Matthieu Ricard on Happiness as a practice, not pleasure.

_{"Happiness is a state of inner fulfilment, not the gratification of inexhaustible desires for outward things.” — MATTHIEU RICARD}

Happiness as a practice, not pleasure.

Matthieu Ricard speaks to the importance that as a society we must work to redefine happiness, unlearning as a culture convinced that it’s a passive experience. The French-born Tibetan Buddhist monk reframes happiness not as pleasure but as practice that requires discipline. Something comparable to marathon training, learning chess or even speaking a language.

What is key in his message is one singular question, “What are the inner conditions that foster a genuine sense of flourishing or fulfilment?”.

Ricard stipulates that the concept of happiness has been so drastically watered down by culture. That we live in a world where it’s idea is so vague that it has become a problem, allowing room for consumerism to convince us that inanimate objects will bring us happiness. We have been trained to think that a life without constant happiness is a life without happiness at all.

In Ricard’s eyes, this is simply not true. A life of endless succession of euphoria would be nothing but exhausting. Instead, happiness is a way of being that gives us the resources to deal with the ups and downs of life. Happiness allows us to maintain wholeness. It can encompass every mental state except for mental conditions which destroy inner peace, strength or freedom. Mental factors such as hatred and despair for an example.

Mental toxins poison our happiness and force us to compare ourselves to others in a poisonous way. We must learn ways to counteract these and dissolve these thought patterns to allow room for better inner conditions.

His message is very simple. We must think of happiness as a practice. We must identify it and place importance on the practice of it. Make room and time to cultivate the mental factors which build happiness.

He compares the practice of happiness to learning to play the piano - do you learn to play the piano overnight, after only one hour of tuition? It takes time and dedication to master the art. As such is learning happiness. We cannot expect our environment to be optimal if we haven’t allocated any time or energy to making it that way.

Matthieu Ricard reminds us all of life’s most important skill, happiness.

 _{*Original interview featured on:
https://onbeing.org/programs/happiness-is-practice-not-pleasure-matthieu-ricard/}

Enjoy! 

x Spritz Mindset