Why Buddha lined up four brahmavihara in the chronological order 'metta, karuna, mudita and upeksha'

Upvote:0

I believe the answer to your question is found in S​N​46.54: Full of Love

But reverends, how is the heart’s release by love developed? What is its destination, apex, fruit, and end? How is the heart’s release by compassion developed? What is its destination, apex, fruit, and end? How is the heart’s release by rejoicing developed? What is its destination, apex, fruit, and end? How is the heart’s release by equanimity developed? What is its destination, apex, fruit, and end?’

The sutta explains how these releases progress with their associated liberations starting with:

The apex of the heart’s release by love is the beautiful, I say, for a mendicant who has not penetrated to a higher freedom.

Each release requires the releases that precede it and the progression is therefore one of difficulty. Finally, we end with:

The apex of the heart’s release by equanimity is the dimension of nothingness, I say, for a mendicant who has not penetrated to a higher freedom.

If you are interested, your question can lead further, since per AN8.66, going beyond the dimension of nothingness, one achieves the seventh and eighth liberations.

Upvote:1

The practitioner wishes to let the being took the benefit&happiness, lovingkindness, so the practitioner wishes to help that being when that being is suffering, wishes to congratulate with that being when he is happy, and is equanimity when whatever happen.

Upekka, equanimity, is not easier than the other three. The practitioner is ignoring, doing not care, when he practices Upekkha without practicing the other three before, i.e. the healthy practitioner is not equanimity but he is ignoring when he doesn't care the standing old woman on the bus while he is sitting.

See the path of purification brahmavihāraniddesa:

  1. Ñ(IX,109): One who wants to develop these four should practice them towards beings first as the promotion of the aspect of benefit—and lovingkindness has the promotion of the aspect of benefit as its characteristic;
  2. Ñ: and next, on seeing or hearing or judging that beings whose benefit has been thus wished for are at the mercy of suffering, they should be practiced as the promotion of the aspect of the removal of suffering—and compassion has the promotion of the aspect of the removal of suffering as its characteristic;
  3. Ñ: and then, on seeing the success of those whose benefit has been wished for and the removal of whose suffering has been wished for, they should be practiced as being glad—and gladness has the act of gladdening as its characteristic;
  4. Ñ: but after that, there is nothing to be done and so they should be practiced as the neutral aspect, in other words, the state of an onlooker—and equanimity has the promotion of the aspect of neutrality as its characteristic;

Ñ: therefore, since their respective aims are the aspect of benefit, etc., their order should be understood to correspond, with loving kindness stated first, then compassion, gladness, and equanimity.

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