RIGHT INTENTION
Cultivating Appreciative Joy
|
Whatever you intend,
whatever you plan, and whatever you have a tendency toward, that will
become the basis upon which your mind is established. (SN 12.40) Develop
meditation on appreciative joy, for when you develop meditation on
appreciative joy, any discontent will be abandoned. (MN 62)
The far enemy of appreciative joy is discontent. (Vm 9.100)
|
|
|
|
It is telling that we do not even have a word in English for the Pali word for appreciative joy (mudita).
By putting together two words, we only approximate what we are trying
to convey. Appreciative joy is the emotion of feeling happy for the other person, not because of them or about
them, but celebrating the fact that they are happy and feeling blessed
or fortunate in some way. Why don’t we have a word for this?
|
|
|
Pay close
attention to what happens in your own experience when you hear news of
some good fortune befalling someone, whether the person is well known to
you or not. Do you feel resentment, jealousy, or some other form of
discontent? If so, stop right there and intervene. Conjure up goodwill
instead and practice feeling happy for the person. These two mind states
are opposites: one is unhealthy and the other healthy.
|
|
Tomorrow: Refraining from Harsh Speech
One week from today: Cultivating Equanimity
Share your thoughts and join the conversation on social media
#DhammaWheel
Questions? Visit the Dhamma Wheel orientation page.
No comments:
Post a Comment