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Spiritual First Aidby WorldWise United
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Compare Perspectives

Pick a human experience and up to five traditions. Rows highlight both shared themes and meaningful differences.

DimensionModern PsychologyBuddhist TraditionsChristian TraditionsIslamic Traditions
Core questionWhat is jealousy telling us?How do we meet the ache of comparison?How do we love when we feel diminished by another's good?How do we guard the heart against envy?
Primary teachingJealousy is treated as an emotional signal, often mixing fear of loss, insecurity, and unmet needs, worth examining rather than acting on.Jealousy and envy are seen as forms of suffering rooted in grasping. Mudita, sympathetic joy at another's good fortune, is offered as their direct antidote.Envy is named among the classical vices, treated as a corrosion of love. The remedy is honest confession and the deliberate practice of rejoicing with those who rejoice.Hasad, envy that wishes another lose their blessing, is treated as a spiritual illness. Ghibta, admiring desire without wishing loss, is permitted and even encouraged.
Common practices
  • · Naming the underlying fear
  • · Cognitive reframing
  • · Attachment-informed therapy
  • · Honest conversation with the person involved
  • · Mudita meditation
  • · Metta toward oneself and the other
  • · Noting jealousy as it arises
  • · Reflection on impermanence
  • · Confession and spiritual direction
  • · Prayers of gratitude
  • · Rejoicing with others
  • · Examen
  • · Dhikr (remembrance)
  • · Du'a for the person envied
  • · Gratitude practices
  • · Seeking refuge from hasad
Role of communityTrusted others help distinguish signal from story.Sangha supports honest disclosure.Confession, direction, and honest friendship.Teachers and companions support honest work.
Role of ritualNot central; reflection and dialogue are the main tools.Meditation practice.Prayer and sacrament.Prayer and remembrance.
View of sufferingReal, workable, not shameful.A door to compassion when met wisely.Envy wounds the one who carries it; grace heals.A test the heart can grow through.
View of hopeJealousy can loosen as needs are named and met.Freedom from comparison is possible.Love, cultivated, displaces envy over time.The heart can be purified with practice.
Important thinkers
  • · Esther Perel
  • · Sue Johnson
  • · David Buss
  • · Sharon Salzberg
  • · Pema Chödrön
  • · Thich Nhat Hanh
  • · Augustine
  • · Evagrius Ponticus
  • · Henri Nouwen
  • · Al-Ghazali
  • · Ibn 'Ata'illah
Recommended reading
  • · The State of Affairs
  • · Hold Me Tight
  • · Lovingkindness
  • · The Places That Scare You
  • · The Return of the Prodigal Son
  • · Confessions
  • · Ihya Ulum al-Din
  • · The Book of Wisdoms

Compare Perspectives

Ask an educational question. Answers cite the traditions they draw from and never rank one worldview over another.