Positive Empathy (Muditā)

[Daniel E.]

A Sanskrit term for positive empathy:

Mudita - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

Muditā (Pāli and Sanskrit: मुदिता) means joy; especially sympathetic or vicarious joy, or the pleasure that comes from delighting in other people's well-being.

The traditional paradigmatic example of this mind-state is the attitude of a parent observing a growing child's accomplishments and successes. Mudita should not be confused with pride, as a person feeling mudita may not have any benefit or direct income from the accomplishments of the other. Mudita is a pure joy unadulterated by self-interest.

 

[Daniel E.]

How Can We Avoid Resenting Others?

Are you ambivalent (or even annoyed) about the royal wedding? This Buddhist idea might help.

www.psychologytoday.com

This Sanskrit term [muditā] describes a form of sympathetic or vicarious happiness. It’s a great example of an "untranslatable" word, one that lacks an exact equivalent in our own tongue. I’ve recently been collecting such words, particularly ones relating to wellbeing (as a researcher in positive psychology).

The result is an evolving "positive lexicography," as I explore in two new books (please see bio for details). Such words are significant, as they represent phenomena which have been overlooked or underappreciated in one’s own culture, but have been recognised by another culture.

 

[Daniel E.]

From Morelli et al (2015):

"We define positive empathy as understanding and vicariously sharing others' positive emotions. Imagining, recalling, observing, or learning of others' positive outcomes can trigger positive empathy."

 

[Daniel E.]

The ‘untranslatable’ emotions you never knew you had

Learning to identify and cultivate these feelings could give you a richer and more successful life

www.bbc.com

From gigil to wabi-sabi and tarab, there are many foreign emotion words with no English equivalent. Learning to identify and cultivate these experiences could give you a richer and more successful life...

Lomas says he was first inspired after hearing a talk on the Finnish concept of sisu, which is a sort of “extraordinary determination in the face of adversity”. According to Finnish speakers, the English ideas of “grit”, “perseverance” or “resilience” do not come close to describing the inner strength encapsulated in their native term. It was "untranslatable" in the sense that there was no direct or easy equivalent encoded within the English vocabulary that could capture that deep resonance.

Intrigued, he began to hunt for further examples, scouring the academic literature and asking every foreign acquaintance for their own suggestions. The first results of this project were published in the Journal of Positive Psychology last year.

Many of the terms referred to highly specific positive feelings, which often depend on very particular circumstances:

• Desbundar (Portuguese) – to shed one’s inhibitions in having fun
• Tarab (Arabic) – a musically induced state of ecstasy or enchantment
• Shinrin-yoku (Japanese) – the relaxation gained from bathing in the forest, figuratively or literally
• Gigil (Tagalog) – the irresistible urge to pinch or squeeze someone because they are loved or cherished
• Yuan bei (Chinese) – a sense of complete and perfect accomplishment
• Iktsuarpok (Inuit) – the anticipation one feels when waiting for someone, whereby one keeps going outside to check if they have arrived

But others represented more complex and bittersweet experiences, which could be crucial to our growth and overall flourishing.

• Natsukashii (Japanese) – a nostalgic longing for the past, with happiness for the fond memory, yet sadness that it is no longer
• Wabi-sabi (Japanese) – a “dark, desolate sublimity” centred on transience and imperfection in beauty
• Saudade (Portuguese) – a melancholic longing or nostalgia for a person, place or thing that is far away either spatially or in time – a vague, dreaming wistfulness for phenomena that may not even exist
• Sehnsucht (German) – “life-longings”, an intense desire for alternative states and realisations of life, even if they are unattainable

In addition to these emotions, Lomas’s lexicography also charted the personal characteristics and behaviours that might determine our long-term well-being and the ways we interact with other people.

• Dadirri (Australian aboriginal) term – a deep, spiritual act of reflective and respectful listening
• Pihentagyú (Hungarian) – literally meaning “with a relaxed brain”, it describes quick-witted people who can come up with sophisticated jokes or solutions
• Desenrascanço (Portuguese) – to artfully disentangle oneself from a troublesome situation
• Sukha (Sanskrit) – genuine lasting happiness independent of circumstances
• Orenda (Huron) – the power of the human will to change the world in the face of powerful forces such as fate