dalai lama

In Part 2 of my conversation with the inspiring and iconic Buddhist monk, Matthieu Ricard, he goes in-depth on the ancient meditation techniques that have helped him achieve a superlative kind of happiness. Click here for Part 1. Listen closely for lessons from a master of our time.

Matthieu Ricard is a Buddhist monk, author, translator, and photographer. He participated in a 12-year study on the long-lasting effects of meditation. He was found to have significantly altered the structure of his brain and it later led the media to title him “the world’s happiest man”. ​A practicing Buddhist monk and vegan, he campaigns for animal rights and often tours the world giving lectures and speeches on Buddhism and the concept of happiness.

In Part 2, we discuss:

• The COVID-19 pandemic as a catalyst for "the year of silence and space"
• The compatibility of romantic love and the path to seeking self-realization
• Eroding negative tendencies slowly as they arise
• Appreciating that there are many of us who would never hurt someone
• How the world is in fact becoming safer, gentler, and less tolerant to aberrations 
• The modern epidemic of narcissism
• Matthieu’s three meditations practices
• The brilliant concept of "mind added tax"
• Emptiness as the true nature of all phenomena
• How Buddhism deals with first cause

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Connect with Matthieu Ricard on Facebook @matthieu.ricard.officiel, Twitter @matthieuricard, Instagram @matthieu_ricard, and his website matthieuricard.org

Don't forget to subscribe to Slo Mo for new episodes every Sunday and Thursday. Only with your help can we reach One Billion Happy #onebillionhappy

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Instagram: @mo_gawdat
Facebook: @mo.gawdat.official
LinkedIn: /in/mogawdat
X: @mgawdat
Website: mogawdat.com

Don't forget to subscribe to Slo Mo for new episodes every Saturday. Only with your help can we reach One Billion Happy #onebillionhappy

I'm truly honored to have Matthieu Ricard on Slo Mo for this incredible two-part episode. This is Part 1.

There is a shroud of mystery surrounding the lives, intentions, struggles, and mindset of monks. What drives them to make such an apparently bold decision in the name of achieving true happiness? After speaking to Matthieu, it's clear that despite thinking the title of "World's Happiest Man" is nonsense, he exudes a joy, wisdom, and contentedness that speaks for itself. This conversation will refresh your priorities.

Matthieu Ricard is an icon on the global stage and one of the most influential happiness champions alive today. Born in France in 1946 as the son of French philosopher Jean-François Revel and artist Yahne Le Toumelin, he is a Buddhist monk, author, translator, and photographer. He first visited India in 1967 where he met great spiritual masters from Tibet. After completing his Ph.D. degree in cell genetics in 1972, he moved to the Himalayan region where he has been living for the past 45 years.

Listen as we discuss in Part 1:

• What it's like to be a monk in the spotlight after 25 years of isolation
• His lovely 97 year-old mother who spontaneously sings
• That Matthieu felt "ripe" to leave his science career behind to live with Tibetan masters
• Having no real happiness role models, despite growing up around successful people
• His journey from becoming a monk to spending nearly 50 years in the Himalayas
• Living in a cold 3 x 3 meter hermitage with no water or heat, yet loving it
• How a book he wrote with his father led him on an unexpected path to stardom
• Living "from one mountain pass to the other"
• The futility of depending on the outer condition for happiness  (this is pure wisdom)
• Pleasure vs. Happiness
• Do we need to go as far as being monks to experience happiness?

Instagram: @mo_gawdat
Facebook: @mo.gawdat.official
Twitter: @mgawdat
LinkedIn: /in/mogawdat

Connect with Matthieu Ricard on Facebook @matthieu.ricard.officiel, Twitter @matthieuricard, Instagram @matthieu_ricard, and his website matthieuricard.org

Don't forget to subscribe to Slo Mo for new episodes every Sunday and Thursday. Only with your help can we reach One Billion Happy #onebillionhappy

YouTube: @mogawdatofficial
Instagram: @mo_gawdat
Facebook: @mo.gawdat.official
LinkedIn: /in/mogawdat
X: @mgawdat
Website: mogawdat.com

Don't forget to subscribe to Slo Mo for new episodes every Saturday. Only with your help can we reach One Billion Happy #onebillionhappy