Mudita

Muditā (Pāli and Sanskrit: मुदिता) means joy; especially sympathetic or vicarious joy.

Also: the pleasure that comes from delighting in other people's well-being.

The traditional paradigmatic example of this mind-state is the attitude of a parent observing a growing child's accomplishments and successes. Mudita should not be confounded with pride as a person feeling mudita may not have any interest or direct income from the accomplishments of the other. Mudita is a pure joy unadulterated by self interest.

When we can be happy of the joys other beings feel, it is called mudita; the opposite word is envy or schadenfreude.

Application

Mudita meditation is used to cultivate appreciative joy at the success and good fortune of others.

Buddhist teachers interpret mudita more broadly as an inner spring of infinite joy that is available to everyone at all times, regardless of circumstances.

"The more deeply one drinks of this spring, the more securely one becomes in one's own abundant happiness, the more bountiful it becomes to relish the joy of other people."