Features
The Happiest Man
Matthieu Ricard, is named the ‘happiest man;’ 
He is a board member of the Mind and Life Institute and recipient of the French National Order of Merit for his humanitarian work in the East. In 2000 he co-founded the Karuna–Shechen, a nonprofit organization with a Tibetan monk. Since 1989, he has been French interpreter to the Dalai Lama.
My objective in this article is to convey some of this happy monk’s ideas as given in a question and answer session documented by David Marchese, a staff writer for a magazine of the NYT. The article he wrote on the interview is titled Thoughts of the ‘Happiest Man’ on happiness, compassion…
What is happiness?
The answer surely will be different from person to person. I certainly am not prepared to attempt defining ‘happiness’. However, I picked up two quotes which I consider very apt. “Happiness depends on ourselves” as said by Aristotle and “Happiness is when what you think, what you say, and what you do are in harmony” as defined by Mahatma Gandhi. All humans, even animals, seek happiness. And with maturity one realizes that happiness is truly a state of mind or being, which is totally the result of your doing. Unhappiness too you bring upon yourself. You may be in situations of conflict or with people who are cruel, but ultimately it’s you who make yourself miserable, often without outside provocation.
One strong fact I have come to accept as true is that those dedicated to religion, who are truly so, are happy and radiate a special aura of serenity and joy. I have known a Roman Catholic nun who was one of the most beautiful persons I had seen. Ven Ajahn Vayama, an Australian Bhikkhuni who was in Sri Lanka with Bikkhuni Ayya Khema, had ordinary facial features but was radiant and when with her, one shared the happiness and serenity that she was obviously steeped in. So also our own Bhikkhuni Kusuma, who is always smiling and seems so happy. Bhikkhus, both local and foreign, radiate a sense of being completely satisfied with life and give the impression of being at peace. They too smile and laugh, indicating they enjoy being alive. And all this due to eradication of ego, delusion, anger, greed; resulting from deep meditation.
Qs & As
One of David Marchese’s questions was: For a while now, people have been calling you the world’s happiest man. Do you feel that happy?
Monk Ricard’s reply went thus: It’s a big joke. We cannot know the level of happiness through neuroscience. It’s a good title for journalists to use, but I cannot get rid of it. Maybe on my tomb it will say: “Here lies the happiest person in the world.” Anyway, I enjoy every moment of life, but of course there are moments of extreme sadness – especially when you see so much suffering. But this should kindle your compassion and if it kindles your compassion, you go to a stronger, healthier, more meaningful way of being. That’s what I call happiness. It’s not as if all the time you jump for joy. Happiness is more like your baseline. It’s where you come to after the ups and downs, the joys and sorrows. We perceive even more intensely bad taste, seeing someone suffer – but we keep this sense of depth. That’s what meditation brings
Q: Do you ever feel despair?
A: There’s no point. We can feel sad if we see suffering, but sadness is not against a deep sense of eudaemonia. Greek word used by Aristotle to describe the happiness attained by people who base their actions on reason and morality. One scholar has drawn parallels between eudaemonia and the Buddhist concept of Nirvana. Of fulfillment, because sadness goes with compassion, sadness goes with determination to remedy the cause. Despair: you’re at the bottom of the hole, there’s no way out. That’s fatalism. But suffering comes from causes and conditions. These are impermanent, and impermanence is what allows for change.
Q : Your response to my question about despair was “There’s no point,” which suggests that you are making conscious choices about your feelings – whether to follow them or not –based on their perceived value, That’s not something everyone is able to do. Short of also becoming a Buddhist monk, how might other people start developing the ability to control their emotions like you can?
A: Emotions are just like any characteristic of our mental landscape: they can change. We can become more familiar with their process; we can catch them early. It’s like when you see a pickpocket in a room. Aha, be careful!
Twenty five hundred years of contemplative science, meaning the practice of Buddhism, which arose between the late sixth and early fourth century BC and 40 years of neuroplasticity – everything tells you we can change. You were not born knowing how to write your columns. You know it’s the fruit of your efforts. So why would major human qualities be engraved in stone from the start? That would be a total exception to every other skill we have. That’s why I like the idea of Richard Davidson – professor of psychology and psychiatry at the University of Wisconsin. He led the studies on the effects of meditation on the brain that helped make Ricard famous. Happiness is a skill. It can be deeper, more present in your mental landscape. We deal with our mind from morning to evening, but we give very little attention to improving the way we translate outer conditions, good or bad, into happiness or misery. And it’s crucial, because that’s what determines our day to day experience of the world!
Q: OK, how do I change? Is the answer as simple as ‘Just start thinking about compassion?’
A: When you are in that moment of unconditional love – say, for a child – this fills the mind for 20 seconds, maybe a minute, then suddenly it’s gone. We all have experienced that. The only difference now is to cultivate that in some way. Make it stay longer. Try to be quiet with it for 10 minutes, 20 minutes. If it goes away, try to bring it back. Give it vibrancy and presence. That’s exactly what meditation is about. If you do that for 20 minutes a day, even for three weeks, this will trigger a change.
Q: Who gets on your nerves at the monastery?
A : My nerves? Once in New York, when I was promoting one of my books, a very nice journalist lady said, “What really upsets your nerves when you arrive in New York?” I said, ‘Why do you presuppose anything is upsetting me?” It’s not about something being on your nerves.
It’s about trying to see the best way to proceed… I got mad about 20 years ago when a monk spilled roasted barley flour on my brand new laptop. So I got mad. Then the monk looked at me and said, “Ha-ha, you’re getting angry.” That was about it. I get indignation all the time about things that should be remedied. Indignation is related to compassion; anger can be out of malevolence.
Q: Am I on the right path?
A: I cannot make a clinical examination, but I feel that you resonate with ideas which are dear to me. So that is a good sign. A French journalist once said to me that becoming a better person and all that is the politics of the hash trade. I didn’t know what he meant. But I said, “My dear friend, if genuinely trying to become a better person and do a little good – if that is the politics of the hash trade, I’m happy to spend my whole life in the hash trade.”
The monk was asked by Marchese whether he was wearing an Apple Watch and why a Buddhist monk needs such a watch.
Answer was: “I walk in the forest. I try to count 10,000 steps to be healthy at 77 years old. I don’t do many interviews anymore, but when I do, I usually don’t put this on, because the first thing the guys say is: “Why do you have an Apple Watch?”
If only we have more compassion and concentrate on good ideas and do good; project metta to all; surely happiness will be ours too – lay persons subject to vicissitudes and country troubles as never before.