Equanimity after Victory (extract)

"So we’re not just here to accept whatever comes up on the kammic screen. We’re here to see what’s wrong with what we’re doing and how we can change what we’re doing so that we can do it better. That’s what the four noble truths are all about. If you think of the three characteristics as being the Buddha’s most important teachings, they do tend to point you toward equanimity, in the sense that “Well, I’ve just got to accept that things are inconstant, stressful and not-self. I can’t get a permanent happiness, so I’ve got to accept, be content with whatever I can get.”

That’s a very defeatist attitude. Remember, the four noble truths are the basic teaching. They point out that you’re doing something wrong, but you’re going to learn how to do it right. The Buddha says that learning how to do it right is the unexcelled victory. There are going to be some battles. There’s going to be some fighting. So you need strength, but you also need intelligence, the kind of intelligence that thinks strategically. Then, when you come out winning, you can rest in the equanimity that comes when the battle is over and won."

~ Thanissaro Bhikkhu "Equanimity after Victory"


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