"What is muditā? When you see others progressing, becoming happier, if your mind is not pure, you will generate jealousy: 'Why did they get this, and not I? I'm a more deserving person. Why are they given such a position of power, or status? Why not I? Why have they earned so much money? Why not I?' This kind of jealousy is the manifestation of an impure mind.
Muditā and kārunā naturally follow as one develops mettā. Mettā is selfless, pure love for all beings. Mettā takes away aversion, animosity and hatred. It removes jealousy and envy.
As your mind gets purer with Vipassana practice, and your mettā gets stronger, you will feel happy seeing others happy: 'All around there is misery. Look, at least one person is happy. May he be happy and contented. May he progress in Dhamma, progress in worldly ways.' This is muditā, sympathetic happiness. It will come.
Similarly, when you find somebody suffering, kārunā (compassion) automatically arises if your mind is pure. If you are an ego-centred person, full of impurities, without the proper practice of Vipassana, without mettā, then seeing someone in trouble doesn't affect you. You don't care; you are indifferent. You try to delude yourself saying, 'Oh, this fellow is suffering because of his own karma. How can I do anything about it?' Such thoughts show that the mind is not yet pure. If the mind becomes pure and mettā develops, hardness of heart cannot stay; it starts melting. You see people suffering and your heart goes out to them. You don't start crying; that's another extreme. Rather, you feel like helping such people. If it is within your means, you give some tangible help. Otherwise, at least you help with your mettā vibrations: 'May you be happy. May you come out of your misery.'
Even if you have no material means to help somebody, you always have this Dhamma method."
- Sayagyi U Goenka (1924 - 2013), Principal Teacher of Vipassana
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"When you see others really enjoying happiness, peace and harmony, then sympathetic joy arises. Seeing others joyful makes you joyful, and this joy multiplies.
"You smile seeing so many people smiling. You are serving others for this purpose, not to develop ego. There should be no status, no power, no position. You serve whether you have this or that responsibility. You are serving to make yourself happier and to make others happier. This is Dhamma."
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Muditā is the rarest and noblest of qualities of the four brahma-vihārās (four essential qualities of brahmas who are the highest in the order of non-enlightened beings). Muditā can be called the highest of the four brahma-vihārās since it reveals the true strength of the other three crucial qualities: upekkhā (equanimity, mettā, karuṇā (compassion, empathy).
Muditā is the test of a Vipassana practitioner's real progress in Dhamma, the depth of one's mettā. Is the mettā only superficial, or from the depth of the mind?
From the depth of the mind, muditā reveals how much we have dissolved the ego.
For instance, if someone we know is given a senior responsibility is there an immediate joy of muditā? Or do we feel instantaneous unpleasant sensations? Or even gross thoughts of envy, resentment?
If so, we objectively become aware of the reality of the state of mind, as it is now. Observe sensations with equanimity and gradually come out of this impurity. Come out of the habit pattern of comparing oneself with others. Such comparison leads to envy, a feeling of superiority, or inferiority.
The new Vipassana student is reminded during the 10-day course: "don't compare your experience with another student's experience. Don't even compare your experience (of sensations) now with an earlier experience". But the impure mind continues this madness at the depth - of comparing oneself with others.
This comparison is both in the mundane and supra-mundane world. In the mundane world, resentful envy might arise: "oh, he is earning more than I am".
In the Dhamma world too this comparison can arise: "why has he been appointed assistant teacher and not I. I am a senior Dhamma worker and sat so many long courses". The ego continuously arises at multiple (often absurd) levels of comparing oneself with others.
Good to become more aware of the extent of this comparison 'disease' affecting oneself. When egoistic thoughts of comparison arise, with equanimity observe the reality of the arising, passing away of sensations anywhere in the body at that time. The ego gradually dissolves. The ego reduces when the 'I' is more continuously experienced as the mind-matter phenomenon of subatomic particles arising, passing away - at the level of arising, passing sensations.
As the ego gradually reduces, the mad habit pattern of comparing oneself with others too gradually reduces. The mind becomes more free from the strange disappointment at seeing another's success.
So too gets dissolves the peculiar feeling of elation or gloating seeing someone's downfall. The precise German language has the term 'Schadenfreude' to describe this negativity - a fleeting or gross feeling of glee at a colleague/acquaintance/friend / Dhamma brother or sister running into difficulties, losing his or her earlier senior position in the organization. Do we practice mettā or gloat? "The fellow was so arrogant and look, Dhamma has punished him."
'Schadenfreude' is the direct opposite of muditā. The Vipassana meditator can clearly see how this anti-muditā negativity arises from deep-rooted saṅkhāras (conditioning of the mind), of comparing oneself with others.
Piercing, penetrating mind
The mind becomes purer as the Vipassana practitioner works patiently, persistently, piercingly, and penetratingly with subtler sensations - and with longer, uninterrupted continuity (Sampajañña). The piercing mind gains more piercing insight. The Vipassana meditator becomes more aware of subtler thoughts arising in the mind - thoughts swimming like sharks underneath the "conscious" or surface level of the mind that is full of delusions, illusions, self-deception. Such subtler thoughts reveal hidden impurities in the mind - such as anti-muditā negativity of envy at someone's success, or the gloating 'Schadenfreude' at another's misfortune.
The purer mind and reduced ego increase the strength of mettā, karuṇā (compassion, empathy), upekkhā (equanimity), and muditā.
This is why sharing of merits becomes very important for progress in life and Dhamma Service - and to help others be free from anti-muditā negativity. When appointed to a senior position or experiencing success, better to practice deep mettā for others: "I share all my merits with others, with my Dhamma brothers and sisters. May he or she also progress. I benefited because of serving with them. May they share all my benefits gained. May they be more successful than I am". This sharing of merits helps reduce the ego. We find others have less or no negativity towards us.
Similarly when experiencing misfortunes in the ups and downs of life. Ensure there is no negativity of blaming others. We practice mettā again: "May others not experience this suffering. May my Dhamma brothers and sisters not make the same foolish mistakes. May they continue to be successful and happy. Whatever suffering I experience, may others not experience this suffering. May others not suffer".
As the mind develops in wisdom, we realize: "at the actual level, it is Dhamma that decides. It is the Law of Cause and Effect that delivers fruits sweet or bitter".
At times, someone's success can actually become a hindrance due to the ego. At times, someone's failure can lead to this person being catapulted to development that otherwise may have taken him years or even lifetimes to achieve. Each person gets exactly what he or she deserves. Nothing more, nothing less. Useless to generate envy or resentment to others.
Therefore, the mind that gradually develops in deeper purity and wisdom also gradually develops deeper muditā - the instant, genuine smiling joy at seeing others happy and very successful.
This is why muditā becomes a core yardstick to measure the meditator's true progress in Vipassana: to reduce the ego, grow in Dhamma and develop the compassionate quality of pure Dhamma service.
May all beings be liberated.
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