Grammatical Analysis
Muditā: [f.] sympathetic joy; altruistic joy; gladness. From root mud (to be glad, rejoice). Signifies the soft, celebratory condition of mind when witnessing the good fortune of others.
Orthodox Definition
Muditā is the third of the four divine abodes (brahmavihāra). It is the psychological capacity to sincerely rejoice in the success, prosperity, health, and virtuous achievements of other sentient beings. It functions as the direct, specific internal antidote to envy, jealousy (issā), and competitive resentment.
The Visuddhimagga points out that the characteristic of muditā is gladness over another’s success. Its “near enemy” is worldly, giddy exhilaration or personal amusement (pahāsa), which is rooted in sensory attachment and self-referential greed. Its “far enemy” is active aversion, envy, or malicious dissatisfaction with another’s welfare.
Cultivating muditā provides an exceptional pathway for calming the mind, capable of elevating the practitioner to enter the first three material-sphere absorptions (jhāna).
Textual References
- Sutta: Saṅgīti Sutta (DN 33) – Codified as an essential boundless state for communal harmony.
- Abhidhamma: Vibhaṅga (Appamaññāvibhaṅga chapter).
- Commentary: Visuddhimagga (Chapter IX) – Detailed methods for breaking down the barrier (sīmāsambheda) between friends and enemies using altruistic joy.