Seven Factors Of Awakening Equanimity

So the seventh factor of awakening is equanimity and equanimity has two primary aspects. One is stability, a sense of balance that can come from physical stability. There's also stability in our emotional life, stability in the mind, in our inner life. And that comes from practice, as we keep doing mindfulness and concentration practices. There's a lot of strength that gets developed slowly over time with practice. And then we have much more equanimity, meaning that we're not reactive.

Transcript

This will be the last talk on the seven factors of awakening. We've been going through the series and before I talk about the seventh factor, The factor of equanimity, I'd like to add a few more thoughts about these factors overall. The Buddha made a remarkable statement about these seven factors and that is that the growth of the Dharma is dependent on what not on what people believe but it's really dependent on the cultivation of these seven factors of awakening. That the growth and development of the Dharma in these qualities that we've been discussing, They develop in people. And so he also said that those who want to be involved in what's ultimate, Like the ultimate truth or the ultimate reality. In one statement the Buddha says, If you want to be involved in what's ultimate, Be involved in the seven factors of awakening. And they aren't views or beliefs, They're qualities that live inside of us that we cultivate here in our practice and develop. And on the first day of exploring these seven factors, I use this analogy of the sap that runs through the tree. The seven factors are the sap that runs through the tree of Buddhism. And the Buddha said that if you have a tree in the forest and there are other trees, Different species of trees that are overgrown, Then there's no light that allows the smaller trees to grow and become strong. And he used this analogy for the hindrances, Which we'll delve into in January. He said if the hindrances are overgrown, The seven factors of awakening, They can't grow, There's not enough light. But if the hindrances are removed, Then there's light that allows the trees of the seven factors of awakening to grow and to become strong. So we'll talk about removing the hindrances of wanting, Of aversion, Of sleepiness and restlessness and doubt that are said to cover over and obscure the wisdom of the mind, The clarity of the mind. They cover over the trees that we want to grow, These trees of the seven factors of awakening. So the seventh factor is equanimity. And equanimity has two primary aspects. One is stability, A sense of balance that comes from physical stability. That if we have a real sense of being physically stable and strong, That sometimes helps us become more resilient in the challenges of our life. You know, You can sense it in your health. If we're healthy and strong, We care for ourselves, We develop a certain kind of strength, Then we're much more resilient to what people say around us, What goes on around us. But if we're tired or if we're ill or if we're hungry or agitated in other ways, Then the slightest thing, It's too much. We get pushed over the edge and it's hard. So there is the sense of equanimity that can come from really being balanced and stable in your body. Then there's also the stability of our emotional life, The stability in the mind. And that really comes from mindfulness practice and concentration practice. And there's a lot of strength that gets developed slowly over time and practice. And then we have much more equanimity, Meaning that we're not as reactive. We don't get obsessed with things or react as quickly to things happening. We act, We respond, But we're less likely to be on autopilot. We can actually see if we're reacting. We're not pushed around so easily by everything that goes on around us. There's almost like there's enough stability where we can sort of gaze with curiosity upon what's happening before the mind goes into reactivity and takes over. It's not easy to come to this place. It happens though in moments. And this is the direction of our practice to come to this place of really being still, To kind of gaze on everything in an easy and kind way, Like, Huh, Curious. So the second meaning of equanimity in terms of our practice is the equanimity that comes from having wisdom, Sort of this overview, An overview of things to see the conditionality of things, To be with what's happening and respond to it. So to be able to hold a really broad and clear view, To watch it arising like, Oh, Okay, So now joy is arising up, There it goes and passing without automatically reacting to it and clinging to it or pushing it away, Picking it up or putting it down. And there can be a greater capacity for wisdom and for understanding. Seeing the temporal nature. We can't respond if we're on autopilot. We get pushed around by things or we get angry or we get sad or upset or take it personally and get defended. But when we practice this way of stabilizing and balancing ourselves, We start to really cultivate and have this ability to just see and be without pushing, Getting pushed around by life's happenings. The equanimity in the Pali, The name is Upeka and Upeka, It's like the crown jewel of practice. It's one of the four immeasurables which we'll begin talking about next week. They're immeasurable because they're just so vast. We become them. And equanimity is, It's the whole state of our inner life when we allow it to flow or when we practice to the point where it just flows naturally. It's trust. It's a very deep trust. And it's also very generous. It's a generous state to be equanimous because things are just allowed to manifest and be there as they are. And this feeling of generosity and willingness to be present is such a needed thing in this world. Such a needed thing right now. So the word for equanimity that I would like to offer, I've been offering a word for each of these seven factors to help us remember. The word for equanimity is okay. It's okay. It's okay. That's how it is when there's space for things. It's okay. So mindfulness, You know, To be here. The first factor here. And then the second to investigate, To have the question, What, What is this? What is this? And then effort. You know, How am I going to be with what is? How to do it? What choices do I have in this moment? And then the fourth factor is joy. With the word yes. Yes. And tranquility is easy. No easy. Take it easy. Concentration with the word steady, Steady and equanimity. The wisest possible way of saying it's okay. It's okay. So to clear away the hindrances and recognize these seven factors is to begin to really recognize the Dharma that's within us, The freedom and the teaching that's within us. And then when those seven factors became so strong, There are the way that we navigate. Then in a sense, We become the Dharma or the Dharma becomes us. There's no difference. There's no difference. So thank you all very much for hanging in there with these seven factors. And next week we'll start exploring the four immeasurables, The Brahma Aviharas, These divine places in which we can also rest. So thank you very much.

Reviews

🙌🙏💓