What are your thoughts on Equanimity?

Equanimity is a perfect, unshakable balance of mind, rooted in insight.

Looking at the world around us, and looking into our own heart, we see clearly how difficult it is to attain and maintain balance of mind.

Looking into life we notice how it continually moves between contrasts: rise and fall, success and failure, loss and gain, honour and blame. We feel how our heart responds to all this happiness and sorrow, delight and despair, disappointment and satisfaction, hope and fear. These waves of emotion carry us up and fling us down; and no sooner do we find rest, than we are in the power of a new wave again. How can we expect to get a footing on the crest of the waves? How shall we erect the building of our lives in the midst of this ever restless ocean of existence, if not on the Island of Equanimity.

A world where that little share of happiness alloted to beings is mostly secured after many disappointments, failures and defeats; a world where only the courage to start anew, again and again, promises success; a world where scanty joy grows amidst sickness, separation and death; a world where beings who were a short while ago connected with us by sympathetic joy, are at the next moment in want of our compassion - such a world needs equanimity.

Equanimity Means

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 ones 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.”[1]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Upeksa

Equanimity is a state I think we should all be working to attain, I think such at state of mind in view of the world would bring about a great change for the better in the world. It is not easy because we are all glued to these preconceived notions and all the little insanities that plague us an delude us from the reality of existence that we are afraid to look at. I personally work closer and closer to a state of equanimity every day.

Equipoise is naturally a good thing, it for me is sanity.

If a man comes home early and finds you in bed with his wife, and he says..."I'm sorry, I didn't mean to disturb you...please carry on..." Is this equanimity? I would say no.

If you do carry on...THIS is equanimity!!

Nah, not for me.

Disengaged, Detatched, Disinterested, unexcitable, immovable, indifferent? I think these are negative traits. Traits more likely to hold someone back in life.

Unbeatable ? This doesnt sound human. Sounds more robot.

I think this is like the personalities equivalent to a botox injection!

I want to be affected, provoked, disturbed, excited, engaged , moveable , interested etc etc.

I want to feel my feelings and I wouldnt give them up - because they are mine!

Another interesting thought

Thanks for that!

:o)