Sandwiched between trips to the titans of Silicon Valley - Facebook, Google, Salesforce and LinkedIn - and prior to an evening conversation with Stanford neurosurgeon James Doty, MD, Buddhist monk Matthieu Ricard, PhD, met with me to talk about his new book, Altruism - The Power of Compassion to Change Yourself and the World.
Ricard is on a cross-country speaking tour spreading his belief of how "altruism is the vital thread that can address the main challenges of our time, from economic inequality to environmental sustainability, from life satisfaction to conflict resolution."
The French native is an internationally bestselling author (an earlier book, Happiness, A Guide to Developing Life's Most Important Skill, was a huge global success), a scientist with a PhD in molecular genetics, and a photographer. The new book is a tome and perhaps even a salve for these turbulent times when the seams of the world seem to be tearing apart.
Ricard is a gentle man. He resides in a monastery outside Katmandu that sustained significant damage when an earthquake devastated Nepal in April. (His foundation, Karuna-Shechen, is raising funds for disaster relief.) At the age of 20, he went to India to meet the great masters of Tibetan Buddhism. He returned again in 1972, to study full time and lead a contemplative life, often times in isolation for long stretches of time. I asked him if the life of solitude was difficult; he told me it's a question he's frequently asked.
In this 1:2:1 podcast, we spoke about the intersection of neuroscience and meditation and the enormous growth of mindfulness in the U.S. I wondered whether he thought mindfulness was becoming too commoditized. For instance, would the world be better off with mindful drone operators? He thinks not. I also asked him about his purpose in life. But the main focus of the interview is his new book and his view that now is the time to spread altruism as the world desperately needs it and is primed to respond.
Ricard left the Bay Area over the weekend moving on to Los Angeles, Washington and New York to spread the word and demonstrate altruism in action.
Previously: From suffering to compassion: Meditation teacher-author Sharon Salzberg shares her story and His Holiness the 17th Karmapa discusses the nature of compassion
Photo by Raphaele Demandre
