Buddhism is sometimes accused of being individualistic and indifferent to the needs of others and the world. This criticism is paradoxical if we understand that one of the cornerstones of Buddhism’s approach is to deconstruct the ego, and one of its main goals is to give rise to unconditional compassion for all beings. Such biases stem fro...

In our modern world, we are consumed from morning till night with endless activity. We do not have much time or energy left over to consider the basic causes of our happiness or suffering. If we take an honest look at ourselves, it is easy to see that we are a mixture of light and shadow, of good qualities and defects. The aim of meditation is ...

Derge press in Tibet where precious Buddhist texts are stored and printed The First in a Series of Notes about Buddhism Buddhism is often defined as being a philosophy, religion, art of living, and so on. But what are the key points that define Buddhism according to the Buddha himself and qualified masters whose commentaries illuminate ...

For more about meditation see Why Meditate? by Matthieu Ricard, published by Hay House. In the UK, The Art of Meditation, published by Atlantic Press.

I have founded Karuna-Shechen in 2000. It is a charitable non-profit organization rooted in the ideals of altruism and compassion in action. Each year, over 250,000 people benefit from Karuna-Shechen's projects in northern India, Nepal, and eastern Tibet To promote a more just and altruistic world, we must help women to actualize their pot...

Every evening, for 25 years, Gurmit Singh, shuts his clothing store in the sprawling city of Patna for the night, gets on his scooter, and visits the neediest people. These are the people who are left behind by the two main hospitals in the capital of Bihar, the poorest state in India. They are called "lawaris," the "abandoned," because they...

In 2018, being altruistic is what could save us and our planet. Most of the time, the majority of 7 billion human beings conduct themselves decently toward one another. There are always some violent horrors happening in the word. However, these are tragic deviations from what constitutes the fabric of our daily life, which is the banality ...

Abigail Marsh’s new book, The Fear Factor: How One Emotion Connects Altruists, Psychopaths and Everyone in Between , reads like a thriller: it is entertaining, easy to read, and page after page, throws light on two of the most fundamental traits of human beings: extreme selfishness and extreme altruism. While doing research for my book Altru...

Copyright @ Sébastien SORIANO/Le Figaro The world is appalled by the unspeakable violence perpetrated by the Burmese army against the Rohingyas, seemingly with the blessing of members of the Buddhist clergy. The humanitarian organization, Doctors Without Borders, estimates that over 6,000 people have been killed, all civilians, including c...

Matthieu Ricard's A Plea for the Animals: The Moral, Philosophical and Evolutionary Imperative to Treat All Beings with Compassion (2016, Shambhala Books) was recently released in paperback. The book underscores a commitment to heightened awareness of human impacts on the lives of animals worldwide: We live in an essentially interdependent...