Matthieu Ricard is a Buddhist monk, an author, translator, and photographer. He has lived, studied, and worked in the Himalayan region for over forty years. The son of French philosopher Jean-Fran�ois Revel and artist Yahne Le Toumelin, Matthieu was born in France in 1946 and grew up among the personalities and ideas of Paris' intellectual and artistic circles. He earned a Ph.D. degree in cell genetics at the renowned Institut Pasteur under the Nobel Laureate Francois Jacob.
In 1967, he traveled to India to meet great spiritual masters from Tibet. After completing his doctoral thesis in 1972, he decided to concentrate on Buddhist studies and practice. Since then, he has lived in India, Bhutan, and Nepal and studied with some of the greatest teachers of that tradition. He is the author of several books including The Monk and the Philosopher, a dialogue with his father; The Quantum and the Lotus, a dialogue with the astrophysicist Trinh Xuan Thuan; Happiness: A Guide to Developing Life's Most Important Skill; and Why Meditate? His books have been translated into over twenty languages.
"Altruism is divided into short, cogent chapters, making it
surprisingly accessible, despite its massive dimensions. Much of
the book is derivative but nonetheless immensely useful, an
encyclopedic synthesis of evidence and examples from current
events, books, scientific papers and personal experiences.... The
numerous individual stories [Ricard] recounts are inspiring and
often downright gripping, such as the California man who fought off
a lion to rescue a small child.... Altruism is a careful, detailed,
hard-nosed assessment of what is needed both for individual
happiness and for the welfare of the planet.... This book is so
rich, so diverse and, yes, so long that it is best kept as an
inspiring resource to be consulted over many years."--David Barash,
Wall Street Journal
"Altruism is just what is needed to bring hope to those depressed
by the violence, war, selfishness and corruption that surround us
today. Matthieu Ricard provides convincing evidence based on both
careful research and personal experience that altruism is an
integral part of our nature with the desire to help others not only
present in small children, but also in many animals. Altruism
addresses how these qualities can be cultivated and enhanced in the
individual and how a more altruistic society is not only possible
but essential if we care about the future. Matthieu, thank you for
writing this book."--Jane Goodall, UN Messenger of Peace, founder
of Roots and Shoots, and noted author
"[A] life-changing volume."--Cherilyn Parsons, San Francisco
Chronicle
"[A] tour de force [that] brings together science, religion and
history to explore the nature of compassion."--Carolyn Gregoire,
Huffington Post
"A careful collection of research, literature, and theory on
altruism.... Altruism is the final domino that launches Ricard into
view as one of the most notable, visible altruists of recent
years."--Ashley Karlin, Los Angeles Review of Books
"Matthieu Ricard brings a breadth and depth of reflection and
research that offers hope for our global family. He never shies
away from hard truth. This wonderful gift, as sweeping in its scope
as it is precise in its analysis, illuminates our common
humanity."--John J. DeGioia, President of Georgetown University
"Matthieu Ricard brings together ancient wisdom and scientific
insights to put forth a truly compelling global vision for the 21st
century, cutting through our endless distractions and asking, 'What
is a good life?' At a time when we as individuals and as a society
have largely abandoned that question, his voice, his message and
his wisdom are greatly needed."--Arianna Huffington, founder of
Huffington Post and author of Thrive
"Matthieu Ricard is a genius for our times, a rare combination of
scientific brilliance with the heart of a saint."--Daniel Goleman,
author of Emotional Intelligence
"Matthieu Ricard is an extraordinary human being, whose luminous
presence and gentle voice have a surprising effect: they compel
respect for his benign view of life and make routine cynicism
impossible."--Daniel Kahneman, winner of the Nobel Prize in
Economics and author of Thinking Fast and Slow
"Ricard's book, full of good behavior on the part of humans-and
other animals-is of a piece with Steven Pinker's The Better Angels
of Our Nature in suggesting that we don't have to be rotten.
Inspirational in all the right ways..."--Kirkus
"The idea that money and possessions do not make us happy has
become the new common sense. Instead, people now seek experiences
as well as a kind of spirituality-lite, such as the secular
practice of mindfulness. No wonder the scientist and Buddhist monk
Matthieu Ricard's book Altruism has become a huge bestseller. The
promise of its subtitle is that, by developing compassion, you can
'change yourself and the world.'"--Julian Baggini, New
Statesman
"This remarkable book is an extremely well-documented and elegantly
argued plea for altruism, kindness, and compassion in order to
address the primarily human-inflicted suffering and sorrow in this
world. What is usually unknown or ignored is that altruism is a
cultivatable skill, a way of being that can and needs to be chosen
to optimize our well-being as both individuals and as a species. If
you doubt that, just read this book. Even little snippets will blow
your mind and inspire you, as Matthieu puts it, to change yourself
and the world."--Jon Kabat-Zinn, author of Full Catastrophe Living
and Coming to Our Senses
"Well known for the generosity of its welfare state, Europe is
feeling a fair share of 'compassion fatigue' these days as a result
of three crises on its doorstep.... Europe's current hand-wringing
is, at heart, a lesson about its giving spirit.... In a new book
entitled Altruism, French thinker Matthieu Ricard makes a case for
acknowledging what he calls the 'banality of good, ' or recognizing
that behavior such as generosity is commonplace and punctuates the
daily lives of people. The book is a timely message as Europe
struggles with these big decisions."--Christian Science Monitor
"What a magnificent masterpiece. I am inspired all over again! This
is an important contribution to our conception of human
nature."--Dennis Snower, President of the Kiel Institute for the
World Economy
"Who better to tell us about altruism than a Buddhist monk and
scientist, who has meditated so extensively on compassion that it
has changed the left side of his brain? In a lively and personal
account, Matthieu Ricard takes us through the origins of empathy
and altruism, explaining how biology laid the foundation, whereas
culture and spirituality permit us to expand its reach."--Frans de
Waal, author of The Age of Empathy
"Written with deep conviction and breathtaking scope, this is a
must-book for anyone who wants to explore the human capacity for
altruistic love and compassion, and the potential of this capacity
to transform our lives. In conversation with Western philosophical
and scientific perspectives, the book offers a Buddhist vision for
extending altruism beyond its natural limits through carefully
crafted meditation practices. The goal is, quite simply, to enable
you and me, our society, and all sentient beings to experience less
suffering and greater happiness. Could one desire more?"--Daniel C.
Batson, author of Altruism in Humans
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