Empathetic Joy: Sometimes a Challenge

The Brahmaviharas, or Four Immeasurables, are guides to infinite love for all beings. As I described them here, they are:

* Loving Kindness: An attitude of boundless goodwill toward all beings without attachments or expectations.

* Compassion: Arising from loving kindness, it’s the sincere commitment to work to end the suffering of all beings.

* Empathetic Joy: Taking delight in the success and happiness of others without envy or resentment.

* Equanimity: Remaining balanced and impartial through life’s ups and downs and accepting all beings as equal.

For many of us, the “all beings” challenge in loving kindness and compassion is to recognize that the pesky mosquito and the warmongering world leader are motivated by the same desire we have—for a life without suffering. We’re asked to remember the pure Buddha Nature in each of them.

Equanimity calls on us not to be swept away with grief or joy. Even when we suffer a profound loss or rejoice in a soul-affirming gain, we recognize that the state isn’t permanent and know we will return to equilibrium.

Empathetic joy may be even trickier. Consider this thought experiment as an example:

You have gone three years without a promotion at the burgeoning tech startup where you work. For months, you’ve suspected that an ideal spot will soon open, so you have positioned yourself for it. You believe you’ve learned all you can in your current position and yearn for a new challenge, status, and pay raise. When the announcement comes that someone else has gotten the job, along with it is an invitation to join a late-afternoon celebratory gathering. You don’t especially like the successful candidate. Can you be joyful for that person?

That would be quite a test. I offer it as a sort of koan to rest with and consider.

Empathetic joy came to mind when I decided to ask From the Pure Land readers for some of it. I think of this blog, the associated podcast, and my soon-to-be-released book as my end-of-life mission—what I have to offer others (and, in the case of the book, augment my retirement income). So the email I received yesterday was soul-affirming. It was from my fellow Substack blogger Jim Palmer. I had asked him to read an advance copy of my book and consider writing a blurb. Here’s his reply:

Mel Pine achieved something in The New Middle Way that I have never encountered before. He wrote an interdisciplinary book on Eastern spirituality that combined Buddhism, philosophy, and science. The truly extraordinary part is that he was true to each of the three without compromising one for the other. Perhaps even more astoundingly, this is not some heady discourse for a select few; rather, it presents a coherent and liberating approach to life that you could start living today. Whatever your current religious, spiritual, or philosophical views, even the skeptic, you owe it to yourself to read Mel Pine's book with an open mind and heart.

- Jim PalmerFounder, Center for Non-Religious Spirituality, and author of Inner Anarchy

We had not discussed the book, but what he described so forcefully was precisely what I had wanted to write. I don’t agree that I did quite as good a job as he says I did, but I won’t argue. That paragraph has given me the confidence to change my book’s trajectory. I’ve moved the release date up to June 13. The Kindle version remains available at $4.95 for pre-order. If you order it now, or if you already have, you’ll receive it, and you will be charged on the new date.

August 10, 2025, Update

After I wrote this, good early-reeder reviews kept coming in, including this one from noted spiritual teacher and author Andrew Holecek:

Mel Pine has distilled a lifetime of learning and packaged it in the most caring heart. This is a delightful book dealing with noble truths that will benefit many.

So I moved the publication date up again. The Kindle, paperback, and hardback versions went on sale on Amazon on May 22, and the Audible version on June 30.

On August 8, the paperback edition became available from other online outlets, including Barnes & Noble. On September 4, the ebook will also become available from a wider range of online stores.

Click here for the Amazon book page. Click here to choose from other retailers.

From the Pure Land has thousands of readers and subscribers in 39 U.S. states and 30 countries, and the podcast has thousands of listeners in 81 countries.

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