Four joys 四喜

The four joys (Skt. catvārimuditā; Tib. gawa shyi; Wyl. dga' ba bzhi) are four increasingly subtle experiences of bliss-emptiness connected with the advanced practices of tsa-lung; they transcend ordinary feelings of joy or pleasure. They are:

1. joy (Skt. muditā; Tib. དགའ་བ།, Wyl. dga' ba),
2. supreme joy (Skt. pramuditā; Tib. མཆོག་དགའ།, Wyl. mchog dga'),
3. special joy (Skt. viśeṣamuditā; Tib. ཁྱད་དགའ།, Wyl. khyad dga') and
4. innate joy (Skt. sahajamuditā; Tib. ལྷན་སྐྱེས་ཀྱི་དགའ།, Wyl. lhan skyes kyi dga' ba).

They are experienced when the white bodhichitta drop, (also called white essence), ascends from the lowest chakra to the navel, heart, throat, and crown chakras.

Eight joys and sixteen joys may also be enumerated in the tantras.

Alternative Translations

• Four delights (Dorje & Kapstein)
• Four ecstasies