Upeksa

Upekṣā (Sanskrit/Devanāgarī script: उपेक्षा; Pali: Upekkhā), 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.

Pali literary contexts

Table: Rūpa jhāna Cetasika (mental factors) First jhāna Second jhāna Third jhāna Fourth jhāna Kāma / Akusala dhamma (sensuality / unskillful qualities) secluded from; withdrawn does not occur does not occur does not occur Pīti (rapture) seclusion-born; pervades body samādhi-born; pervades body fades away (along with distress) does not occur Sukha (non-sensual pleasure) pervades physical body abandoned (no pleasure nor pain) Vitakka ("applied thought") accompanies jhāna unification of awareness free from vitakka and vicāra does not occur does not occur Vicāra ("sustained thought") Upekkhāsatipārisuddhi (pure, mindful equanimity) does not occur internal confidence equanimous; mindful purity of equanimity and mindfulness Sources:

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.”

See also

• Brahma-viharas (divine abodes)
• Jhana (mental absorption)
• Paramita (practices of perfections)
• Ataraxia (Greek concept of mental equanimity)

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.