The Happiest Man Alive Talks Meditation And Mood (VIDEO)

Buddhist monk Matthieu Ricard, often called the happiest man alive, recently sat down with ABC News's Dan Harris to discuss happiness clichés, the benefits of meditation and why he never has a bad day.

Although Ricard laughs at the notion that he could be the happiest of the planet's six billion people, he doesn't deny how interesting it is that neuroscientists, who studied him and other meditators, detected changes in their brains when they experienced moments of unconditional love and compassion.

Ricard, who believes that anyone can learn to meditate, wants others to understand the enormous benefits of taking up a meditation practice -- or at least engaging in a little positive thinking.

WATCH:

Comments

[HappierWithLess]

01:02 PM on 01/30/2011

Small moments of meditation can really help calm your mind and start the day with more clarity. It's amazing how it can change your attitude and live a more compassionate life.
www.happierthanabillionaire.com

[spilkus]

11:41 AM on 01/12/2011

My mistake again. I clicked on this thinking it was Jean-Luc Picard and he had just began orbiting the pants-less pleasure planet of Patamania. Now that's happy.

[Olivia Rosewood]

02:37 PM on 01/09/2011

I love this! How fantastic.

[ZubinTomato]

06:29 PM on 01/08/2011

And here I thought A n n C.ou lter was the happiest man alive.

[spilkus]

11:34 AM on 01/12/2011

No, just one of the most well hung.

[Ramkshrestha]

02:36 PM on 01/08/2011

Why not to be Matthieu Ricard2, Matthieu Ricard3 and so on?

[River1980]

02:37 AM on 01/07/2011

It's possible that Matthieu has some competition this year. Please watch the video below!

Also,I'm sure Matthieu can generate this mental state, of the subject in the video, in others through a system called "generosity", please feel free to try it. Ha!

http://www.buzzfeed.com/johnb7/the-best-christmas-gift-reaction-evar-vid-lfh

[americancolonyinhell]

11:35 PM on 01/06/2011

I wonder if the happiest man in the world has met the most interesting man in the world.

[IsisCat]

10:08 PM on 01/06/2011

As with anything, meditation takes practice and commitment. But over a prolonged period of time it can definitely bring many benefits. Don't knock it till you try it and don't talk about it unless you know something of that which you speak.

[River1980]

11:56 PM on 01/06/2011

Be ready to train for the Olympics though. I've read that it takes meditating all day from 3 to 6 months, depending on your natural ability, and meditating for about 10,000 hours before you get something truly unshakable and stable. And you better keep rubbing those two sticks together in the right environment (secluded cave). Lets not fool everybody about how hard it is, Lets not give everyone false hope. You are right, it is very hard and takes immense practice and commitment.

The first step is to read and memorize the instructions

So, Start huffing and puffing below!

http://www.amazon.com/Stages-Meditation-Dalai-Lama/dp/1559391979/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1294375600&sr=8-1

http://www.amazon.com/Attention-Revolution-Unlocking-Power-Focused/dp/0861712765/ref=sr_1_5?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1294375621&sr=1-5

[BearFish]

12:55 PM on 01/08/2011

It is not hard. Just start by meditating for 5 minutes at a time, then increase gradually. What many people find is that over time they increase the length of their meditation because they WANT to, because it feels so good. There isn't an end goal in meditation, you go from where you are and just keep settling deeper into yourself. I have been practicing for 5 years, and now I sit for 30 min/day. I have become a more peaceful, calm person. I no longer experience anxiety and depression. I would recommend that everyone meditate, it will change your life for the better.

[Rebecca Reynolds]

04:23 PM on 01/09/2011

Loved this video! I think Ricard effectively reminds us that meditation does take time to master but that it is actually quite simple and worthy of our commitment. I've mentioned before the success that I had by practicing a daily 21-minute meditation that I learned in the Inner Engineering program offered by Isha Yoga. And, while it has taken time to quiet my mind's chatter, there were so many immediate and obvious benefits that came from my practice, like maintaining high spirits, being more productive while having more energy, better sleep, etc. Ricard is a great example of why a meditation practice is so valuable and necessary to confront whatever life puts before us. Meditation is worthy of our time. Certainly one thing we have on our hands is time, the question is how to use it - do we want to have sparkling eyes and a broad smile like Ricard by the time we reach his age, or long faces with furrowed brows?

[Vajara]

10:05 AM on 01/06/2011

Dr. Ricard is a remarkable human being, professional and scientist. I use his articles and practices to introduce mindfulness and meditation to our Injured and Wounded Warriors in our Ft. Bliss Restoration and Resilience Center. He introduces meditation so beautifully that after seeing his videos and research our soldiers are very eager to work with these healing approaches. Thank you very much for your assistance and support with our courageous warriors. http://jerryvest.pages.qpg.com

[River1980]

01:25 AM on 01/06/2011

This is Funny!

http://www.thereformedbuddhist.com/2011/01/what-you-thought-buddhism-would-be-like.html

[Vajara]

10:11 AM on 01/06/2011

Yes, thanks for the spoofs related to Buddhist practices....very funny indeed. The experienced meditators will especially enjoy them.

[River1980]

02:46 PM on 01/06/2011

Yes, it is definitely for someone who has been around the block once. I found the link off a website called Reddit, there maybe other funny links there you may enjoy.

here is a link to their buddhist page:

http://www.reddit.com/search?q=buddhism

[khanti]

12:50 AM on 01/06/2011

When I first blog here in the 'Living' section under 'jonahson' there were many meditation stuff. It was more like advertising meditation with no details given. That was in 2007. There were no process or purpose. No fundalmentals. Later Ed & Deb came in and brought a sense of direction.
It is important to get a good teacher to help you start meditation because if you go it alone you may be caught in your own delusion and unknowningly take it as real.
Everytime you encounter a new experiencing you need to refer to an experienced teacher for reference.
The preliminary to good meditation practice is to read and understand the fundalmentals of Buddhism because whatever you realize or new experiences must fall within these Buddhist fundalmentals.

[KillgoreTrout43]

09:37 PM on 01/05/2011

A big part of learning to be content, is unlearning. At a very early age, we start to learn negative thinking and and negative behavior. When we unlearn these thoughts and behaviors, it opens up a great space for happiness and contentment.

[KillgoreTrout43]

09:32 PM on 01/05/2011

I think the mistake made by very many people is the expectation of constant happiness. I don't think we are made to be continually happy. But we can learn an overall feeling of contentedness. An absence of strife, worry, hatred, desire....etc. We can learn to stay out of the negative and accept the present, as is.

[Richbruin]

09:14 PM on 01/05/2011

This guy needs to get married and have his bubble burst!

[KillgoreTrout43]

09:32 PM on 01/05/2011

Why do you say this??

[River1980]

09:54 PM on 01/05/2011

One of the reasons this monk is so happy is that he renounced worldly life and joined life in a community cut off from the concerns of the world. Probably some temple in Asia somewhere. How did he get his mind so calm? I'm sure he was not trying to pay the bills, watch the kids and make his wife happy. I read that in the Gelug branch of Tibetan Buddhism, the first stage he probably went through, was renouncing those responsibilities. Responsibilities that most people accept as normal are not a part of his lifestyle and therefore do not create a burden in his mind.

[Marcus01]

09:57 PM on 01/05/2011

No reason other than he thinks he's being witty.

[IsisCat]

10:07 PM on 01/06/2011

There are lots of married people living in the urbanised world who find meditation very beneficial. But its easier for you I guess to simplify and simply assume this man is naive.

[WendyMickle]

08:17 PM on 01/05/2011

I can definitely say meditation has helped me. At first it is a little awkward, just keep doing it. An easy way to start is to start where you are right Now! Focus on an object for 30 seconds and when your mind begins to think about other things, just bring your attention back to that object. Do this exercise everyday for a week. Eventually meditation starts to change your life in ways you would not think of.
Wendy