Matthew Ricard On True Altruism

Matthieu Ricard (born 15 February 1946) is a French Buddhist monk who resides at Shechen Tennyi Dargyeling Monastery in Nepal. After completing his doctoral thesis in 1972 on molecular genetics at the Institute Pasteur, he decided to forsake his scientific career and concentrate on the practice of Tibetan Buddhism. He lived in the Himalayas studying with the Kangyur Rinpoche and some other great masters of that tradition and became the close student and attendant of Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche until his passing in 1991. Since then, Dr. Ricard has dedicated his activities to fulfilling Khyentse Rinpoche's vision. He is the author and photographer of Tibet, An Inner Journey and Monk Dancers of Tibet and, in collaboration, the photobooks Buddhist Himalayas, Journey to Enlightenment and recently Motionless Journey: From a Hermitage in the Himalayas. He is the translator of numerous Buddhist texts, including The Life of Shabkar. The dialogue with his father, Jean-Francois Revel, The Monk and the Philosopher, was a best seller in Europe and was translated into 21 languages, and The Quantum and the Lotus (co-authored with Trinh Xuan Thuan) reflects his long-standing interest in science and Buddhism. His 2003 book Plaidoyer pour le bonheur (published in English in 2006 as Happiness: A Guide to Developing Life's Most Important Skill) explores the meaning and fulfilment of happiness and was a major best-seller in France. He has been dubbed the "happiest person in the world" by popular media. He was a volunteer subject in a study performed at the University of Wisconsin--Madison's on happiness, scoring significantly beyond the average obtained after testing hundreds of other volunteers. He received the French National Order of Merit for his humanitarian work in the East. For the last few years, he has dedicated his effort and the royalties of his books to various charitable projects in Asia, that include building and maintaining clinics, schools and orphanages in the region. Since 1989, he has acted as the French interpreter for the Dalai Lama.

Category:

Education

Tags:

• MatthewRicardOnTrueAltruism

[acemanfan]

Yes, I believe it is referred to as compassion meditation.

[Z3R057]

Does this type of meditation on altruism have a name?

[Z3R057]

Altruism as defined by philosophers is: the thesis that one ought to act for the sake of the interests of others first.

If your true pursuit is happiness, then are you really acting in the interests of others first?

[opensecret51]

@TheDevouchka ohhhh My dear Sigrid thanks for introducing this big heart and teacher ....you helped my heart to feel better today and I feel after listening to his teaching that my whole spirit opened up to possibility and hope ..Yes ..compassion with wisdom is what we need most for the world and personal .....many kisses 

[TheDevouchka]

Nice and wonderful Matthieu! Thanks for your video. He is one of my best friends!

Sigrid