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For years, scientists at the University of Wisconsin have studied the brain of Matthieu Ricard, a doctor of molecular biology, a Buddhist monk at the Shechen Tennyi Dargyeling monastery in Nepal, and personal advisor to the Dali Lama, as well as his translator. And they are absolutely fascinated by the spirit of this 74-year-old Frenchman.
The researchers subjected Ricard’s brain to constant nuclear magnetic resonances lasting up to three hours.
Up to 256 sensors have been connected to his head to detect his level of stress, irritability, anger, pleasure, satisfaction and dozens of other sensations. And they did the same with hundreds of volunteers.
The results obtained measured the level of happiness of each participant on a scale ranging from 0.3 (very unhappy) to -0.3 (very happy).
Matthieu Ricard achieved no less than -0.45, exceeding not only all other participants, but the limits set in the study itself.
From there he was declared “the happiest man in the world”.
Ricard son of famous French philosopher Jean-Franois Revel and painter Yahne Le Toumelin wrote a delightful book with his friends the philosopher Alexandre Jollien and the psychiatrist Christophe Andr which was a bestseller in France and which is now released in Spanish under the title “Long live freedom!” (Editorial Arpa).
A book in which the three authors explain how to overcome the fears, traumas, prejudices and addictions that haunt us. In short: how to overcome the obstacles that prevent us from being happy.
We spoke to Ricard about all of this and more.
He has been declared “the happiest man in the world”. What do you think of this title?
Think for five seconds: How can anyone know the level of happiness of 7 billion human beings? It doesn’t make sense, certainly not from a scientific point of view.
It all started with an article in a British journal which, based on research conducted in Richard Davidson’s neuroscience lab in Wisconsin, showed that people like me had been meditating for a long time (there were 15 of those who had participated in the study) showed by meditating a magnitude of activation in certain areas of the brain on compassion (not happiness!) higher than what has never been detected before in neuroscience.
So it looks more like the “biggest joke in the world”, but it comes back over and over again.
What does happiness mean to you?
Happiness is not simply an endless succession of pleasurable sensations, which is more like a recipe for exhaustion.
Rather, it is an optimal way of being that results from the cultivation of many fundamental qualities such as altruism, compassion, inner freedom, resilience, emotional balance, inner balance, inner peace and others. .
Unlike pleasure, all of these qualities are abilities that can be cultivated through practice and training our mind.
Do you consider yourself a happy man?
Well, even though I’m not “the happiest person in the world,” for the reasons I just explained, I can’t say I’m unhappy either.
I had a wonderful life, thanks to meeting wise men and women, my spiritual teachers.
I am also doing well because I can easily be satisfied with very little. Donate all the profits from my books and photographs to humanitarian causes.
20 years ago, he founded a humanitarian organization, Karuna-Shechen, which today helps more than 300,000 people each year in the field of health, education and social services, mainly in India, Nepal and Tibet, but soon also in France. . And it is a great satisfaction.
Through my spiritual practice, I personally enjoy every moment of life and try to be of service to others.
And what is the secret of happiness?
Altruism and compassion.
The selfish pursuit of happiness does not work, it is a situation in which everyone loses. You are making your own life miserable while making everyone’s life miserable.
In contrast, altruism is a win-win situation.
The goal is to bring happiness to others and to remedy their suffering, and as a bonus, one feels great happiness by being kind and benevolent.
You are single, you haven’t had sex since you were 30, and you have no money, you donate everything you earn to charity. Sex and money are the two most prominent signs in modern culture. What is wrong with them?
There is nothing wrong. It is not desire as such and wealth that causes suffering, but our attachment to them.
The moment the attachment, attachment, and obsession sets in, you can be sure that torment will come.
Holding is the problem, we get addicted to them.
Now a question for the biologist: is sadness something we create in our brain or is it society that makes us miserable?
Well, several studies have shown that a distracted mind is not a happy mind, that a ruminating mind is not a happy mind and that heightened feelings of self-importance do not lead to happiness either. .
Is it possible to be happy in today’s world without being a Buddhist monk?
Of course! It would be a shame if happiness was limited to Buddhists and even more so to being a monk!
Anyone can be the happiest woman or man in the world (not competitively!) Simply by being kind, compassionate, open to others, and easily satisfied with outside conditions.
Have you always been a happy person or has it taken a long time to be?
Friends who knew me when I was a teenager (some are still alive) say I was a young grun man.
So I guess I’ve made some progress, although I still have a long way to go.
Happiness is a genetic gift, something you were born with, or is it something you can learn?
We all have various natural tendencies, linked to our genetic makeup. But this can be changed fundamentally.
We know from epigenetic studies that genes may or may not be expressed, depending on external conditions.
We also know from studies of the brain that we can change through training, through brain neuroplasticity.
And we know through contemplative traditions that if we practice for a long time the basic human qualities that I mentioned, altruism above all, we can definitely change for the future.
Does “the happiest man in the world” get sad?
Of course, it is absolutely normal and desirable to be sad in the face of massacre, injustice, discrimination, abuse, social injustice, poverty in the midst of plenty, the indiscriminate exploitation of animals, etc.
But this sadness must lead to compassionate action to do something about the various sufferings associated with it.
Sadness is not despair, it is compatible with true fulfillment.
In his latest book, “Long live freedom”, he reflects on how to achieve inner freedom. What is inner freedom?
Inner freedom is to be free from mental traits, musings and mental projections that end up translating into frustration and suffering.
If we don’t achieve inner freedom, does that mean we are slaves? Slaves of what?
“Slave” may be an important word, but when we are completely dominated by hatred, compulsive desire, persistent jealousy, and arrogant pride, we are somewhat of a slave to our own mental fabrications.
In this case, our mind is far from free and blindly follows its likes and dislikes, giving them some sort of solid existence: we believe that something is inherently desirable or someone is inherently detestable, which is not. ever is.
Can everyone achieve inner freedom?
Why not? After all, it is our own mind.
Our control over external conditions is limited, fleeting, and often illusory, but we can work with our own mind in dealing with it from morning till night.
Our mind can be our best friend or our worst enemy; it is the mind that translates external circumstances into happiness or misery.
So if we can train this spoiled child that is the mind a little and control it a little, it will be of great help to us in freeing ourselves from our usual tendencies and automatic thoughts and thus be happier.
What is the biggest obstacle to achieving inner freedom?
There are many obstacles, including being addicted to suffering, blindly following all of our painful states of mind, and not recognizing the transformational potential that lies within each of us.
But the main obstacle is mental confusion, lack of discernment and wisdom.
If you could only give one piece of advice for achieving inner freedom, what would it be?
There is no single advice. It takes time and persistence, but it is the most inspiring adventure in life.
One thing is for sure: we must get rid of selfishness and cultivate kindness, benevolence and compassion.
Is our brain designed to achieve inner freedom? And if so, why is it so hard to get it?
Our brains are not designed in one way or another.
Thanks to the plasticity of the brain, it becomes what we get used to: if we get angry all the time, the corresponding networks are reinforced in the mind.
If we cultivate altruism and emotional balance, the corresponding brain network will be strengthened.
All neuroscientific studies have shown that cultivating attention, compassion, and freeing oneself from obsessive thoughts produces functional and structural changes in the brain.
Mr. Ricard, you are a molecular biologist and a Buddhist monk. What have you learned from biology and Buddhism to achieve inner freedom?
Great subject indeed.
Science taught me a taste for a rigorous approach to reality, as opposed to blind belief.
Science has freed me from believing in all kinds of crazy things, as is happening more and more these days.
As for Buddhism, it gives me the keys to an interior freedom that can be achieved through a life of practice.
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