Equanimity: Wisdom Practice (Part Two)

In The Bhagavad-Gita Krishna tells Arjuna that the attitude of focusing on  action without attachment to the outcome is yoga: “Self-possessed, resolute, act without any thought of results, open to success or failure. This equanimity is yoga.”

Similarly, Patanjali tells us in Yoga Sutra I:12 - 16 that abhyasa, continuous applied effort, coupled with vairagya, the willingness to observe experience without getting caught in reactivity to it, will lead to freedom from suffering.

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For a formal practice to cultivate equanimity (upeksha-bhavana), begin with some calming breaths, or a mantra meditation. Once you feel calm, reflect on your deepest desire for happiness and freedom from suffering, both for yourself and others. Contemplate your desire to serve the needs of others and to be compassionately engaged in the world. Acknowledge both the joy and the suffering that exist throughout the world; the good deeds and the evil ones. As you continue to breathe into your heart’s center, acknowledge the necessity of balancing your desire to make positive change in the world with the reality that you cannot control the actions of others.

Bring to mind the image someone for whom you have no strong feelings one way or the other. With this person in your mind’s eye, repeat the following phrases to yourself, coordinating with the out-breath if you like:

“All beings like yourself are responsible for their own actions.”
"All beings are the heirs of their actions; there is no escaping the consequences of our actions."
“Suffering or happiness is created through one’s relationship to experience, not only by experience itself.”
“Although I wish only the best for you, I know that your happiness or unhappiness depends on your actions, not on my wishes for you.”
“May you not be caught in reactivity.”

Feel free to use similar, appropriate phrases of your own devising. After a few minutes, shift your attention to your benefactors, those who have offered you support and assistance throughout your life, including teachers, friends, family, as well as the unseen workers who keep the societal infrastructure working. Silently repeat the phrases to yourself as you contemplate these benefactors.
            
After several minutes, begin to reflect upon your loved ones, directing the phrases to them, followed by the difficult people in your life. While feeling kindness, compassion and joy for those we love comes more easily than it does for those with whom we have difficulty, it is often the opposite with equanimity. It’s a lot easier to accept that those we dislike are responsible for their own happiness than it is for those we care for deeply since we feel more attachment to them. Whatever your experience, simply note any reactivity and see if you can be equanimous with your reactivity!

Broaden your reach after a few minutes to include all beings everywhere throughout the world, and then finally concentrate contemplating equanimity in regards to yourself, noticing how taking responsibility for your own happiness and unhappiness can feel the hardest of all.

“All beings, including myself, are responsible for their own actions.”
“Suffering or happiness is created through one’s relationship to experience, not only by experience itself.”
“Although I wish only the best for myself, I know that my happiness or unhappiness depends upon my actions, not my wishes for myself.”
"My actions are the gound upon which I stand; I am the heir of my actions: there is no way to avoid the consequences of my actions."
“May I not be caught in reactivity.”

When you cultivate metta, the friendly quality of kind regard, karuna, the compassionate response to the suffering of others, and mudita, the delight in the happiness and success of others, it is equanimity that ultimately allows you to truly expand your capacity to experience this kind of boundless love for those beyond your immediate circle of friends and family, opening to the infinite capacity of your heart to embrace all beings.

SUMMARY:
Upeksha Bhavana: Cultivating Equanimity
The meditation and cultivation of equanimity helps create and sustain a balanced mind that remains calm and at peace within all the changing circumstances of life; what Zorba, the Greek calls, “the full catastrophe.”

Preliminary Practice: Begin with some calming breath or mantra meditation. When you are experiencing some modicum of calm, begin the cultivation of equanimity.

Basic Practice: As with the previous meditations on friendliness. Especially here, if there is any agitation or anxiety present, return to calming, stabilizing breath work.

The Phrases:
All beings are the owners or heirs of their karma.
Appropriate action leads to good results; inappropriate action leads to bad results.
Everyone must face his or her own situation.
Although I wish only the best for you, I know that your happiness or unhappiness depends upon your actions, not my wishes for you.
May I (you, he, she, they) not be caught in reactivity.

Use these and other appropriate phrases.

The Traditional Sequence of Upeksha Bhavana:
1.     To a neutral person.
2.     To benefactors.
3.     To loved ones.
4.     To difficult people.
5.     To all beings.
6.     To yourself.