Word of the day: Mudita

[mdlbear]

From the answer to a query by meglimir, mudita is "a Buddhist (Pali and Sanskrit) word meaning rejoicing in others' good fortune. Mudita is sometimes considered to be the opposite of schadenfreude."

It would be the Buddhists who coined it, but I think it's something that any parent would feel for their children. Most people feel it for their friends, as well. You want your friends to be happy.

With someone you love, there may be a mixture of jealousy, especially if that happiness comes at the expense of their time and attention for you. I'm a loner, though. It's natural for me to feel happy when my lover is off somewhere having fun, by herself or with somebody else.

Comments

[technoshaman.livejournal.com]

*nods* When it's about someone you love, it's "compersion", and can be quite heady... (you probably knew that, but just for completeness...)

Hmm. There's gotta be something in between. Just as love for children is different than love for spice is different than friendship, there's got to be something between mudita and compersion... but that is something I don't think there's a single word for. Parental pride is close, but....

*sigh* English is so darn complex and yet so bloody ineffective at expressing complex emotion.... colorful metaphors are definitely in order.

[mdlbear]

Saw "compersion" while researching the post; mudita is much broader, obviously. Much, much broader; even with someone you love, mudita covers any kind of happiness, not just relationship-related happiness.