What is happiness, and how can we all get some? Buddhist monk, photographer and author Matthieu Ricard has devoted his life to these questions, and his answer is influenced by his faith as well as by his scientific turn of mind: We can train our minds in habits of happiness. Interwoven with his talk are stunning photographs of the Himalayas and of his spiritual community.
Born in France, he is the son of the late Jean-François Revel a renowned French philosopher. Matthieu Ricard grew up among the personalities and ideas of French intellectual circles.
After completing his doctoral thesis in 1972, Ricard decided to forsake his scientific career and concentrate on the practice of Tibetan Buddhism.
Ricard lived in the Himalayas studying with the Kangyur Rinpoche and some other great masters of that tradition and became the close student and attendant of Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche until Rinpoche’s death in 1991. Since then, Ricard has dedicated his activities to fulfilling Khyentse Rinpoche’s vision.
Ricard has been called the “happiest person in the world” by several popular media.