Search results for: "Equanimity"

  1. The Equanimity of a Winner
    The Equanimity of a Winner June 12, 2020 There are some ideas about equanimity going around that give it a bad name. One is the idea that if you fight your negative emotions, fight your defilements, it’s going to be stressful—and the Buddha taught us not to cause stress, right?—so we shouldn’t put up a fight. That’s what they … 
  2. Equanimity on the Path
     … Sometimes pain; sometimes pleasure; sometimes equanimity. What makes it “middle” is that you gain a real sense of what’s appropriate, what’s just right. So practice equanimity in a just-right way. That’s how you can arrive at something much greater than equanimity. The Buddha says that after you’ve attained the ultimate happiness, there is an equanimity with regard to everything … 
  3. The Roles of Equanimity
     … They clone the attitude of an equanimous meditator. But then as the Buddha said, nothing happens. The mind will not get into concentration if you’re just equanimous. So your equanimity has to work with other qualities in order to be valuable and not actually become an obstacle on the path. You might say this is the equanimity of a hunter. A hunter knows … 
  4. An Equanimity You Can Feed On
    There are many levels of equanimity that we try to develop in the practice. We start out with the equanimity that the Buddha describes as being in tune with the elements, when you’re being in tune with earth, being in tune with water, fire, wind. What this means is that you keep the mind non-reactive in the same way that these elements … 
  5. Equanimity in Action, Equanimity at Rest
     … But it has a different meaning based pm whether we’re talking about equanimity in action or equanimity at rest. At rest, it’s a topic of concentration. You sit here resting in the equanimity that you can extend to everyone all over the world, regardless: equanimity for yourself, equanimity for others. That’s possible only from the fourth jhana on up. Prior to … 
  6. Three Types of Equanimity
    When I was in Portland this last week, there were a lot of questions on equanimity. They seemed to stem from the idea that many people see equanimity as apathy, indifference, but when you look at the Buddha’s life he was in no way indifferent or apathetic. His sense of equanimity was more a matter of keeping the mind on an even keel … 
  7. Equanimity After Victory
    There are so many lists that end in equanimity: the four brahmaviharas, the factors for awakening, the Buddha’s explanation of the different kinds of emotions you encounter on the path—renunciate grief, renunciate joy, renunciate equanimity. It makes it sound like equanimity is where the practice is all aimed, what it’s all about. And with our typical Western efficiency, we say, “Why … 
  8. Equanimity
    Equanimity September 27, 2011 When the Buddha lists the factors for awakening, equanimity comes at the end of the list, which gives the impression that it’s the highest of the list. And in one way it is, but in many ways it’s not. It’s listed as one of the factors that’s useful on some occasions. When the mind is overly … 
  9. Equanimity as a Skill
     … But it’s interesting to note that the reflection on kamma is used not only for equanimity, but also for gaining a sense of confidence that there is a way out and we can do it through our actions. This connects with the fact that equanimity is not something to develop on its own. The Buddha never recommended developing equanimity as a single practice … 
  10. Worldly Equanimity & Its Uses
    People sometimes misunderstand the Buddha’s teachings on equanimity, thinking that it means an attitude that doesn’t really care about anything, one where you’re indifferent or have no preferences. That’s the equanimity of a lazy person who has no goals in life. The Buddha, of course, has you take on a goal: the goal of freedom from suffering. So he’s … 
  11. Intelligent Equanimity
    Intelligent Equanimity September, 2001 Every evening before we meditate, we chant the four sublime attitudes: goodwill — “May all living beings be happy” compassion — “May they all be free from stress and pain” appreciation — “May they not lose the happiness they’ve found.” And then there’s equanimity. Instead of saying, “All living beings can just go to hell, I don’t care,” the chant … 
  12. Equanimity & More
     … So equanimity cannot be the goal. But the fact that the reflection on equanimity is also the same as the reflection that leads to a motivation to want to practice the path, shows that when the Buddha teaches us equanimity, it’s not just a general indifference. When you have equanimity for all beings, it’s not just saying, “Well, who cares?” It’s … 
  13. Acceptance & Equanimity
     … To develop that, the Buddha doesn’t say just to go from being equanimous about one thing to being equanimous about everything. I’ve found three different contexts where he talks about the development of equanimity. In each case, you have to develop a sense of joy first before you go on to a more all-embracing equanimity. After all, beginning equanimity can get … 
  14. Fabricating Equanimity
    There are three levels of equanimity. There’s ordinary everyday equanimity, when you maintain your even keel in the face of tempting things or in the face of upsetting things. That’s the kind of equanimity that comes from force of will. You have to talk to yourself, and talk yourself into it. The second level is the equanimity that comes with the fourth … 
  15. The Uses of Equanimity
    When the Buddha taught breath meditation to his son, Rahula, he first gave him an exercise in developing patience and equanimity. It’s important to see how the two practices are related, because they show that equanimity doesn’t mean passivity, or simply accepting things as they are and leaving them at that. Rather, it’s meant to serve a purpose—to allow you … 
  16. The Equanimity that Doesn’t Give Up
     … That’s the kind of equanimity you want to develop. There are two kinds of equanimity. There’s the kind that says, “Okay, I’m just going to be okay with whatever comes up and stay there.” That kind of equanimity can sap your strength and make you say, “Well, I don’t know if it’s going to be worth the effort to … 
  17. Equanimity
     … This is where you go to higher levels of equanimity. On the one hand, there’s the equanimity that comes from insight. The Buddha’s analysis of this is interesting. He says there’s householder equanimity, which is what I just described, and there’s renunciant equanimity, and the way you go from one to the next is instructive. From householder equanimity you go … 
  18. The Goldsmith
     … As we all know, goodwill is the first of the brahmaviharas, and the last is equanimity. Sometimes people interpret that as meaning that equanimity is the highest of them, the one you’re trying to get to. But the Buddha never taught equanimity on its own. It always has to be based on goodwill or the other factors of concentration, to make sure that … 
  19. Caring Without Clinging
     … This is where his analysis of equanimity is important. He says there’s equanimity that’s based on multiplicity and equanimity based on singleness. The equanimity based on multiplicity is simply learning how to keep yourself from getting pleased or displeased by things that you see or smell or taste or touch, listen to, whatever. But it requires an act of the will and … 
  20. Equanimity Isn’t Everything
     … Now, equanimity comes in many levels. There’s the ordinary equanimity that you learn how to just accept whatever comes up, like the Buddha taught Rahula in the beginning: Just learn to be non-reactive. But that kind of equanimity, the Buddha said, doesn’t go very far. You try to replace it with the equanimity that comes from jhāna: in other words, equanimity … 
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