{ Helvetica; **Speaker 00**:
Hi everyone and welcome. Margaret Maloney here. Diving in today because I'm just bringing you some quick musings on equanimity to help us all through the week. First, let's look at this passage from the Dhammapada. As a solid mass of rock is not stirred by the wind, so a sage is not moved by praise and blame. As a deep lake is clear and undisturbed, so a sage becomes clear upon hearing the dharma. Virtuous people always let go. They don't prattle about pleasures and desires. Touched by happiness and then by suffering, the sage shows no sign of being elated or depressed. Goals, right? I guess we call it hashtag equanimity goals and something to remember as you go through your week because you will be touched by pleasures and desires. You will be touched by praise and blame probably. You'll have happiness and suffering and that's all part of being human and that's part of the condition of suffering. And what we want to do through the week is watch as we rise and fall with our emotions as these things occur and to see how often can we seek to be undisturbed. be calm, to accept things that are coming to us, to be unreactive, let's say that. And then that I found another quote that I liked from Shantideva. If the problem can be solved, why worry? If the problem cannot be solved, worrying will do you no good. Okay, now I got to put that into a context, right? So by saying that or by sharing that quote with you,
**Speaker 00**:
I'm not saying don't stand up to injustice. I'm not saying don't do what you can to fight for what you believe in, but look at it. And I guess what I'm saying, and this goes with my whole pace yourself theme, right? I'm always saying pace yourself, right? Is, and it goes with the saying maybe of, of pick your battles and Shantideva, I'm sure did not mean it this way. So this is me saying this and you know, if the problem can be solved, why worry? But that doesn't mean don't take action. It means if the problem can be solved, then go help work on it. If the problem cannot be solved, worrying will do you no good. And because as part of our journey to seek equanimity and to function in times when things are changing and we're not always liking the changes and we're feeling upset. And in a previous episode, you know, we talked about remedies for anger because anger is definitely what some of us are feeling. Okay. Okay. Okay. Okay. Okay. Okay. Okay. Okay. Okay. Okay. Okay. Okay. Okay. Okay. Okay. Okay. Okay. Okay. Okay. Okay. Okay. Okay. Okay. Okay. Okay. Okay. Okay. Okay. Okay. Something I came across a meditation or a contemplation to help when you fail, anger, hatred, envy, vengeance, or revulsion consider these, uh, this contemplation, which I'm going to read to you in a minute. I wanted to first say this, which again, I found in red somewhere, which goes like this when difficulties arise and that they're underwater, scuba divers are taught. There are many helpful actions. You can take. Particular camping, diving secrets, and much more will be displayed for this tour of the However, panic is never the solution. Isn't that true for so many things? I want to say everything. I always hesitate because when you say always and never, like I just said, I always hesitate. Then so often you're wrong. So like that means I don't always hesitate. But at any rate, you see my point, which is this is a wise piece of advice for whether you're under the water or not. There are many helpful actions you can take. However, panic is never the solution. And so let's keep this in mind while you're tempted to panic about the turbulence that you're experiencing around you, because panic isn't the solution and panic isn't going to help. And now the contemplation that I promised that I would share with you that I found online. A reminder that all sentient beings are the same in three basic ways. We all want to be well, happy and free. We are all lost in self-centered reactions to our own narrow thoughts of ourselves and others. And we have the ability to have goodness. But sometimes our goodness is obscured by our self-centered reactions. I encourage you to use that as you experience whatever is going to come our way this week in terms of changes. And this will happen. And then something else will happen and something will be announced and then taken back. All the things, all the things that you're experiencing that we are experiencing. Consider reminding yourself that these three basic statements are the same for all of us. We all want to be well, happy and free of suffering. We are all lost in our self-centered reactions to our own narrow thoughts of self and others.
**Speaker 00**: You've been listening to the Death Dhamma Podcast with your host, Margaret Maloney. Thank you so much for being here. Come find me on margaretmaloney.com, M-A-R-G-A-R-E-T-M-E-L-O-N-I.com. And until we meet again, may you be well, may you be happy, may you be at ease, and may you be free from suffering. Bye for now.