Muditā as part of 4bv brahma vihara: Is it different than pamojja and piti?

 

Re: Piti and pamojja

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Post by frank k » Mon May 24, 2021 6:43 am

I looked through the first 4 nikayas searching for 'mudit'.
I can not find anything supporting muditaa as a brahmavihara being "sympathy for others' welfare" with a different meaning than mudita (modati and pamojja).
Most places where muditaa as a bv is cited, is just stating the standard 4bv formula, or mentioning a list of the 4. The only places I could find some meaning is a couple of passages like MN 62,

purpose of 4 brahma-viharas
“mettaṃ, rāhula, bhāvanaṃ bhāvehi.
"good-will, ******, meditation; meditate (with that).
mettañhi te, rāhula, bhāvanaṃ bhāvayato
(when you) {meditate with} {good-will} meditation,
yo byāpādo so pahīyissati.
one's ill-will ** will-be-abandoned.
karuṇaṃ, rāhula, bhāvanaṃ bhāvehi.
"compassion, ******, meditation; meditate (with that).
karuṇañhi te, rāhula, bhāvanaṃ bhāvayato
(when you) {meditate with} {compassion} meditation,
yā vihesā sā pahīyissati.
one's cruelty ** will-be-abandoned.
muditaṃ, rāhula, bhāvanaṃ bhāvehi.
"appreciation, ******, meditation; meditate (with that).
muditañhi te, rāhula, bhāvanaṃ bhāvayato
(when you) {meditate with} {appreciation} meditation,
yā arati sā pahīyissati.
one's resentment ** will-be-abandoned.
upekkhaṃ, rāhula, bhāvanaṃ bhāvehi.
"equanimity, ******, meditation; meditate (with that).
upekkhañhi te, rāhula, bhāvanaṃ bhāvayato
(when you) {meditate with} {equanimity} meditation,
yo paṭigho so pahīyissati.
one's irritation ** will-be-abandoned.

The opposite of the "resentment" arati, is relishing, delight, enjoyment:
I don't agree with 'resentment' as a translation for 'arati'. That comes from either B. Sujato or Thanissaro, and they were probably influenced by preconceived notions of what mudita as a bv is supposed to be. "arati" for example, is a nutriment for sloth and torpor, so I think "dissatisfaction" is a more general meaning and what fits better here.

The opposite of arati is rati:

Rati (f.) [Classic Sk. rati, fr. ram] love, attachment, pleasure, liking for (loc.), fondness of S i.133 (˚ṃ paccanubhavati), 207; iii.256;

Not "sympathy for others welfare".

The PED dictionary entry where muditaa has the different root than modati, looks like it's citing commentaries for its definition. And even so, a couple of the things in that entry seem to be referring to modati based meanings and not mudu (pliable).

Assaji wrote: ↑Fri May 21, 2021 12:58 am

frank k wrote: ↑Thu May 20, 2021 9:06 amWhen I have time I'll do a DPR search for muditaa and see what I can find. What exact search patterns should I use to turn up muditaa and not mudita?

Endings won't suffice, so I would propose "mettāṃ*+muditāṃ*", "muditāsahagat*", muditācetovimutti.