I have been bald before and having had many compliments as to the shape of my head , I am going to shave all of the hair off. It will be getting colder soon and I will need to take extra precautions to stay warm but this is just another step.
Last night I attended a talk at IMCC, the local Vispassana meditation group to meditate and listen to a talk about mudita . ( Moo-de-ta) One of the four immeasurables. So called because they are boundless in their breadth depth and width of spiritual fulfillment.
The speaker took the common translation of the word which is that of sympathetic joy. I personally prefer empathic joy as it seems to be dealing with an equal rather than feeling someone separate from oneself , but this is merely equivocating .
What I think that the speaker missed in her talk was the differentiation between spiritual and material accomplishments.
According to Shinzen Young , the Vipassana teacher who speaks many languages among them Pali and Sanskrit , the meaning of mudita does not translate easily into English and his attempt was to define it is sharing delight in the spiritual attainment of others.
The speaker used the process of feeling joy in the material and spiritual attainments as an exercise in finding the fulfillment of mudita in the every day world. While I often delight in the material accomplishments of friends and family I take a far greater delight in their spiriitual insights , the satoris , achieving samadhi , learning to become more open to the beauty of the world around them, experiencing freedom from their inner suffering and darkness. Often opening me in the same way.
The speaker suggested that we start the process of learning muditha by taking joy in our friends and family's successes . Working out to acquaintances and strangers and then to politicians with whom one disagrees and finally to people who are loathsome in their behavior , her example was Bashir Assad, the leader of Syria.
Many of my friends , acquaintances , and more distantly opposing politicians have political views with which I disagree and think deleterious to the health of our country and our world, I do not wish them success in their endeavors to convince others in the correctness of their ideas. It would be untruthful and hypocritical of me even to wish them success much less rejoicing in their triumph. That said , they are my friends , acquaintances , and fellow human beings. I can share, without reservation , the joy of spiritual fulfillment that they attain and the fellowship that that brings.
The extreme example of someone like Assad succeeding in his worldly endeavors would be distressing and I pray that it will not happen.
I would suggest that the execution of mudita is far easier and I believe more relevant in having the understanding that if someone has a deep spiritual awakening it becomes very difficult to impossible for them to continue a destructive mode of existence.
An example is the composer of one of the most powerful and for me the most moving of all Christian hymns " Amazing Grace". His name was John Newton and in his career was as the captain of an African slave ship. In 1748 during a violent storm he called for God's mercy and became converted. Many years later he wrote the song that has moved millions of people with its beauty and simplicity. He also became a leader in the fight against slavery.
Not being a Christian I do not wish to labor the point of conversion , but rather reflect to you that this is a powerful example of mudita, that all who love this hymn are often inspired by and thankful for it. We rejoice and are delighted in sharing its timeless and eternal spiritual awakening.
It is my belief that such men as Bashir Assad would not be able to continue with his murderous ways if he found the that type of spiritual awakening and I long for the time when he would experience it and would rejoice mightily as I believe most people would if he gave up his atrocious behavior and followed the divine light of his own being .
The cynic in me sees little chance of this , but hope is eternal.
The point of this little essay is to convey what I understand as the meaning of mudita . Rejoice in the spiritual attainments and fulfillment of all. It truly is immeasurable .
The speaker concluded the evening with a ten minute meditation about people with whom we share the concern and caring of their lives and spiritual success and how they in turn care for us and our own spiritual advancement. The numbers of people in my life who fit that category is large and it was humbling and uplifting to realize so important a fact that had escaped my awareness.
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