Altruism Quotes

“Voluntary simplicity is at once joyous and altruistic. Joyous because it is not permanently plagued by the hunger for “more”; altruistic because it does not encourage the disproportionate concentration of resources in the hands of a few, resources which—were they to be spread evenly—would significantly improve the lives of those deprived of basic needs.”
― Matthieu Ricard, Altruism: The Power of Compassion to Change Yourself and the World

“The world has enough for everyone’s need, but not enough for everyone’s greed. —GANDHI T”
― Matthieu Ricard, Altruism: The Power of Compassion to Change Yourself and the World

“Loving-kindness and compassion are the two faces of altruism. It is their object that distinguishes them: loving-kindness wants all beings to experience happiness, while compassion focuses on eradicating their suffering.”
― Matthieu Ricard, Altruism: The Power of Compassion to Change Yourself and the World

“Love is the only thing that doubles every time it’s given,” said Albert Schweitzer.”
― Matthieu Ricard, Altruism: The Power of Compassion to Change Yourself and the World

“When I engaged in meditation on altruistic love and compassion, Tania noted that the cerebral networks activated were very different. In particular, the network linked to negative emotions and distress was not activated during meditation on compassion, while certain cerebral areas traditionally associated with positive emotions, with the feeling of affiliation and maternal love, for instance, were.”
― Matthieu Ricard, Altruism: The Power of Compassion to Change Yourself and the World

“Paraphrasing Spinoza, Alexandre adds, “In pity, sadness comes first. I am sad that the other is suffering, but I don’t really love him. In compassion, love comes first.”23 The”
― Matthieu Ricard, Altruism: The Power of Compassion to Change Yourself and the World

“As for Barbara Fredrickson, she defines love as a positive resonance that manifests when three events occur simultaneously: the sharing of one or several positive emotions, a synchrony between the behavior and physiological reactions of two people, and the intention to contribute to the other’s well-being, an intention that engenders mutual care.”
― Matthieu Ricard, Altruism: The Power of Compassion to Change Yourself and the World

“We also knew that empathic resonance with pain can lead, when it is repeated many times, to emotional exhaustion and distress. It affects people who emotionally collapse when the worry, stress, or pressure they have to face in their professional lives affect them so much that they become unable to continue their activities. Burnout affects people confronted daily with others’ sufferings, especially health care and social workers. In the United States, a study has shown that 60% of the medical profession suffers or has suffered from burnout, and that a third has been affected to the point of having to suspend their activities temporarily.3”
― Matthieu Ricard, Altruism: The Power of Compassion to Change Yourself and the World

“La plupart considèrent que l’une des raisons principales de cet égocentrisme vient de l’usage des réseaux sociaux comme Myspace, Facebook et Twitter650, qui sont en grande partie consacrés à la promotion de soi.”
― Matthieu Ricard, Plaidoyer pour l'altruisme: La force de la bienveillance

“Altruism is like rings in the water when you toss a pebble. At first the circles are very small, then they get larger, and finally they embrace the entire surface of the ocean. —ALEXANDRE JOLLIEN”
― Matthieu Ricard, Altruism: The Power of Compassion to Change Yourself and the World

“Empathy is indeed needed to trigger the arising of compassion, but the space of that compassion should be vast enough so that empathy does not turn into uncontainable distress.”
― Matthieu Ricard, Altruism: The Power of Compassion to Change Yourself and the World

“Over the course of discussions with Tania and her collaborators, we noted that compassion and altruistic love were associated with positive emotions. So we arrived at the idea that burnout was in fact a kind of “empathy fatigue” and not “compassion fatigue.”
― Matthieu Ricard, Altruism: The Power of Compassion to Change Yourself and the World

“I continued to be confronted with suffering, but love and compassion conferred a constructive quality to my way of approaching others’ sufferings, and amplified my inclination and determination to come to their aid. So it was clear, from my perspective, that if there was an “empathy fatigue” leading to the syndrome of emotional exhaustion, there was no fatigue of love and compassion.”
― Matthieu Ricard, Altruism: The Power of Compassion to Change Yourself and the World

“We define empathy here as the ability to enter into affective resonance with the other’s feelings and to become cognitively aware of his situation. Empathy alerts us in particular to the nature and intensity of the sufferings experienced by the other. One could say that it catalyzes the transformation of altruistic love into compassion.”
― Matthieu Ricard, Altruism: The Power of Compassion to Change Yourself and the World

“une lutte entre deux loups. L’un est mauvais – il est haine, avidité, arrogance, jalousie, rancune, égoïsme et mensonge. L’autre est bon – il est amour, patience, générosité, humilité, pardon, bienveillance et droiture. Ces deux loups se battent en toi comme en tous les hommes. » L’enfant réfléchit un instant, puis demanda : « Lequel des deux loups va gagner ? » « Celui que tu nourris », répondit le grand-père.”
― Matthieu Ricard, Plaidoyer pour l'altruisme: La force de la bienveillance

“But a knowledge of all studies carried out on a new product and comparison with already existent medications are indispensable for doctors to be able to prescribe the most effective medicine. Today, doctors have only results that are pre-selected by laboratories. In fact, the few systematic studies, long and costly, that have been carried out indicate that the majority of new medications placed on the market are no more effective than those that exist already. And, sometimes, they are even less effective. We’ll cite a revealing example, that of Tamiflu. In 2005, fearing an avian flu pandemic, governments all over the world spent billions of dollars to buy and store this medication purported to reduce complications from flu, which can be fatal. In England, there was enough to treat 80% of the population. However, to date, Roche, the manufacturer, has published no data showing that Tamiflu effectively reduced the rate of pneumonia and death. Roche’s Internet site, however, announces that this medication reduces complications by 67%.”
― Matthieu Ricard, Altruism: The Power of Compassion to Change Yourself and the World

“It is also important to consider the cognitive aspect of compassion, in other words understanding the different levels of suffering and its manifest or latent causes. We will be able thus to place ourselves in the service of others by helping them effectively while still preserving our inner strength, our kindness, and our inner peace.”
― Matthieu Ricard, Altruism: The Power of Compassion to Change Yourself and the World

“[...] these days, we are constantly dealing with strangers who know nothing of our identity, qualities and defects, so it is tempting, and sometimes useful, to broadcast as ostentatiously as possible the image of ourselves that we would like to see recognized by those around us.”
― Matthieu Ricard, Altruism: The Power of Compassion to Change Yourself and the World

“L’utopie ne signifie pas l’irréalisable, mais l’irréalisé. L’utopie d’hier peut devenir la réalité d’aujourd’hui.”
― Matthieu Ricard, Plaidoyer pour l'altruisme: La force de la bienveillance

“Tant de choses essentielles au bonheur n’ont rien à voir avec des transactions économiques.”
― Matthieu Ricard, Plaidoyer pour l'altruisme: La force de la bienveillance

“Le tabac a provoqué 100 millions de morts au XXe siècle.”
― Matthieu Ricard, Plaidoyer pour l'altruisme: La force de la bienveillance

“le tabagisme tue près de 6 millions de personnes chaque année.”
― Matthieu Ricard, Plaidoyer pour l'altruisme: La force de la bienveillance

“Ces déclarations doivent décrire sans dissimulation les effets du tabac sur la santé des fumeurs et mentionner le fait que le tabagisme tue en moyenne plus de 1 200 Américains par jour, plus que les meurtres, le sida, le suicide, la drogue, l’alcool et les accidents de voiture réunis1382”
― Matthieu Ricard, Plaidoyer pour l'altruisme: La force de la bienveillance

“L’excellente nouvelle est donc que nous pouvons tous participer de façon efficace, facile et rapide, au ralentissement du réchauffement global et à l’éradication de la pauvreté. Il n’est pas nécessaire pour cela d’arrêter de voyager ou de se chauffer (bien que nous devions pour sûr modérer ces facteurs également), il suffit d’une chose : décider, ici et maintenant, d’arrêter de manger de la viande, ou, si c’est trop difficile, au moins d’en réduire sa consommation.”
― Matthieu Ricard, Plaidoyer pour l'altruisme: La force de la bienveillance

“le monde pourrait nourrir 1,5 milliard de pauvres en leur consacrant le milliard de tonnes de céréales qui nourrit le bétail destiné à l’abattage.”
― Matthieu Ricard, Plaidoyer pour l'altruisme: La force de la bienveillance

“Les polluants organiques persistants s’accumulent en effet dans les tissus graisseux des animaux et entrent ainsi dans l’alimentation humaine. Ces polluants organiques persistants se retrouvent également dans la chair des poissons d’élevage, lesquels sont nourris d’aliments concentrés fabriqués notamment à partir de protéines animales. Ces molécules sont cancérigènes et toxiques pour le développement du système nerveux du fœtus et des jeunes enfants”
― Matthieu Ricard, Plaidoyer pour l'altruisme: La force de la bienveillance

“Les polluants organiques persistants s’accumulent en effet dans les tissus graisseux des animaux et entrent ainsi dans l’alimentation humaine. Ces polluants organiques persistants se retrouvent également dans la chair des poissons d’élevage, lesquels sont nourris d’aliments concentrés fabriqués notamment à partir de protéines animales.”
― Matthieu Ricard, Plaidoyer pour l'altruisme: La force de la bienveillance

“Chez les gros consommateurs de viande rouge, le simple fait de remplacer la viande par des céréales complètes ou d’autres sources de protéines végétales diminue de 14 % le risque de mortalité précoce. Au total, sur la durée de cette même étude, 9,3 % des décès chez les hommes et 7,6 % chez les femmes auraient pu être évités si tous les participants avaient consommé moins de 40 grammes de viande rouge par jour.”
― Matthieu Ricard, Plaidoyer pour l'altruisme: La force de la bienveillance

“la consommation quotidienne de viande est associée à un risque accru de 18 % chez les hommes et de 21 % chez les femmes pour la mortalité cardio-vasculaire, et de respectivement 10 % et 16 % pour la mortalité par cancer”
― Matthieu Ricard, Plaidoyer pour l'altruisme: La force de la bienveillance

“La consommation de viandes traitées (charcuterie) a été, quant à elle, associée à une augmentation du risque de cancer de l’estomac.”
― Matthieu Ricard, Plaidoyer pour l'altruisme: La force de la bienveillance