Quotes from Matthieu Ricard

Don't ruminate about the past! Don't anticipate the future! Don't cogitate about the present! Not tampering with it Leave mind just as is This very instant Aware Relaxed Beyond this, there's not a damn thing!113

El desapego es la fuerza tranquila de quien está decidido a no dejarse arrastrar por los pensamientos ni acaparar por toda clase de actividades y de ambiciones triviales, que devoran su tiempo y en definitiva solo aportan satisfacciones menores y efímeras.

Recognize suffering, Eliminate its source, End it By practicing the path.

El aburrimiento es el mal de aquellos para los que el tiempo no tiene valor.

Paraphrasing Spinoza, Alexandre adds, "In pity, sadness comes first. I am sad that the other is suffering, but I don't really love him. In compassion, love comes first."23 The

We can move gradually from total confusion, dominated by hatred and other mental poisons, to an intermediate stage of serenity, altruistic joy, and self-mastery before finally arriving at enlightenment, which will give us a true vision of phenomena's ultimate nature. At that point, knowledge functions with an immediate certitude that transcends discursive thought.

By happiness I mean here a deep sense of flourishing that arises from an exceptionally healthy mind. This is not a mere pleasurable feeling, a fleeting emotion, or a mood, but an optimal state of being. Happiness is also a way of interpreting the world, since while it may be difficult to change the world, it is always possible to change the way we look at it.

Understanding that the essential nature of consciousness is neutral shows us that it is possible to change our mental universe. We can transform the content of our thoughts and experiences. The neutral and luminous background of our consciousness provides us with the space we need to observe mental events rather than being at their mercy. We then also have the space we need to create the conditions necessary to transform these mental events.

Incapaces de encontrar la felicidad en nosotros mismos, la buscamos desesperadamente en objetos, en experiencias, en maneras de pensar o de comportarse cada vez más extrañas. En pocas palabras: nos alejamos de la felicidad buscándola donde no existe.

The happiest man is he who has no trace of malice in his soul. PLATO

What strange hesitancy, fear, or apathy stops us from looking within ourselves, from trying to grasp the true essence of joy and sadness, desire and hatred? Fear of the unknown prevails, and the courage to explore that inner world fails at the frontier of our mind.

La plupart considèrent que l'une des raisons principales de cet égocentrisme vient de l'usage des réseaux sociaux comme Myspace, Facebook et Twitter650, qui sont en grande partie consacrés à la promotion de soi.

When I engaged in meditation on altruistic love and compassion, Tania noted that the cerebral networks activated were very different. In particular, the network linked to negative emotions and distress was not activated during meditation on compassion, while certain cerebral areas traditionally associated with positive emotions, with the feeling of affiliation and maternal love, for instance, were.

Once we get used to looking at thoughts the moment they appear and then allowing them to dissipate before they overwhelm the mind, it is much easier to maintain control over the mind and to manage the conflictive emotions in our active lives.

change, even a tiny one, in the way we manage our thoughts and perceive and interpret the world can significantly change our existence

Sober, a philosopher of science, has shown through convincing models that isolated, selfless individuals who come into contact with only selfish and violent individuals will be taken advantage of and tend to disappear quickly.4 Conversely, when such altruists group together and cooperate with one another, they have a definite evolutionary advantage over the selfish people, who also fight among themselves and therefore may slowly disappear from the population.

As for Barbara Fredrickson, she defines love as a positive resonance that manifests when three events occur simultaneously: the sharing of one or several positive emotions, a synchrony between the behavior and physiological reactions of two people, and the intention to contribute to the other's well-being, an intention that engenders mutual care.

only the heat of that compassion united with wisdom can melt the ore in our minds, so as to liberate the gold of our fundamental nature.

Para el enamorado, una mujer bella es un objeto de deseo; para el eremita, una distracción; y para el lobo, un buen bocado.

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.

Altruism is like rings in the water when you toss a pebble. At first the circles are very small, then they get larger, and finally they embrace the entire surface of the ocean. —ALEXANDRE JOLLIEN

La felicidad de la existencia es esa plenitud de todos los instantes acompañada de un amor por todos los seres, y no ese amor individualista que la sociedad actual no inculca permanentemente. La verdadera felicidad procede de una bondad esencial que desea de todo corazón que cada persona encuentre sentido a su existencia. Es un amor siempre disponible, sin ostentación ni cálculo. La sencillez inmutable de un corazón bueno.

Ceux qui, espérant le bonheur, n'ont soif que de plaisirs, de richesses, de gloire, de pouvoir et d'héroïsme, sont aussi naïfs que l'enfant qui cherche à attraper un arc-en-ciel pour s'en faire un manteau.

We all strive, consciously or unconsciously, competently or clumsily, passionately or calmly, adventurously or routinely, to be happier and suffer less. Yet we so often confuse genuine happiness with merely seeking enjoyable emotions.