Mudita | Appreciative Joy

“May my good fortune continue and increase
May our good fortune continue and increase “

Audio: Reflections on Appreciative Joy
| MP3 | 60mins | 14MB

Guided Meditation on Sharing Compassion
& Introduction of Appreciative Joy
| MP3 | 50mins | 6MB

Mudita strengthens the capacity to experience joy and happiness. It is likened to a flower at full bloom. It is the ability to appreciate something as it is blooming and releasing the fragrance of its happiness, without falling over the edge into a skeptical sardonic reaction such as “What is the point? It will only last for a moment.” The practice of mudita lifts the heart out of its preoccupation with insufficiency. As a result, the buoyant energies of gratitude and generosity begin to restore the human spirit.

The near enemy of mudita is exuberance. Exuberance is an overly excited, even manic state. It is the sense of deprivation grasping at moments of joy.

The far enemy of mudita is resentment. Mudita is the medicine for the poisons of jealousy, envy and derision. Mudita heals the cruel urge to suppress happiness. With the cultivation of mudita we tap a reservoir of joy by sharing times of happiness and good fortune.

Mudita is exemplified in the mother-child connection when the child begins to express its own creative nature. Mudita is the ability to join and support this expanding spirit. The Buddha taught that one of our challenges is to cultivate mudita even in a world full of misery.