Toward a Meaningful Conversion

By Matthieu Ricard on October 06, 2014

During a speech given at the United Nations some years ago, the respected meditation teacher S.N. Goenka, who passed away in 2013, declared ‟Religion is religion only when it unites; religion is no more religion when it divides.” He also spoke about the meaning of the word ‟conversion” or change: ‟So much has been said about conversion: against...

The virtues of humility - 2

By Matthieu Ricard on September 29, 2014

A humble person has nothing to lose or to gain. If he is praised, he thinks it's for what he has been able to accomplish, not for himself as an individual. If he is criticized, he thinks that bringing his faults out into the open is the best service anyone could do him. ‟Few are sufficiently wise to prefer censure, which is useful, to praise...

« Moving Toward Global Compassion », a new book by Paul Ekman

By Matthieu Ricard on September 08, 2014

Renowned psychologist and emotions specialist Paul Ekman opens his recent book Moving Toward Global Compassion* with these words : « It would be a different world, a desirable world, if all of us felt global compassion : concerned about the suffering of all people, not just those in our family, not just those with whom we are familiar, not just...

The Virtues of Humility - 1

By Matthieu Ricard on September 01, 2014

Humility is sometimes scorned, regarded as a weakness. The writer Ayn Rand proclaims, ‟Discard the protective rags of that vice which you called a virtue: humility.”* Pride, however, the narcissistic exaggeration of the self, closes the door to all personal progress, since in order to learn, you must first think that you don't know. Humility ...