The Buddha taught the practices of the Brahma Viharas (lit. divine abodes) in a number of discourses¹. Of these four supreme emotions, the one that gets the most attention, both in the early teachings and today, is mettā (loving-kindness). Although the argument could be made, that with the growth of Mahayana Buddhism and its emphasis on compassion, karunā might be more widely taught today. Upekkhā (equanimity) was and still is taught frequently -- even outside the context of the Brahma Viharas since it is one of the Seven Factors of Enlightenment², one of the jhanic factors³ and one of the Sixteen Insight Knowledges⁴. But muditā seems rather neglected. However it is a very important -- and often misunderstood -- practice.

There is no easy way to translate muditā into English, perhaps because it’s not normally part of our mind-set! It is often translated as "sympathetic joy", "empathetic joy" or "altruistic joy". These translations all agree on the "joy" part and agree in the "otherness" aspect as well. Muditā is often explained as "joy at the good fortune of others." Its far enemy is often said to be "envy", which again points at the "otherness" aspect. So is muditā practice always done for others and not for yourself? This is the way it is traditionally taught today. However muditā implies joy shared, but in order to share, you have to be connected to your own joy. And a close look at the ancient texts reveals that muditā practice was not originally done just for others.

Etymology of Muditā

Beginning etymologically, we want to start with the Sanskrit or Pali word "mudita" and see where that leads. The Sanskrit root "mud" means "to be merry" or to rejoice or to be happy. An old Vedic word "moda" means "joy", and in Pali the word "mudita" is the past participle of the verb "modati" which means to be happy or to rejoice. However, the word "muditā" (spelled with the last "a" long, as a feminine noun) is also derived from a different word - "mudu" - that means soft, tender, or mild, from which we get the sense of being soft-hearted.⁵ There is certainly no "only otherness" implied etymologically.

Muditā in the Suttas

Brahma Vihara practice in the suttas is taught over and over with a set formula. The practice is the same for all four of these emotions. Here is Bhikkhu Bodhi's translation of the Buddha's instruction for the Brahma Viharas (with only muditā given in full):

...mettā...

...karunā...

Here one dwells pervading one quarter with a mind imbued with muditā, likewise the second quarter, likewise the third quarter, likewise the fourth quarter. Thus above, below, across, and everywhere, and to all as to oneself, one dwells pervading the entire world with a mind imbued with muditā, vast, exalted, measureless, without hostility, without ill will.

...upekkhā...⁶

It seems very clear that the Buddha felt you could and should do muditā for yourself!

There is another precedent in the suttas for appreciating ones good qualities - the teaching of the Six Recollections:

“One thing - when developed & pursued - leads solely to disenchantment, to dispassion, to cessation, to stilling, to direct knowledge, to self-awakening, to Unbinding. [These are different words for Nibbāna.] Which one thing? Recollection of virtue ... you recollect your own virtues: '[They are] untorn, unbroken, unspotted, unsplattered, liberating, praised by the wise, untarnished, conducive to concentration.' At any time when a disciple of the noble ones is recollecting virtue, his mind is not overcome with passion, not overcome with aversion, not overcome with delusion. His mind heads straight, based on virtue. And when the mind is headed straight, the disciple of the noble ones gains a sense of the goal, gains a sense of the Dhamma, gains joy connected with the Dhamma. In one who is joyful, rapture arises. In one who is rapturous, the body grows calm. One whose body is calmed experiences ease. In one at ease, the mind becomes concentrated.

"Mahanama, you should develop this recollection of virtue while you are walking, while you are standing, while you are sitting, while you are lying down, while you are busy at work, while you are resting in your home crowded with children.”⁷

Muditā in the Visuddhimagga

A millennium later, Buddhaghosa writes about muditā practice in the Visuddhimagga⁸ in Chapter IX on the Divine Abidings, paragraphs 84 - 87. He says that one begins muditā practice with a dear friend, then moves on to send muditā to a neutral person and a hostile (difficult) person. Then he writes "One should break down the barriers by means of mental impartiality towards the four that is, towards these three and oneself."

Ven. Ñanamoli translates muditā as "gladness." Under Meanings in paragraph 92 he writes "Those endowed with it [muditā] are glad, or itself is glad, or it is the mere act of being glad, thus it is gladness." Nothing here about it being exclusively for others.

Again in paragraph 100, muditā has "joy based on the home life as its near enemy" -- this kind of joy certainly would be most likely to be generated in reference to oneself. It has aversion (not envy!) as its far enemy. And paragraph 108 states that muditā is the way to purity for one who has much aversion.

Even in the Visuddhimagga there doesn't seem to be the usual emphasis on "joy at the good fortune of others" that is found today. So where did the notion of not practicing muditā for yourself come from? A hint is given in paragraph 95 of Chapter IX, where the Visuddhimagga says "Muditā is characterized as gladdening (produced by others' success)¹²". Footnote 12 reads "So Pm. 309". We can assume the parenthetical phrase was inserted by the translator -- it's doubtful Buddhaghosa worked with parenthesis since he was writing in a language that was originally oral. The "Pm." in the footnote refers to the Paramattha-mañjusa, the later Visuddhimagga Commentary, so perhaps this is the origin of the seemingly mistaken notion that you don't practice muditā for yourself. Certainly this seems to be the concept of muditā by the time the Pm. was composed.

Muditā as Healing Practice

When the practice of muditā for self is offered, people comment on how healing it feels to be “given permission” to focus on what’s good for a change. There are a number of ways that muditā produces this healing feeling. Among them are the following:

• Muditā is an antidote to self-aversion and sense of lack.
  It's easy upon hearing about hindrances, defilements, root poisons, etc. to then unconsciously focus too much on your deficiencies. Muditā practice balances this tendency to focus on lack, and brings you back to Middle Way: the capacity to be with the whole of your experience including what’s positive as well as negative.

• Muditā is an antidote to schadenfreude - the tendency to rejoice at others misfortunes.
  If you are in contact with your own joys, there is less likely to be a sense of lack and hence no tendency to try to build yourself up by reveling in others misfortunes.

• Muditā is an antidote to seeing joy as a limited commodity.
  Practicing it can overcome the view that joy is a “thing” in short supply, that if others get it, I’ll miss out. Often we unconsciously develop a poverty mentality around joy, as if it is a limited resource and there’s not enough of it to go around. We might tend to think of it as being a commodity, like ice-cream, and if the kid standing next to us gets a double helping, then we get scared that we might miss out on our share. Instead, we can start to experience it as an energy that can be generated and increased, so there’s more to go around. Others also benefit from our own self-joy – it’s much easier to be around someone who’s in a positive frame of mind than negative.

Possible Obstacles to Practicing Muditā for Yourself

It may seem strange or even wrong to wish yourself good fortune. Possible obstacles include:

• Fear of happiness/vulnerability
  If the word “joy” is a stretch, try thinking of it as “appreciation” instead. Sometimes even that can be hard, though. Maybe you’ve unconsciously developed a fear of feeling joy. If we feel something good, it can make us vulnerable because we can lose that good feeling. Without even knowing it, maybe we stopped letting ourselves feel any happiness: that way, we won’t be hurt when it inevitably ends. But the “middle way” here is to develop ease with EVERY aspect of our experience, including what’s positive as well as what’s negative. So practicing muditā is a way of training ourselves to be with happiness just as much as suffering.

• Fear of developing conceit
  Muditā actually goes in the opposite direction; it lessens the distinction between self and other, removes boundaries – your delight is my delight, mi casa es su casa (divine abiding!).

• Misunderstanding of anatta - that any form of self-referencing must be bad
  The Buddha taught on two "levels", usually called the relative and the absolute. The teachings on not-self are from the absolute viewpoint; the Brahma Viharas teachings, including muditā, are from the relative viewpoint - where there are plenty of conventional selves, including our own. Conflating a relative Brahma Vihara teaching with an absolute view can keep us stuck in a negative self-view, which is quite unhelpful.

Practicing Muditā for Yourself

So given that the Buddha clearly indicates that you do muditā practice for yourself, that even the Visuddhimagga confirms this and that muditā practice has easily recognizable positive benefits, how should you go about practicing muditā for yourself? The instructions would be quite similar as for practicing muditā for others:

• Sit in a comfortable upright posture.
• You might settle yourself with a attention on the breath for a few breaths (or even for a few minutes).
• Then reflect on some good fortune you have had or are currently having. Let the feeling of joy arise. Let your attention settle into the joy, stoking it when necessary by more remembering of your own good fortune.
• If you become distracted, simply bring your attention back to the feeling of joy if it is still present or again remember some aspect of your own good fortune.
• As always when doing muditā practice, beware of becoming exuberant. If this starts to happen, put the attention back on the breath until you generate enough calm to resume the muditā practice.
• Also beware of any feelings of superiority - "I have this good fortune, therefore I'm superior." Not only is this an invalid conclusion, it is completely losing sight of reality.

If you practice muditā using a phrase or phrases, simply substitute "I" & "my" for "you" & "your" and proceed as you do when saying the phrases for others. For example "May you continue to enjoy your good fortune" becomes "May I continue to enjoy my good fortune."

Sample Muditā Meditation Phrases

Original		For Yourself
I appreciate your good qualities		I appreciate my good qualities
I rejoice in your good fortune		I rejoice in my good fortune
May your joy continue; may it grow		May my joy continue; may it grow
May it lead to Liberation.		May it lead to Liberation.

Exercise 1 – Appreciation of self
Please start by thinking about yourself for a few minutes. What do you appreciate about yourself? What are your good qualities? What are your strengths?
Every human being is a mixture of positive and negative qualities. Everybody has some aspect of themselves that can be appreciated. So please make a list of a half a dozen of those positive qualities. As you’re doing it, see if you can notice how this feels in the mind and body.

Exercise 2 – Appreciation of one’s good fortune
Begin by tuning in to what might be going well in your life right now. Can you remember any time over the last week when you may have felt happiness? It doesn’t have to be in relation to anything big. Often the simplest things are the easiest to appreciate: putting on a clean pair of socks; seeing the stars on a clear, dark night; watching a chipmunk rushing to store away its food …

Practicing in these ways often can generate a lot of gratitude as well as joy.

Conclusion

The practice of muditā for oneself is actually very important here in the West given the rampant epidemic of low self esteem. Joy for ones own good fortune will help to counteract the self-aversion that low self esteem often generates -- remember "Muditā is the way to purity for one who has much aversion." So self-muditā can help deal with self-aversion.

Muditā for yourself is are really important practice. Use your good fortune to generate this very wholesome mindstate. And start thinking of muditā as "appreciative joy" - you can appreciate your own good fortune as well as that of others.

Notes:   [The quotes above have been made gender neutral by substituting "one" for "he", etc.]
1. For example, Brahma Vihara practice appears in DN 13, MN 43, MN 52, SN 41.7, SN 42.8, AN 3.65, AN 10.208.
2. Mindfulness, Investigation of Phenomena, Energy, Rapture (piti), Tranquility, Concentration, Equanimity
3. Equanimity is specifically mentioned in the formulas for the third and fourth jhanas
4. Insight Knowledge #11 is "Knowledge of Equanimity about Formations"
5. Andrew Olendzki - private communication.
6. e.g. Samyutta Nikaya, translated by Bhikkhu Bodhi, Wisdom Publications, page 1344; see also
    e.g. Majjhima Nikaya, translated by Bhikkhu Ñanamoli & Bhikkhu Bodhi, Wisdom Publications, page 394
7. AN 11.13 as translated by Thanissaro Bhikkhu
8. Visuddhimagga ~ Buddhaghosa, translated by Ven. Ñanamoli as The Path Of Purification, Colombo: R. Semage, 1956

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Leigh Brasington / / Revised 09 Mar 14