One day, a young student approached the Buddha and asked him to teach him about the nature of reality.

The Buddha led the student to a nearby river and pointed to the water rushing by.

"Do you see that water?" he asked.

"It's constantly moving, always changing. It flows downstream, never staying in one place for long. This is the nature of reality - it's constantly changing, always in motion."

The student nodded, understanding what the Buddha was trying to teach him.

Buddha continued, "Just like the water flows downstream, so too do our thoughts and emotions. They come and go, never staying in one place for long. But if we learn to let them flow, if we learn to let go of our attachments and desires, we can find peace and freedom within."

The student took the Buddha's words to heart, and he made a commitment to practice mindfulness and non-attachment in his daily life. And as he practiced, he began to experience a sense of peace and freedom that he had never known before.

The Internet needs equanimity. People are blind under the hypnotic spell of outrage which pervades every corner of it. The majority of outrage is either exaggerated or fabricated. Even when it's justifiable, reacting so extremely is rarely productive. It generally only incites divisions and hopeless thoughts. It's also making it impossible to have conversations, as it's leading people to assume bad faith or hostility as the default disposition. As fair as this may be with the current state of the Internet, this thinking makes it functionally unusable for well-intentioned people.

I can't be the only one who is exhausted by this.

In Tibetan, the word for equanimity is tang-nyom. Tang means ‘release’ and nyom means ‘equalize.’ Equanimity is not about feeling fine with whatever happens. It has more to do with relaxing with what is….This is at the root of true equanimity, and when the focus on suffering can be softened, Fours will find they have a gift for it.

Susan Piver, The Buddhist Enneagram: Nine Paths to Warriorship

Nothing of value can happen to a mind which knows exactly what it wants. For nothing the mind can visualize and want is of much value.

Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj

Ecclesiastes 7:13–14

“Happiness is not a matter of intensity but of balance and order and rhythm and harmony.”

— Thomas Merton

Learn to be indifferent to what makes no difference.

— Marcus Aurelius

Equanimity includes everyone, even Gary, www.compassmethods.com. https://youtube.com/@CompassionsCompass-sb7jo?si=J2QBQHZbNw0ww546

Daily writing promptWhat is the greatest gift someone could give you?View all responses Navigating the realm of gifts, I find myself drawn to those that transcend the tangible and resonate deeply with knowledge, wisdom, and spirituality. These immaterial gifts hold a profound power to transform and elevate our lives, offering insights that endure beyond the ephemeral nature of material…

View On WordPress

One day, a Zen master was meditating in his garden when he was interrupted by a loud, persistent meowing.

He opened his eyes to see a cat sitting in front of him, looking up at him with pleading eyes.

The Zen master realized that the cat was hungry, so he reached for a bowl of milk and placed it in front of the cat.

As the cat began to drink, he resumed his meditation.

A few minutes later, the meowing resumed, even louder and more insistent than before. The Zen master opened his eyes again and saw that the cat was still sitting in front of him, looking up at him with pleading eyes.

He realized that the cat was still hungry, so he reached for another bowl of milk and placed it in front of the cat. The cat gratefully drank the milk and then curled up at the Zen master's feet, purring contentedly.

The Zen master resumed his meditation, and this time, the meowing did not return. As he meditated, the Zen master reflected on the lesson he had learned from the cat: that sometimes, the most persistent and persistent problems can be solved with simple acts of kindness and compassion.

A little reminder I made for myself, for those days when everybody around seems to be totally incompetent:

Today I will (most likely) encounter idiots. It's not their fault: they're doing their best with what they've got. May I meet them with balance and compassion.

Some people are in way over their heads. Some are hurt and acting to prevent themselves from being hurt more. Some people have very different priorities or enculturation. Some have a very different understanding of what is going on in the first place. (which is obviously inferior to my understanding, right?)

All people are worthy of our kindness and thoughtful consideration.

Some situations require a response from strength, others will resolve better with a softer approach. Our ability to discern the "best" action depends on our capacity to understand what is going on.

The most important thing is to acknowledge each situation for what it is, and remember that everybody involved is trying as hard as they are able to do their best at their own life.

Whoops I've been saying equinamity instead of equanimity

Rather than tethering oneself to placidity, equanimity is being able to work with it all without falling apart and knowing how to return to center. It’s like surfing….To surf a wave, it would not make sense to plant your feet and stand firm. A surfer must have to give up all expectations about what is to come and instead notice what is coming in this moment and this one and this one—and reconfigure their center of gravity to meet it all, ready to abandon what worked in the last moment to intuit what is needed in this one. And this one. And so on.

Susan Piver, The Buddhist Enneagram: Nine Paths to Warriorship

The Ultimate Context

A Glimpse Beyond Our Narratives Life is a tapestry of personal narratives. Each of us is the author of our own story, swept up in the whirl of our everyday trials and tribulations, from the mundane to the monumental. We’re all preoccupied with our victories and defeats, joys and sorrows, dreams and disappointments, which collectively form our unique, personal content. Yet, amidst this tumultuous…

View On WordPress