Equanimity is a balance of mind even in the face of change and turmoil. A spaciousness of the heart that is vast enough to hold the joys and sorrows of life. A stillness that lies beneath the waves of an agitated mind. The talk discusses different ways in which equanimity manifests in our relationships to other beings and life experiences.

Our actions are often driven by unconscious or conflicting intentions. How can we align with wholesome intentions and cultivate wholesome mindstates? Based on the Dvedhāvitakkasutta the talk discusses the importance of renunciation, metta and compassion for the path and the transformation of the heart.

An exploration of proliferations, kamma and self and the eightful path

Q1: You seem to be talking about citta as a persisting permanent thing not as arising every split second. Any comments? 11:34 Q2: How can I deal with not fully maintaining Buddhist standards after the retreat? 17:27 Q3: You said: Keep warming what can be warmed and the things that can't release yet ... it's not ready. Could you elaborate more on this please? 24:08 Q4: You wrote a book called Unseating the Inner Tyrant. The critic consumes a lot of energy. How do you restore that energy after a rage? Is there a shorter path to finding balance? 32:59 Q5: There's a lot of fear in my citta. How come? 34:46 Q6: I was afraid of coming to this retreat, and now I'm afraid of going out. 38:16 Q7: What is the relationship between tanha, craving, as the fundamental cause of dukkha and the three root kelasa, defilements, based on the scriptures and or their experience for interpretation? 47:51 Q 8: What is the effect of serious illness physical and psychological on the citta? Can they limit or make it impossible to take care of the citta?

Ajahn explores dukkha and the end of dukkha and the role of the 7 enlightenment factors, shifts of energy, identity and sabotage programs, disengagement/viveka, dispassion/viraga, cessation/nirodha.

Q1 If I remember it well citta follows moving, shifting energy. How can we feel moving energy? Is it the feeling of the breath or sound? What is non-moving energy? 08:37 Q2 what's the difference between virya, translated as energy, and citta energy? 12:12 Q3 You don't seem to use the word awareness which is often used to denote the knowing of something. Is there a connection between the felt energy and awareness? 28:28 Q4 How do you reconcile the fire of an animated heart with Buddhism's perfume of disengagement and dispassion? 32:36 Q5 how can sensation and the sequence that leads to it be described in a subtle energy approach? 43:43 Q6 What's the difference between vedana and emotion? 44:48 Q7 Sadness, sorrow, fear, joy. Are the emotions or more fixed states? 49:20 Q8 Observing the breath seems quite important, but as soon as I focus on the breath it gets forced and heavy. Do you have any advice on observing the natural breath without interfering? 52:17 Q9 What does it mean when you say the breathing is a messenger? What is the message?