This is the last reflection in our discussion of compassion and wisdom with the world through focusing on the Four Immeasurables: Love, Compassion, Joy and Equanimity. The Four Immeasurables come from the Buddhist practice and provide a meditative opportunity to reorient our state of being.

Immeasurable Equanimity

Immeasurable Equanimity begins with developing a state of mind that is without aversion, attraction, or indifference. Having an open state of mind means we are intimately engaged with our experiences, but not fixated on them. This is the contemplative state, which is our natural state of being. This spaciousness of the mind is said to be the most important of the four immeasurables, because without it love, compassion, and joy can all become tainted with our notions about self and other. Equanimity is the ground for wisdom and freedom and the protector of compassion and love.

 

Thomas Merton, The Inner Experience
Immeasurable Equanimity