Upekkha

Please note that the content of this book primarily consists of articles available from Wikipedia or other free sources online. Upekkh¿ is the Buddhist concept of equanimity. This is a purifying mental state cultivated through meditation on the Buddhist path to prajñ¿ (wisdom) and bodhi (enlightenment). The analogous term in Greek philosophy is ataraxia. In the Pali Canon and post-canonical commentary, upekkha is identified as an important step in one's spiritual development in a number of places: It is one of the Four Sublime States (brahmavihara), wisdom which are purifying mental states capable of counteracting the defilements of lust, avarice and ignorance. As a brahmavihara, it is also one of the forty traditionally identified subjects of Buddhist meditation (kammatthana); in the development of meditative concentration, upekkha arises as the quintessential factor of material absorption, present in the third and fourth jhana states; in the Seven Factors of Enlightenment (bojjhanga), upekkha is the ultimate factor to be developed; in the Theravada list of ten paramita (perfections), upekkha is the last-identified bodhisatta practice.