Equanimity, Monks, Lay People, and More

Hi, this is Margaret Maloney, and welcome to the Death Dhamma podcast. In a series I used to read, occasionally one character would say to the other, may you live in interesting times. It was understood that this was a curse where interesting times meant chaos and difficulty. Well, we do live in interesting times. I mean, don't we always? So this season together, we will explore equanimity and chaos. Recognizing that many aspects of life are beyond our control, let's find a sense of balance and peace amid external chaos.

In our previous episode, we discussed the fact that there are ten kinds of equanimity. And during this current season of the podcast, the focus has been more about equanimity as a means for facing chaos and how it's an important part of your practice to help during chaotic times or, you know, as our introduction says, interesting times. Before our season ends, it makes sense for us to take a deeper dive. Yes, equanimity helps us during these times, but there is more to it, and equanimity plays a role in our ability to gain release from suffering.

In these final few episodes of season five, I'm drawing on the work of Anne Murphy, who wrote a paper called ten Kinds of Equanimity. In her paper, she uses the work of Buddhaghosa the to discuss and describe these types of equanimity. I found her article on Academia.com, it was published in Colombo Arts, Journal of Social Sciences and humanities back in 2017. With that in mind, it seems useful to provide some context around Budagosa. Gosa was a 5th century Sri Lankan monk. Not that we called it that then, but I'm saying that so it gives you some reference.

He was a Theravadan Buddhist commentator, a translator and a philosopher. He worked at what we call the Great Monastery or Mahabihara in Anuradhapara, Sri Lanka. And he's recognized as one of the most important figures in the Theravada tradition. His name means voice of the Buddha in Pali. In Pali, that's what his name means. And he is best known for the Bisuddhi Magga, which we will be using or Anne uses in her paper. So we will be drawing on it. And the Visuddhimagga is called the Path of Purification.

It's meant to be a comprehensive manual taking together some older commentaries on the Pali canon. It's divided into three sections, Ethics, Meditation and Wisdom. And it is considered by many to be the principal text on meditation in Theravada Buddhism. That doesn't make it true for all Theravada Buddhists, but just a general orientation there. The Visuddha Magga, what it does is it provides a systematic approach to the path of purification or how to reach enlightenment. The Atisalini, which translates to expositor of meanings, is a commentary that was written by Buddhaghosa and it's commentary on the first book of the Abhidhamma Pitaka.

And it's one of the things he is very famous for. And it's widely studied among students who really take a deep dive into the Abhidhamma. And when we talk about the Abhidhamma, what we're talking about is when we talk about the Pali canon, we talk about it being made up of pitakas or baskets. So the Abhidhamma Pitaka is what we call the third basket. And this is where things get more, maybe complex, some would say more profound, deeper, where the moral psychology and philosophy of the Buddha's teachings are mapped out or explained and discussed as one of the Brahmavaharas.

Equanimity or upeka, is defined in the Vasudhimagga as promoting the aspect of neutrality towards beings. However, in the commentaries of the Atasalini and the Visuddhimagga, Buddhaghosa defines equanimity in 10 different ways. And we covered that last time and we listed the 10 different ways. And so today what we're going to do is we're going to look at two of the types of equanimity, six factored equanimity followed by equanimity as a Brahma vihara. Now, six factored equanimity links equanimity to each of the six senses.

Consider this quote. Having seen a form with the eye, a monk is neither joyful nor saddened, but dwells equanimous, mindful and clearly comprehending. And that comes from Angatara Nikya279. And this phrase again repeats for each sense, associating the sense organ to its corresponding function. Heard a sound with the ear, smelled an odor with the nose, experienced a taste with the tongue, right? Felt an object with the body, thought of or cognizant a mental phenomenon with the mind. And those again, all those are quotes from Angata Nakara279.

So in this situation, in this teaching, equanimity is said to arise with mindfulness and clear comprehension. So we need mindfulness and clear comprehension for equanimity to arise. Also, though it stated that when a monk possesses these six qualities, the monk is worthy of receiving gifts, hospitality offerings and reverential salutation. And emits, emits an unsurpassed field of merit for the world. In the Visuddhimagga, Buddhaghosa says that the six factor, equanimity is really the name for the equanimity possessed by the Arhant, one whose cankers are destroyed, right.

Someone who has gone beyond a non returner. He describes this as the mode of non abandonment of the natural state of purity when desirable or undesirable objects of the six kinds come into focus in the six doors. And again, those six doors, that's our sixth sentence, senses. So in other words, this ability, this state to maintain equanimity, mindfulness and clear awareness no matter what's happening between, say you know, your sound, hearing a sound in your ear, a monk in our hunt can maintain that state of neutrality.

Equanimity In Nepali canon there is a clear distinction made between a householder that's like me, right? Somebody who is not a monk or a nun, a layperson. So there's a clear distinction made between those of us who live the secular life and the renunciant, which is a monk, right, who has renounced all worldly things and specifically in relation to the six kinds of equanimity. So you know, the householder. And this is how householders describe. So don't take it personally. I'm not an untaught ordinary person who has not conquered his limitations or conquered the results of the actions and who is blind to danger.

Yeah, I don't feel offended by that. Such equanimity as this does not transcend the form and that's why it's called equanimity based on the householder life. So basically there's a little line being drawn, though I don't know that's a little line. There's a line being drawn there and that comes from Majima Nikaya 219. But equanimity is said to arise within a renunciant, a monk who has developed an understanding of impermanence and suffering, knowing that all is subject to change. Thus the six kinds of equanimity are based on the renunciant life.

That's also in Mozuma Nikaya 219 the concept of equanimity is differentiated. So there's a conventional type of equanimity that I guess you and I are capable of based on the ordinary householder life. But the six factor equanimity, which is the ability to surpass the sensory world, that is the accomplished renunciant and that's why it's being called the equanimity of the Arhant. Now we're going to move on to equanimity as a Brahmavahara. And here is a passage I think you've heard. He dwells, suffusing the whole world upwards, downwards, across, extra, everywhere, always with a heart filled with equanimity, abundant, unbounded, without hate or ill will.

That's from Dignitya 251. And that passage is repeated in the Brahmavaharas. Actually, equanimity is the last recitation, so to speak, of that passage, because first comes metta or loving kindness, and then comes karuna or compassion, and then comes mudita or sympathetic joy, and and then comes apeca or equanimity, which is referred to as promoting the aspect of neutrality towards beings. Meaning you overcome feelings of resentment or approval directed at others and therefore nullifies subjective personal preferences or prejudice.

Right? So we overcome bias. Equanimity is said to help overcome greed, you can find that in Dgha Nikya 248 and resentment. Thus, as a Brahmavahara, upeka is unbiased and devoid of any discriminatory treatments towards others, being neither negative nor overly positive. So as a Brahma vihara, if I'm able to access equanimity, I am able to access equanimity for everyone, for any, for any reason.

Equanimity transcends the detrimental effects of bias and prejudice. See, there you go. I don't have bias or prejudice. And bias and prejudice causes harm to others and to me and. Or you as the practitioner, right? So the cultivation of equanimity is an impartiality practice, and it's important because it helps us release any entrenched biases that we may have. Equanimity as a Brahma vihara is described as the outcome of the first three. The first three again being loving kindness or metta, karuna or compassion and mudita or sympathetic joy.

These ones are altruistic and other focused, right? They're focused on others, meta for others, compassion towards others, sympathetic joy or mudita for others. So it's compared by some to be the gable rafters of a roof. First you've got to get that scaffolding and the framework, right? So if you don't have that scaffolding or that framework without the foundation that comes from loving kindness, compassion and sympathetic joy, that equanimity could regress into insensitivity and emotional callousness.

And remember, and as we've discussed throughout the season, equanimity is not uncaring, it's not apathy. So equanimity builds upon those three altruistic Brahmavaharas which are focused, you know, other focused. Equanimity is said to fail if it produces unknowing, like being unaware, which is called, you know, a worldly indifference of ignorance. So it isn't not knowing or choosing not to know of what is happening. It is knowing and being able to have that lack of bias, that neutrality. Now, in terms of the importance of the Brahmavahs and equanimity on the path to purification, they fit right within the Samadhi section, the purification of the mind, which is about choosing the right meditation object and helping yourself to transition, so to speak, from.

To progress as a meditator, from preparatory or introductory concentration to more sophisticated and ultimately to the Jhanas for immeasurables, the Brahmavaharas are considered a suitable meditation object. Within that, within that path of purifying the mind and going through the meditator progress, the progress of meditation. And so now we have a familiarity with Buddhaghosa and the Visuddhimagga and two types of equanimity, the six factored equanimity, which is really for our Hants or experienced by our Hans, and the Brahmavahara equanimity, which is definitely within our grasp.

And we'll continue in our next episode. Thank you for being here. You've been listening to the Death Dhamma podcast with your host, Margaret Maloney. Thank you so much for being here. Come find me on margaretmaloney.com M A R G A R E T M E l o n I.com and until we meet again. May you be well, may you be happy, may you be at ease, and may you be free from suffering. Bye for now.

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