RIGHT INTENTION
Cultivating Equanimity
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Whatever you intend,
whatever you plan, and whatever you have a tendency toward, that will
become the basis on which your mind is established. (SN 12.40) Develop
meditation on equanimity, for when you develop meditation on equanimity,
all aversion is abandoned. (MN 62)
Equanimity is like a mother with a son who is busy with his own affairs,
for she is not worried about what he does. (Vm 9.108) When a person,
touching a sensation with the body, is not attached to pleasing
sensations and not repelled by unpleasing sensations, they have
established mindfulness and dwell with an unlimited mind. For a person
whose mindfulness is developed and practiced, the body does not struggle
to reach pleasing sensations, and unpleasing sensations are not
considered repulsive. (SN 35.274)
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The image of a
mother with a grown son is invoked to describe the quality of mind
called equanimity, for we understand that she still loves and cares
deeply for her son but is not invested in the superficial details of his
daily activities. You can stay attentive, intimate, and deeply engaged
with your affairs without being caught up in and afflicted by them. The
image is one of a person who is at ease in their affairs without
struggling.
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In working with
physical sensations, as we do when we practice mindfulness of the body,
the idea is to be fully aware of sensations without being attached to
or repelled by them. Notice that when mindful the mind is said to be
unlimited, and when it lacks mindfulness it is considered to be limited.
Equanimity, the active ingredient in mindfulness, is the tool that is
used to unbind the mind and set it free from aversion.
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Tomorrow: Refraining from Frivolous Speech
One week from today: Cultivating Lovingkindness
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