Looking for yoga?

It's common that people who are interested in yoga and have the desire to learn and practice yoga in order to know what yoga really is about, they will try to go to a 'place', or 'school', or 'ashram', or 'person', where they think and expect that it would deliver them what they are looking for. Some people might found what they were looking for. But for some others, they are disappointed as they couldn't find what they are looking for.

It is not whether a particular place, or school, or ashram, or person, has the power or quality to make people 'see' or 'find' yoga, or not. People might go to the same place, or same school, or same ashram, or same person, and some would 'find' yoga there, while others couldn't. This is due to whether our minds are being opened, or not.

Yoga could be 'found' or 'seen' in anywhere and everywhere, but, if we try to look for yoga in a particular place, or school, or ashram, or person, most likely we will be disappointed, because the mind is not opened. But, when we let go of any expectation towards 'finding yoga' in a particular place, school, ashram, or person, and stop trying to look for yoga in a particular place, school, ashram, or person, but, just allowing our minds to be open and observe what is going on in our own minds, in this present, from moment to moment, observing all the impermanent changes of the states of mind, actions and reactions, thoughts and feelings that ceaselessly coming and going which are not in the control of 'I' of how 'I' would like it to be, we will start to 'see' yoga here and there, anywhere and everywhere. There's no separation from yoga. There's no 'I' am looking for 'yoga', or, 'I' found 'yoga'.

The eyes serve as a tool to 'see' lots of names and forms of different shapes and colours, but it can't 'see' itself. And yet, it was never being separated from itself.

Freedom of thinking, action and speech?

We want to be able to have freedom of thinking, action and speech. That's what most people fight for from ancient until now. When we want to be able to express ourselves through thinking, action and speech freely, do we also allow other people to express themselves through thinking, action and speech freely, even though we might not like and might not agree with their thinking, action and speech? Do we easily or automatically be disturbed, offended, angry and unhappy when we hear or see something that we cannot agree with or we think it's insulting or disrespecting? Do we want to be free from disturbs, anger, disappointment, dissatisfaction, restlessness and unhappiness? Do we really want to have peace? Or, do we actually enjoy all the disturbs, anger, disappointment, dissatisfaction, restlessness and unhappiness, and don't really like peace (as it seems to be quite boring without excitement and stimulation.)

There's nothing wrong with expressing our thinking and points of view about our agreements and disagreements, about what we believe as right and wrong, and to discuss or debate about certain subject freely. That's the natural habit of the mind. That's what a mind does to 'feel' being existing, to be acknowledged by itself and the world of its existence.

 

It's not just about we want to have freedom of thinking, action, expression and speech, but we must also understand that all actions will bring desirable/undesirable or expected/unexpected consequences of action. There will be agreeable/disagreeable and pleasant/unpleasant reactions coming from other people of different backgrounds reacting towards our thinking, action, expression and speech.

When we only allow ourselves to have freedom of thinking, action and speech, to believe in whatever we want to believe, to do whatever we want to do, and to express or say whatever we want to express or say, even if it appears to be insulting/disrespecting/offensive towards certain things for certain people of different background, but at the same time, we don't allow other people to have freedom of thinking, action, expression and speech, or to react in certain way towards our thinking, action, expression and speech, and we want to 'correct' their thinking, action/reaction and speech to be the way that we think it should be, the way that we like and agree with, and that is what the world is happening now - it starts with disagreements, then arguments, clashes, unrest, hatred, violence, wars, killing, torturing, and etc.

If someone needs to 'change' or 'be corrected', it has to come from oneself being aware of there's something in oneself that needs to be 'changed' or 'corrected', and willingly to 'change' or 'correct' what needs to be 'changed' or 'corrected' by oneself, and it's not coming from other beings trying to 'change' or 'correct' another being.

When we practice yoga and meditation, we are changing the habits of this mind (our own mind, not other people's mind). We are silencing the mind. When the mind is silent, turning inward resting in the chamber of the heart, wave-less/action-less, what is freedom of thinking, action, expression and speech?

Taming and quieting the busy outgoing self-righteous expressive mind is our yoga and meditation practice. The rest are just 'toys' to bring the attention of the mind into this present moment.

That's why the observance of silence is the most important practice in meditation retreat. It doesn't matter whether we are intellectual or not, it doesn't matter we are whom we think we are, it doesn't matter how healthy, strong and flexible is our physical body and what it can do or cannot do, it doesn't matter we have been to a yoga school or not, or have studied and learned under which Guru or which school, it doesn't matter how long we have been studying and practicing yoga and meditation, it doesn't matter how much we know or don't know about this and that, it doesn't matter what we believe what things are and how things should be, we all do one same practice. We silent/withdraw the thought-waves (the mind), the organ of action (the body) and the organ of speech (the expression).

When we see, or hear, or smell, or taste, or touch, or think about something that we like or dislike, agree or disagree with, we observe, be aware. Just observe and be aware, without identification, without attachment, without reacting, without judging, without anticipating, without craving, without aversion, without clinging, without rejecting. This practice might take some time to be effortless. But then our mind will taste freedom and peace. Real freedom and unconditional peace. Freedom from ignorance, egoism, attachment, desire and impurities (in short, suffering).

Freedom of thinking, action and speech is there when we have the clarity and understanding to decide or choose what we want to think, act/react, express and say, or not. Being able to decide/choose what to think, act/react, express and say, and what not to think, act/react, express and say, is the real freedom of thinking, action, expression and speech. It's not about being able to think, act/react, express and say anything and everything freely, even if it will cause painful sorrow/suffering to ourselves and/or other beings.

 

Just like we can choose to keep our hands away from contacting with fire directly because we don't want to suffer injury or pain from being burnt by fire. It doesn't mean that we are lack of freedom of action when we choose not to perform certain action that will cause injury or pain to oneself and/or others, thinking that freedom of action means, "I want to be able to do whatever I want to do, such as be able to put my hands into the fire for as long as I want and I expect myself not getting injury or pain from being burnt." That's ignorance, not freedom at all.

Om shanti.

If the body is still, the mind is also still? Not necessarily...

Some people who practice yoga and meditation believe that if the physical body is moving or is in action, then this indicates that the mind is also moving, is agitated or is not calm... That's why they believe that by controlling the physical body, by not moving the body or by slowing down the physical movements of the body will render the mind calm.

Well, definitely there is an intimate relationship between the mind and the body that they both are very much influencing each other, affecting each other in many ways.

That's why we have yoga practice to use the physical body as a tool to influence the state of the mind. In yoga practice, we have sitting meditation practice to restrict the bodily movements, we have pranayama to control the breath (related directly to the states of the mind), and in yoga asana practice, we are holding still in the asana poses for as long as possible comfortably to help to influence the mind to render it calm and quiet.

But, for those who know what is yoga and meditation, they know that it is not necessarily that if the body is still and not moving, that the mind will definitely be still and not moving as well. Like wise, it is also not necessarily that if the physical body is moving or in action, that the mind must be restless or agitated.

It means that, even though the physical body is in motion, is moving, is in action, the mind can still remain calm and quiet as well. For those who have mastered the mind or have gone beyond the mind, and being undisturbed or undetermined by the impermanent conditions of the physical body, then there is no difference whether the physical body is performing some actions, or not, the mind is always calm and quiet, being free from restlessness, agitation or stimulation.

It doesn't matter when we are lying, sitting, standing, walking, resting, playing, driving, talking, eating, the mind remains calm, not wavering here and there, being aware of the very present moment now, being free from the past and the future, free from duality, free from attachment, free from craving and aversion, free from impurities, then we are meditating.

That is what real meditation is about.

This life existence having this impermanent physical body, it cannot avoid physical activities or movements or actions. But for those who know what is meditation, then there is not a single moment that we are not meditating, even though the physical body is full of actions most of the time. If there are moments when the mind doesn't stand as an observer of the activities in the mind, but it generates attachment towards all the names and forms, and be determined and disturbed by the perception of names and forms, then the mind is not in meditation anymore.

Even though our physical body might not be moving, it is sitting or lying still, or the bodily actions is being restricted, the mind can still be busy and restless, having ceaseless thought waves arising and passing away, and be over-powered by impurities.

By sitting for meditation and observing the mind, we'll find out that even when our body is not moving, not doing any physical activities, but the mind can still be very busy with thoughts and imaginations, is agitated and restless all the time.

And so, it is not about not moving the body, or moving in slow motion, that will determine that the mind will also be calm and quiet.

And hence, when we see someone who is very active in life, always in motion and speedy action, but his or her mind might be very calm and at peace.

And when we see somebody who moves slowly or not moving at all (being lazy, or low energy, or asleep), but his or her mind might be full of actions all the time, thinking about this and that, reacting towards all the names and forms that it likes and dislikes.

It is possible that some people are performing some 'good' actions from the appearance, but there might be impurities and selfish intentions in the mind.

That's why, there is no judgment or expectation towards anyone from their appearance, about what they do and don't do.

Om shanti.