Saturday, March 13, 2010

Schadenfreude vs. Mudita

Schadenfreude (SHAWD-n-froid-deh): Glee at another's misfortune.

Mudita (moo-DEE-tuh): Finding joy and happiness in the success of others.

Regarding mudita, the Dalai Lama said, 
I believe that the very purpose of life is to be happy. From the very core of our being, we desire contentment. In my own limited experience I have found that the more we care for the happiness of others, the greater is our own sense of well-being.
In fact, I once heard him say that, since there are about 6.5 billion people on the earth, if we can share in the happiness of others, we can potentially multiply our own chance for happiness 6.5 billion times.

Conversely, if we dwell in schadenfreude, our chances for suffering increase exponentially as well.

Blessings,
Roger

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