Free yourself from limiting perspectives, and become more intimate with your own boundless awareness.  We are speaking of the Buddhist term equanimity.

To develop equanimity we must cultivate the qualities of the mind that support its growth. There are seven mental qualities, or virtues that support this development.

The first is virtue or integrity. We must live and act with a sense of integrity; it is when we feel confident about our actions and words, is where equanimity of blamelessness occurs.

The second virtue helps to support equanimity in the assurance that comes from faith. Faith provides equanimity; Faith that is grounded in wisdom is especially powerful.

The third support is a well-developed mind. We can develop mental strength, balance and stability. In our practice we must cultivate calm, concentration and mindfulness. When the mind is calm, we are able to become more aware of ourselves.

The fourth support is a sense of well-being. We can not leave well-being to develop on its own. Buddhism considers it appropriate to cultivate and enhance our personal well-being.

The fifth virtue in support of equanimity is understanding or wisdom. Wisdom is the fruit of the labor of awareness.  To be present means being aware without attachment.

Wisdom is the divining tool we use to separate a person’s action from whom they truly are.

The sixth virtue is insight. Seeing things just as they are according to the laws of nature.  All things are impermanent. It is one of the primary and fundamental truths in nature.  It is simple and yet profound. Learning the skill of nonattachment, of just letting go brings about equanimity.

The final and last virtue is freedom.  Freedom to let go of what makes us unhappy and a life without compassion for ourselves and others.  Letting go.  Letting go of attachment to rules and ideas that bind others and ourselves to mindlessness is freedom.

Basically we have talked about 2 forms or virtues.  An awareness of inner self and a sense of equilibrium that comes from a firm foundation of faith and understanding of impermanence and nature of the spaces around us.

We are all connected to each other like the underground roots of large southern oak trees.  We share the same earth, the same water, the same air. No one needs to tell you that there is suffering.  It is universal.  But in the same breath remember something else is universal, compassion and equanimity.

We need to find a way to practice it.  We need to develop for us and others the value of compassion and the great healings and joy that come from human understanding and care for life.

We all suffer regardless of our goodness or lack of goodness.  We all hurt regardless of color, status, education, living conditions, poverty, wealth or faith.  We all have moments of happiness as well as sadness, security as well as fearfulness, pleasure and pain.

We are alive.  As long as we breathe we are subject to the conditions of life.

It is through the development of wisdom that supports equanimity.  We understand that people are responsible for their own actions and the decisions that led up to their actions. We must examine ourselves and our own sufferings which will help us find equanimity in the suffering of other people. This is the key.  Avoid a false sense of responsibility for others well-being.

Basically we are speaking of engagement or action.  It is in the mindfulness in action that an understanding of the effect of action occurs.  We can see plainly the effect of action or non-action.

See the connections we all share. See the opportunity to care for and serve the family and friends we have.  Realize all the conditions of life are temporary.  Each will pass like the outgoing tide. If we take our teachings from nature and realize that we are a part of nature, we can experience life in all its conditions and know when to let go. Share your sense of equanimity as you share your life. Free yourself from attachments like stepping out of the shadows that have followed you all your life.  The practice of equanimity is an act of peace.

“May You be Aware Your Blessings are More Numerous
Than the Stars in the Nights Sky.”

I Wish You Peace,

Bhante Kassapa

Bhante n. Kassapa Bhikkhu
bhante_kassapa@yahoo.com
Buu Mon Temple
Port Arthur, Texas, 77640
409.982.9319

Irrigators guide the water,
Fletchers shape the arrow shaft,
Carpenters shape the wood,
Those of good practices control themselves.
– The Buddha

The Buddha said there are five gifts, five great gifts. He said they were long-standing, traditional, ancient, unadulterated, from the beginning—not open to suspicion, and will never be open to suspicion. What are these five things?

Abandoning the taking of life. (abstains from taking life)
Abandoning taking what is not freely given. (abstains from stealing)
Abandoning illicit sex. (abstains from illicit or heedless sex)
Abandoning lying. (abstains from lying and untruths)
Abandoning the use of intoxicants (abstains from taking intoxicants and illegal drugs)

In doing these things you give others freedom from anger, freedom from danger and animosity, freedom from oppressing others. In doing so you are the recipient of freedom of anger, freedom from danger and animosity, and freedom from oppression.

Virtue is a treasure. It is a treasure that you give yourself. Who is more important than yourself? The Buddha listened one day to a conversation with a person who had sought him out for guidance, about a conversation, he had had with his wife. The Buddha offered him this quote about self worth:

Searching all the directions
With your awareness,
You find no one dearer to yourself.
In the same way, others
are fiercely dear to themselves.
So you shouldn’t hurt others
if you love yourself.
The Buddha

Virtue in itself is a skill, and much like any skill, must be developed. So at the outset we must acknowledge that skill building is an involved process. We must first develop a definition of what is skillful and what is not. What is skillful and what is not skillful? Let us place skillful in the context on an action.

Taking life is not skillful. Taking what is not given…sexual misconduct … lying … abusive speech … divisive tale-bearing … covetousness…
Ill will and wrong view are all not skillful.

So what is skillful? Abstaining from taking life is skillful, abstaining from taking what is not freely given, from sexual misconduct … from lying … from abusive speech … from divisive tale bearing … from idle chatter … lack of covetousness … lack of ill will … right views are all skillful actions, and a good mindset for us to work within.

As we move along in our lives we come across many situations that should cause us to stop and think about how we should proceed. But do we do that? In many instances, if we are honest with ourselves, due to the pace at which we live, we do not ask any questions: We simply re-act. We become the reaction to whatever event has just manifested it self in our lives. By not thinking before any action is taken we rob our selves of our own intelligence. This is being unskillful.

How do we improve our skills? Take a moment to think before we respond. Like a person who thinks before speech as opposed to the person who forms the idea while speaking, we need to take a few moments to think. By exercising this skill we become better and better at it. Anything that is practiced well becomes easier and more second nature with repeated practice. Isn’t this what we are after? It is so much easier to proceed along your path without having to apologize for an action, or miss-action, spoken or unspoken indiscretion.

When we approach the time for our meditation we need to be able to sit quietly and not be bothered by the thoughts of the day and previous days.
It is so much easier to live our life without feelings of remorse or anger for having either victimized someone or been the victim. Words or actions taken or spoken out of anger are quick to happen and long to be forgotten.

If we practice for ourselves these five gifts, we will be able to increase our mindfulness to the small things about us everyday. Meditation is a skill. It is also a practice. Remember the roots of not having skillfulness are greed and delusion. So practice looking at things not with the prejudicial eye but with intelligence. Begin to know yourself. Develop the fine understanding between needs and wants. Seek out the places in your life that are controlled by greed. See things as they are. Continue the practice of your meditations and develop the skills needed for a good understanding of your life and how you are living it.

Give yourself permission to be happy. In so doing you give yourself the gift of kindness. Every gift you give yourself is a gift to each of us.

Searching all the directions
With your awareness,
You find no one dearer to yourself.
In the same way, others
are fiercely dear to themselves.
So you shouldn’t hurt others
if you love yourself.
– The Buddha

I Wish You Peace,

Bhante Kassapa

Bhante n. Kassapa Bhikkhu
bhante_kassapa@yahoo.com
Buu Mon Temple
Port Arthur, Texas, 77640
409.982.9319