(Sanskrit, looking on; Pāli, upekkhā). Equanimity, or impartiality. The emotionally detached state of one who witnesses without becoming emotionally involved. It is a virtue, and an attitude to be cultivated as opposed to simple indifference or lack of interest. Upekṣā is the fourth of the Divine Abidings (Brahma-vihāra) and seventh of the ‘limbs of enlightenment’ (bodhyaṇga).
Upekkha
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Upekkhā (Pali: Sanskrit/Devanāgarī script: उपेक्षा; Upekṣā), is the Buddhist concept of equanimity. The Tibetan equivalent is བཏང་སྙོམས་ btang snyoms. This is a purifying mental state cultivated through meditation on the Buddhist path to prajñā (wisdom) and bodhi (enlightenment). The analogous term in Greek philosophy is ataraxia.
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Pali literary contexts
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In the Pali Canon and post-canonical commentary, upekkha is identified as an important step in one's spiritual development in a number of places:
- It is one of the Four Sublime States (brahmavihara), which are purifying mental states capable of counteracting the defilements of lust, avarice and ignorance. As a brahmavihara, it is also one of the forty traditionally identified subjects of Buddhist meditation (kammatthana).
- In the development of meditative concentration, upekkha arises as the quintessential factor of material absorption, present in the third and fourth jhana states.
- In the Seven Factors of Enlightenment (bojjhanga), upekkha is the ultimate factor to be developed.
- In the Theravada list of ten paramita (perfections), upekkha is the last-identified bodhisatta practice.
Contemporary exposition
American Buddhist monk Bhikkhu Bodhi wrote:
- “The real meaning of upekkha is equanimity, not indifference in the sense of unconcern for others. As a spiritual virtue, upekkha means equanimity in the face of the fluctuations of worldly fortune. It is evenness of mind, unshakeable freedom of mind, a state of inner equipoise that cannot be upset by gain and loss, honor and dishonor, praise and blame, pleasure and pain. Upekkha is freedom from all points of self-reference; it is indifference only to the demands of the ego-self with its craving for pleasure and position, not to the well-being of one's fellow human beings. True equanimity is the pinnacle of the four social attitudes that the Buddhist texts call the 'divine abodes': boundless loving-kindness, compassion, altruistic joy, and equanimity. The last does not override and negate the preceding three, but perfects and consummates them.”[1]
See also
- Brahma-viharas (divine abodes)
- Jhana (mental absorption)
- Paramita (practices of perfections)
- Ataraxia (Greek concept of mental equanimity)
References
Sources
- Bodhi, Bhikkhu (1995, 1998). Toward a Threshold of Understanding (BPS Newsletter cover essays nos. 30 & 31). Retrieved 15 Jan. 2007 from "Access to Insight" at http://www.accesstoinsight.org/lib/authors/bodhi/bps-essay_30.html.
External links
- Equanimity (upekkha) by the Venerable Nyanaponika Thera.
- [1]Equanimity by Gil Fronsdal
- Dharma Dictionary - RangjungYesheWiki - Btang Snyoms/Upeksa
- [2] Equanimity practiced as a part of a Ten day Vipassana course.
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