Last Thursday night, my wife and I attended a fund raising event for the American Himalayan Foundation with guest speaker, Matthieu Ricard, “The happiest man in the world!” Matthieu Ricard has a PhD in biochemistry and became a monk in the Tibetan tradition shortly after receiving it. He is also a humanitarian, advocating altruism and […]
The Land of the Free…
March 14, 2017 by
Americans pride ourselves as living in “The land of the free and the home of the brave.” But are we really free? Many of us are slaves to our jobs and can’t really make end meet. Others are slaves to alcohol, drugs and food. But we all want peace and security. Meanwhile, the rich are […]
The Goal of Meditation
June 16, 2016 by
Many people think that the goal of meditation is to achieve a state called “enlightenment,” nirvana, the ultimate dimension, the other shore, or God. In actuality, many of the states are not achievable when we are caught in our thoughts, feelings, emotions, plans, dreams, fantasies, and memories. However, there is a state of well-being that […]
Meditation and the Science of Human Flourishing
June 14, 2016 by
Meditation and the Science of Human Flourishing was the name of a workshop which took place last Saturday, June 11, 2016 with Yongey Mingyur Rinpoche and Dr. Richie Davidson at Stanford University sponsored by The Center for Compassion and Altruism Research and Education (CCARE) and Tergar, Rimpoche’s meditation community. Richie talked about how he was […]
The Search for Happiness
March 24, 2015 by
Matthieu Ricard has often been called “the happiest man in the world.” I tend to agree with this statement based on my limited encounters with the man through Tricycle, Buddhadharma, Shambhala Sun, and other articles; Ted Talks, Google Talks and other videos; audio recording and books. Whenever I see his name arise in an email […]
Thoughts on Climate Change by Matthieu Ricard
January 27, 2015 by
In this video, we learn about altruism and thoughts on climate change by Matthieu Ricard. The video is from a Ted Talk from last October that was posted recently. He says, It is all the more important to foster an altruistic motivation rather than a selfish one… We are now the major agent of impact […]
Wisdom and Compassion
April 26, 2014 by
Wisdom and compassion are the cornerstones of Buddha’s teachings. Wisdom includes the teaching of emptiness. Compassion includes the teaching of interbeing or interdependence and altruism based on the insight of interbeing. What do we mean by emptiness? When you say that something is empty, you must ask, “Empty of what?” Take that mug on the […]
Search Inside Yourself
December 27, 2013 by
Search Inside Yourself is a popular course at Google and it is also a book describing the course. It was written by Google’s “Jolly Good Fellow,” Chad-Meng Tan, usually called Meng. Meng is associated with The Center for Compassion and Altruism Research and Education (CCARE) and The course and the book take the ideas of […]
How to Train Compassion
September 27, 2013 by
This video, Raising Compassion, brings together a diverse group of neuroscientists, mental health professionals, and Buddhist monks in a remarkable exchange between science, art, and contemplative practice. In a series of informal conversations about compassion, initiated by neuroscientist Tania Singer and artist Olafur Eliasson, the protagonists discuss the public perception of compassion, talk about compassion-training […]
Change Your Mind Change Your World Conference
March 18, 2013 by
The Change Your Mind Change Your World Conference is to be held on May 15 at the Overture Center for the Arts, Overture Hall in Madison, Wisconsin. The event is being co-hosted by the Center for Investigating Healthy Minds at the Waisman Center and the Global Health Institute, both at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. The Waisman Center […]
You must be logged in to post a comment.