Happiness Supported by Equanimity

By K.Wong

Translation:

He, who is immersed in the Dhamma, lives happily with a serene mind;  the wise man always delights in the Dhamma revealed by the Ariyas.

Purport

Having discerned the True Doctrine (Saddhamma) expounded by Gotama Buddha in Sāvatthi, the spotless dhamma eye arose in King Mahā Kappina and his accompanying ministers. The exultant king uttered joyfully thus, “Oh what happiness it is! Oh what happiness it is (Aho sukhaṃ! aho sukhaṃ!). Having heard the words of exultation of the king through his disciples, Gotama Buddha uttered the aforestated verse (Dpd. 79). The Dhamma eye is said to have arisen when one has developed the non-discriminative wisdom of perceiving the illusion of the diversifying differentiations or multiplicity of the cosmos. This occurs when the Three Universal Characteristics (Tilakhaṇas) of the five aggregates of the human personality are insightfully discerned. The three characteristics are Anicca (Impermanence). Dukkkha (Suffering) and Insubstantiality (Anattā).Whoever has penetrated the Dhamma develops the Dhamma eye — the eye unobscured by any veil of ignorance (avijjā). Alternatively, One, who has intuitively apprehended the Four Noble Truths, also can develop the spotless Dhamma eye. The Four Noble Truths are enumerated as follows:

1. The Noble Truth of Suffering
2. The Noble Truth of the Cause of Suffering
3. The Noble Truth of the cessation of the Cause of Suffering
4. The Noble Truth of the Path leading to the Cessation of Suffering

The Noble path to tread on is the Noble Eight Fold Path. The Buddha disclosed (through his knowledge of supernatural powers- abhiññā) to the monks that the King and his ministers had all developed their Dhamma eyes. They had discerned the saddhamma and had thus successfully developed nibbānic state (absolutely appeased) of mind. The joy of nibbānic attainment of the king was expressed without grasping (upādāna) upon the five aggregates (pañcakkhandhas). The emotion of like or pleasure was supported with absolute equanimity (upekkhā). The exposition that an Enlightened One is passionless may be misinterpreted by others. In fact, an Enlightened One has a great passion to help others. But his passion is supported by wisdom. With the support of wisdom, an Enlightened One is beyond the defilements of the emotion of likes and dislikes. Equanimity ought not to be conceived as the complete annihilation of likes and dislikes. The likes and dislikes are experienced equanimously without any notion of Iness or Mineness. The illusive self or ego has been eliminated through the developed insight (vipassanā) or wisdom (paññā) of non-grasping of the five aggregates. The likes and dislikes thus are purified. The appropriate or pertinent levels of emotions of likes and dislikes are healthy human behaviours. Such pro-active but non-reactive emotions are known as ‘The Mean’ according to the Chinese Confucian ‘Doctrine of Mean’. The usual expression of the equanimous state of mind as ‘Dispassion’, ‘Indifference’ or ‘Aloofness’ of mind has been misinterpreted and mispresents the Buddha. The apparent dullness of equanimity or equilibrium of the mind should be supported by active boundless, non-discriminative loving-kindness (mettā), compassion (karuṇā) and appreciative joy (muditā). To describe that a Nibbāṇic person has destroyed all his emotions is erroneous. A Nibbānic person is boundlessly lovingly kind, compassionate, appreciative and equanimous. Equanimity has been misinterpreted as the total abandonment of emotions when an Arahant has been described as dispassionate, indifferent and staying aloof from others. Such a wrong view should be rectified.

Nibbāna is actually the state of complete mental appeasement in the midst all active mundane activities. One can be still nibbānic or absolutely mentally silenced when one is active, passionate, energetic, busy, productive in busy mundane activities. This is known as living Chan or Zen in the Chan tradition of Buddhism. In fact, Diamond Sūtra of Mahāyāna tradition describes such an enlightened state of pure consciousness with the popular Sūtra expression: Not to dwell (not to be attached) in everything and produce the (pure or unperturbed) consciousness. This is quintessence of Buddha-dhamma. This is the soteriological goal which ought to be self-actualized by every serious practitioner of Saddhamma. Dhamma is to be learnt, cultivated, realized and lived.