11 Quotes & Sayings By Matthieu Ricard

Matthieu Ricard is a French Buddhist monk, author, and neuroscience researcher. He is a member of the Burmese Buddha Sasana Council. He is known as the first Westerner to have been given the Diamond Sangha. He has received numerous awards for his work as a Buddhist teacher, including the inaugural Dalai Lama Award from the Zalen Institute in June 1999, the Gold Sakyong from Lama Foundation USA in 1999, and the Dalai Lama's Gold Khen Rinpoche Award from the Dalai Lama in April 2001 Read more

In December 1999 he was awarded a Doctorate of Science by University College London. In 1998 he was named one of five "Persons of Vision" by Time Magazine, along with Mother Teresa and Robin Williams.

We try to fix the outside so much, but our...
1
We try to fix the outside so much, but our control of the outer world is limited, temporary, and often, illusory. Matthieu Ricard
2
According to the philosopher Andre Comte-Sponville: The wise man has nothing left to expect or to hope for. Because he is entirely happy, he needs nothing. Because he needs nothing, he is entirely happy. Matthieu Ricard
3
Meditation is not just blissing out under a mango tree. It completely changes your brain and therefore changes what you are. Matthieu Ricard
4
Few of us would regret the years it takes to complete an education or master a crucial skill. So why complain about the perseverance needed to become a well-balanaced and truly compassionate human being? Matthieu Ricard
5
Few of us would regret the years it takes to complete an education or master a crucial skill. So why complain about the perseverance needed to become a well-balanced and truly compassionate human being? Matthieu Ricard
6
The most striking quality that humans and animals have in common is the capacity to experience suffering. Matthieu Ricard
7
It’s said that the Buddha’s enlightenment is great than that of a traveler setting out, in the same proportion as the heavens are bigger than what can be seen of them through the eye of a needle. But in both cases, what you see is the sky. Matthieu Ricard
8
Neuroscience has proven that similar areas of the brain are activated both in the person who suffers and in the one who feels empathy. Thus, empathic suffering is a true experience of suffering. Matthieu Ricard
9
Negative emotions like hatred destroy our peace of mind. Matthieu Ricard
10
Empathy is the faculty to resonate with the feelings of others. When we meet someone who is joyful, we smile. When we witness someone in pain, we suffer in resonance with his or her suffering. Matthieu Ricard