A French Buddhist monk, who sends us photographs about Buddhism from the roof of the world
The happiest man of the world? Whether it is because he lives in the Tibetan-Buddhist Shechen Monastery in Kathmandu, or because he is a passionate photographer, remains to be seen for the moment. But with an PhD in molecular biology and as the official French translator of the Dalai Lama Matthieu is also supporting the communication between Buddhism and Science.
For this reputation he might be know amongst those who are interested in this thrilling, contemporary conversation. Around the Mind and Life Institute for example. A non-profit organization, which promotes the dialogue between Buddhism and Science, which Matthieu has been helping to shape since its beginning days in 1987.
'OM MANI PADMÉ HOUNG' © Matthieu Ricard
Meditating monks were being slid into fMRTs to make the impacts of meditation visible. Also Matthieu made himself available for these neuroscientific experiments. With quite over 12.000 hours of meditative experience neuroscientists proclaimed him to be the happiest man of the world corresponding to his brain scans.
Furthermore he wrote a book with his father Jean-François Revel in 1999, 'The Monk and the Philosopher'. It is about a similar timeless dialogue on the differences and common grounds of those searching paths. In addition to numerous other publications on this topic Matthieu is one of the most profound photographers of the Himalayas and its inhabitants.
Beautiful and stunning photos from the roof of the world, portraits of the people in Kathmandu, Tibet, India and Chile. With exhibitions in New York, Paris, Hong Kong, Perpignan, Winterthur and Stockholm. Matthieu himself says about his photographic work that he "uses photos as a source of hope, to have trust in the human nature again, and to revitalize our enchantment on the nature that surrounds us." Thoughts I heartfelt cannot agree more on. Here his Website.
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