Upekkha
Encyclopedia
Upekkhā also called Nagari , is an abugida alphabet of India and Nepal...
: ऊपेक्खा), is the Buddhist
Buddhism
Buddhism is a religion and philosophy encompassing a variety of traditions, beliefs and practices, largely based on teachings attributed to Siddhartha Gautama, commonly known as the Buddha . The Buddha lived and taught in the northeastern Indian subcontinent some time between the 6th and 4th...
concept of equanimity
Equanimity
Equanimity is a state of mental or emotional stability or composure arising from a deep awareness and acceptance of the present moment. Equanimity is promoted by several major religious groups.-Stoicism:...
. As one of the Brahma Vihara (meditative states), it is a pure mental state cultivated on the Buddhist path to nirvāna
Nirvana
Nirvāṇa ; ) is a central concept in Indian religions. In sramanic thought, it is the state of being free from suffering. In Hindu philosophy, it is the union with the Supreme being through moksha...
.
Pali literary contexts
In the Pali Canon
Pāli Canon
The Pāli Canon is the standard collection of scriptures in the Theravada Buddhist tradition, as preserved in the Pāli language. It is the only completely surviving early Buddhist canon, and one of the first to be written down...
and post-canonical commentary
Atthakatha
Atthakatha refers to Pali-language Theravadin Buddhist commentaries to the canonical Theravadin Tipitaka. These commentaries give the traditional interpretations of the scriptures. The major commentaries were based on earlier ones, now lost, in Old Sinhalese, which were written down at the same...
, 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 (brahmaviharaBrahmaviharaThe brahmavihāras are a series of four Buddhist virtues and the meditation practices made to cultivate them. They are also known as the four immeasurables...
), which are purifying mental states capable of counteracting the defilementsKilesaKleshas , in Buddhism, are mental states that cloud the mind and manifest in unwholesome actions. Kleshas include states of mind such as anxiety, fear, anger, jealousy, desire, depression, etc...
of lust, avarice and ignorance. As a brahmavihara, it is also one of the forty traditionally identified subjects of Buddhist meditationBuddhist meditationBuddhist meditation refers to the meditative practices associated with the religion and philosophy of Buddhism.Core meditation techniques have been preserved in ancient Buddhist texts and have proliferated and diversified through teacher-student transmissions. Buddhists pursue meditation as part of...
(kammatthanaKammatthanaIn Buddhism, is a Pali word which literally means the place of work. Figuratively it means the place within the mind where one goes in order to work on spiritual development...
). - In the development of meditative concentrationSamadhi (Buddhism)In Buddhism, samādhi is mental concentration or composing the mind.-In the early Suttas:In the Pāli canon of the Theravada tradition and the related Āgamas of other early Buddhist schools, samādhi is found in the following contexts:* In the noble eightfold path, "right concentration" In Buddhism,...
, upekkha arises as the quintessential factor of material absorption, present in the third and fourth jhana states. - In the Seven Factors of EnlightenmentSeven factors of enlightenmentIn Buddhism, the Seven Factors of Enlightenment are:* Mindfulness i.e...
(bojjhanga), upekkha is the ultimate factor to be developed. - In the TheravadaTheravadaTheravada ; literally, "the Teaching of the Elders" or "the Ancient Teaching", is the oldest surviving Buddhist school. It was founded in India...
list of ten paramitaParamitaPāramitā or pāramī is "perfection" or "completeness." In Buddhism, the pāramitās refer to the perfection or culmination of certain virtues...
(perfections), upekkha is the last-identified bodhisatta practice.
Similarity with non-Buddhist Concepts
AtaraxiaAtaraxia
Ataraxia is a Greek term used by Pyrrho and Epicurus for a lucid state, characterized by freedom from worry or any other preoccupation.For the Epicureans, ataraxia was synonymous with the only true happiness possible for a person...
and Apatheia
Apatheia
Apatheia in Stoic philosophy refers to a state of mind where one is free from emotional disturbance. This might be translated as equanimity or indifference...
are similar terms in Greek philosophy
Greek philosophy
Ancient Greek philosophy arose in the 6th century BCE and continued through the Hellenistic period, at which point Ancient Greece was incorporated in the Roman Empire...
.
Contemporary exposition
American Buddhist monk Bhikkhu BodhiBhikkhu Bodhi
Bhikkhu Bodhi , born Jeffrey Block, is an American Theravada Buddhist monk, ordained in Sri Lanka and currently teaching in the New York/New Jersey area...
wrote:
- “The real meaning of upekkha is equanimity, not indifferenceIndifferenceIndifference may refer to:* Indifference or apathy, a psychological attitude* "Indifference" , an episode of Law & Order* Indifference curve, in microeconomic theory, a graph describing consumer preferences...
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 mindMindThe concept of mind is understood in many different ways by many different traditions, ranging from panpsychism and animism to traditional and organized religious views, as well as secular and materialist philosophies. Most agree that minds are constituted by conscious experience and intelligent...
, 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-kindnessMettaMettā or maitrī is loving-kindness, friendliness, benevolence, amity, friendship, good will, kindness, love, sympathy, close mental union , and active interest in others. It is one of the ten pāramīs of the Theravāda school of Buddhism, and the first of the four sublime states...
, compassionKarunaKaruā is generally translated as "compassion" or "pity". It is part of the spiritual path of both Buddhism and Jainism.-Buddhism:...
, altruistic joyMuditaMudita in Buddhism is joy. It is especially sympathetic or vicarious joy, the pleasure that comes from delighting in other people's well-being rather than begrudging it...
, and equanimity. The last does not override and negate the preceding three, but perfects and consummates them.”
See also
- AtaraxiaAtaraxiaAtaraxia is a Greek term used by Pyrrho and Epicurus for a lucid state, characterized by freedom from worry or any other preoccupation.For the Epicureans, ataraxia was synonymous with the only true happiness possible for a person...
(Greek concept of mental equanimity) - Brahma-viharas (divine abodes)
- Jhana (mental absorption)
- ParamitaParamitaPāramitā or pāramī is "perfection" or "completeness." In Buddhism, the pāramitās refer to the perfection or culmination of certain virtues...
(practices of perfections)
Sources
- Bodhi, BhikkhuBhikkhu BodhiBhikkhu Bodhi , born Jeffrey Block, is an American Theravada Buddhist monk, ordained in Sri Lanka and currently teaching in the New York/New Jersey area...
(1995, 1998). Toward a Threshold of Understanding (BPSBuddhist Publication SocietyThe Buddhist Publication Society is a charity whose goal is to explain and spread the doctrine of the Buddha. It was founded in Sri Lanka in 1958 by two Sri Lankan Buddhist laymen, A.S. Karunaratna and Richard Abeyasekera, and a European-born Buddhist monk, Nyanaponika Thera...
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.
- http://www.insightmeditationcenter.org/articles/equanimity.htmlEquanimity by Gil Fronsdal
- Dharma Dictionary - RangjungYesheWiki - Btang Snyoms/Upeksa
- http://www.dhamma.org Equanimity practiced as a part of a Ten day Vipassana course.
- http://www.upekshayoga.com/yoga/Principles.html Writings on equanimity in yoga by Shy Sayar.