19 Equanimity

Equanimity - the "crown jewel" of the Four Immeasurables In both Shamatha and the Four Immeasurables, we cultivate balance and a sense of "evenness of heart." The Four Immeasurables are immeasurable only if they flow out evenly, without partiality or bias. They cultivate “virtues of the heart” and an understanding of causality. They help us overcome the dehumanizing tendency to only see others as a means of fulfilling our hedonistic desires – it becomes an “I” v.s. “it” relationship. We often respond to people’s agreeable, disagreeable, or neutral appearances. The fusion of appearances with a person is a delusion. We also fuse ourselves with aspects of ourselves (e.g. behaviors, mental afflictions, etc.). Meditation(48:07): Cultivating equanimity by reviewing our own lives and working with positive and negative times. Then doing this with others (one we “like”, one we “don’t like,” and one to whom we have neutral feelings. False Facsimile of Equanimity is “Aloof Indifference” (sometimes called “Stupid Indifference”). Questions(72:50): 1. How do you have a natural measure for practice so that you neither burn out nor become lazy? 2. How do you burn up merit and what's the role of dedication? 3. In the “awareness of awareness” practice, how do I know if I am doing the practice correctly? 4. Is “open presence” the same as shamatha without a sign?