I don’t remember to have read much about the third of the Brahmavihara-“states”, mudita , and aside of our training many years ago, where we did meditation in the Osho/Shree Rajneesh-style and one form has been the dancing while trying to let the Brahmavihara-states “blossom” in the heart, and mudita has its own, and equi-timed, sequence, I don’t remember to have been come across the explicite meditation on and in mudita in the centers where I’ve been to in the years up to today.
Recently I’ve been on some nice and green park, with long meadows, a bit hilly, and while I sat on a bench, I could see a couple of small dogs, playfully running after some ball thrown for them. They seemed to be really happy running after that ball, both very fast for their short legs, one even a bit faster than the other, and their running pathes made more and more superfluous excursions - forgetting about the ball, and seemingly running for pure joy of running and rushing, the full body getting more and more involved. I got aware, that this enormous joy directly transmitted itself into my heart; it did not need words to talk about it, to formulate what I was seeing, just the heart went open and in full resonance to that infinite -supposed by me- joy of that young dogs, especially the faster one.
When I was later thinking over this, the term “mudita” came, from my memories of the Brahmavihara-states, to mind, and I asked myself: is it just that, what I’ve experienced on the meadows, what is meant whith, adressed by, the term “mudita”?
Today I thought, I’ve a bit quiet time, let’s look what the Pali-Canon has to say about it. And, of course, as well what we do already have about it in D&D? In short: I was surprised how little is really there! I’ll refer something here, although half of it in german (the sources however should help to find it in english, too) :
AN 3.95 (AN 3.93) (…) Zustande, nämlich der gemütserlösenden Mitfreude (mudita). In dem von Freude Erfüllten aber entsteht Verzückung (…)
Hmm, that’s not much. Let’s see further:
SN 46.64 (Hecker)
(62-66) Die Liebe, ihr Mönche, das Erbarmen, die Mitfreude, der Gleichmut, bedachtsame Ein- und Ausatmung, oder
(67-76) Die Wahrnehmung der Unschönheit, des Todes, der Widerwertigkeit der Nahrung, der Freudlosigkeit der ganzen Welt, der Unbeständigkeit, des Leidens, des Nicht-Ich, der Überwindung, der Entreizung, der Auflösung, entfaltet und ausgebildet, hat große Frucht, hat großen Segen, läßt zwei Früchte erwarten: Höchstes Wissen zu Lebzeiten oder, ist ein Rest Anhangen da, Nichtwiederkehr, führt zu mächtigem Heil, zu mächtigem Frieden des Yoga, zu mächtiger Ergriffenheit, zu mächtigem Wohlbefinden. Und wie?
Da entfaltet der Mönch, ihr Mönche, mit solchen Wahrnehmungen verbunden, die Erwachungsglieder Achtsamkeit bis Gleichmut, auf Einsamkeit gestützt, auf Entreizung gestützt, auf Auflösung gestützt, die in Loslassen übergehen".
This is how to use the experience of mudita, not so much how to be able to identify more precisely.
One in english, (but still on the german page palikanon.com)
47 . Muditá
Derived from ??mud, to be pleased.
It is not mere sympathy but appreciative joy. Its direct enemy is jealousy and its indirect enemy is exultation (pahása). Its chief characteristic is happy acquiescence in others’ prosperity (anumodaná). Muditá embraces prosperous beings. It discards dislike (arati), and it is the congratulatory attitude of a person.
Ah, this helps a bit more. “appreciative joy” comes near to my feeling with the young dog, however, congratulatory attitude not so much, but in this text it is focused to that for a person, not for another sentient being (“congratulatory” might be too far away in such cases).
Here I have now one sutta (DN 33), which takes the description of the mental state, of the quality of the feeling into discourse:
Die Entfaltung der Mitfreude (muditá-bhávaná)
D. 33 <…/…/digha/d33_04.htm>
- Da, ihr Mönche, durchdringt der Mönch mit einem von Mitfreude (muditá) erfüllten Geiste erst eine Himmelsrichtung; darauf ebenso die zweite, die dritte und die vierte; und sich in allem wiedererkennend durchdringt er nach oben, unten, überall die ganze Welt mit einem von Mitfreude erfüllten Geiste, einem weiten, entfalteten, unbeschränkten, frei von Groll und Übelwollen.
Diese Übung mag man zuerst mit Hinsicht auf einen von Freude überschäumenden lieben Freund erwecken, denkend: ,O, wie sich dieser freut! O, wie gut! O, wie schön!’
In Vibh. XIII heißt es: „Und wie durchstrahlt der Mönch mit einem von Mitfreude erfüllten Geiste erst eine Himmelsrichtung? Gleichwie man da beim Anblicke eines lieben, teuren Menschen Freude empfindet, genau so durchstrahlt er alle Wesen mit Mitfreude."
Ok, well; but this discourses on mudita seem to me really short, bloodless, even a bit poor, again the given example the “dearest friend”, and in no way reflecting the richness in which -in my example experience/in my thoughts now- we can have it, when aware (and in resonance) with the living creatures.
Here another one
- A.III. 96 Drei Versammlungen
(…)
Zu einer Zeit, ihr Mönche, wo die Mönche in Eintracht und Freundlichkeit leben, ohne Streit, milden Herzens sind, sich freundlich anblicken, zu solcher Zeit schaffen sich die Mönche viel Gutes, und zu solcher Zeit verweilen die Mönche in göttlichem Zustande, nämlich der gemütserlösenden Mitfreude (muditá <…/wtb/mudita.html>). In dem von Freude Erfüllten aber entsteht Verzückung. Verzückten Herzens wird sein Wesen beruhigt; beruhigten Wesens empfindet er Glück, und des Glücklichen Geist sammelt sich.
Here, the mudita, as understood as “common-joy”, “shared-joy” (or “rejoicing” as in Ven. Sujatos comment? - see below) has been given another aspect, here at least detached from the “thinking of a good friend”. Similarly here:
Vis. IX.5. Vermischte Erklärungen
Muditá (Freude, Mitfreude) sagt man, weil die davon Erfüllten vermittels dieser Fähigkeit sich freuen oder weil sie sich selber freut; oder das bloße Sichfreuen gilt als die Freude.
Well, then today I found in our D&D one remark of Ven. Sujato from nov. 2015
Well, this shortness of explication, of rendering, of illustrating, of putting out with actual experiences as lively examples - in contrast to much deeper experiences in my own life (where this small young-joyful- dogs-example is only one and only a recent one) made me ask this question for broader exposition of this so much valuable third “state” mentioned in the four Brahamaviharas.
At the moment I would like to resort to one of my favorite simile: the resonance of two triangles, where the second gets into the same singing, when the first has got started singing, as simile for two hearts where the second comes into joyful resonance when the first one is getting in true joy. And this need not be by talking. We know it in music, especially when music is played together, but even when we truely listen to well played music (even of a long-dead componist!). We know it in arts, when we arrive in resonance with the artist. But we even know it, when our children played successfully their sceneplay in school and come home, their heart filled and overflowing with joy and we can fall in resonance with this. But even, so it occurs to me, we can know it when some animal, some sentient being, feels deep joy or deep peace and we can get in same resonance with it.
One clue, more natural-science, modern, might be the modern concept of the mirror-neurons, which allows even the babies to line-in with the emotions and wantings of their parents, without any talk, by just the ability to resonate in/with mental states. So it is a true natural ressource to us, anyway…
What are some of your experiences of mudita, suitable to share here in this thread? I’d like to get even deeper in the discourse on this curious third state of the Brahmaviharas… 
), properly developed it leads to release of the heart…
Please feel free to correct if I’ve totally misunderstood.