January 22 – A Bigger Container

Dear Friends,

My Facebook feed on Friday had the following news:

beloved teacher Thich Nhat Hanh has passed away peacefully at Từ Hiếu Temple in Huế, Vietnam, at 00:00hrs on 22nd January, 2022, at the age of 95. We invite our global spiritual family to take a few moments to be still, to come back to our mindful breathing, as we together hold Thay in our hearts in peace and loving gratitude for all he has offered the world.

https://www.facebook.com/thichnhathanh/posts/481140276714206

Thich Nhat Hanh was a global spiritual leader, poet, and peace activist. He embodied the quality of equanimity: he lived a life of responsiveness. (Even just reading his biography can give you a sense of this.)

Although I never had the good fortune to meet him, I have benefited from listening to his talks, reading his writing, practicing with teachers and others who trained with him, and staying grounded with his calligraphy. When I have days that I struggle with equanimity, I can bring his gentle presence to mind, and remember that this way of being in the world is possible. May his legacy continue to touch the hearts and minds of all beings.

As we continue to examine the teachings on equanimity, perhaps you want to bring to mind a wise teacher like Thich Nhat Hanh to inspire you and support you.

Jill’s talk Equanimity, Upekkha brings in the relationship between wisdom and the heart. I like her description that equanimity is like a hinge between the two wings of wisdom and compassion, because equanimity has both a heart quality (being one of the four Brahma Viharas) as wells as a wisdom component through clear seeing.

What are some of the things that wisdom can reveal? The Pali terms are anicca, dukkha, and anatta. I like the simple way I have heard some teachers describe these: Not permanent. Not perfect. Not personal.

Anicca – things are not permanent – they constantly change. Just when I think, ah, I’ve got it – poof! it changes. The new car gets a scratch; the healthy dog gets a stomach bug and won’t eat; the favorite tea mug gets broken.

Dukkha – it’s not perfect. We want experiences to be pleasant and not unpleasant. We cling to what’s pleasant and resist the unpleasant. Reality doesn’t match up to our idealized expectations, and we suffer.

Anatta – it’s not personal. Even an amoeba will move towards food and away from dangerous situations, so of course our systems have a lot of momentum to be pushed and pulled. The stories I make about I, me, and mine make me tight and constricted and separated from what’s really present.

And yet, peace is possible.

Jill suggests a strategy we can try – remember our ABCs – A Bigger Container.

When we’re in reactivity, we can often feel it in the body. I notice tightness in the shoulders, clenching in the jaw, shallow breathing, a sense of heat in the chest and pressure in the head.

So we can invite a change in physical posture to invite more space. I will sit up straighter; roll the shoulders up and back; take a deeper breath or two; sense grounding into the earth.

We can look around the room and invite the space that’s around us. So if I’m getting tense around not figuring out today’s Wordle – I can take my eyes off the screen and look around the room – up in the corners, behind me. Listening to the sounds around me. Look outside. Or better, go outside. I can be inspired by the trees in the front yard, the birdsong, the sky.

Having a bigger container allows me to be with the the not permanent, not perfect, not personal with more ease.

Here’s a gentle meditation with Oren Jay Sofer, where he invites this sense of spaciousness as he guides us into an equanimity practice:
https://www.dharmaseed.org/talks/49300/

How do you experience a lack of equanimity? What strategies do you use to invite more ease? See what you notice in your practice.

With good wishes,
Andrea