What the Buddha Taught, p28Buddhism is quite opposed to the melancholic, sorrowful, penitent and gloomy attitude of mind which is considered a hindrance to the realization of Truth. On the other hand, it is interesting to remember here that joy (pīti) is one of the seven Bojhaṃgas or ‘Factors of Enlightenment,’ the essential qualities to be cultivated for the realization of Nirvāṇa.