This is an excerpt from the introduction to my current course on Mudita, which is part of a long series of teachings on the Brahma Viharas, also known as the “Immeasurables.”
The third among the brahmaviharas, after compassion and compassion, is mudita. Mudita is usually translated as sympathetic or empathetic joy and is described as “feeling happy because others are happy.”
This is an interpretation that I strongly disagree with.
A 1st century document called The Path to Freedom describes the cultivation of mudita as follows:
When one sees or hears that a person’s qualities are respected by others and that person is at peace and happy, one thinks: Sadhu! May he be happy forever! ”
(By the way, sadhu means “yay!” “I got it!” “amazing!” etc.)
The records of the Buddha’s teachings that we have do not define mudita. The above text is the oldest one that I know of and tells us what mudita is and how it should be cultivated. A few things are important here.
We are asked to remember those who have developed such skillful qualities that they are respected by others. Having mudita involves being aware of what is skilled. We are not simply asked to imagine a person who is happy, but rather a person who is happy (and peaceful) as a result of possessing these skilled qualities. Therefore, when we have mudita, we see the connection between skillful action and its beneficial results. It has something to do with gratitude. We value the quality of mastery and the peace and joy it brings as good. There is love involved. Because we wish the best for the other person, we support the person’s dexterity, rejoice, and encourage them, thereby supporting their future joy and happiness. By valuing that person’s dexterity and the peace and joy that comes from it, we can also enjoy ourselves. . Therefore, we cultivate a state of joyful gratitude.
This all goes far beyond “be happy because someone else is happy.” Since much of the apparent happiness we see around us arises from careless actions, such more mundane experiences are actually fraught with spiritual difficulties. . For example, you shouldn’t be happy that someone is happy just because you cheated your grandmother out of her life savings.
In summary, when we practice mudita, we value skillful qualities, speech, and actions that bring us joy. In other words, mudita is “joyful gratitude.”
progress
There is a progression in the first three Brahma Viharas.
Metta is kindness. We want what is best for the long-term happiness and well-being of others. We want them to be happy. We want them to feel supported and know that they matter. Be kind in your words and actions, and think kindly of others.
Karuna, or compassion, is what happens when we desire the happiness of living beings, yet recognize that they are suffering. In order for them to be happy, we want to eliminate their suffering, or at least support them while their suffering continues.
When we have mudita, we want others to be happy, but now we realize that happiness does not just happen randomly. The happiness we are interested in is something that comes from having skilled qualities. Therefore, we want living things to be happy, we recognize the skillful qualities within them that produce happiness, and we appreciate, rejoice in, and encourage the development of those qualities.
To have mudita, we must be able to recognize conditionality, the way that certain conditions and actions create suffering, while other conditions and actions free us from suffering. Mudita is therefore, at least in part, a practice of wisdom.
Just as we can define compassion as metta that meets suffering, we can define mudita as metta that meets mastery. This encounter can be a pleasant experience, or at least evoke joy.
Stages of mudita practice
Like the practice of compassion and kindness, there are five stages to joyful gratitude meditation.
We start by cultivating appreciation for ourselves, or at least establishing kindness towards ourselves. Although this stage is not found in the earliest descriptions of this practice, it is a healthy place to start, given that many of us are often unaware of our own skilled qualities. . And we remember those who embody the qualities of mastery and experience peace and peace. Then do this with a relative stranger (a “neutral person”). Next, do it for people you don’t like. And finally, we wish that all beings acquire the qualities of mastery and experience serenity and joy as a result.
As with the practice of compassion, there is no “friend” stage. Those who are good at the second stage can be friends, and you can also include friends in the final stage.
The first few days will focus on self-assessment.
Today I chose an exercise from “Living with Gratitude”. “Take time to enjoy the positives…” Guidance begins with a short talk, totaling 10 minutes.
Meditation alone is not enough
Although Mudita Bhavana is a meditative practice, cultivating joyful gratitude can and should be done in everyday life as well. We can recognize clever words and actions that we encounter, and we can also have an attitude of gratitude more generally. That is, you can recognize and rejoice in everything that benefits you and others.
practice
Today, stay as grateful as you can. When you meet another person, or even just think about him or her, be aware that there is a seed of goodness in that person. When something good happens to you, no matter how small, think about it with gratitude.
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