Matthieu Ricard's Blog, page 3

Interview with Vadivu Govind, on how to cultivate happiness - VII

From a series of private interviews with Matthieu Ricard conducted by Vadivu Govind in Singapore in September 2012, during which she assumed the role of a wealthy leader and posed some thoughts such a leader may have to Matthieu.

How do I have a peaceful death?

Prepare yourself so that you have no regrets. Think now. The things that you do, like trying to get rid of your competitors, and making one more million dollars, are they going to bring you a peaceful death? Are you really going to be happy when you die?

Now imagine that you spend quality time with your family and think, “I have accumulated some wealth but I use it in such wonderful, compassionate ways. I’ve contributed to society. Then when the last moment comes, I can rejoice in that and think “Ah, that was well done!””

But if you just have this big bank account, no one sees a coffin going out with a coffer. You’re not going to take it with you for sure.

Interview conducted by: Vadivu Govind, Director, Joy Works (joyworks.sg) on 13 Sept. 2012, Poh Ming Tse Temple, Singapore. She blogs at happiness.sg.

Views of India, Bhurma, and Thailand from the air

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The Brahmaputra, flowing through the North-East of India, seen from flight Druk Air from Paro (Bhutan) to Bangkok (Thailand)

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The Irrawady estuary in Bhurma, seen from a flight from Kathmandu (Nepal) to Bangkok (Thailand)

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The Thailand coast on the Andaman Sea at sunset, seen from flight Druk Air from Paro (Bhutan) to Bangkok (Thailand)

Interview with Vadivu Govind, on how to cultivate happiness - VI

From a series of private interviews with Matthieu Ricard conducted by Vadivu Govind in Singapore in September 2012, during which she assumed the role of a wealthy leader and posed some thoughts such a leader may have to Matthieu.

I am afraid of death…I try not to think about it.

You should think about it but not in a morbid way and get depressed.

Imagine that you have one month to live. It’s not very nice, but would you want to distract yourself for the last month or make it the most extraordinary month of your life? You can spend time with your dear ones, enjoy looking at flowers, the sky, meditating, and so on.

Death is certain but the time it comes is uncertain. It is the best way to make sure that you fully appreciate every moment of life.

Sometimes you’re bored and just sitting there. If that were the last day of your life, it wouldn’t be boring. Even 10 boring minutes would look so extraordinary. You can just look outside and think that this day is so precious instead of having time just go by, colorless and boring.

Thinking about your death gives extraordinary quality to every moment of your life.

Interview conducted by: Vadivu Govind, Director, Joy Works (joyworks.sg) on 13 Sept. 2012, Poh Ming Tse Temple, Singapore. She blogs at happiness.sg.

Mount Everest, the Roof of the World, from the air

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The Everest Range, the Roof of the World, seen from the captain’s cabin on flight Druk Air from Kathmandu (Nepal) to Paro (Bhutan)

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Mount Everest, the Roof of the World, seen from the captain’s cabin on flight Druk Air from Kathmandu (Nepal) to Paro (Bhutan)

Anecdotes from the life of the great Tibetan master Gyalse Ngulchu Thogme (1295-1369) - V

Near the end of his life, when Ngulchu Thogme first showed signs of sickness, he said that no treatment was likely to help, but to calm everyone he took some medicine nonetheless, and let prayers and ceremonies be performed on his behalf.

When someone asked him if there were any way to prolong his life, Thogme said, “‘If my being sick will benefit beings, may I be blessed with sickness! If my dying will benefit beings, may I be blessed with death! If my being well will benefit beings, may I be blessed with recovery!’ This is the prayer I make to the Three Jewels. Having complete certainty that whatever happens is the blessings of the Three Jewels, I am happy, and I shall take whatever happens on to the path without trying to change anything.”

His close disciples begged him to consider whether medical treatment or anything else they could offer him would be of any benefit.

But Thogme said, “I have reached the limit of my years and my sickness is severe. Even the attentions of highly skilled physicians with ambrosia-like medicine would be unlikely to contribute much.” And he added:

If this illusory body, which I cling to as mine, is sick—let it be sick!


This sickness enables me to exhaust


The bad karma I have accumulated in the past,


And the spiritual deeds I can then perform


Help me purify the two kinds of veils.

If I am in good health, I am happy,


Because when my body and mind are well


I can enhance my spiritual practice,


And give real meaning to human existence


By turning my body, speech and mind to virtue.

If I am poor, I am happy,


Because I’ve no wealth to protect,


And I know that all feuds and animosity


Sprout from the seeds of greed and attachment.

If I am rich, I am happy,


Because with my wealth I can do more positive actions,


And both temporal and ultimate happiness


Are the result of meritorious deeds.

If I die soon, that’s excellent,


Because, assisted by some good potential, I am confident that


I shall enter the unmistaken path


Before any obstacle can intervene.

If I live long, I am happy,


Because without parting from the warm beneficial rain of spiritual instructions


I can, over a long time, fully ripen


The crop of inner experiences.

Therefore, whatever happens, I shall be happy!

And he continued, “I’ve been teaching these pith instructions to others, and I must practice them myself. As it is said, ‘What is called sickness has no true existence whatsoever, but within the display of delusory phenomena appears as the ineluctable result of wrong actions. Sickness is the teacher that points out the nature of samsara and shows us that phenomena, manifest though they may, have no more true existence than an illusion. Sickness provides us with the grounds for developing patience towards our own suffering, and compassion for the suffering of others. It is in such difficult circumstances that our spiritual practice is put to the test.’ If I die, I’ll be relieved of the pains of my sickness. I can’t recall any task that I’ve left undone, and what’s more I realize how rare an opportunity it is to be able to die as the perfect conclusion of my spiritual practice. That’s why I’m not hoping for any cure for my illness. Nevertheless, before I die, you may complete all your ceremonies.”

One morning, at dawn, he asked his disciples to help him sit slightly more upright, and then said, “I feel extremely well like this, do not move my body at all.”


From that morning until the next evening he remained seated in the lotus posture; his mind remained one-pointedly in equanimity, and within that state, he passed away and departed into bliss.

From The Heart of Compassion, by Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche, Shambhala Publications

The happiest person in the world?

Recently, an AFP correspondent who kindly interviewed me in Dolpo in Nepal, recalled the story about how my humble self am the “happiest person in the world”. Of course, I told him that this did not really make any sense and was actually a joke I have a hard time freeing myself from.

Of course, it is better to be called the happiest person in the world than the contrary, but this assertion is not at all based on scientific findings. Some years ago, the Australian television network ABC made a documentary on happiness, in which I participated. At one point the commentator said, “here is perhaps the happiest person in the world.” Things remained quiet for a while, but a few years later the English newspaper The Independent published a cover story entitled “The happiest person in the world.” From then on, things went out of control.

In truth, anyone can find happiness if he or she looks for it in the right place. Authentic happiness can only come from the long-term cultivation of wisdom, altruism, and compassion, and from the complete eradication of mental toxins, such as hatred, grasping, and ignorance.

The journalist based his story on the fact that for several years I participated in neuroscience research in the USA, in particular with Richard Davidson, at the University of Madison, in Wisconsin. It was found that when long-term meditators engaged in meditation on compassion, the activity of certain areas of the brain was increased to a magnitude that had never been seen before. It also happened that certain brain areas thus activated were known to be related to positive emotions. More than 20 experienced meditators showed similar results, but I happened to be one of the first to participate in this experiment. That’s all.

When the story came out in various newspapers, I tried to make a disclaimer about this farcical exaggeration, but in vain. I apologized to my scientist friends, and now I try to take this story with philosophy and amusement, especially when I am teased about it by good friends! I take it as a good lesson in humility.

Interview with Vadivu Govind, on how to cultivate happiness - V

From a series of private interviews with Matthieu Ricard conducted by Vadivu Govind in Singapore in September 2012, during which she assumed the role of a wealthy leader and posed some thoughts such a leader may have to Matthieu.

There are some people in my life who have spoken the truth to be about my weaknesses. But I felt very uncomfortable. How should I deal with these kinds of people?

The kindest person is the one who brings to the surface your weaknesses and hidden faults because it gives you a wonderful opportunity to improve.

Let’s look at what a very kind teacher in sport or music would look like. The kindest teacher cares so much for you that he will point out every defect of your playing so that you can improve it. If you really want to play the piano well, and you have a teacher who, no matter what you do, just says, “That’s nice, that’s nice, that’s nice”, then you’ll never progress. If praise is unjustified, you will not feel good about that because you know you don’t have those qualities. Maybe temporarily it flatters your narcissism, but ultimately it doesn’t feel comfortable. However, the feedback should not be given in a demeaning way to put you down and the person doing it has to have good intentions.

This is the best way to improve so you are missing a big opportunity by not accepting such truthful feedback.

Interview conducted by: Vadivu Govind, Director, Joy Works (joyworks.sg) on 13 Sept. 2012, Poh Ming Tse Temple, Singapore. She blogs at happiness.sg. 

Anecdotes from the life of the great Tibetan master Gyalse Ngulchu Thogme (1295-1369) - IV

When Gyalse Thogme was about thirty, a sick beggar used to stay outside near his door. His body was completely infested with lice. Thogme used to give him whatever food and drink he had, bringing it to him discreetly at night to avoid making a show of his generosity.

But one night the beggar was not in his usual place, and Thogme set out in search of him. Finding him at last as dawn broke, Thogme asked him why he’d gone away.


“Some people told me I was so disgusting that when they walked by they could not even look at me, and they kicked me out,” said the beggar.


Hearing this, Thogme was overwhelmed by compassion and wept.

That evening he brought the beggar to his room, and gave the man his fill of food and drink. Then Thogme gave him his own new robes. Taking in exchange the beggar’s rags, Thogme put them on and let the lice feed on his body.

It was not long before he looked as though he had been stricken by leprosy, or some other disease. He was so weakened and disabled by sickness that he had to stop teaching. His friends and disciples came to see him, wondering whether he had fallen seriously ill. They soon saw the condition he was in.

“Why don’t you be a good practitioner again?” they admonished him.


Some quoted from the scriptures: “If your compassion is not totally pure, do not give your body away.”


Others begged him, “For your sake and ours, don’t carry on like this, get rid of these lice!”


But Thogme said, “Since time without beginning, I have had so many human lives, but they have all been in vain. Now, even if I were to die today, I will at least have done something meaningful. I will not get rid of the lice.”

He kept feeding the lice for seventeen days, but they gradually died by themselves and he was free of them. He recited many mantras and dharanis over the dead lice, and made tsa tsas with them.

Everyone now marveled at the purity of his mind, his loving kindness, and everywhere he became known as Gyalse Chenpo—the Great Bodhisattva.

From The Heart of Compassion, by Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche, Shambhala Publications

Interview with Vadivu Govind, on how to cultivate happiness - IV

From a series of private interviews with Matthieu Ricard conducted by Vadivu Govind in Singapore in September 2012, during which she assumed the role of a wealthy leader and posed some thoughts such a leader may have to Matthieu.

How can I show compassion to my competitors in business? Because if they do well, it means I can’t do well.

First of all, there should be no competition within the business/organization. That’s a recipe for self-destruction. Competition between businesses is healthy because it pushes you to bring out the best of yourself. You can want to do something of quality and to always do better, but not at the cost of harassing your employees and not at the cost of doing dirty tricks.

Don’t think, “If I don’t do dirty tricks and if I don’t push too hard, I will be a loser.” Over time, relationships are based on trust. If everyone distrusts each other, again, we poison the situation and things become dysfunctional.  If you thought you were a good tennis player and you saw someone extraordinary, you could say, “Wow! I have so much more to learn! I can improve myself. This guy really knows what he’s doing”. So then you improve yourself. But to use this situation to also try and kick that person is, in the end, a lose-lose situation.

Interview conducted by: Vadivu Govind, Director, Joy Works (joyworks.sg) on 13 Sept. 2012, Poh Ming Tse Temple, Singapore. She blogs at happiness.sg. 

Is this the Right Model for a Great Nation?

Vice Presidential candidate Paul Ryan recommends the reading of Ayn Rand’s writings to all his collaborators. Does the United States of America truly want to have a leader whose ideal is to promote selfishness in society? I am convinced that selfishness makes life miserable not only for all those around us, but for ourselves as well.

Ayn Rand is indeed a puzzling enigma. Although she is practically unknown in Europe and in the rest of the world, she continues to have a significant influence on American society. In a 1991 opinion poll conducted by the United States Library of Congress, Atlas Shrugged, her major work, was cited as the most influential book after the Bible. President Reagan and Alan Greenspan were known admirers of Ayn Rand and so is Paul Ryan.

Ayn Rand does not think that we are all fundamentally selfish by nature. Rather, she advocates that we should be selfish if we want to live a good life. For her, altruism/compassion is a masochistic vice that threatens our very survival, leads us to neglect our own happiness. According to her, altruism is not only undesirable, but it is immoral. She believes that our own personal happiness is the only thing that matters in life, and that by caring for others we will become like slaves and, in her own words, “sacrificial animals”. She promotes the virtue of selfishness and contends that, “The attack on selfishness is an attack on man’s self-esteem.”

Ayn Rand does not mince her words. During a dialogue with Mike Wallace in 1959, she stated: “I consider altruism as evil… It is immoral … because you are asked to love everybody indiscriminately… to love them regardless of whether they have any value or virtue.” According to her, altruistic love is degrading, because, in her own words, “if you love those who don’t deserve it … you can bring your soul to the state of a dump heap.”

Her ideas have created a doctrinal stance for people who advocate that neither the government nor anyone else should ask us to take an interest in the poor, the sick, and the elderly, and certainly people should not be made to pay taxes to support them. You can help only if it makes you happy, but it should not be considered to be a social duty. As Mitt Romney recently declared in his “47%” speech, “My job is not to worry about those people.”

Ms. Rand also has been a key in the intellectual justification of the narcissism epidemic that has been growing in the United States during the last two to three decades.

Many research projects, including those recently conducted by psychologist Barbara Fredrickson, have shown that the positive emotions linked with love, benevolence, and gratitude can reshape your life for the better. They can make you more knowledgeable, resilient, socially integrated, and healthier. In fact, when we are connected with someone else in a positive benevolent way, our trust in that person expands and our relationship and loyalty deepen. In Fredrickson’s own words, “Love is our supreme emotion that makes us come most fully alive and feel most fully human.”

Ms. Rand, however, brings altruistic love to the level of a business deal. In Atlas Shrugged, she states that, “the principle of trade is the only rational ethical principle for all human relationships. Love, friendship, respect and admiration are the payment given in exchange for the personal, selfish pleasure which one man derives from the virtues of another man’s charac¬ter.”

In relation to her personal life, Mike Wallace asked Rand: “You are helping financially your husband. Is there any contradiction here?” To which she replied, “No because you see, I love him selfishly. It is in my own interest to help him. If he ever needed it, I would not call it a sacrifice, because I take selfish pleasure in him.”

Ayn Rand’s preferred sources were at best suspect. In her Journals she quotes a statement by William Edward Hickman who says: “What is good for me is right.” Her response was enthusiastic: “This is best and strongest expression of a real man’s psychology I have heard,” she exulted. The only problem is that Hickman was a psychopath who committed multiples arsons, child kidnapping and murders.

The main argument developed by Ayn Rand is that “the achievement of his own happiness is man’s highest moral purpose.” But believing that man must be selfish in order to be happy is Rand’s tragic mistake. Experience and science prove that the extreme selfishness she advocates is a recipe for suffering, not for happiness. This, in fact, appears to have been the case of Rand herself who was described by those who knew her well as haughty, narcissistic, devoid of empathy, and rather unhappy. Her relationships with her close entourage were filled with animosity and vindictiveness and she despised the vast majority of human beings as “mediocre, stupid, and irrational.”

In order to face the challenges of our times successfully, we need to have more consideration for others, to be concerned for their welfare, and to act with the intention to benefit them. If we were more considerate of future generations, we would not blindly sacrifice the world that we hand down to them in favor of short-term goals.

Thus, altruism is the determining factor of the quality of our current and future existence. It should not be relegated to the rank of a noble, utopian thought dreamt up by a few individuals with big hearts, much less to an “immoral” state of mind. We must have the insight to recognize it and the audacity to say so.

It would be tempting to discard Ayn Rand as completely lacking empathy and a minor philosopher — through she considers herself as one the three major philosophers, one of the three “A”, Aristotle, Augustine, and Ayn R.. However we cannot ignore the major influence she continues to exert today on many sectors of American life and politics. However embarrassing her views may be to some of us, we need to be like a physician who cannot ignore a strange illness that has transformed itself into an epidemic.