198: Beautiful Mental Factors 'Sobhana Cetasika' (Part 5) Limitless Mental Factors (Appamaññā)

In this episode, we explore the third subgroup of beautiful mental factors, known as the Limitless (Appamaññā). These mental states take all living beings as their object of focus and include loving-kindness (Mettā), compassion (Karunā), appreciative joy (Muditā), and equanimity (Upekkhā).

From this group, we focus on compassion and appreciative joy — understanding their true nature, how they arise, and how easily they can be misunderstood or mixed with unwholesome states such as anger, sorrow, or attachment.

Learn how Karunā means wishing to relieve others’ suffering without falling into sorrow or anger, and how Muditā means feeling genuine gladness for others’ success, free from envy or self-interest.

Through mindful reflection and awareness, this teaching helps us cultivate a truly limitless heart — one that responds to the world with wisdom, balance, and compassion.

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Namo tasabhagavato rahato samma sambudasa nammo tasabhavato rahato samma sambudasa nam tasabhagwato rahato sama budasa Tiravara Buddhism series Dhamma Top Number twenty one Beautiful Mental Factors Sophana Chitasika Part five. We have finished discussing the first two subgroup of beautiful mental factors. Today the third subgroup is called limitless. Some translate it as illimitable or no limit. In Pali it's called Apamanya. Those are the objects. Some of you may be aware of this word Brahma Vihara. It is full modes of noble abiding. It's the same Brahma Vihara or Apa Manya. And these full modes of noble abidings or apamanyas are loving kindness, Mita, compassion, karuna, sympathetic joy, muddita and aquanimity Upeka. Those fools are called lipidless because it uses lipidless beings as an object of focused attention. However, as specific beautiful mental factors, now we are talking about Jidasiga, beautiful mental factors. Only karuna, compassion, and muddita, sympathetic joy are mentioned under this third subgroup heading of beautiful mental factors. Only two not four. Why? Because Mita loving kindness is Adosa Nan anger. Mita is nan anger all midta is nan anger. But not all non anger is Midta. Not all Adosa is Mita. Only when Adosa non anger is promoting the welfare of others is called Mita. Non anger which is specifically promoting the welfare of others is called Mita. So there's a distinction. Not all non anger is mitta, but all mitta is non anger. That's on loving kindness mitta. And also another one is Aquanimity Upika. Upika represents the neutrality of mental states. And when Upika represents the neutrality of mental states, it is called Tatra Mijatta. We already have discussed about it Tatra Mijatata. When upika specifically represent the neutrality of mental state, neutrality of mind, then it is called Tatra Mijatata. However, the word upika covers both wholesome and unwholesome. It covers both wholesome. What is wholesome? Impartiality, neutrality, that's wholesome. Unwholesome is indifference with ignorance. Some people are totally indifferent, so you can say neutral. But indifference out of ignorance, that is unwholesome. So Upika can be wholesome or unwholesome based on what condition it is in. But Tatra Midatta is totally wholesome. This Tatra Midatata, neutrality of mind, neutrality of mental state, is a purely wholesome, beautiful mental factors. And it is one of the seven factors of enlightenment or janga. And it is also called as upaka in the seven factors of enlightenment. But when upika represents as part of the seven factors of enlightenment, upika is representing the neutrality of mind. So these little distinctions must be known. So as a beautiful mental factor, this upika is not mentioned separately but placed under the beautiful mental factor of Tatra Mija Tata. So that we won't be confused. So to summarize it, they are full limitless. Midta, Karuna, Muddita, Upaka. Even though they are full limitless, Midda is the same in a sense as nanga. And also Upaka is the same sense as Tatramajat. So the only two remaining mudita and garuna are mentioned under limitless as a beautiful mental factor. So under the subgroup there are only two Karuna and Buddhita. So let's see what they are to know a little bit deeper. Beautiful mental factor number twenty three Karuna compassion in English. Karuna compassion. I'll repeat this definition again. That which makes the heart of the good quivers when others are afflicted with sorrow. What it means by feeling sorry to see someone suffering is that one volitionally wishes to relieve the suffering that befalls upon that person. That's it. It's not just that you feel sorry. You feel sorry means you feel sorry about somebody else's suffering means you have the wish. You have the desire to relieve that suffering from that person. That's karuna. Wish, wanting, desire to relieve. So the focus attention of karuna compassion is to all beings who are sorrowfully afflicted. All beings without exception. And that is karuna. The attention, the focused attention of compassion is all beings who are sorrowfully afflicted. No if or but no exception, whether it is ennemi or a beloved one, the same. It must be equal. No limit. Karuna is the beautiful mental factor. Some call it beautiful mental states. And it arises with beautiful consciousness only, not with any others, only with beautiful consciousness. It cannot arise with unwholesome consciousness. Therefore, one must be careful not to cross over the boundary of beautiful consciousness to unwholesome anger-based consciousness. These are the distinctions. Karuna exists only with beautiful consciousness. It doesn't associate with any unwholesome consciousness. So when you have karuna, be sure it is with a beautiful consciousness, not with unwholesome consciousness. In other words, one is feeling karuna, compassion. But when one sees that situation, the thought doesn't stop at feeling sorry only. It may migrate to the people who are doing unjust and cruel acts to the animals, and you get angry at them. That's automatic when you see something, somebody torturing dogs. You feel sorry for the dog, but you feel angry at the person who is afflicting that suffering. There's a difference. So they are not the same mental state. One can feel sorry for the condition. One can feel sorry for the dog. But don't get angry by the cruelty that is being transpiring. But without getting angry, do what you can to relieve the suffering. The key point is to proceed relieving the pain and suffering of the animals without getting angry, without having anger in you. And if you can do that, you are still in the mode of karuna, compassion. If you do with anger, you are not in the mode of compassion anymore. So subtle, you still think you are doing all these things with compassion, but you are not. To prompt actions. What kind of action? To prompt wholesome impartial action. That action to relieve the afflictions of others. That is the function of compassion. One may or may not succeed in relieving others' suffering. Because there's a limit to what you can do. Sometimes you succeed, sometimes you don't. But even if you don't succeed, if you do it, you are still in the beautiful mental factor of karuna mood. Beautiful mental factor of compassion. Even if you fail in relieving, you are still with compassion. You may or may not succeed. So don't think when you fail, when you fail, you don't complete or succeed compassion. It is the mind state, mental state, mental factor. Must be beautiful and wholesome. Don't let the unjust drag your mindset down to others' level. The mental anguish that arises from seeing cruelty is the direct enemy of compassion. The mental anguish that arises from seeing cruelty is the direct enemy of compassion. So let's call this as a little trap that you can fall into. But there's also another trap in Karuna, practicing karuna. Say one is watching the loved ones in pain and suffering from a terminal disease. Let's say a grandma or grandpa suffering from painful cancer, dying, suffering, or even somebody that you care very much, and one is watching this loved one in pain and suffering from terminal disease. Of course, you care and you try your best to relieve that pain day in and day out, day in and day out, weeks, months. And eventually that pain gets to you. You are actually experiencing the pain of your beloved ones. After weeks and months, you begin to feel that pain. You feel the beloved's pain and suffering, and you descend in the sorrowful state. When you feel like that, you yourself become sorrowful. You yourself become in a state of suffering. Feel as if it is happening to you. Depression set in you, sorrow set in you, anger set in you. Because of that, now one is not in a wholesome compassion state anymore. Because compassion is purely wholesome. Depression, sorrow, anger is not wholesome. Not only that, it could even drive you to do mercy killing. That's how mercy killing comes in. You feel so much pain, but you believe that you are doing mercy killing so that your beloved one would not have to suffer long. And you take it in your own hand and you do the mercy killing. But you are killing out of mental anguish. That's the real reason. That is the proximate cause. Not compassion makes you kill. It is the mental anguish makes you do that mercy killing. Or let's say makes one do that mercy killing. Every type of killing, whatever type it is, including mercy killing and including suicide. Suicide is a killing. If there's a killing, there is dosat. So this sorrow. Those are the two traps one can fall if you are practicing karuna, compassion. Little things you are not even aware of it, but when you know the mental state, mental factors with clarity, you know what is wholesome and you know what is not wholesome. You know why you are doing, for what reason you are doing. So be mindful of whether one is in a karuna domain or in a sorrowful angry domain. Be mindful. Mindfulness is the key thing to give you clarity where you are. So that is beautiful mental factor number twenty-three. Now number twenty-four. It's translated as sympathetic joy. But my teacher taught me appreciative joy is most suitable as an English translated word for mudita. Appreciative joy. But mostly you will see in the books the word sympathetic joy. Mudita is being happy to see, to feel, to know other success. Fame, fortune and happiness. One wishes that they will not lose the fame, fortune, and success. Okay? First of all, is you feel happy to see and to know other people's success. Not only that, and you wish that they would never lose that success, never lose that fame and fortune. That's mudita. Appreciative joy. So even in the chanting recitation, we say, may they not lose their fame and fortune they have gained and attained. In the chanting mudita. It is a very difficult, beautiful mental factors to practice. It is difficult, sounds quite easy. Because the mind in our daily activities, every little thing, whatever is happening, don't just think about big things, big thing, medium things, small things, subtle things. The mind usually slips into envy and dissatisfaction mode. Without you being aware of it, without detection. Something happened, it slipping. Somebody wearing a certain type of clothing looks good. But you say, oh, it looks slurty. Instead of that person looks good and being appreciative about it, the minds go right into oh. It looks good, but it's slurty. Outfit. Automatic. And these little kind of things are always happening. Somebody cook a dish. Quite nice. You taste it. And you are also like a good cook. You taste it. Oh good. But I think you can use a little more pinch of salt. You cannot be simply just happy of whatever that person has achieved. You just have to put it down, slice it down. But in your mind you are trying to be very what you call constructively critical to make it better. That's how you think. But you cannot just simply stop at being happy for that person's success. That's how we slip into it. And there are hundreds and thousands of times in our life every day, these little things happening, and in our rational mind we are trying to improve. So the characteristics of Mudita, appreciative joy. It's the gladness of other people's success. If they are rising, if they are growing in the right direction, nobody is perfect. Just be happy with it. Be glad about it. And being glad about it is the characteristics of appreciative joy. Its function is having no envy and jealousy of others' success, others' gain and fame. No jealousy, no envy. It manifests as the elimination of aversion. You don't have any level of aversion when you have appreciative joy. Its proximate cost is seeing others succeed. That's a reason, that's a proximate cost. Its direct enemy is aversion. We use the word aversion, but you will see in quite a lot of books its direct enemy is jealousy and envy. But not only jealousy, any level of dislike, any level of aversion towards other people's success is the direct enemy. Jealousy is just one of them. So we can say direct enemy is aversion or dislike. It's indirect or near enemy. Sinking into pleasure with merriment. So this needs a little bit of explanation. Sounds one understand it, but let's try to make it a little more clear with example. Let's say you succeed or somebody else succeeds, your party succeed, and then you feel happy about it. That's mudita, of course. Celebrating. Then the reason of the celebration. The pleasures over the reason. You got drunk into pleasure. That is falling into pleasure with merriment. Not simply, oh, we succeed because of that. This is good. This will benefit many body. And happy. That's mudita. But you got into that pleasure mode. That's not mudita anymore. You go into the merriment, enjoyment of pure pleasure. That's a near enemy. That's an indirect enemy. Or another example would be somebody else succeed and win. Your close friend. Your party win. And you're happy. You're happy not because your party only wins. There's an agenda. You're happy because when that person succeeds, that person can do a lot of favor to you for your benefit. That agenda comes in. You're happy because that person is successful and that person can help you or can favor you down the line. Then you're out of mudita, appreciative joy, sympathetic joy. So these are the little traps if one is practicing karuna, compassion, or mudita, sympathetic joy. Mudita is you have to be very, very mindful because it can strike you all the time, every day, every hour. So may all of you be able to practice karuna and mudita, compassion and appreciative joy, correctly, precisely, and mindfully. And may you be able to help those who are in need as soon as possible. Thank you very much.