Mudita
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Mudita is a Buddhist (Pali) word meaning happiness in others' good fortune. Mudita is sometimes considered to be the opposite of schadenfreude.
The term mudita is often narrowly translated as "sympathetic" or "altruistic" joy, the pleasure that comes from delighting in other people's wellbeing rather than begrudging it. Many Buddhist teachers interpret mudita more broadly as referring to an inner fountain of infinite joy that is available to everyone at all times, regardless of circumstances. The more deeply one drinks from this fountain, the more secure one becomes in one's own abundant happiness, and the easier it then becomes to relish the joy of other people as well.
The traditional example of the mind-state of mudita is the attitude of a parent observing a growing child's accomplishments and successes. Unlike the other brahmaviharas, mudita is traditionally not cultivated with respect to one's own good fortune, only that of others (one of the implications of the translation of this term as "sympathetic" joy). Mudita is also traditionally regarded as the most difficult of the brahmaviharas to cultivate.
The "near enemies" of mudita are jealousy and envy, two mind-states in obvious opposition. Mudita's "far enemy," or quality which superficially resembles mudita but is in fact more subtly in opposition to it, is exhilaration, perceived as a grasping at pleasant experience out of a sense of insufficiency or lack.
See also
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