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By breaking down our sense of self-importance, all we lose is a parasite that has long infected our minds. What we gain in return is freedom, openness of mind, spontaneity, simplicity, altruism: all qualities inherent in happiness.

Matthieu Ricard

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Matthieu Ricard
Age: 78
Born: 1946
Born: February 15
Bhikkhu
Geneticist
Monk
Philosopher
Photographer
Translator
Writer
Freedom
Minds
Mindfulness
Sense
Importance
Inherent
Self
Return
Breaking
Parasite
Long
Lose
Qualities
Infected
Mind
Loses
Gain
Parasites
Quality
Simplicity
Altruism
Suffering
Buddhism
Spontaneity
Happiness
Gains
Openness

More quotes by Matthieu Ricard

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Good and evil exist only in terms of the happiness or suffering they create in ourselves and others
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The ultimate reason for meditating is to transform ourselves in order to be better able to transform the world.
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When hearing a door creak, the optimist thinks it's opening and the pessimist thinks it's closing.
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A big part of pain is the subjective reaction of trying to revolt against pain. If it's there, it's better to deal with it. Most of it is I cannot stand it, and that component is enhancing pain so much.
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There is definitely openness to others' suffering that is dealt not with distress but with compassion.
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If you don't have altruism, inner strength, inner peace, attention, then it's a trauma. It makes a difficult life for you and for others.
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The mind is malleable. Our life can be greatly transformed by even a minimal change in how we manage our thoughts and perceive and interpret the world. Happiness is a skill. It requires effort and time.
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[You] can dramatically change [your emotions] to be more altruistic, more loving, more compassionate, more attentive, and especially to have an inner sort of confidence and strength that you know that you have the resources to deal with whatever comes your way.
Matthieu Ricard
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We try to fix the outside so much, but our control of the outer world is limited, temporary, and often, illusory.
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Whatever you train, you change your brain.
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The basic root of happiness lies in our minds outer circumstances are nothing more than adverse or favourable.
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Peace is not weak. Standing up to a tank is harder than dropping a suicide bomb
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Negative emotions like hatred destroy our peace of mind.
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Meditation gives you more inner strength and confidence, and if you don't feel vulnerable, you can put that to the service of others. So it's not just about sitting and cultivating caring mindfulness. It's building up a way of being and then using it for the service of others.
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For a few moments, be aware of your potential for change. Whatever your present situation is, evolution and transformation are always possible. At the least, you can change your way of seeing things and then, gradually, your way of being as well.
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Enlightenment is eliminating mental confusion, eliminating hatred, jealousy, mental toxins, cravings. That's very simple and straightforward. Whether you can do it or not is another matter.
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Authentic happiness is not linked to an activity, it is a state of being.
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Let us live simply in the freshness of the present moment, in the clarity of pure awakened mind.
Matthieu Ricard
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Empathy is the faculty to resonate with the feelings of others. When we meet someone who is joyful, we smile. When we witness someone in pain, we suffer in resonance with his or her suffering.
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You're not insensitive or indifferent, but you're also not vulnerable to the upheavals that cause emotional stress because you can buffer that... So that's the result of meditation you could call that emotional balance.
Matthieu Ricard