There are two main aspects to mental factor of equanimity. The first is a vast and spacious mind, within which all experiences can arise and pass without disturbance. The other is understanding deeply the nature of reality and experience, so the mind is steady in the face of changing conditions. In Buddhist teachings this includes the understanding of kamma, the teachings of cause and effect. This important teaching is not about blame and judgment, but rather an empowering instruction on the possibility of understanding the natural laws of cause and effect, and how to train the mind and heart to reduce suffering and increase well-being for oneself and for others.

What is Mindfulness Practice? Mindfulness is the practice of opening to and accepting life just as it is - a constantly changing, conditioned process. To begin, we must make the necessary effort to calm the mind and body. Without this first step our intention to be present is often overwhelmed by our habits of reactivity and struggle - trying to fix or control the conditions of the moment. To calm the mind and body we practice connecting and sustaining our attention to ordinary experience in each moment; for example, the sensations of the breath coming and going or the sensations of lifting and placing each foot as we walk. This simple and clear patient knowing is at the heart of mindfulness practice. Tranquility arises by training the attention to return to the present moment experience over and over again. This training is directed by an understanding heart that appreciates that no matter how difficult it appears to be, our practice is to recognize what is happening and to gently return the attention to the conditions as they are in the moment. It is our persistent effort that calms the mind, energizes our practice and leads to insight. We can use ordinary experience, such as the breath, as a refuge - a place to keep coming back to. Over time, this capacity to be present becomes a great friend and allows us to relate to all experience with greater clarity, trust and acceptance. The ability to abide with the flow of experience creates the context for insight to arise. Wisdom, compassion and peace of equanimity are the fruit of these deepening insights.

How wisdom and seclusion allows for equanimity with the inevitable pain in life

Equanimity, Emptiness and Perception

These recordings are part of a ten month course entitled Living Fearlessly with Change - Exploring Ageing, Illness and Death Through Buddhist Practice and Service.

Guided meditation for relaxation. Importance of balance when practicing with pain and tools for cultivating balance in midst of pain.

Developing the skill of equanimity in daily life

It seems that the interplay between ignorance and consciousness is an on-going dance--within ourselves, in our relationships and within our society. Understanding this dance can help us hold it all with greater equanimity. (At the time of the talk James was under the impression that the UK vote in process would have the country remain in the EU. As it turned out the vote ended up the other way.) This link below goes along with the theme for this week’s talk: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/broadway-stars-orlando-tribute-song_us_5768ea6de4b0fbbc8beb8b7b?sectio=

Shaila Catherine gave the seventh talk in a eight-week series titled "Seven Factors of Awakening." This talk explores how the stability and the balance provided by equanimity can make our mind our friend, something that we can trust. When equanimity is strong, if there is pain we won't tend to react with aversion; if there is pleasure, we won't tend to react with grasping and clinging. The mind will be balanced, present, and aware of experience as it unfolds.

Following the Buddha's journey through sense pleasures to concentration, to equanimity, to freedom.

Samsara; The Realms; Broken Heart/Deep Grief; How to Be with Heavy Stuff; Painful Feelings; Identification with the Body; Precepts; Abuse; Sound of Silence; Equanimity

The great heart's natural response to pain and suffering is compassion and equanimity, released by directly handling experience through embodiment. Without the natural ground of embodiment there is a tendency towards differentiation and forming abstractions about self and other that create separation.

This daylong includes general talks on the theme of cultivating equanimity into your dharma practice. In addition to the talks and discussion, I offer the following practices with instructions that can be used to incline the mind toward equanimity (edited to remove lengthy periods of silence during the guided meditations): Practice #1 - Seeing things as they are Practice #2 - Looking through the lens of impermanence Practice #3 - Looking through the lens of vedana (feeling tone; 2nd foundation of mindfulness) Practice #4 - Equanimity with Big Mind meditation Practice #5 - Equanimty using traditional Brahma Viharas phrases

The appropriate response to the conflicts that come our way is equanimity, rather than adding fuel to the fire by rushing to take sides. Equanimity also requires that we let the conflicts touch our heart while we defuse them. It is surely not indifference.

There are two main aspects to equanimity as a Brahma Vihara: first, a balanced, spacious mind, which is a mental factor we can know and cultivate. Secondly, an understanding of the nature of reality, known in Buddhist teachings as the dhamma, or truth, which is expressed here in the teachings on kamma (karma in Sanskrit.) Kamma simply means action, and refers to the universal laws of cause and effect and conditionality. In this teaching, the Buddha highlighted the importance of intentions in our actions. We come to understand that our lives are shaped by our choices, and the importance of bringing mindfulness and wisdom to our choices and intentions. We also should be aware that, even with good intentions, our actions can have harmful impacts, especially as we live, work and practice in communities with people with different cultural, racial, economic, gender identifications, sexual orientations, or other diverse experiences.

Patience and equanimity are two of the paramis - 10 perfections that we develop in our practice on the path to awakening. Ledi Sayadaw says that “Patience and equanimity are the mainstay for the perfections. Only when one has set oneself up in these two can one expect to fulfill the rest." These 2 qualities are intertwined and support each other: if we are patient, we are developing equanimity, and vice versa. Both are necessary for our meditation practice and bring peace and calm into our minds and hearts.

Understanding the inner terrain and workings of equanimity.

Equanimity is central to the Buddha's teachings and practices, and so underlies and supports both mindfulness and metta (loving-kindness). For Samma Sati, Right Mindfulness, to develop, equanimity needs to function to keep us connected with experiences even when they are difficult or challenging, to deepen insight into the true nature of reality. In metta practice, equanimity keeps the heart open when conditions are not ideal for kindness - and they are often not ideal!

Equanimity is the culmination of the seven factors of awakening. Its sublime and subtle aspects can greatly strengthen practice.

Receiving with compassion what is difficult / receiving joy / experiencing mutual equanimity. Guided meditation on the boundless with Open for the first 14:15 minutes. " there is an aspect of Open that is establishing the field of awareness that is the atmosophere in which Metta arises." Four part contemplation, first two separate speaker, last one the entire group 1. "Observe the opening of awareness to every cell of the vody, naming what it is like. This awareness is inclusive and spacious." Contemplate something in your life that is difficult, feeling your heart vibrating with the pain". " Be present to the pain waith compassion for this being, the compassionate response". "Listener, how was it like to receive this?" 2. Now the gift of our practice is to touch joy, something positive, wholesome, uplifting. Let it infuse you, vibrate within you." Listener, touch the experience of hearing about joy. 3." Whatever experience that might be present of mutual or sympathetic equanimity,where the heart balances together." 4. "What is manifesting now? Resting perhaps in the shared human experience of the whole of it; the hurt, the joy the boundless."

Tonight we will review the Buddha's teaching on the Seven Factors of Awakening. There are the inherent qualities of mind that when recognized and developed in balance with each other inevitably lead onward to awakening. They include mindfulness, investigation, energy/persistence, joy, tranquility, concentration/steadiness and equanimity. Joseph Goldstein calls these factors, "The sap that runs through the Buddha's tree of liberation; a powerful healing medicine that we must actually develop in our own minds." In the Buddhist tradition, it is thought that just to be reminded of these inherent qualities, to bring them to mind, is considered to be deeply healing and protecting. Are we willing to learn to recognize them, and learn how to feed or strengthen these aspects of the mind. Here is a link to the Ahara Sutta, a discourse of the Buddha's where he describes how to strengthen and weaken the factors of awakening This discourse also describes how to feed and weaken the five hindrances

What is equanimity? what supports its arising?

There are five factors, known as the jhanic factors, that are cultivated in meditation practice, especially as our practice deepens on long retreats. These factors collect and gather the attention, and then bring the qualities of joy and contentment into the mind and heart. From this place, the mind naturally settles into one-pointedness and equanimity.

Relationship of mindfulness, equanimity, and emotional regulation

"Funny, poignant, practical - this Talk explores Six Qualities of Equanimity; the Near Misses, and how to live with these qualities in the foreground of our hearts and lives. Equanimity is the Spacious (1) Balance (2) of the Non Reactive (3) mind-heart, grounded in Wisdom (4), with supports a deep Caring (5) , and leads to an Appropriate Response (6).

need to take a long view of spiritual development; caution with idealism; moving from head to heart; the importance of checking in with yourself; listening sympathetically internally; trusting the retreat form; taking it steady to steady the citta; patience; recalling, it’s like “this” now; dukka is not personal, not ‘mine ‘; good will points to the exit; Christian sin /guilt and Buddhist “bap”/ bad karma; going into the head closes down the heart; gestures and offerings of courtesies to others; dana – the spirit of the heart; sila – manufacturing mutual harmlessness; metta, karuna, enjoying gladness and goodness; anumodana; dissolving the boundaries of self and other; seeing what the citta responds to; equanimity – it’s like this now; the citta can be bigger than the conditions it meets; the measurelessness of awareness; living in the wide sphere; thanking mistakes as a necessary way of learning

Includes chanting, recognizing space can be balancing and intimately tender.

Our bodies, heart/mind have sensations, impressions, associative memories. All of these arise in awareness are known in awareness and end in awareness. Every moment we have the choice of focusing on the objects of attention or leaning into the awareness that knows the objects of experience. When awareness is our refuge rather than identification with the objects, we discover peace, equanimity and joy.

In this talk we explore Equanimity as one of the Factors of Awakening; as one of the Brahma Viharas (Divine Abidings) and as one of the two Jhana Factors in the 4th Anapana Jhana.