Sunday, January 16, 2011

Sounds True - Matthieu Ricard: Happiness Is a Skill

Nice podcast from Tami Simon and Sounds True: Insights at the Edge - she interviews Matthieu Ricard, biologist (cellular genetics) and Buddhist monk, on the topic of Happiness Is a Skill.

I think we have a tendency to grow up thinking that happiness is a right, or a natural condition of doing the "right things," whatever those may be in our individual perspectives. But it seldom works out that way - few of us (in anyone) grows up without accumulating loads of pain and disappoint (or worse).

Being happy, then, generally requires us to get out from under false beliefs, emotional wounding, destructive cognitive scripts, or even mental illness. One of the best tools ever discovered for discovering happiness despite all the suffering (and we would never really know happiness without the suffering) is meditation.

Matthieu Ricard: Happiness Is a Skill

Tuesday, January 4, 2011
Array

Tami Simon speaks with Matthieu Ricard, an author and photographer who earned a PhD in cell genetics. He is also a Buddhist monk who has served as the Dalai Lama’s French interpreter since 1989. Matthieu has written several books, including The Monk and the Philosopher, The Quantum and the Lotus, as well as The Art of Meditation. With Sounds True, he has released an audio learning program based on his book Happiness. Matthieu speaks about the skill of happiness, as well as the conditions for happiness. He also discusses the physical and psychological effects of meditation, along with the ways to track the progress you make in your spiritual practice. (37 minutes)

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