Hi Keren,
> I would be happy to hear your understanding of upekkhaa. How do you
> understand the difference between upekkhha-indriya which is vedanaa,
> and upekkhaa as a factor of the fourth jhaana, the brahma-vihaara and
> a bojjhanga.
> Do you think upekkha-indriya has a different quality than upekkhaa in
> other contexts?
I think yes. As you wrote, it is a kind of vedanaa, 'neutral feeling',
adukkham-asukha-vedanaa.
> Is upekkhaa-indriya can also be described as a physical sensation,
'Vedanaa' is not exactly a 'physical sensation'. For example, it can be
'kaayika' and 'cetasika', 'saamisa' and 'niraamisa'.
Hypothetically a being without a body experiences 'cetasikaa vedanaa'.
> while at other contexts it is a skillful mental quality?
Upekkhaa as a factor of the fourth jhaana, the brahma-vihaara and a
bojjhanga is much more than a skilful mental quality.
First, it comes to notice that here once again the sequence of four
brahma viharas is consonant to the sequence of four jhanas. It's not too
surprising since in some suttas a certain stage of practice is described
interchangeably as either four jhanas or four brahma viharas.
The sequence of seven bojjhangas is illustrated in Dvedhavitakka sutta.
Last four bojjhangas (including upekkhaa) correspond to factors of jhanas.
What does 'upekkhaa' mean in this context?
PED gives meanings like '"looking on", hedonic neutrality or indifference'.
Margaret Cone's dictionary continues this trend with 'disinteresedness'.
Is it truly the summit of Awakening factors, of Brahma-viharas, of
jhanas - just plain indifference?
It turns out that these dictionary articles miss a lot.
In suttas 'upekkhaa' is indeed connected with 'looking on' (upa+ikkh),
observation:
And what are the six kinds of household equanimity?
The equanimity that arises when a foolish, deluded person --
a run-of-the-mill, untaught person who has not conquered his
limitation or the results of action & who is blind to danger --
sees a form with the eye. Such equanimity does not go
beyond the form, which is why it is called household equanimity.
(Similarly with sounds, smells, tastes, tactile sensations, & ideas.)
And what are the six kinds of renunciation equanimity?
The equanimity that arises when -- experiencing the inconstancy of
those very forms, their change, fading, & cessation -- one sees with
right discernment as it actually is that all forms, past or present,
are inconstant, stressful, subject to change:
This equanimity goes beyond form, which is why it is called
renunciation equanimity.
(Similarly with sounds, smells, tastes, tactile sensations, & ideas.)
http://www.accesstoinsight.org/canon/sutta/majjhima/mn137.html
In mundane terms 'upekkhaa' is just observation through six sense media.
However in supramundane terms 'upekkhaa' is deep and wide seeing with
discernment.
In the same sutta we read:
In this case the Tathagata is not satisfied nor is he sensitive to
satisfaction, yet he remains untroubled, mindful, & alert.
Free from both satisfaction & dissatisfaction, he remains equanimous,
mindful, & alert.
'upekkhako' is used interchangeably with 'anavassuto' - 'not leaking',
'free from lust and defilement'.
The jhanas are also described with a series of similes with calm and
collected, non-dripping water.
Just as if a skilled bathman or bathman's apprentice would pour bath
powder into a brass basin and knead it together, sprinkling it again &
again with water, so that his ball of bath powder -- saturated,
moisture-laden, permeated within & without -- would nevertheless not
drip...
http://www.accesstoinsight.org/canon/sutta/majjhima/mn119.html#lake
We can try to combine two descriptions from Salayatana-vibhanga sutta
(MN 137) in a kind of wide and stable presence, unruffled deep
observation with wisdom, spanning high and wide.
This is confirmed by Dhatu-vibhanga sutta (MN 140):
"There remains only equanimity: pure & bright, pliant, malleable,
& luminous. Just as if a skilled goldsmith or goldsmith's apprentice
were to prepare a furnace, heat up a crucible, and, taking gold with a
pair of tongs, place it in the crucible: He would blow on it time &
again, sprinkle water on it time & again, examine it time & again, so
that the gold would become refined, well-refined, thoroughly refined,
flawless, free from dross, pliant, malleable, & luminous. Then whatever
sort of ornament he had in mind -- whether a belt, an earring, a
necklace, or a gold chain -- it would serve his purpose. In the same
way, there remains only equanimity: pure & bright, pliant, malleable, &
luminous.
One discerns that 'If I were to direct equanimity as pure & bright as
this toward the sphere of the infinitude of space, I would develop the
mind along those lines, and thus this equanimity of mine -- thus
supported, thus sustained -- would last for a long time. One discerns
that 'If I were to direct equanimity as pure and bright as this toward
the sphere of the infinitude of consciousness...the sphere of
nothingness... the sphere of neither perception nor non-perception, I
would develop the mind along those lines, and thus this equanimity of
mine -- thus supported, thus sustained -- would last for a long time.'
This luminous unruffled presence, equanimous observation, can be spread
far, high and wide.
...
Well, in commentaries 'upekkha' means just 'majjhatta(taa)' -
impartiality, indifference, neutrality. This is similar to explanation
given in Vyasa's commentaries to Yoga-sutra.
Dr. Thynn Thynn answers:
Question: Doesn't upekkha mean detachment?
Sometimes it is translated as detachment, but that translation is very
inadequate. You have to understand that upekkha transcends both
detachment and attachment. When you are detached, you may also become
indifferent if you are not careful. This indifference can lead to
dissociation and subtle rejection. Upekkha transcends not only
non-attachment, but also rejection. The mind is very tricky and has many
nuances you have to be aware of.
The full essence of upekkha is to go beyond attachment and detachment,
beyond likes and dislikes, to relate to things as they are.
Question: Will upekkha lead to inner silence?
Yes, the only way that will lead the mind to silence is upekkha. Upekkha
is not just a product of meditation training. It is itself a tool in
meditation. When you become proficient at looking with equanimity at
your own mind, your thoughts and your emotions, then this upekkha
approach will also spill over into other areas of life. You will begin
to listen, look, feel and relate to everything with upekkha.
Just mindfulness and concentration do not constitute meditation;
equanimity must be a constant ingredient.
Thanissaro Bhikkhu in 'Wings to Awakening' writes:
.. even-mindedness of a fully awakened person is not an attitude of cold
indifference, but rather of mental imperturbability. Such a person has
found true happiness and would like others to share that happiness as
well, but that happiness is not dependent on how others respond. This is
the ideal state of mind for a person who truly works for the benefit of
the world.
And indeed 'upekkhaa' is described as a kind of unwordly happiness:
"Now what is unworldly happiness? Quite secluded from sense desires,
secluded from unwholesome states of mind, a monk enters upon and abides
in the first meditative absorption... With the stilling of
thought-conception and discursive thinking, he enters upon and abides in
the second meditative absorption... With the fading away of joy as well,
he dwells in equanimity, mindfully and fully aware he feels happiness
within, and enters upon and abides in the third meditative absorption of
which the Noble Ones announce: 'He dwells in happiness who has
equanimity and is mindful.' This is called 'unworldly happiness.'
http://www.accesstoinsight.org/canon/samyutta/sn36-31.html
A peaceful and exquisite state:
He discerns that 'This agreeable thing has arisen in me, this
disagreeable thing... this agreeable & disagreeable thing has arisen in
me. And that is compounded, gross, dependently co-arisen. But this is
peaceful, this is exquisite, i.e., equanimity.'
http://www.accesstoinsight.org/canon/majjhima/mn152.html
With Upekkha,
Dmytro