21/06/2021
One important factor is mindfulness, which is the quality of mind that one recollects continuously without forgetfulness or distraction while maintaining attention on a particular [mental] object. In other words, mindfulness corresponds to the higher-level awareness of present-moment sensory, affective, and cognitive experiences. Mindfulness can also be described as the ability or process of maintaining the object of attention in working memory, whether this object corresponds to an external sensory stimulus, an interoceptive sensation from inside the body, a chain of discursive thoughts going through the mind, or even a memory from the past.
In the Buddhist tradition, the term “equanimity” is a complex construct that has been given multiple definitions along the development of Buddhist thought. At its heart is the word for ‘eye’ and ‘see’, with a prefix suggesting ‘gazing upon’ or observing without interference. In the Theravadan Buddhist literature, there are two main usages of the term “equanimity.” First, it can refer to “neutral feeling,” a mental experience that is neither pleasant nor unpleasant, and that involves neither intensifying nor dampening current mental states. This first usage of the term equanimity corresponds to the Western psychological notion of “neutral valence,” and is commonly experienced throughout any ordinary day. The second meaning of equanimity corresponds to a mental state or trait that is not easily achieved and typically requires some form of practice. It is “a state of mind that cannot be swayed by biases and preferences” (Bodhi, 2000, page 34), an “even-mindedness in the face of every sort of experience, regardless of whether pleasure [or] pain are present or not” (Thanissaro Bhikkhu, 1996, page 262). This state of equanimity manifests as “a balanced reaction to joy and misery, which protects one from emotional agitation” (Bodhi, 2005, page 154).