Equanimity Meditation

Equanimity is a wonderful quality, a spaciousness and balance of heart. Although it grows naturally with our meditation practice, equanimity can also be cultivated in the same systematic way as mindfulness or compassion. We can feel this possibility of balance in our hearts in the midst of life when we recognize that life is not in our control.

Transcript

Hi,

This is Jack Kornfield.

Welcome to this meditation on equanimity.

So for equanimity practice,

Let yourself sit in a comfortable posture with your eyes closed.

Bring a soft attention to your breath and body until you find a quieting of the breath and the body and the mind.

And then begin by reflecting on the benefits of a mind that is peaceful,

That has balance and equanimity.

Sense what a gift it is to bring a peaceful heart to this world.

Let yourself feel an inner sense of balance and ease.

And then in the same way that the heart's intention and loving kindness is given voice through simple phrases,

You can begin to repeat such simple phrases as,

May I be balanced and at peace.

May I be peaceful.

May my heart be at rest and balanced in the midst of all things.

You can acknowledge that all created things arise and pass away,

Joys and sorrows,

Pleasant events,

People,

Buildings,

Animals,

Nations,

Whole civilizations.

Let yourself rest at peace in the midst of the changing world.

May I learn to see the arising and passing of all nature with equanimity and balance.

May I be open,

Balanced,

And peaceful.

And feeling this peace,

Acknowledge as well that all beings are heirs to their own karma.

Their lives arise and pass according to their deeds and the conditions created by them.

May I bring compassion and equanimity to the events of the world.

May I find balance and peace.

The happiness and suffering of others depends on their actions and not my wishes for them.

I can hold them in a compassionate heart and act as best I can,

But their happiness and suffering depends on their actions and deeds.

May I rest in equanimity and the great natural balance of heart.

May I be peaceful.

Reviews

Sometimes it takes me hearing it from another- someone else’s happiness does not rest on my actions. Thank you for the reminder.

Jack rules.
Such a sweet five minutes of effective guidance.
Balance, balance balance…⚖️☮️😌

A beautiful, peaceful meditation that mixes prayer and affirmation. It’s gently delivered in a calm and reassuring voice; it begins and ends properly (very important, so you’re not left side-eyeing the ‘phone to see what’s happening!) Thank you, Jack, for sharing it 🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻

It's more like a prayer. Very soothing and helpful.

I love Jack Kornfield’s calming voice and energy. This was a great way for me to start a busy day.

Beautiful. Just want I needed. You touched my heart. Thank you.

Beautiful. Inspiring and nurturing a sense of peace with all that is. Thank you 🙏😊

I am at peace. I repeat the words and recite them with deep honor of those who bow to their innate inner openness. Beautiful words and affirm the peace that is always there to tap into no matter what. Namaste.

Heartfelt words of wisdom and soothing meditation 💗🙏

Feeling relief... others karma is based on their thoughts and actions alone..

This is a wonderful short meditation on equanimity that I should repeat often. It strikes me how Buddhist precepts of karma, as presented here, have commonality with contemporary psychotherapeutic teachings related to "boundaries"- i.e.- you can hold others in compassion, but at the end of the day, you are not responsible for their happiness, they are. This is an important teaching for me as it is something that does not come naturally to me- and I need to work on boundaries for my own well being in personal and professional life. In any case, thank you.

What a beautiful meditation. Simply allowing others to be who they are on their journey and loving them where they are. And thank you for using a low tone, bell for people like me with a noise sensitivity. . Namaste.✨🙏✨

Perfect for starting my day with a nice peaceful perspective

I was lost and hurt. I found this precious five minutes ; life changing ! Thank you 🙏🏼

Seeking inner peace I played this guided meditation this morning. My suffering stilled as my breathe moved into a deep free state of being. I think by repeating this I will finally let go of my worries for my family. Each makes his or her own choices and with each choice shape happiness or its opposite. I appreciate the health boundaries this session helped me discover.

Just the support and perspective I needed this morning. Thank you dear one.

Thank you so much for this Jack. I truly needed to hear this today as I am feeling overwhelmed by the suffering of several close family members. 🙏❤️

"the happiness and suffering of others depends on their actions and deeds, and not my wishes for them" -- wow, I needed to hear this today. Always insightful JK. Thank you.

Gentle loving-kindness and peace in a meditation. Short but effective. Thank you, sir. 😌🙏

May I be peaceful. May I bring compassion to the hurts of the world. Thank you, Jack.