As an English major, I've always loved parsing individual words to seek meaning and understanding. The Oxford English Dictionary defines "equanimity" as:
"Evenness of mind or temper; the quality or condition of being undisturbed by elation, depression, or agitating emotion; unruffledness."
This reminds me of the "self-control" aspect of the fruit of the Spirit (from Galatians 5:22-23):
"...the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control;..."
Similarly, self-control and a tamed ego are two of the principles of Buddhism. (For example, Buddhism espouses the benefits of channeling our energy toward positive, life-affirming endeavors. To do this requires a great deal of self-awareness and self-control.)
This idea of equanimity also reminds me of that quote, "Lord, give me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference."
The challenge is to really understand ourselves well enough to know what we can change, what we might want to consider changing, what we probably can't change, and what we definitely can't change. This requires us to be real truth-seekers. One of Jesus Christ's teachings is for us to always seek the truth, to expose the truth, to hold TRUTH in absolute reverence. Again, this is similar to one of the Buddhist principles that delusion (that is, the opposite of truth) is a root of suffering.
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