New Podcast Release: Matthieu Ricard

The latest episode of "Lives Well Lived," the podcast I co-host with Kasia de Lazari-Radek, is now available.

In this episode, Kasia and I had the privilege of speaking with Matthieu Ricard, a Buddhist monk, author, and photographer often called "the world's happiest man." Here are some highlights from our conversation, lightly edited for clarity. You can now listen to the full episode on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or your preferred platform.

On Being Labelled the World's Happiest Man:

Peter Singer: "Mathieu Ricard, you've been labelled the world's happiest man. That happened after a research project that scanned your brain while you were meditating recorded a higher level of gamma waves than any previous brain scan. You've called this accolade that was bestowed on you a nonsense idea. But even if it is do you think it is nevertheless a good thing because it has brought to more people your views about the importance of meditation?"

Matthieu Ricard: "I tried to make a few disclaimers to no avail. So, one of my Tibetan friends said, no just take it as it is and then use it for good purpose... anyone can be the happiest woman or man in the world if you look for happiness in the right place."

On Compassion and Flourishing:

Matthieu Ricard: "The study we did with Richard Davidson was more about compassion which of course is linked with flourishing. And in any case, anyone who can think for five seconds can immediately see that there's no way we can know the level of happiness of 8 billion human beings."

On His Life and Teachings:

Matthieu Ricard: "I feel extremely fortunate now that I'm 78... to have such an incredibly rich life... meeting my spiritual teacher, spending 50 years in the Himalayas, going 21 times to Tibet, living 10 years in Bhutan... Somehow, you know, I had such a fortunate life I have no regrets."

On Meditation and the Preciousness of Time:

Matthieu Ricard: "Time is precious because it's limited. And the philosopher Seneca said it's not that we don't have much time it's that we waste a lot. [It’s not] that we should be frantic and try to make as much as possible of every moment. It could be actually just watching nature doing nothing but in a good state of mind and feeling the interdependence of all things in nature with other sentient beings."

On Self and Happiness:

Matthieu Ricard: "If you obsess by seeking a pleasant experience one after the other it's a recipe for exhaustion and not for happiness. It doesn't work. So why? Because what we call Eudaimonia in the Greek or Sukha in Sanskrit - it's not a sensation but it's a way of being... it's a cluster of fundamental human qualities which make this fulfilled way of being."

Closing Thoughts:

Peter Singer: "So, in a world with horrors, you're saying a life well-lived is one where you have your eyes open to these horrors, feel them, and do something about it?"

Matthieu Ricard: "Yes, you do something about it. You do your small part. That's what makes a life well-lived."