Thanissaro Bhikkhu on Equanimity

Question: For Westerners, equanimity is often given a bad rap. It’s seen as kind of a sense of futility, a passive attitude, indifference, or even a weakness. Is this true? Can you give us some examples that would show that there is actually a noble, better understanding of this noble faculty? Thanissaro Bhikkhu: Equanimity is basically accepting things that you realize you cannot change. And the reason why we have to accept them is because if we don’t, we waste a lot of energy trying to change things that we can’t. If you do develop equanimity toward those things, though, then you have the energy to change the things that you can. For example, suppose that someone in your family has a serious illness. You have to accept that fact with equanimity, and then from there you try to see what you can do to help. The acceptance is what allows you to think clearly. If you’re upset or disturbed by the illness, sometimes you actually make the condition worse. So, we’re not talking about a gene...

"If you look deep into the mind, you find that there is a quality of just knowingness — that it doesn’t matter what happens, there’s a knowing. Things can come falling down all around you and there’s still that knowing. Our problem is that we identify with all the things that can fall down — that can be shaken, perturbed. And so in the meditation we’re trying to find our way to that spot of unperturbed knowing. Even though it may not be the deathless, it’s a good place to be: good, strong equanimity; a good, solid foundation inside. And we’re taught our lesson about that property of knowingness by looking at the properties in the body. You’ve got the earth, water, fire, the energy of the breath. These are basic properties that let you know that you’ve got a body here. And they’re always there. Sometimes one may be more predominant than the others, but they’re always there all the time. So when you see that the breath is constant — even when it’s still, there’s an element of still ...