Categories: Maintaining Mindfulness
May the blessings of the Triple Gem be with you all!
Today, we continue our journey into the practical application of the spiritual life. As we’ve explored before, the path of mindfulness is about gaining a direct understanding of ourselves and the world around us. If any point in this teaching resonates with you, I encourage you to hold it in your awareness and, through the mindful practice we have discussed, verify its truth for yourself. This is the very essence of the Buddha’s practical teachings.
Beyond Barriers: The Universal Need for Practice
This practice is about recognizing yourself, recognizing the world, understanding the universe, and seeing the true nature of reality. To confirm the truth of these matters for yourself, there are no barriers. It does not matter what your ethnicity, religion, or social standing is; whether you are considered ‘white’ or ‘black.’ The only requirement, the single word we always return to, is practice. Without this practical application, you cannot verify for yourself the truth or untruth of any principle taught by the Buddha. This is a natural law we must understand.
Seeing Through Illusion: The World vs. The Dhamma
The method the Buddha taught us for seeing the world is unique. While modern technology and new discoveries offer us ways to view the world, there is a limit to what they can show us. Through them, we often see a manufactured reality, a version of the world that has been created for us. However, if we follow the Buddha’s method, we can see *what* the world is creating for us. We gain the ability to perceive the deceptions and falsehoods presented to us.
I invite you to reflect on this deeply in a quiet moment, or even as you maintain mindfulness throughout your day. You can verify this truth within yourself. When I say ‘you,’ I am referring to your mind, or your heart-mind, known in Pali as citta. You must learn to use this mind.
If we fail to use it skillfully, our mind becomes our weakness. We become its subjects, its slaves. To be a subject of the mind is to descend day by day into an abyss. It ensures we must continue on the long journey through what is called samsara, the endless cycle of birth, death, and rebirth driven by our actions and ignorance.
The Emergence of Upekkha: Finding Balance Through Patience
I speak of these things from my own practical experience. Because these words come from a place of practice, there is another point you can verify: the necessity of training. By now, some of you may have already realized these truths. For others, the understanding may not have dawned yet. That is not a problem. It takes a certain amount of time for these matters to become clear, and that duration is relative to each individual. We must allow for that time.
Within that space of allowing, a quality begins to arise that is central to our topic: a state of equanimity. In Pali, this is called Upekkha. It is a profound state of mental balance and non-reactivity. It is only within this state of Upekkha that we can begin to grasp the truth of any matter, to understand the true nature of the world. We can only comprehend the true nature of our own mind through this state of equanimity. There is no other way.
The Peace Within Equanimity
I frequently mention this word, Upekkha, in our discussions on mindfulness, so much so that you may have it memorized by now. For those who have been practicing for some time, when you look deeply into your experience, you will have realized the immense peace this state contains.
Perhaps you have only understood a small part of it, while the part you haven’t understood is a thousand times larger. But I say with certainty and confidence that even in the small amount you have understood, you have experienced a tangible sense of peace within that equanimity. This is an inevitable result, a gift for those who train in this practical way.
From 90% Agitation to a Glimmer of Calm
Our mind, our citta, is in a state of constant agitation. One moment it may be calm, the next it is turbulent. In a moment of calm, we have a chance to understand our mind. But we cannot force it to remain calm or prevent the agitation from returning. If we have, say, 10% of our mind in a state of calm, the other 90% is prone to agitation. We cannot simply will away that 90%.
This is where your practice comes in. Through your dedicated exploration of the spiritual life, maintaining mindfulness, practicing the Four Foundations of Mindfulness (Satipatthana), and engaging in insight meditation (Vipassana) moment by moment, you have built a certain degree of non-agitation. You have brought your mind to a level of peace. This has not happened by chance; it has happened because you have understood something through your consistent, practical training. It is this very Upekkha, this equanimity, that has brought this about.
The 1% Victory: Observing Your Thoughts with Equanimity
This understanding comes from seeing the nature of the mind’s states: its attachments and aversions. You begin to see the mental defilements (known as kilesas), such as:
- Raga (lust or greed)
- Dosa (aversion or hatred)
- Moha (delusion or ignorance)
And all the thoughts that arise from them: love, affection, possessiveness, jealousy, anger, and hatred. You start seeing every thought, whether wholesome (kusala) or unwholesome (akusala). Previously, a thought of lust might have arisen, and you would have felt completely uncontrolled. But now, the person who was 100% agitated might be only 99% agitated. You may have cultivated a 1% state of non-agitation. You can rejoice in that 1%! It means you are holding your mind in equanimity, in a state of neutrality, for that 1% of the time. In that space, you are not disturbed. The other 99% is still turbulent, but that 1% is your foundation.
Using Calm to Understand Chaos
Look at your mind right now, in this very moment. As you listen to this teaching, you are calm. Your mind settles. It might even enter a state of concentration (samadhi). Notice how, in this state, you can see your mind clearly. You can study it. It is from this place of equanimity that we must move forward. This is the crucial point to understand. Without equanimity, we are stuck in the 99% of turbulence.
We cannot progress until we fully understand that turbulent part of our mind. However, the part that helps us move forward, the part that helps us understand the 99%, is that small 1% where the mind is calm. Even when we are burning with lust or hatred, we now try, countless times, to maintain mindfulness, to stay neutral, to remain unshaken with equanimity.
We are still agitated, of course, because we have not yet realized Nibbana (liberation) or reached any of the stages of enlightenment. But whether we have reached those stages is irrelevant. As we have said in other teachings, do not search for them; it is a meaningless distraction.
The Natural Path to Mental Freedom
The more you use mindfulness (sati), the more you will understand. You will begin to recognize: ‘This is a lustful thought,’ ‘This is a hateful thought,’ ‘This is a deluded thought,’ ‘This is a jealous thought,’ ‘This is a hypocritical thought,’ ‘This is a good thought,’ ‘This is a bad thought.’ You will see its characteristics, its nature, its weight, its power. You will understand the harm these thoughts do to you, and the harm they cause others when you act on them.
As you understand this more and more, you naturally become more equanimous, more neutral. Do not expect the thoughts to stop coming. Do not expect to block them, suppress them, or eradicate them forever. The result you desire will come naturally as your understanding deepens. That 1% or 10% of understanding is what calms your mind, brings you joy, and supports your mental health and freedom.
When Agitation Arises: A Signal to Look Deeper
We still have a large portion of the mind that we do not understand. The way to understand it is the same method we have been discussing. We cannot force equanimity to arise. We cannot force attachment and aversion to disappear. As we understand the process of the mind, how it works, its nature, we naturally settle into a neutral place. For a person who has settled into this neutrality, attachment and aversion gradually begin to decrease.
If you had 100% before, perhaps 1% has fallen away, leaving 99%. Then another percent falls away, leaving 98%. As it decreases, notice carefully: is there any agitation in that state of equanimity? Is there any disturbance? Observe the part of you that has understood through practice. Is there any turmoil there?
If you find yourself agitated by something, remember this: you have not yet understood it. You have not yet reached equanimity or neutrality regarding that issue. The highest state of Upekkha is that of a Buddha or an Arahant (a fully enlightened one), which is Nibbana.
But we can achieve equanimity and non-agitation in specific situations. If we are still disturbed by something, fear of the dark, fear of a certain thought, fear of a spirit, it is because we haven’t fully understood the nature of that fear. So, ask yourself: is the weakness in the external environment, or is it within me? Who is it that has failed to understand?
Recognizing the Triggers of Agitation
If you understand this correctly, agitation will not arise in your mind. Think of the many times in life we become agitated. We can’t stop it by force. For example, if someone is asked to give a speech at a meeting, notice the fear and agitation that arises. Of course, someone who does it every day becomes accustomed to it, but that is just habituation, not the dispelling of defilements. We are talking about the instant agitation that arises from an unexpected event.
Or consider this: observe the agitation that erupts in your mind when someone says something negative about a person you love dearly. Thoughts of wanting to strike that person may arise. That is the nature of the mind, conditioned over countless lifetimes in samsara. To understand this is the very thing that reduces the power of that hateful thought and gives rise to equanimity and neutrality.
Mapping Your Inner Landscape of Calm and Storm
If you pay close attention to the moments you become agitated, you can begin to understand: ‘Do I still get agitated? Is the probability of agitation high or low? I get agitated in this situation, but not that one.’ You can discern this for yourself with mindfulness. When you understand this, you are truly equanimous. You are neutral. Even if you haven’t realized Nibbana, you have achieved a certain level of understanding about your own mind.
This is the work: to continue studying your mind, studying its nature. When someone feels that the practice is becoming tiresome or boring, that is just another state the mind presents. To recognize that is to see that we have not yet become equanimous toward that feeling of boredom either.
The Practice: Watching the Rise and Fall of Agitation
If you understand these points, you will see that when your mind is truly calm, there is no agitation. But there are many opportunities for that calmness to be shattered, because the defilements are still within us. Here is the practice: in a moment when you are calm and undisturbed, watch with clear mindfulness as something comes to agitate your mind. Watch that thought.
hWatch how it arrives, how it stirs up your mind, how it shatters your equanimity and neutrality. See how it systematically destroys your peace. Then, if you can just watch it without getting agitated, without reacting, just holding it in your awareness, you will see it for what it is: a pile of filth, a destructive force. And you will see it naturally pass away. The thought will arise, and it will go.
If you can watch this entire process without any agitation, you will feel your mind returning to equanimity. And if you continue to watch like this, again and again, that 1% of equanimity you had will become 2%. A portion grows, systematically. Now you have 98% left to understand, but you have understood 2% through Upekkha. Watch this process with good mindfulness, with clear awareness.
The Fruits of Practice: Strength, Integrity, and Freedom
As you cultivate this process day by day, you will come to understand the strength of your own mind, the quality of your character. You will realize how much mental strength you have, how much integrity, how much self-respect. You will also see clearly the amount you lack. And you will be able to verify for yourself whether these qualities are increasing through your practice.
Based on all the points I have mentioned throughout this teaching, you can now understand how valuable this practical path is. You can see how the Buddha’s teaching of mindfulness, the Four Foundations of Mindfulness and insight meditation, is so instrumental for our daily life, for our mental health, and for our inner freedom. So, practice this every day. As I said at the beginning, there is no age limit. Try it practically, and your life will begin to change.
Conclusion: The Path Forward is Understanding
For those who have listened to our teachings in order from the very first one on mindfulness, I know you have surely had this experience. That practical understanding can be developed further and further, depending on how you train.
I have provided the necessary understanding of this topic. In line with our theme, you should now grasp that if we are agitated by something, it means we are not in a state of equanimity in that moment. If we remain unagitated, it means we have understood that thing; we are established in equanimity and neutrality. Through this teaching and your own practice, may this realization dawn on you. Understanding these points will enable you to move further and further along the path.
I will conclude the teaching for today. By the power of the Triple Gem, the Buddha, the Dhamma, and the Sangha, may you all have the strength to practice these teachings and realize them for yourselves.
We invite you to walk this path with us. Read our teachings, and most importantly, apply them practically in your own life. as you practice, questions will naturally arise. Please feel free to share your experiences and questions in the comments below, via email or contact form. I will do my best to offer guidance in future talks based on your progress. For now, begin this practice with an open heart and a mind free from expectation. Cultivate it correctly, and may you find the clarity and peace you seek.
Thank you for joining us. We hope this blog will be of great benefit to your spiritual journey.
May you all be well and happy.
May the blessings of the Triple Gem be with you all!!
