Matthieu Ricard (; , born 15 February 1946) is a Nepalese French writer, photographer, translator and Buddhist monk who resides at Shechen Tennyi Dargyeling Monastery in Nepal. Matthieu Ricard grew up among the personalities and ideas of French intellectual circles. He received a PhD degree in

molecular genetics Molecular genetics is a branch of biology that addresses how differences in the structures or expression of DNA molecules manifests as variation among organisms. Molecular genetics often applies an "investigative approach" to determine the st ...

from the

Pasteur Institute The Pasteur Institute (, ) is a French non-profit private foundation dedicated to the study of biology, micro-organisms, diseases, and vaccines. It is named after Louis Pasteur, who invented pasteurization and vaccines for anthrax and rabies. Th ...

in 1972. He then decided to forsake his scientific career and instead practice

Tibetan Buddhism Tibetan Buddhism is a form of Buddhism practiced in Tibet, Bhutan and Mongolia. It also has a sizable number of adherents in the areas surrounding the Himalayas, including the Indian regions of Ladakh, Gorkhaland Territorial Administration, D ...

, living mainly in the Himalayas. Ricard is a board member of the

Mind and Life Institute The Mind & Life Institute is a US-registered, 501(c)(3) organization, not-for-profit 501(c)(3) organization founded in 1991 to establish the field of contemplative neuroscience, contemplative sciences. Based in Charlottesville, Va., the institute ...

. He received the French National Order of Merit for his humanitarian work in the East with Karuna-Shechen, the non-profit organization he co-founded in 2000 with Rabjam Rinpoche. Since 1989, he has acted as the French interpreter for the

14th Dalai Lama The 14th Dalai Lama (born 6 July 1935; full spiritual name: Jetsun Jamphel Ngawang Lobsang Yeshe Tenzin Gyatso, shortened as Tenzin Gyatso; ) is the incumbent Dalai Lama, the highest spiritual leader and head of Tibetan Buddhism. He served a ...

. Since 2010, he has been travelling and giving a series of talks with and assisting in teachings by

Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche, Tashi Paljor () (c. 1910 – 28 September 1991) was a Vajrayana master, Terton, scholar, poet, teacher, and recognized by Buddhists as one of the greatest realized masters. Head of the Nyingma school of Tibetan Buddhism f ...

, the incarnation of Kyabje Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche.

Life

Born in

Aix-les-Bains Aix-les-Bains (, ; ; ), known locally and simply as Aix, is a Communes of France, commune in the southeastern French Departments of France, department of Savoie.Jean-François Revel (born Jean-François Ricard), a renowned French philosopher. His mother is the lyrical abstractionist painter and Tibetan Buddhist nun Yahne Le Toumelin. Matthieu Ricard grew up among the personalities and ideas of French intellectual circles. Ricard worked for a PhD degree in

at the

under French Nobel Laureate

François Jacob François Jacob (; 17 June 1920 – 19 April 2013) was a French biologist who, together with Jacques Monod, originated the idea that control of enzyme levels in all cells occurs through regulation of transcription. He shared the 1965 Nobel ...

. After completing his doctoral thesis in 1972, Ricard decided to forsake his scientific career and concentrate on the practice of

. Ricard then went to India where he lived in the Himalayas studying with the Kangyur Rinpoche and some other teachers of that tradition. He became a close student and friend of

until Rinpoche's death in 1991. Since then, Ricard has dedicated his activities to fulfilling Khyentse Rinpoche's vision. Ricard has been called the "''happiest person in the world''". Matthieu Ricard was a volunteer subject in a study performed at the University of Wisconsin–Madison on happiness, scoring significantly above the average of hundreds of volunteers. Ricard, however, has called the label "absurd" and untrue. He co-authored a study on the brains of long-term meditators, including himself, who had undergone a minimum of three years in retreat. Ricard is a board member of the

, which is devoted to meetings and collaborative research between scientists, Buddhist scholars and meditators, his contributions have appeared in ''Destructive Emotions'' (edited by

Daniel Goleman Daniel Goleman (born March 7, 1946) is an American psychologist, author, and science journalist. For twelve years, he wrote for ''The New York Times'', reporting on the brain and behavioral sciences. His 1995 book '' Emotional Intelligence'' wa ...

) and other books of essays. He is engaged in research on the effect of mind training on the brain, in various institutions, including Madison-Wisconsin, Princeton and Berkeley universities in the United States, the

Max Planck Institute The Max Planck Society for the Advancement of Science (; abbreviated MPG) is a formally independent non-governmental and non-profit association of German research institutes. Founded in 1911 as the Kaiser Wilhelm Society, it was renamed to the M ...

Leipzig Leipzig (, ; ; Upper Saxon: ; ) is the most populous city in the States of Germany, German state of Saxony. The city has a population of 628,718 inhabitants as of 2023. It is the List of cities in Germany by population, eighth-largest city in Ge ...

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

, the

University of Liège The University of Liège (), or ULiège, is a major public university of the French Community of Belgium founded in 1817 and based in Liège, Wallonia, Belgium. Its official language is French (language), French. History The university was foun ...

in Belgium, and at the

Inserm The (Inserm, ) is the French National Institute of Health and Medical Research. History and organisation Inserm was created in 1964 as a successor to the French National Institute of Health. Inserm is the only public research institution ...

centres of

Lyon Lyon (Franco-Provençal: ''Liyon'') is a city in France. It is located at the confluence of the rivers Rhône and Saône, to the northwest of the French Alps, southeast of Paris, north of Marseille, southwest of Geneva, Switzerland, north ...

and

Caen Caen (; ; ) is a Communes of France, commune inland from the northwestern coast of France. It is the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Departments of France, department of Calvados (department), Calvados. The city proper has 105,512 inha ...

in France. Ricard spent four years in the

Dordogne Dordogne ( , or ; ; ) is a large rural departments of France, department in south west France, with its Prefectures in France, prefecture in Périgueux. Located in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region roughly half-way between the Loire Valley and ...

, caring for his mother, Yahne, who died 2023 in her hundredth year; he felt very fortunate to be able to care for her during this time.

Publishing

Ricard's photographs of the spiritual masters, the landscape, and the people of the

Himalaya The Himalayas, or Himalaya ( ), is a mountain range in Asia, separating the plains of the Indian subcontinent from the Tibetan Plateau. The range has some of the Earth's highest peaks, including the highest, Mount Everest. More than 100 pea ...

s have appeared in numerous books and magazines.

Henri Cartier-Bresson Henri Cartier-Bresson (; 22 August 1908 – 3 August 2004) was a French artist and Humanist photography, humanist photographer considered a master of candid photography, and an early user of 135 film, 35mm film. He pioneered the genre of street ...

has said of his work, "Matthieu's camera and his spiritual life make one, and from this springs these images, fleeting and eternal." He is the author and photographer of ''Tibet, An Inner Journey'' and ''Monk Dancers of Tibet'' and, in collaboration, the photobooks ''Buddhist Himalayas'', ''Journey to Enlightenment'' and ''Motionless Journey: From a Hermitage in the Himalayas''. He is the translator of numerous Buddhist texts, including ''The Life of Shabkar''. The dialogue with his father, Jean-Francois Revel, ''The Monk and the Philosopher'', was a best seller in Europe and was translated into 21 languages, and ''The Quantum and the Lotus'' (coauthored with

Trinh Xuan Thuan Trịnh Xuân Thuận (born August 20, 1948) is a Vietnamese- American astrophysicist. Biography Trịnh Xuân Thuận was born in Hanoi, Vietnam. He completed his B.S. at the California Institute of Technology, and his Ph.D. at Princeton Unive ...

) reflects his long-standing interest in science and Buddhism. His 2003 book ''Plaidoyer pour the bonheur'' (published in English in 2006 as ''Happiness: A Guide to Developing Life's Most Important Skill'') explores the meaning and fulfillment of happiness and was a major best-seller in France. In June 2015, the English translation of ''Altruism: The Power of Compassion to Change Yourself and the World'' was published and excerpted as the cover story of ''Spirituality & Health Magazine''. Ricard is the also the author of ''Caring Economics: Conversations on Altruism and Compassion, Between Scientists, Economists, and the Dalai Lama'' (forthcoming 2015).

Awards and other activities

Ricard received the French National Order of Merit for his humanitarian work in the East. He donates all proceeds from his books and conferences, as well as much of his time to over 200 humanitarian projects in Nepal, India and Tibet (www.karuna-shechen.org) which serve over 300,000 beneficiaries every year in the fields of health care, education and social service. He is also active for the preservation of the Himalayan cultural heritage (www.shechen.org). Since 1989, he has acted as the French interpreter for the

Dalai Lama The Dalai Lama (, ; ) is the head of the Gelug school of Tibetan Buddhism. The term is part of the full title "Holiness Knowing Everything Vajradhara Dalai Lama" (圣识一切瓦齐尔达喇达赖喇嘛) given by Altan Khan, the first Shu ...

. Ricard has spoken on many international forums, including the World Happiness Forum, the United-Nations (as part of the

Gross National Happiness Gross National Happiness, (GNH; ) sometimes called Gross Domestic Happiness (GDH), is a philosophy that guides the government of Bhutan. It includes an index used to measure a population's collective happiness and well-being. The Gross National Ha ...

resolution proposed by Bhutan), conferences held in

Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

San Francisco San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...

and

Singapore Singapore, officially the Republic of Singapore, is an island country and city-state in Southeast Asia. The country's territory comprises one main island, 63 satellite islands and islets, and one outlying islet. It is about one degree ...

, the Global Economic Symposium, The World Government Summit and other venues. He has been invited ten times to the

World Economic Forum The World Economic Forum (WEF) is an international non-governmental organization, international advocacy non-governmental organization and think tank, based in Cologny, Canton of Geneva, Switzerland. It was founded on 24 January 1971 by German ...

Personal meditation practice

Ricard uses three types of meditation: compassion, open awareness, and analytic. He has spent a total of 5 years in solitary meditation, largely in a remote mountain hut.

Veganism

Ricard is a

vegan Veganism is the practice of abstaining from the use of animal products and the consumption of animal source foods, and an associated philosophy that rejects the commodity status of animals. A person who practices veganism is known as a ve ...

. He promotes veganism and

animal rights Animal rights is the philosophy according to which many or all Animal consciousness, sentient animals have Moral patienthood, moral worth independent of their Utilitarianism, utility to humans, and that their most basic interests—such as ...

, on which he wrote his 2016 book ''A Plea for the Animals''.

Publications

Essays and books

* * * * With

. * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *Ricard, Matthieu, Simon Velez (2019) Contemplation. Martiniere BL *Ricard, Matthieu; Gruhl, Jason; Hall, Becca (2020). ''Our Animal Neighbors''. New York City: Shambhala. *Ricard, Matthieu Christophe André, Alexandre Jollien (2020) Freedom for All of Us: A Monk, a Philosopher, and a Psychiatrist on Finding Inner Peace, Sounds True. *Ricard, Matthieu; (2023) ''Notebooks of a Wandering Monk'' MIT Press

Translation works

* * * * * * * *

Articles

* * Ricard, M., On the relevance of a contemplative science. ''Buddhism and Science: Breaking New Grounds'', 2003, 261–279. * * Ekman, P., Davidson, R. J., Ricard, M. & Wallace, B. A., Buddhist and psychological perspectives on emotions and well-Being. ''Current Directions in Psychological Science'' 14, 2005, 59–63. * * * Dambrun, M., & Ricard, M., La transcendance de soi et the bonheur : une mise à l’épreuve du modèle du bonheur basé sur the soi centré-décentré. ''Les Cahiers Internationaux de Psychologie Sociale'', 2012/1, no. 93, p. 89–102. * * * Ricard, M., Lutz, A., & Davidson, R. J., Mind of the meditator. ''Scientific American'', 2014, 311(5), 38–45. * * Ahuvia, A., Thin, N., Haybron, D., Biswas-Diener, R., Ricard, M., & Timsit, J., Happiness: An Interactionist Perspective. ''International Journal of Wellbeing'', 2015, 5(1). * *

References

External links

Official website

Ricard's English-language blogsite

Mind and Life Institute

Karuna-Shechen website
– Ricard's humanitarian non-profit organization for his projects in Tibet, Nepal, and India
"The Science of Mind & Reality"
– video with neuroscientist Wolf Singer
"Change your Mind, Change your Brain: The Inner Conditions for Authentic Happiness"
– video of a lecture given at Google in 2007 *
"The habits of happiness" (TED2004)

"How to let altruism be your guide" (TED2014)"Altruism and Change : Conversation Between Matthieu Ricard and Tan Chade Meng"
at Singapore Management University, Wee Kim Wee Centr

"The Elements of Metaphor"
interview with ascent magazine
Matthieu Ricard & Richard Gere on Altruism

"The world's happiest man"
at Ode Magazine
Spirituality & Health Magazine
cover story by Matthieu Ricard
Matthieu Ricard: Monk, Activist and Photographer
Interview with Haxie Meyers-Belkin on Perspectives, France24. 14 October 2019 {{DEFAULTSORT:Ricard, Matthieu 1946 births Buddhist artists Buddhist translators Living people People from Aix-les-Bains French Buddhist monks French photographers French spiritual writers French veganism activists Nepalese Buddhist monks Nepalese people of French descent Tibetan Buddhists from France Tibetan Buddhists from Nepal French animal rights scholars French male non-fiction writers French translators