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Placebos are like the lollipop of optimism, but we can do much better by dealing directly with the mind... And it works!

Matthieu Ricard

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Matthieu Ricard
Age: 78
Born: 1946
Born: February 15
Bhikkhu
Geneticist
Monk
Philosopher
Photographer
Translator
Writer
Much
Mind
Lollipop
Like
Placebo
Optimism
Dealing
Directly
Works
Better

More quotes by Matthieu Ricard

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I think if your direction in life is clear and if you develop the wish to accomplish/have a fulfilled life and to contribute something to others, I think that definitely gives you such a strength to want to be alive, that that would be the best placebo.
Matthieu Ricard
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Mind training is based on the idea that two opposite mental factors cannot happen at the same time. You could go from love to hate. But you cannot, at the same time - toward the same object, the same person - want to harm and want to do good.
Matthieu Ricard
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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.
Matthieu Ricard
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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.
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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We try to fix the outside so much, but our control of the outer world is limited, temporary, and often, illusory.
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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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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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
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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
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What counts is not the enormity of the task, but the size of the courage.
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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The goal of meditation is precisely to make your mind smooth and manageable so that it can be concentrated or relaxed at will and especially to free it from the tyranny of mental afflictions and confusion
Matthieu Ricard
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There is definitely openness to others' suffering that is dealt not with distress but with compassion.
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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If there is a remedy or a cure, a solution to a problem or difficulty, why worry?
Matthieu Ricard
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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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Negative emotions like hatred destroy our peace of mind.
Matthieu Ricard
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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
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It is in learning music that many youthful hearts learn to love.
Matthieu Ricard