Upeksa

Upekṣā (उपेक्षा, Sanskrit) or Upekkhā (Pāli), is the Buddhist concept of equanimity. It is one of the four Brahmavihara (sublime states), which is a subset of Kammatthana. The Tibetan equivalent is btang.sñoms.

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" and what Vajrayana Buddhism refer to as "The Four Immeasurables": 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

External links

• Equanimity (upekkha) by the Venerable Nyanaponika Thera.
• Dharma Dictionary - RangjungYesheWiki - Btang Snyoms/Upeksa