From Teaching on Love by Thich Nhat Hanh
Love in Buddhism way
Joy (Mudita)
The third element of true love is mudita, joy. Ture love always brings joy to ourselves and to the one we love. If our love does not bring joy to both of us, it is not true love.
Commentators explain that happiness relates to both body and mind, whereas joy relates primarily to mind. This example is often give: Someone traveling in the desert sees a stream of cool water and experiences joy. On drinking the water, he experiences happiness. Ditthadhamma sukhavihari means "dwelling happily in the present moment." We don't rush to the future; we know that everything is here in the present moment. Many small things can bring us tremendous joy, such as the awareness that we have eyes in good condition. We just have to open our eyes and we can see the blue sky, the violet flowers, the children, the trees, and so many other kinds of forms and colors. Dwelling in mindfulness, we can touch these wondrous and refreshing things, and our mind of joy arises naturally. Joy contains happiness and happiness contains joy.
Some commentators have said that mudita means "sympathetic joy" or "altruistic joy," the happiness we feel when others are happy. But that is too limited. It discriminates between self and others. A deeper definition of mudita is a joy that is filled with peace and contentment. We rejoice when we see others happy, but we rejoice in our own well being as well. How can we feel joy for another person when we do not feel joy for ourselves? Joy is for everyone.
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