The Seven Enlightenment (Awakening) Factors
Sutra
Again, bhikkhus, one dwells contemplating mind-objects (dhammas) as mind- objects (dhammas) in terms of the seven enlightenment factors. And how does one dwell contemplating mind-objects as mind-objects in terms of the seven enlightenment factors?
Here, if the equanimity enlightenment factor is present, one knows: “There is the equanimity enlightenment factor in me”; or if the equanimity enlightenment factor is not present one knows: “There is no equanimity enlightenment factor in me”; and one also knows how the unarisen equanimity enlightenment factor can arise, and how the arisen equanimity factor can be perfected by development.
Insights
“In this way, one dwells contemplating mind-objects (dhammas) as mind-objects internally (our self), or one dwells contemplating mind-objects as mind-objects externally (in others), or one dwells contemplating mind-objects as mind both internally and externally.
Or else one dwells contemplating in mind-objects their arising factors, or one dwells contemplating in mind-objects their vanishing factors, or one dwells contemplating in mind-objects both their arising and vanishing factors.
Or else mindfulness that “there are mind-objects”(dhammas) is simply established to the extent necessary for bare knowledge and continuous mindfulness. And one abides independent, not clinging to anything in the world.
That is how one abides contemplating mind-objects as mind-objects in terms of the seven enlightenment factors.
Equanimity – Enlightenment Factor #7
The seventh enlightenment factor is equanimity. One of its most prominent characteristics is its capacity to balance each moment of consciousness and the
mental states associated these moments. Equanimity assures that these mental states are not in excess or deficient in any way. Where there is a lack of balance, the quality of equanimity introduces the appropriate remedy to restore the effective functioning of the mind. Thus, equanimity works to prevent the arising of perceptual distortions. It arises from concentration which keeps the mind from wandering off into myriad of self centered mind states (for example-the 14 unwholesome mind states mentioned in the Adhidhamma collection of Buddhist psychology.)
The Buddha said the mind needs to be balanced like a carriage that is being pulled by two horses of equal strength and stamina. When both are running in tandem, driving the carriage is easy. The driver lets the horses do the work. But if one horse is fast and the other is slow, the driver will need to work hard. To avoid landing in a ditch, the driver will constantly have to make efforts to slow down the fast horse and speed up the slow horse. Similarly, in meditation practice, at first there is no equilibrium among mental states and the meditator is constantly moving from enthusiasm to doubt, from overexertion to laziness. However, when the enlightenment factor of equanimity arises, mindfulness seems to go along by itself, the mental factors are balanced, and the meditator experiences great comfort and progress.
When all the other factors of enlightenment are in perfect harmony, the equanimity factor arises naturally. It arises gradually as the six preceding factors of enlightenment come to maturity. Seeing whatever arises in an impartial and steady way, equanimity works to purify each of the factors.
Before this point there was a subtle desire to have things other than the way they are. This desire subsides when the mind is in an equanimous state. We no longer hope for permanency, for the next moment to be satisfactory, or that we will be able to control what we experience or what arises to consciousness. At this stage the mind is completely united with the truth (i.e. what is unfolding).
Equanimity is the calm space that exists in the midst of the “eight worldly winds”: praise and blame, gain and loss, pleasure and pain, fame and disrepute. We ride the waves of change with balance and ease and are no longer tossed about by the vicissitudes of life.
Some there be that loathe me; then why Shall I, in being praised, rejoice? Some there be that praise me; then why
Shall I brood over blaming voice?
Who master is of self, will ever bear
A smiling face; he puts away all frowns,
Is first to greet another, and to share
His all. This friend of all the world, Truth crowns. Shantideva
There is a story about Arthur Ashe, the famous black tennis champion. As you may know he contracted HIV AIDS from a blood transfusion. In an interview he was asked if he resented contracting AIDS and had he ever asked the question “why me?” He said that in all the times he had won Wimbledon and Grand Slams he had never asked himself ‘why me?” so why should he start asking himself “why me” when he developed AIDS.
In the Tibetan Dzogchen tradition equanimity is described as having an empty mind:
“Though many phenomena such as mountains, rocks, trees, galaxies and stars reflect in the ocean, their appearance does not make the ocean any more crowded; and the absence of their reflection does not make it any more spacious. Whether they appear or not does not benefit or harm the ocean. In the same way, when one practices Dzogchen, whatever appearances arise there is no harm to the original essence of mind. When they cease, there is no benefit.”
Equanimity is the fourth of the Divine Abodes or boundless mind states/emotions described by the Buddha (i.e., loving-kindness, compassion, sympathetic (appreciative) joy, and equanimity). In this regard, equanimity allows us to look on all beings equally with a mind free from prejudice and partiality. According to Nyanaponika Thera, these boundless mind states:
…are said to be excellent or sublime because they are the right or ideal way of conduct towards living beings. They provide, in fact, the answer to all situations arising from social contact. They are the great removers of tension, the great peace-makers in social conflict, and the great healers of wounds suffered in the struggle of existence. They level social barriers, build harmonious communities, awaken slumbering magnanimity long forgotten, revive joy and hope long abandoned, and promote human brotherhood against the forces of egotism.
Equanimity also has a strong wisdom/clarity aspect to it. According to the Third Zen Patriarch,
The Great Way is not difficult
for those who have no preferences.
When love and hate are both absent everything becomes clear and undisguised.
When the enlightenment factor of equanimity is at work and the mental factors are in balance, the mind is impartial in terms of what arises to consciousness. This impartiality or non-preferentiality leads to seeing things as they really are. Everything becomes “clear and undisguised.” It should be remembered that we may certainly prefer things to be different but they are the way they are!
What is happening on the content level becomes less important than seeing the three characteristics of impermanency, unsatisfactoriness, and selflessness. We realize on a very deep and transformative level that everything that has the nature to arise also has the nature to pass away. This means “me” too. There is no ultimate permanent satisfaction in sense pleasures, and there is no self as part of, behind, or in control of our experiences. There is “just empty phenomena rolling along, rising and passing away” and as it is stated many times in the Satipatthana Sutra, “one lives independent not clinging to anything in the world”. This is the experience of freedom for which we are moving toward.
Finally, equanimity becomes the bridge to a deep intuitive understanding of the Four Noble Truths. We see suffering exactly as it is. We see the cause of suffering as it is. We see the end of suffering exactly as it is. And we also see the path that we have been following that has led to the end of suffering exactly as it is. It leads us to the Noble Truths which is the last of the Dharmas of the Fourth Foundation of Mindfulness. We will explore this in two months.
Ongoing Practice
Please read, review, and reflect on what still needs to be done in regards to the previous enlightenment factors that we have been working with over the past six months. Then, do whatever needs to be done to further cultivate those factors. Are there Factors that are particularly difficult for you to work with? As stated earlier, equanimity arises naturally when all the other enlightenment factors are in perfect harmony.
Practice for this month
The Buddha taught that there are seven qualities of mind that also support the arising of equanimity. These qualities are inherent in the previous six factors of
enlightenment, but they are highlighted here. Please spend this month reviewing and reflecting on of each of these qualities below. Are there some that need to be reinforced through your practice? Are some in need of “shoring up”? Spend additional time with those.
1. Virtue or integrity
a. When we have not cleared up our issues from the past such as resentments, unresolved grief, and incompletions, our minds are filled with fear, grief and guilt, which are counter to the experience of equanimity. Resentment is the single biggest barrier to a maturing spiritual practice.
b. In addition, when we have unresolved issues we repress disturbing thoughts and feelings. This creates an internal tension and prevents equanimity from arising. Our practice is to watch these mind states arise (without judging) and mindfully see with our own direct experience that they are impermanent, unpleasant, and that these mind states are not “me” or “mine”. They are simply “mind”!
c. By living and acting with integrity, which means right speech, right action, and right livelihood (please review these), we feel confident about our actions and words, which results in feeling blameless and this, in turn, supports the arising of equanimity. What a beautiful mind state it is to be free from guilt, regret and resentment!
2. Confidence
a. This is confidence (sometimes referred to as faith – not belief), which is rooted in wisdom and direct experience. For example, when through our meditation practice we have confidence in the impermanent and selfless nature of experience, we are more likely to meet the challenges that arise during meditation and everyday life with equanimity; with an even and balanced peaceful mind.
3. Stability of Mind
a. This is directly cultivated through concentration.
b. As you know, there are five hindrances (craving, aversion, sleepiness and laziness, restlessness and worry, and doubt) that weaken the stability and balance of mind. Please review the ways to overcome the hindrances and fetters and apply those means.
4. Well-Being
a. This is a sense of the sufficiency of the present moment. One of the primary insights Buddha had was a childhood memory of an instance where he realized that nothing needed to be added or removed from any moment to make it more complete. It was complete already! This month please “play” with this a bit?
b. Sufficiency with the present moment arises when we realize the past and future are cognitive notions and that the only reality is that which is right before us – here and now.
c. We need to give up the hope, which says that another moment will be more fulfilling than this one, and focus on recognizing the sufficiency of each moment as it arises. It also means giving up attachment to outcome since the present moment is all there ever is.
d. It is living from a place of “not knowing” and allowing life to unfold without fear or concern for the outcome.
5. Wisdom
a. This is the recognition that everything arises through causes and conditions. Further, we do not truly know the cause of anything since everything is a cause for everything else.
b. The mind makes up stories of why something has occurred after it has occurred to give our “selves” a feeling of control. In truth, the mind cannot know what is beyond its boundaries – and life is beyond its boundaries! Think of how many stories we’ve concocted in our brief lifetime? How many today? Can we begin to practice to let go of this habit?
c. Wisdom is beginning to see the unity and interrelatedness of all life – nothing is in competition with anything else – it is all part of one large matrix commonly called “creation.”
6. Insight
a. When we use the word “insight” in the context of meditation, we are referring to spiritual, rather than psychological insights.
Psychological insights are important; it’s just that they do not directly lead to liberation from our self-constructed conceptual boundaries.
b. A spiritual insight allows us to break through our identification with the conditioned mind. A spiritual insight is the awareness that you identified with some aspect of the body and mind, and now you see it isn’t true – the false assumption simply disappears. There is no internal dialogue – there is no “one” that has the insight.
c. In other words, an insight is not a mental activity – it is the cessation of the mental activity called identification.
d. Insights are seeing into the deeper nature of things – a direct seeing of the reality beyond perceptual distortions; that everything is impermanent, unsatisfactory, and selfless. Practice with this during this month!
e. These insights arise from simply letting the mind be as it is, not clinging to the pleasant nor rejecting the unpleasant – remaining alert without undue tension.
f. Meditation is not a method of doing – it is a method of not-doing; nothing is imposed or instigated; one simply maintains presence in motiveless observation. It is our heart’s holiday!
7. Openness
a. Openness is watching how life unfolds from moment to moment without grasping or resisting what occurs. It is to accept our expression, or the way in which life expresses itself through us and to honor that expression in the world.
b. It is to take our seat in the reality of our inherent freedom, to speak and live from the heart, and to stop living through fear and feelings of insufficiency in the world.
Enlightenment has never been closer and at the same time never been farther away than it is right at this moment! Be well and work diligently!
