselves or others, but everyone will be responsible for the consequences of their every single action.

Everyone is free to do what they like and be responsible for themselves. Out of our own awareness, we have self-control so that our actions will not hurt other people and create painful sorrow for others, it doesn’t matter if they are our loved ones, or people that we don’t know, if we are sincere in walking the path of Yoga and want to achieve spiritual realization.

People argue about whether yoga is religious, or not. Some say yes, some say no. It really doesn’t matter if it is “religious” or “not religious”. Take away all those names and forms, and take away the mind, what left is just what it is.

May we all develop correct understanding and achieve unconditional peace and happiness in this world.

About Attachment

There are many types of attachments. It doesn’t matter if it is positive or negative attachment, it is still attachment and will bring dissatisfaction and suffering.

All attachments spring from the basic attachment towards the body and the mind, the ego and the intellect. Without the attachment towards all these things, we won’t be having any attachments towards anything at all. When we are not attached to any of the perceptions in the mind with the functions of the senses, all the dualities in the world can not disturb or influence us. We will be unaffected by the likes and dislikes of the ego and undisturbed by the differentiation of negativity and positivity that were created by the analytical intellect.

When we are not attached to our body, We will have no fears and worries at all. When we are not attached to the selfish ego (the lower self with impurities and ignorance), We will not have anger, hatred, jealousy, greed, arrogance, low self-esteem, depression, lust, or craving and aversion.

When we still attached to the ego, we will be craving for success, acknowledgment, recognition, acceptance, appreciation, agreement, praise, compliment, encouragement, good feedback, good comments, pleasurable sensations and always looking for an opportunity to express what we know and how we feel. We will be full of ambitions that we wanted to achieve. We will be very sensitive about what others think of us and whether other people will like us or not. We will be full of unhappiness, frustration, irritation and depression whenever we receive some bad comments and bad criticisms. We will want to justify ourselves and want to prove to the world that we are good and want to gain respect, love and attention from everybody in the world.

When we attached to the ego, the ego takes control of us and expresses good feelings or bad feelings about ourselves when we encounter with something so called good or bad experiences in life. Our self-confidence is being affected very much by the things that we can do and can not do, whether we are being loved by other people or not, whether we are successful or not, whether we are important to somebody or not, whether we are being recognized or not, or whether all the things in life happen according to our wishes or not.

Usually our self-confidence are depending on the values that are being conditioned by the conception and perception of the mind and the ego. True confidence derived from independence and non-attachment towards the mind and the ego. There is no trace of low self-esteem or “I am good”, “I am bad” or “I am not good enough”. It is confidence without arrogance and selfishness.

When we attached to the mind, We will be changing from happy to unhappy and from unhappy to happy, from depressed to elevated, from elevated to depressed, whenever the mind perceives something which “makes” us happy or unhappy. Our mood is going up and down constantly. And If we attached to these moods of us and react according to all our good and bad feelings, and thus generating instability in our mind, which prevent us from experiencing peacefulness in the heart, and thus preventing wisdom to arise.

We thought that it was the things happening out there that are giving us happiness and unhappiness. But in fact it was because we are attached to the mind and whatever it perceives through the senses, for what we see, hear, smell, taste, feel and think.

Once we let go of this attachment, our heart will always be at peace, not being affected or disturbed by what is happening outside the body, and inside the body. It is like when our lives is encountering hardships and difficulties, we will still remain untouched and remain calm and peaceful. When our body is experiencing pain and discomforts or sickness, we will still remain equanomous and be at peace.

Attachment towards material and sensual enjoyments is definitely bringing lots of dissatisfaction and greed into our heart. Attachment towards praise and censures is making our confidence going up and down, and always being affected by low self-esteem and pride. When we have true confidence, there is no low self-esteem and pride.

Attachment towards achievements in spiritual practice also will bring lots of obstacles in the path towards self-realization.

It doesn’t matter what types of attachment it is, it will only bring disturbance to our heart and have no peace. We will be full of fears and worries, likes and dislikes, wants and don’t wants.

May we all be free from all attachments and be really free.

About Detachment

The real detachment is about non-attachment towards what the mind perceives through the senses, and letting go attachment and identification towards the worldly passionate egoistic social, cultural, tribal, spiritual, religious, political, national or commercial thinking, belief, values and practice.

The thinking mind stops identifying with the body, the modifications of the mind, the ego and the intellect.

Whatever feelings, sensations and thoughts arise in the body and mind, there's no attachment and identification towards them, without association with them and without expectation towards them.

Whatever we see, hear, smell, taste, touch, feel and think, we treat all the same and remain equanimous.

Detaching from praise and censure, success and failure, gain and loss, heat and cold, likes and dislikes, good and bad, positive and negative, elation and depression, happiness and unhappiness, enjoyment and suffering, birth and death.

Detaching from duality and the impermanent qualities of names and forms, is the real detachment.

May we all attain true freedom by practice detachment. Free from ignorance, egoism, impurities of anger, hatred, jealousy, greed, lust, pride, arrogance, self-esteem, offensiveness, defensiveness, hostility, animosity, fear, worry, desire of cravings and aversions, ambitions and aspirations.

About Avidya - Ignorance

It is because of ignorance, we are here experiencing a worldly life of names and forms through this body with this ego and this mind. Due to ignorance, we have attachment to this body, this ego, this mind and everything that the mind perceives through the organs of sense. We attached to what we see, what we hear, what we smell, what we taste, what we feel and what we think. And so we generate lots of likes and dislikes, cravings and aversions which bring us lots of irritations, frustrations, anger, hatred, desires, jealousy, greed, depression, dissatisfaction and disappointment. And thus suffering occurs.

Due to ignorance, we don’t know what is real and unreal, what is right and wrong, what is should do and shouldn’t do. We take right as wrong and take wrong as right.

Due to ignorance, we do not know that we are so ignorant and think that we are so smart and intelligent. We also think that we know a lots and being proud and arrogant, thinking that we are better than someone else and we deserve some kind of respect from other living beings.

The cause or source of suffering or unhappiness is non other than ignorance.

The only tool that can remove ignorance is wisdom.

To attain wisdom, one must go through purification and self-control over the thoughts, actions and speech. One must first endowed with humility and letting go of selfishness, pride and arrogance.

Then one will learn to develop detachment, dispassion and discrimination. And then one must practice concentration, calmness, peacefulness and equality. Then it will follow by meditation and develop insight and self-awareness. And then wisdom will appear to us naturally.

The wisdom is always within us. But due to the veil of ignorance, we are ignorant of it. It is the same with all beings with different names and forms, we all are having the same wisdom – knowledge of the Truth within us.

When wisdom arise, there is no more ignorance. It is like when a dark room is filled with light, the darkness will disappear.

The sun is always there shinning all the time, but due to the spinning rhythm of the earth, we have the experience of night and day.

The moon is always round but due to the shadow of the earth projects onto it, it seems not round some of the times.

Movement itself is not slow or fast, but when the mind start to have comparison, the conception of this is slow and that is fast is being produced.

Appearance itself has no quality of beautiful or ugliness, but when the mind is being conditioned by the conception of an image being valued as beautiful and which is different from that image is ugliness, then the mind will perceive this image as beautiful and that image as ugliness.

If the mind just being aware of all the differences but not generating likes and dislikes, positives and negatives, and cravings and aversions, then there shall be no attachments, no problems and no suffering. But the mind doesn’t act this way, not until we have reconditioned the habits and characteristics of the mind.

And so, Yoga and all its practices are here to help us to have the ability to control over the mind – which leads to the control of the actions and speech, and ultimately lead us to purification of the mind and to return to the state of unconditioned, pure and attribute-less.

May we all attain wisdom through Yoga practice and free from ignorance.

About Karma

Not everyone will believe in Karma, or more precisely, what people are confused with the nature's law of cause and effect (actions and the consequences of actions). Karma has become part of the superstitious belief in certain religions or cultures being limited and conditioned by the particular belief, values and practice about what is good or bad and right or wrong, however, the nature's law of cause and effect is not a belief, and it's nothing to do with the worldly thinking and belief about what is good or bad, right or wrong.

 

There are those who believe in everything is the act or the will of 'the creator of the universe', it's nothing to do with my actions and the consequences of my actions. It makes the minds feel better about themselves and everything, when they put the responsibility onto 'someone' else. It is fine, because everyone are free to have their own faiths and beliefs. One should respect that not everyone will believe in what one believes. One cannot force anyone to believe in something that they don’t believe in.

 

Although Karma is part of the belief or teachings in certain religion, or spirituality, or culture, while the nature's law of cause and effect, is nothing to do with belief or disbelief, it's just what and how things are, selflessly changing impermanently, influenced by the existing cause.

To know the Truth, it is not by reading books and philosophies, and it is not because the scriptures say so or our teacher says so. It should be coming from our own insight or direct experience towards seeing the Truth as it is, then it is the real Truth.

For example, maybe we don’t really know what will happen to us after the death of this physical body but we have heard from somewhere about Buddhas and Yogis – the enlightened Self, talked about the selfless reincarnation, more precisely, it's the restless selfless impermanent changes in the names and forms that are happening accordingly to different Karma (cause and effect) and intentions that we all had created for ourselves, either wittingly or unwittingly. Due to ignorance, there are many things that we don’t know, but we have had heard lots of different types of talking, or study, or discussion, about them. And we cannot say that it is true or untrue because we are ignorant towards the truth of it. We have to find out the Truth through our own practice of purifying, disciplining and quieting the mind, self-inquiry, meditation and self-realization, then we will know that whether something is true or untrue. Even though an enlightened being told us all about the Truth, we still have to find out by ourselves through self-inquiry and self-realization.

Yoga and Buddhism teach us about the law of cause and effect (actions and consequences of actions), which is the main force that is influencing our life, our personality, our desire, our actions and fruit of actions, and our worldly life experiences through our past accumulated boundless karma, or more precisely, boundless cause that is leading to effect, according to our previous intentions, desires, thoughts, actions and speech. And our present intentions, desires, thoughts, actions and speech will generate the cause (planting the seeds) that will determine our upcoming existence, personality and life experiences. Good and pleasant cause will bring good and pleasant experiences while bad and unpleasant cause will bring bad and unpleasant experiences.

From the surface, it seems like we are not free because we are bound by this law of Karma. But it is not really like that. It is because it is our own self that is creating the Karma (planting the seeds) for ourselves. If we do good, we will create good Karma. If we do bad, we will create bad Karma. According to the worldly religious/spiritual/cultural belief, values and practice, if we want to have good life and happiness in life, we can actually work on our intentions, desires, thoughts, actions and speech to create the type of life and experiences that we want. And what everyone think and believe what is good and bad, might be very different from one another. And hence, it's not accurate to judge that this is good karma or that is bad karma.

While the Yoga and Buddhism teachings do not stop at this level.

They teach us how to transcend both good and bad Karma (the perception of goodness and badness, positiveness and negativeness, pleasantness and unpleasantness) through the realization of selflessness, through mind purification to remove the veil of ignorance and impurities, the annihilation of the idea of 'I' and egoism, and renouncing from the fruit of actions.

 

More importantly is that in the many different thinking and beliefs in the world about what is good and bad, right and wrong, can be very different from one another. And hence, it's not about what the minds think and believe is good and right actions based on their particular thinking and belief, will bring pleasant and desirable consequences (pleasantness) in return, or what the minds think and believe is bad and wrong actions, will bring unpleasant and undesirable consequences (unpleasantness) in return.

 

Meanwhile many people like to use the word 'Karma' to threaten other people, as well as to be the excuse for oneself to inflict 'punishment' or 'abuse' onto other people out of one's desire, lust, anger and disagreement. "I am acting on behalf of 'the authority of the universe' or 'the creator of the universe' to punish you for your bad and wrongful behavior. You deserve some punishment because of your bad Karma (sin) for not obeying my wish, going against my desire, disagreeing with me, offending and disrespecting me."

Yoga and Buddhism teach us to go beyond good and bad Karma, to be detached from the perception of duality, and to go beyond all the different qualities of names and forms that are selfless and impermanent. They teach us that we don’t need to runaway from suffering or chasing after happiness and pleasurable enjoyment. They teach us to go beyond suffering and happiness/pleasurable enjoyment, be free from attachment, identification and the desire of craving and aversion, to uncover the unconditional peace beyond the pleasant and unpleasant states of the mind, or realizing selflessness of eternal bliss, unlimited wisdom and unconditional existence.

 

The minds that realized selflessness and impermanence, are not being determined or affected by Karma, cause and effect, or actions and the fruit of actions. That is real freedom, being undisturbed by pleasantness and unpleasantness, or desirable and undesirable experiences. It doesn't mean that one will have no self-control to be doing all kinds of actions that would hurt oneself and others and the surrounding environment, deliberately or randomly. One is performing actions that would bring benefits to oneself, others and the surrounding environment, but without craving towards the fruit of actions have to be something good, desirable and pleasant. One is not performing actions that would hurt oneself, others or the surrounding environment, without aversion towards the fruit of actions is something bad, undesirable and unpleasant.

May we all transcend duality, go beyond both good and bad Karma, or transcending the nature's law of cause and effect, be free from ignorance and egoism, and be really free.

About Purification

Purification is the main practice of yoga and also the fundamental practice for all kinds of religions and faiths. All the asana practice, pranayama, observations, restraints, concentration and meditation are to help us to purify the mind. However, what is purification in yoga and/or buddhism can be very different from the purification in the many religions and faiths.

The purification in the many religions and faiths of the world of ignorance and egoism is mostly about self-righteous morality that is not necessarily the truth of what things are, which might generate many unnecessary discrimination, prejudice, hatred, oppression and violence towards certain names and forms that the minds dislike and disagree with based on that particular belief, values and practice.

We need to clean our body once or twice everyday as well as our house and the living environment for hygienic reason and comfort.

But the cleanliness of our mind is far more important than the cleanliness of the body and the environment. The process of cleaning the mind is called mind purification. Be wise not to be cheated by the appearance of a person. A person who looks neat and clean from the appearance, might be full of impure thoughts in the mind, while a person who looks messy and dirty on the appearance might be a pure saint inside the mind.

That’s why we can’t judge anybody from their looks, their actions and speech, and even not what they do and don't do. An impure person can be a very good actor. And a pure saint cannot be recognized or defined from his appearance or his behaviors. It is a huge ignorance to judge a person and labeling people with the tag of good and bad.

We need to sweep away those impurities in our mind from moment to moment and yet there is still impurities arising all the time. It is like when we had finished sweeping away the dead leaves on the ground in the garden, immediately there are others dead leaves lying on the ground again because the trees are still there continue to produce new leaves – liked wise, the ignorance and egoism in us continues to produce impurities in our mind unceasingly. With great patience, we are repeating the sweeping and cleaning action again and again unceasingly and might be getting frustrated and tired. And hence, the mind purification is not just about sweeping the impurities in the mind, but to root out the ignorance and egoism that give rise to ceaseless impurities.

This is an on going practice for everyone until there is no more dead leaves being produced, the root of the tree is dead and stop producing leaves – liked wise, the root of ignorance is being rooted out and no more impurities would be arising in our mind.

Some people think that if they go to a temple or sacred places for a trip, do some prayers or take a sacred bath, and their sins or bad luck will all be washed away. But in their minds might be still full of impurities and ignorance, and when they went home, they will still continue to have impure thoughts, actions and speech. This doesn’t really work at all. 

Similarly, performing all kinds of yoga and meditation practice regularly gaining many effects or physical and mental health and fitness benefits but without eradicate ignorance and egoism from the mind, also doesn't lead to the liberation from ignorance and egoism.

If we really want to have goodness in our lives, we need to have self-control over our impatience, anger, hatred, jealousy, arrogance, greed and lust. We need to stop speaking harsh words and lies, mocking, teasing, slandering, gossiping, condemning or indulging in impure and meaningless conversations. We need to check our thoughts before we act and speak. Our actions and speech should be promoting peace and harmony for other people and for our own self. If we are not able to bring any peace or harmony to other people or to our own self through certain speech and actions, then it is better that we remain non-action and speechless, but sending our good-will and kind thoughts to all the living beings out there.

If we always have ill-will or evil thinking towards other people, we are actually producing similar energy fields in ourselves and in our lives. And if we only have good-will and kind thoughts towards other people without discrimination of good and bad people, or people whom we like or don’t like, and people whom we know or don't know, then we are producing similar energy fields in ourselves and in our lives.

The real purity is attribute-less without any qualities. It is without negativity or positivity. There's no craving towards positivity and there's no aversion towards negativity.

We don’t need any good luck or positive energy to give us goodness and happiness in life. Because we are content and at peace as we are, if we are free from ignorance and egoism, and are wise.

We don’t see any thing so called “bad” as bad, or any so called “unhappiness” as unhappiness, because we see beyond all the impermanent qualities of names and forms. Everything that is being categorized into good and bad, happiness and unhappiness under the perception of duality in our mind, are being seen as same and no differences under the wisdom of impermanence, non-self, uncertainty, non-separateness, attributelessness, namelessness and formlessness.

May we all return to the state of purity, and be free.

About Impermanence

Anything that has a beginning will have an ending. Anything that exists will have to go through forming, sustaining, decaying and disappearing. Anything that we are perceiving through our minds and the senses are constantly changing from moment to moment. This is the law of impermanence.

There is nothing wrong or bad with impermanence. If we know impermanence and know to accept the law of impermanence, there will be no suffering for us. The basic wisdom to transcend suffering is to know and to accept the law of impermanence.

Everything including the thoughts, the feelings, the emotions, and the things that we like and dislike about the taste, the smell, the touch, the sight and the sound are constantly changing from one moment to another.

The condition of our physical body and the happenings in our lives are changing from the moment we were born until the moment we meet death to this present physical body. We won’t be the same every moments – our health, strength and flexibility, what we can do and cannot do, and what we like and dislike.

By knowing the law of impermanence, we learn to be an observer to all the phenomena that are happening in the world, and also to our own mind, thoughts and feelings – whether good or bad, and not generating any likes and dislikes, cravings and aversions towards all these things. We learn to not attach towards any of the sights, smells, tastes, sounds, and sensations that our mind perceived through the senses – whether comfortable or not comfortable.

We will stop judging anything because there is no certainty in everything. Everything is changing from good to bad, from bad to good, from non-existence to existence, and from existence to non-existence. We will accept ourselves as we are in this present moment and accept other people as they are in this present moment – whether good or bad, happy or unhappy.

We will stop comparing ourselves with ourselves of our past performances because every moment the condition of our mind and the body, how we feel, and what we can do and cannot do, are constantly changing.

We will stop comparing ourselves with other people as well, because every individual has his or her own unique personality and talents, and everyone has different mentality and physical body. Although, all and everyone is the same under the nature's law of creation and destruction (cause and effect), and all are selfless and impermanent.

We will stop having any expectation towards anything and anybody because we know that everything are being governed by the law of cause and effect and impermanence. We just do our best to give and serve, but we will renounce the fruit of actions.

We also know how to appreciate good things and good relationships with the people, other living beings and the nature. We will know how to be content and control or limit our greed and desires.

If we really know and respect impermanence, we will be free from fear and worry.

There will be no anger, hatred, jealousy, greed, pride, and arrogance. We know that we don’t have to give any values or meanings to any praise or censure. We will not be determined or disturbed by any good compliments or bad criticism from anybody. We will be full of confidence but remain humble.

We will know that we are not this body, we are not this mind, we are not these feelings and thoughts, and this life and this body doesn’t really belong to what we think is 'I', and their existence is very temporary. This physical body and the function of the perceptive thinking mind are just temporary being here to experience impermanent selfless life existence, and to realize about selflessness or egolessness. Our actions are being done selflessly, and free from the binding of so called 'good or bad karma' if we know what is selflessness, attributelessness, namelessness, and formlessness. We know that the selfless universal consciousness or the silent witness, where all kinds of names and forms ceaselessly arising, changing, and passing away upon it, is untouched or unaffected by impermanence, impurities, births and deaths, good and bad, and names and forms.

Whenever there is any impurities arise in our minds, we will have self-awareness and have self-control over our thoughts, actions and speech. We stop identify with all the impurities or thought activities, and not reacting towards all these selfless impermanent thoughts and feelings arising, changing, and passing away in the mind.

We stop categorize beings, things and happenings into good and bad. We can detach from what we think and believe is good and bad. We will not do anything that will cause unpeacefulness and disharmony for other living beings and our own self. We will perform actions that will bring peace and harmony to other living beings and to our own self without identification with our actions, and we renounce the fruit of actions (non-attachment, non-identification, non-craving, non-aversion, non-judgment, and non-expectation).

We also don’t have any obligation to perform any actions as well, if we know what is action in inaction, and inaction in action (selfless intentionless action). Whatever we do or don't do, is not a performance or obligation to show to ourselves and other people about whether we are doing something good or not doing anything bad, or whether we are performing our duties and responsibilities, or not.

We don’t have to prove to anyone to gain love, support, agreement, understanding, trust, confidence, acknowledgement, recognition, approval, praise, appreciation, or respect.

We will live in peace and harmony with all the diverse living beings in the world without the discrimination of good and evil, of our family/friends/community and not our family/friends/community. Under the eyes of wisdom, there is no such thing as good or evil, positive or negative, happiness or unhappiness, meaningfulness or meaninglessness, success or failure, deserving or undeserving, friends or not friends, and etc. There's only whether the minds are functioning under the influence of ignorance, or not.

If we truly know impermanence, we will be free from the craving and aversion towards happiness and unhappiness, or easiness and difficulty.

We don’t have to own/possess anything, or longing/craving for anything but still be able to enjoy what is there for us, without attachment. We are at peace and content, as we are.

 

The understanding towards impermanence will eventually lead to the realization towards selflessness, where there is no 'I' existing in all kinds of names and forms. There is no 'I' in this body and mind. There is no 'I' to be happy or unhappy. There is no 'I' to be enjoying or suffering. There is no 'I' to be undergoing impermanent changes, or births and deaths.

May we all know this great wisdom of impermanence, and be free...

 

Inquire the truth of everything.

About Yoga Teachers

There are many yoga teacher training schools and yoga teachers in the world nowadays. It is a good thing to encourage more people to be involving in yoga practice and sharing yoga with many others.

Basically anyone also can walk the path of Yoga as well as sharing the journey, the joy and wisdom, and the benefits of Yoga with other people. It's not necessarily that everyone who wish to share their very own personal experiences and insights that they acquired from their sincere practice of Yoga have to go through a so called recognized yoga school or ashram, to attain some paper certificates or recognition to qualify or allow them to share Yoga with others. Because self-realization or enlightenment is not to be found in any school or ashram, but it is within us, our inner Self, and it cannot be issued or guaranteed by anyone or any organizations, but it depends on our very own sincere practice and self-inquiry. A person who doesn’t know how to read and write or speak any languages, or hasn’t gone to any formal educational or training school, may still attain self-realization from within.

The real school, real ashram, real teacher and real 'God' is all these that the mind is perceiving now. There is no need any paper certifications, or recognition, or qualifications for an enlightened mind to share Yoga or Dharma with any living beings within the world or out of the world. We don’t learn compassion and wisdom from a school or ashram, but it is in our life and in our own practice and realization. No one taught us about happiness and suffering, no one can give us happiness and suffering, it is all within our own mind. Attachment and non-attachment, likes and dislikes, happen every moment in our mind. It has nothing to do with our teachers, the schools or the ashrams.

But yoga schools and ashrams are a place for anybody who wish to learn about yoga and to build a firm foundation for our own practice, not so much about the skill of teaching yoga to others. Because as we advanced in our own practice and attained insights or direct realization, naturally we will know how to guide others into yoga practice and sharing the wisdom of yoga with others. We all are naturally a “yoga teacher” if we want to call ourselves with such a name, if we have loving kindness, compassion and wisdom, and are sincerely and selflessly helping others to come out from miseries and to walk the path towards self-realization. In the journey of Yoga, we will learn how to go beyond all the qualities of names and forms, and realize selflessness.

Most important is that, anybody who wants to become a yoga teacher need to have correct understanding, purity and compassion for sharing the knowledge of yoga and the practice with other living beings. It doesn’t matter if we are not perfect yet.

But before we are able to share this knowledge with others, we should have had a deep understanding of the yoga philosophy and have had direct personal experiences in the yoga practice before we can actually guide others onto the path of yoga. We should be teaching and not preaching.

Teaching yoga is definitely not a worldly profession or a job like being a fitness instructor in a fitness club teaching exercise classes for passion, money and fame (though there is nothing wrong with this), but it is to be able to share the wisdom of yoga with other people who are in search for true happiness and to guide them how to transcend suffering – as a selfless service to all the living beings even though we may be receiving some fees/payment from teaching classes to maintain our living and for ourselves to continue learning.

Yoga classes are part of the practice for self-evolution, self-purification and self-transformation regardless of whether we are having different spirituality and religious belief and practice from one another, or not having any spiritual or religious belief and practice at all, and not just stopping at the surface of physical trainings or fitness activities.

The main practice is self-control, discipline, self-reliance, self-inquiry, dispassion, renunciation, silence, purification, concentration and meditation. All these will lead us to attain wisdom and self-realization.

Purification is about eliminating ignorance and egoism, restlessness and impurities from the mind, such like selfishness, anger, hatred, lust, greed, jealousy, dissatisfaction, disappointment, hurt, resentment, pride, arrogance, attachment, identification, craving, aversion, expectation, evil thinking, actions and speech, grief, regret, guilt, fears and worries, and etc.

The main teaching of Yoga is truthfulness, self-realization, selflessness, non-separateness, non-duality, non-attachment, non-identification, and control of the mind, which also leads to control of the actions and speech.

Selflessness is the nature of everything. The mind will realize selflessness through eliminating the ego and egoism, non-attachment and non-identification with the body and mind, desire of craving and aversion, as well as renouncing from the fruit of actions.

Non-duality is about non-attachment towards the impermanent good and bad qualities of names and forms, the likes and dislikes or craving and aversion of the body and mind upon coming in contact with comfortable and dis-comfortable/agreeable and disagreeable names and forms perceived through the senses. It is going beyond what the mind perceives as good and bad, positive and negative, pure and impure, success and failure, praise and censure, happiness and suffering, meaningfulness and meaninglessness.

As yoga teachers, we should possess the qualities of truthfulness, cheerfulness, patience, loving kindness, compassion, wisdom, open-mindedness, self-independence, equanimity, courage, humility, gratitude, adaptation, tolerance, correct understanding, right effort, respect, acceptance, forgiveness, non-judging, non-comparing, non-competing, non-criticizing, non-expecting, calmness, peacefulness, selflessness, purity of thoughts, actions and speech, non-attachment, non-identification, desirelessness, dispassion, fearlessness and worry-lessness.

It is not so much about achieving perfection of the strength and flexibility of the physical body (because no matter how strong and flexible we are and can we perform highly skillful and complicated Asana poses, this physical body will still have to go through old age, decay, illness and death (impermanence) – there should be void of identification with the physical body and the mind as 'I'), while appreciating the good health and the strong and flexible body to be performing selfless service and for our own self-inquiry to be attaining self-realization.

It doesn’t matter about what type of qualifications or certifications that a yoga teacher had acquired from which school or ashram, it doesn’t really indicate that we are good and genuine yoga teacher or not. It doesn’t guarantee us self-realization or enlightenment (it depends mainly on our own effort, understanding, practice and direct experience). It is not that someone who has been giving yoga classes for a long time will be more experienced or is better than someone who had just started practicing and teaching. It depends very much on his or her own practice and correct understanding towards the teachings of Yoga, and also his or her pure intention to share yoga with all. There’s no such thing as “good yoga teacher” or “bad yoga teacher”. There should be no comparison, no competition, and no criticism among yoga teachers. Yoga schools and yoga centers are not supposed to be a money making business and having competition and jealousy among themselves. Everyone are sincerely sharing the wisdom of yoga with different people who have different conditions, personalities, needs and wants.

 

We all are merely the instrument to help spreading the teachings of yoga to other living beings who are interested in the path of Yoga. We all are learning from each other and whatever we do, it should be ego-less, renounce from the fruit of actions and to go beyond all the qualities of names and forms. There is no superiority as a yoga teacher or advanced practitioner, and there is no inferiority as a yoga student or beginner practitioner. Beyond all the different qualities of names and forms, beyond the veil of ignorance and egoism, we all are the same, selfless and impermanent, attributeless, beginning-less and endless.

May we bring peace and happiness to all living beings and move towards self-realization together. Our duty is to promote unconditional love, peace and harmony into the world of ignorance and suffering deriving from ignorance.