Mada (Sanskrit; Tibetan phonetic: ''gyakpa '') is a
Buddhist
Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and ...
term translated as "self-satisfaction", "self-infatuation", or "mental inflation". It is identified as one of the
twenty subsidiary unwholesome mental factors within the Mahayana
Abhidharma
The Abhidharma are ancient (third century BCE and later) Buddhist texts which contain detailed scholastic presentations of doctrinal material appearing in the Buddhist ''sutras''. It also refers to the scholastic method itself as well as the f ...
teachings. In this context, it is defined as having excessive pride or vanity based on attachment to one's own good fortune, such as possessing youth, good health, or material wealth.
[Guenther (1975), Kindle Locations 923-924.][Kunsang (2004), p. 28.]
Definitions
The
Abhidharma-samuccaya states:
:What is ''mada''? It is joy and rapture associated with attachment (
raga
A ''raga'' or ''raag'' (; also ''raaga'' or ''ragam''; ) is a melodic framework for improvisation in Indian classical music akin to a musical mode, melodic mode. The ''rāga'' is a unique and central feature of the classical Indian music tradit ...
) because one sees as excellences the prospect of a long life and other fragile good things by trusting one's youth and good health. Its function is to provide a basis for all basic and proximate emotions.
[
Herbert Guenther explains:
:It is an inflated mind which is full of joy and rapture in view of health, abundance of pleasure, etc. It is the root of unconcern (]pramāda
Pramāda (Sanskrit; Pāli: pamada; Tibetan phonetic: ''bakmepa'') is a Buddhist term that is translated as "heedlessness", "carelessness", etc. In the Mahayana tradition, ''pramāda'' is defined to not apply oneself earnestly and carefully to adop ...
) by generating all other emotions.[
Mipham Rinpoche states:
:Mada is to have excessive pride or vanity due to any kind of fascination with or attachment towards any kind of conditioned prosperity possessed by oneself, such as good health and youthfulness. It forms a support for the six root unwholesome mental factors and twenty subsidiary unwholesome mental factors.][
Alexander Berzin explains:
:Smugness or conceit (rgyags-pa) is a part of longing desire (]raga
A ''raga'' or ''raag'' (; also ''raaga'' or ''ragam''; ) is a melodic framework for improvisation in Indian classical music akin to a musical mode, melodic mode. The ''rāga'' is a unique and central feature of the classical Indian music tradit ...
). From seeing signs of a long life or of any other samsaric glory, based on being healthy, young, wealthy, and so on, smugness is a puffed-up mind that feels happy about and takes pleasure in this.[Berzin (2006)]
See also
* Mental factors (Buddhism)
References
{{reflist
Sources
* Berzin, Alexander (2006)
''Primary Minds and the 51 Mental Factors''
* Goleman, Daniel (2008). ''Destructive Emotions: A Scientific Dialogue with the Dalai Lama''. Bantam. Kindle Edition.
* Guenther, Herbert V. & Leslie S. Kawamura (1975), ''Mind in Buddhist Psychology: A Translation of Ye-shes rgyal-mtshan's "The Necklace of Clear Understanding"''. Dharma Publishing. Kindle Edition.
* Kunsang, Erik Pema (translator) (2004). ''Gateway to Knowledge, Vol. 1''. North Atlantic Books.
External links
Ranjung Yeshe wiki entry for ''rgyags_pa''
Unwholesome factors in Buddhism
Sanskrit words and phrases