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When hearing a door creak, the optimist thinks it's opening and the pessimist thinks it's closing.
Matthieu Ricard
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Matthieu Ricard
Age: 78
Born: 1946
Born: February 15
Bhikkhu
Geneticist
Monk
Philosopher
Photographer
Translator
Writer
Creak
Door
Pessimist
Doors
Optimist
Thinking
Closing
Anticipation
Opening
Hearing
Thinks
More quotes by Matthieu Ricard
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
It's not the magnitude of the task that matters, it's the magnitude of our courage.
Matthieu Ricard
There is definitely openness to others' suffering that is dealt not with distress but with compassion.
Matthieu Ricard
The ultimate reason for meditating is to transform ourselves in order to be better able to transform the world.
Matthieu Ricard
We all have the ability to study the causes of suffering and gradually to free ourselves from them....it is not the magnitude of the task that matters, it's the magnitude of our courage.
Matthieu Ricard
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
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.
Matthieu Ricard
We must distinguish between spirituality in general terms, which aims to make us better people, and religion. Adopting a religion remains optional, but becoming a better human being is essential.
Matthieu Ricard
Placebos are like the lollipop of optimism, but we can do much better by dealing directly with the mind... And it works!
Matthieu Ricard
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.
Matthieu Ricard
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
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.
Matthieu Ricard
When the mind is full of memories and preoccupied by the future, it misses the freshness of the present moment. In this way, we fail to recognize the luminous simplicity of mind that is always present behind the veils of thought.
Matthieu Ricard
Good and evil exist only in terms of the happiness or suffering they create in ourselves and others
Matthieu Ricard
Changing your attitude has a curative effect... Maybe you can go directly to a change of mind, a change of attitude.
Matthieu Ricard
Happiness is a skill, emotional balance is a skill, compassion and altruism are skills, and like any skill they need to be developed. That's what education is about.
Matthieu Ricard
Anyone can be happy by simply training their brain.
Matthieu Ricard
The way you experience [pain] can change so much depending on your attitude.
Matthieu Ricard
I got really involved in science research and the science of meditation.
Matthieu Ricard
Whatever you train, you change your brain.
Matthieu Ricard
