Understanding teachings
Equanimity: Extending Concern Beyond Familiar People
Read equanimity beside indifference, compassion and ordinary responsibilities, with a short review before prayer.
When a prayer includes all beings, the word “all” can pass through the mouth more easily than through our habits. A friend's trouble draws attention at once. A stranger's trouble may barely register. Equanimity gives us a way to examine that uneven concern.
Why a calm appearance can mislead
Jack Kornfield calls indifference a “near enemy” of equanimity: something that can resemble it while withdrawing from experience. His account emphasizes balanced engagement with agreeable and disagreeable experiences. Looking composed therefore tells us little by itself about whether we still care.[2]
Consider an ordinary example supplied by this site. Someone at a community meal cannot find a place to sit. You notice, but keep your attention on a conversation with friends. Later, you describe yourself as untroubled by the evening. A more useful question is whether you noticed the person's need and considered a response. The absence of irritation alone does not answer it.
Read equanimity beside the other immeasurables
Buddhagupta's commentary places equanimity alongside loving kindness, compassion and sympathetic joy. Its equanimity section asks those working for beings' welfare to benefit the fortunate and unfortunate alike. Its compassion section includes the wish to end harmful actions by those doing wrong. Concern for someone and concern about their conduct can belong in the same account.[3]
The English translation is by Samye Translations, translated by Laura Swan in 2011 and revised for Lotsawa House in 2016. This article uses a few passages to explain terms; the complete commentary has a wider Buddhist framework and more demanding instructions.
Equal concern and particular responsibilities
Berzin explicitly warns against losing sight of ordinary relationships. A parent still needs to attend to their child. He says our willingness to help can extend equally while our actions reflect whom we can help and the connections through which help is possible. His explanation also places the training within Buddhist teachings on rebirth, mental continuity and understanding persons, rather than presenting it as a quick mood exercise.[1]
For the community-meal example, you might help someone find a chair while still fulfilling your agreed task at the serving table. You would consider the circumstances and your responsibilities. These examples are editorial applications, not quotations from a teacher or a prescribed meditation sequence.
A short review before prayer
The following questions are offered by this site as reading prompts. Use them to bring a specific incident to a teacher or to your next period of reflection:
- Whose difficulty did I notice today, and whose did I overlook?
- Did familiarity affect how seriously I took the person's concern?
- What responsibility or practical limit shaped what I could do?
- What helpful response remains available?
Choose a manageable incident, such as whom you greeted or whether you listened to a question. Describe what happened before judging your whole character. You can return to an aspiration for all beings with one concrete habit in view.
Keep the question open for study
A moment of inclusive concern does not establish an advanced attainment. Notice what remains difficult and ask a qualified teacher how equanimity is explained in the practice you follow. If you are studying motivation before recitation, the site's article on bodhicitta, aspiration and action provides related distinctions. For working through an explanation over time, see hearing, reflection and meditation.
Sources and further reading
- Alexander Berzin, 7-Part Bodhichitta: Equanimity. Study Buddhism. See Equanimity; Overcoming Attraction, Repulsion, and Indifference; Respecting Conventional Truth.
- Jack Kornfield, Equanimity vs Indifference. October 11, 2014. Excerpt from Bringing Home the Dharma.
- Buddhagupta, The Four Immeasurables. Samye Translations, translated by Laura Swan, 2011; revised for Lotsawa House, 2016. Version 1.3, September 19, 2024. See Compassion and Equanimity.
Sources checked October 27, 2026. Written with AI assistance and checked against the linked texts. The examples and brief review are supplied by this site; they do not replace instruction from a qualified teacher.