Dear Friends,
As we continue exploring the fourth wise effort of sustaining wholesome states, Andrea Fella offers a beautiful perspective on how mindfulness and equanimity can help us nurture these states skillfully without clinging, in her talk “Fourth Right Effort and Equanimity.”
https://www.audiodharma.org/talks/9603?code=YLNL (1 hour)
Andrea reminds us that wholesome states like calm, joy, or equanimity can sometimes be undervalued or undermined when they arise. Mindfulness invites us to clearly recognize they are happening and take it in, allowing us to appreciate and sustain them. However, equanimity also plays a vital role in maintaining balance. It helps us engage with these states without clinging to them, recognizing their impermanence and avoiding the suffering that attachment can bring.
As Andrea shares, “When we bring mindfulness to wholesome qualities of mind, our whole system goes, yes, this is the way to well-being.” This approach reinforces the beautiful qualities that support awakening, while equanimity ensures we hold them lightly and with care.
What are these wholesome states, and how can we recognize them? Andrea shares a technique she used to develop a vocabulary. She looked at the many lists of wholesome states, such as the Brahma Viharas, the Five Faculties, the ten Paramis, or the Seven Factors of Awakening.* She found that reflecting on and learning these lists was helpful to recognize and sustain the beautiful qualities of mind that support well-being.
In practice today, when a wholesome state arises–perhaps calm, joy, or a sense of connection–I invite you to pause to notice it. You may wish to inquire:
- Am I nurturing this state with mindfulness, or am I clinging to it with some attachment?
- How can I sustain this state in a way that invites balance and ease?
By bringing mindfulness and equanimity together, we create the conditions for these states to grow naturally, free from clinging.
Let me know how this reflection resonates with you.
With good wishes,
Andrea
* For a great list of lists, check out the Dhamma Lists webpage:
https://www.insightmeditationcenter.org/books-articles/dhamma-lists/