gratitude and appreciation: talk and instruction

Appreciation (Mudita)

The most common translation for mudita is sympathetic joy. This encourages us to be able to sympathize with or participate in the happiness of others. It is the antidote to jealously and envy.

Mudita has the ability and characteristic of gladdening. It helps us to overcome the common attitude of “how come them and not me.” We may find that we often become jealous or self-conscious when we are faced with the good fortune of others. This creates the experience of separation and we become disconnected and self-centered. We may consider how unfortunate it is to be unable to participate in the happiness and success of others, especially when the person is somebody we care about. Whether it is a good friend, colleague, or family member, wouldn’t we want to be able to appreciate his or her good fortune? We want to develop a specific practice to evoke and embody this quality of appreciation.

Such a practice gives us the ability to participate in all the happiness, joy, success, and pleasure of this world without the need for it to be our own. If we restrict our experience of gratitude to our own gains and successes, we severely limit our potential joy and happiness. We create a mind that compares and contrasts. We may become competitive, bitter, and even resentful. If we can bring awareness and appreciation to the good fortune of others, it allows us to keep from closing off from the world and revel in happiness and connection.