ABSTRACT
In South Asian religion, bhakti is the Sanskrit term (Tamil pattar) that encompasses kama muta motes in worship. Represented in many passages of the Upanishads, the Bhāgavata Purāna, and the Mahabharata, bhakti is the devotional ecstasy of union with a divinity, especially Vaiṣṇava worship of Krishna. Buddhist texts, most notably the Jātaka stories recounting the past lives of the Buddha, depict many instances of kama muta when people observe the Buddha’s karuṇā – compassionate loving-kindness for all beings. Readers of these texts are likely to experience kama muta at the Buddha’s loving-kindness, or the loving–kindness of bodhisattvas. Contemporary participants in Ciji, a Buddhist women’s movement founded by the Venerable Zhengyan, are renowned for their joyous tears of kama muta. Meditative practices with Buddhist roots, especially mindful compassion, can evoke kama muta; most intriguing is kama muta in mindful self-compassion. In Jainism, observing generosity, or being generous, may evoke kama muta.
