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Matthieu Ricard Talks About ?Mind Training? in New York City

by Mark Winwood, The Times of Tibet, June 30, 2005


Referring to negative emotions as ?stains on the cloth that can be washed out, not the color of the cloth itself,? the gentle-spoken Matthieu connected meditation to neuroscience. Touching upon practical experience, dharmatic wisdom, scientific research and photographs/slides (including illustrations of pre- and post-meditative brain activity), he clearly communicated to the sold-out audience the importance of cultivating positive inner conditions because it is the mind that filters and translates all outer conditions.

Happily, it?s possible to do so: but first one needs to get to know the luminous ?I? that exists underneath our ?mental toxins.? Once their fundamental nature is recognized, these mental toxins get lost in the space of inner mind, losing their ability to stain. And the ?I? shines through.


Some of the points discussed during Matthieu?s 90-minute talk:

* Meditation leads to trainable skills;



* Jealousy is the ?stupidest? of human emotions;

* The sense of self-importance is the ?target? that when threatened or attacked gets (and causes) anger . . . to reduce vulnerability to anger, one needs to better know the ?I?;

* The ?I? is always changing, being caught in constant dynamic flow, but we think there is something steady (the ?me?) that is at the core and needs to be protected. Acting on this protection causes negative emotions;


* ?Me? is just a convenient name we attach to our stream of memories or past experiences, but really there is no real identity, there is no autonomous core, because the ?I? is always changing;

* Just looking at the fire of our negative emotions, without ?adding wood to our fire? is difficult, but necessary. When we ignore what triggers the emotion, and just look at the emotion itself, the fire without wood burns out. And as we gain clarity, the negative emotions melt away like ?morning frost in the rising sun?;

* ?Selfish? happiness is a self-destructive idea;


* If 10,000 hours of violin practice can have the effect of teaching/training mind, muscles, heart, etc. to play beautiful music, imagine what 10,000 hours of ?compassion? practice could do to the human heart;

* Meditation can (and does) effectively change brain activity;



Matthieu?s photographs of spiritual masters, the landscapes, and the people of the Himalayas have appeared internationally in numerous books and magazines.


This was Matthieu?s second appearance at The Rubin Museum of Art, which opened in New York City in October 2004 and claims to be the first museum in the western world dedicated to the art of the Himalaya and surrounding regions. The museum?s stated mission is to establish, present, preserve and document a permanent collection that reflects the vitality, complexity and historical significance of Himalayan art. (For more information: www.rmanyc.org)

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