What is upekkha?

Upekkha (upekkhā; Sanskrit upekṣā) means equanimity: a mind that stays balanced and even, whatever happens. It is the fourth of the four sublime states and also one of the seven factors of awakening. The word suggests “looking on” calmly, with a wide view, rather than being pulled one way or another.

Equanimity is not indifference

Equanimity is easy to misunderstand. It does not mean not caring, and it is not a cold detachment. Teachers call indifference the “near enemy” of equanimity, because it looks similar from the outside. The “far enemies” are greed and resentment, which pull the mind out of balance.

Real equanimity is warm. It is the balance that allows us to care for people without trying to control them, and to act well without being thrown by the results. In the early suttas the Buddha teaches Rāhula to develop equanimity because it gives up repulsion.

Equanimity and the sublime states

Among the four sublime states, equanimity balances the other three. Loving-kindness, compassion and sympathetic joy all involve reaching out to others. Equanimity adds the understanding that each being is the owner of their own actions, or karma. We can wish them well and help where possible, but we cannot live their lives for them. This keeps care from turning into over-involvement.

The worldly conditions

The Buddha spoke of eight worldly conditions that turn the world around: gain and loss, fame and disrepute, praise and blame, pleasure and pain. Everyone meets all of them. Equanimity is the ability to meet them without being knocked over, knowing that they are impermanent and do not belong to us.

How to practise

You can practise equanimity as a meditation by bringing to mind a neutral person and reflecting, “All beings are the owners of their actions. Their happiness and unhappiness depend on their actions, not on my wishes.” Then extend this to friends, difficult people and yourself.

In daily life, equanimity grows through mindfulness. When something pleasant or painful happens, notice the reaction to it, and remember that it too will change. Equanimity also arises naturally as concentration deepens, which is why it appears in descriptions of the higher meditative states. With time, the mind becomes steadier, like a large rock that is not moved by the wind.