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There is no such thing as good and bad in an absolute sense. There is only the good and bad- the harm in terms of happiness and suffering- that our thoughts and our actions do to ourselves and others.

Matthieu Ricard

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Matthieu Ricard
Age: 78
Born: 1946
Born: February 15
Bhikkhu
Geneticist
Monk
Philosopher
Photographer
Translator
Writer
Thing
Terms
Good
Thoughts
Term
Suffering
Absolutes
Happiness
Absolute
Sense
Ethics
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Harm
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More quotes by Matthieu Ricard

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In the freshness of the present moment, past is gone, future is not yet born, and—if one remains in pure mindfulness and freedom—disturbing thoughts arise and go without leaving a trace. That is basic meditation.
Matthieu Ricard
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Good and evil exist only in terms of the happiness or suffering they create in ourselves and others
Matthieu Ricard
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When you see those in healthcare who don't get this burn-out, they are very motherly, fatherly, or loving and attentive with the patients. [These] wonderful caretakers, doctors, and nurses don't get as much burn-out as people who are more defensive of the feelings and suffering of others.
Matthieu Ricard
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Happiness is not the endless pursuit of pleasant experiences - that sounds more like a recipe for exhaustion - but a way of being that results from cultivating a benevolent mind, emotional balance, inner freedom, inner peace, and wisdom. Each of these qualities is a skill that can be enhanced through training the mind.
Matthieu Ricard
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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
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Genuine fearlessness arises with the confidence that we will be able to gather the inner resources to deal with any situation that comes our way.
Matthieu Ricard
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The basic root of happiness lies in our minds outer circumstances are nothing more than adverse or favourable.
Matthieu Ricard
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I don't often get into a bad mood, since it does not help anything and clouds my judgment, but I can certainly see that sometimes things go terribly wrong. We need to understand the reasons for this and work towards building new conditions that will bring about better circumstances.
Matthieu Ricard
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Nothing goes right on the outside when nothing is going right on the inside.
Matthieu Ricard
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Peace is not weak. Standing up to a tank is harder than dropping a suicide bomb
Matthieu Ricard
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Negative emotions like hatred destroy our peace of mind.
Matthieu Ricard
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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.
Matthieu Ricard
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The way you experience [pain] can change so much depending on your attitude.
Matthieu Ricard
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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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The Dalai Lama has been extremely interested in science since his childhood.
Matthieu Ricard
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We have known about the placebo effect for many years. This is a remarkable effect - placebo can cure 30 percent in many cases.
Matthieu Ricard
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Happiness is a state of inner fulfillment, not the gratification of inexhaustible desires for outward things.
Matthieu Ricard
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I got really involved in science research and the science of meditation.
Matthieu Ricard
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Authentic happiness is not linked to an activity, it is a state of being.
Matthieu Ricard
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There is definitely openness to others' suffering that is dealt not with distress but with compassion.
Matthieu Ricard