How to Practice Equanimity: Meditations and Reflections
Equanimity is one of those terms that you may hear in meditation or mindfulness circles, but not a whole lot out in daily life. It is an important concept in Buddhism. It’s one of the four heart practices (along with metta, compassion, and appreciative joy), one of the factors of deep concentration, one of the seven factors of enlightenment, and one of the ten perfections. That is to say, it is an important practice and quality to cultivate in our path.
What is Equanimity?
If you’re a regular reader/listener, you know I’m going to start with the etymology. The word from Buddhist teachings that we call equanimity is actually two words in traditional Buddhism. The first is upekkha, which roughly means to look over as a spectator. The second is a little longer, tatramajjhattata, which can be translated most accurately to my understanding as "to stand in the middle of.” Equanimity, as such, can be understood as the quality of being able to stand in the middle of an experience and look over as a spectator.
To look at the other side of the coin, we lose equanimity when we are knocked off balance. When something activates us or we fall into something like anxiety or worry, anger or sadness, or even excitement and craving, we lose our stability a bit. When we’re struggling with that internal stress, equanimity is the quality that brings us back to balance and stability.
I heard a teacher, Oren Jay Sofer, explain it wonderfully once. He spoke of equanimity as an expansiveness. Rather than trying to tighten or strap ourselves to a balanced center, we actually soften and open to experience while remaining stable. He shared the example of the salt water: If you put a tablespoon of salt in a cup of water, it would taste fairly salty. If you put the same tablespoon of salt in Lake Michigan, you wouldn’t even taste the salt.
This is equanimity. We may be faced with the same craving, stress, or worry, but it doesn’t knock us off balance. It may still hurt, be unpleasant, or cause some suffering, but we remain firm and stable.
Equanimity of Mind
With the two separate terms used in Buddhism for equanimity, there are really two separate qualities. The term “stand in the middle of” is used when referring to equanimity of the mind. Equanimity of the mind might also be understood as internal equanimity, or equanimity with our own mental processes, emotional experience, etc.
With internal equanimity, we are able to see the arising and passing mental experiences with stability. This helps us see things more clearly, with more patience, and more continuity. When the mind is being knocked off balance by our experiences, we aren’t able to look at the experience quite as deeply, investigate it, and understand it. We can stand right in the middle of the experience with strength.
Equanimity as a Heart Quality
The second term, the “looking over as a spectator,” is used when equanimity is spoken of as a quality of the heart. Taught as one of the heart practices, it works hand in hand with compassion and kindness. Sometimes, you may be having a moment of compassion for someone and find yourself completely sucked in to their experience. When you see someone you love suffer, it’s not uncommon to feel knocked off balance or consumed by the experience.
With equanimity, we are able to look it over as a spectator. With compassion, but without getting consumed or destabilized quite as much. In this way equanimity helps hold the compassion and keep it from transforming into pity, too much worry, or trying too hard to fix something.
How to Cultivate Equanimity
Equanimity, like many other qualities of the mind and heart, can be cultivated through meditation practice. But it also can be worked with in daily life, for the times we aren’t sitting in meditation.
Equanimity Meditation
In my personal practice, equanimity meditation plays an important role. As a quality that lends itself toward many other qualities we work to develop (mindfulness, compassion, concentration), it is something I believe I benefit from deeply. In equanimity meditation, a person really works on bringing the mind back to a place of stability, of remaining firm but open, and of course noticing when they are not equanimous. Here’s a guided meditation I recorded a few years back on equanimity.
22 Minute Guided Meditation on Equanimity
Practicing Equanimity in Daily Life
We also can work to cultivate equanimity off the meditation cushion. I really like these reflections on equanimity from the Insight Meditation Center. These reflections and questions encourage us to look at where we notice equanimity in our lives, what equanimity actually feels like, and what helps us to be equanimous.
Podcast Episode on Equanimity