{"title":"Books by Matthieu Ricard","description":null,"products":[{"product_id":"9780262048293","title":"Notebooks of a Wandering Monk","description":"\u003cb\u003eThe memoirs of renowned Buddhist monk Matthieu Ricard and his extraordinary journey toward inner freedom and compassion in action.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eMatthieu Ricard began his spiritual transformation at the age of twenty-one, in Darjeeling, India, when he met Tibetan teacher Kangyur Rinpoche, who deeply impressed the young man with his extraordinary quality of being. \u003ci\u003eIn Notebooks of a Wandering Monk,\u003c\/i\u003e Ricard tells the simple yet extraordinary story of his journey and the remarkable men and women who inspired him along the way, including Kangyur Rinpoche, Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche, and the fourteenth Dalai Lama, as well as great luminaries such as Desmond Tutu, Jane Goodall, and a number of leading scientists.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eGrowing up, Ricard, the son of philosopher Jean-François Revel and artist Yahne Le Toumelin, regularly found himself in the company of intellectuals and artists such as Luis Buñuel, Henri Cartier-Bresson, and Igor Stravinsky. Young Ricard loved nature, classical music, and science and dreamed of unlocking the mysteries of molecular biology. But, six years after meeting Kangyur Rinpoche, Ricard gave up a promising career in genetics to pursue a meditative life in the remote Himalayas. While spending half a century in India, Bhutan, and Nepal, he visited Tibet more than twenty times and spent years publishing rare Tibetan texts and photographing his spiritual teachers and the world in which they lived. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eElegantly \u003ci\u003etranslated by \u003c\/i\u003eJesse Browner and accompanied by more than fifty full-color photographs, some of which are Ricard’s own, \u003ci\u003eNotebooks of a Wandering Monk\u003c\/i\u003e charts Ricard’s lifelong path to wisdom and compassion. This candid and reflective memoir will inspire all readers, wherever they may be on their own journey to a meaningful and well-lived life.","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Hardback","offer_id":56231206879605,"sku":"9780262048293","price":36.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"Paperback","offer_id":57682890490229,"sku":"9780262057226","price":27.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/7193\/3106\/files\/9780262048293_395c9a67-c63d-43cf-83a1-da669fbc9e2d.jpg?v=1792511800"},{"product_id":"9780857897015","title":"Altruism","description":"The concern for the well-being of others could be the saving grace of the 21st century. Matthieu Ricard's \u003ci\u003eAltruism\u003c\/i\u003e, an erudite, brilliantly ranging synthesis of philosophy, psychology and ages old wisdom, is a radical call to kindness, which has the potential as a new global movement to answer the biggest problems of our time: the economy in the short term, life satisfaction in the mid-term, and the environment in the long term. As the faultlines of inequality and nationalism leave us ever more divided, Ricard challenges us to be better people - and in the process, make the world a better place.","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":56295137968501,"sku":"9780857897015","price":14.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/7193\/3106\/files\/9780857897015_71ddd13d-7854-4e65-9bba-90d385280edc.jpg?v=1786015831"},{"product_id":"9781611803303","title":"Enlightened Vagabond","description":"\u003cb\u003eColorful stories about and profound teachings of Patrul Rinpoche, one of the most impactful teachers and thinkers in the Tibetan tradition from the nineteenth century.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThe life and teachings of the wandering yogi Patrul Rinpoche—a highly revered Buddhist master and scholar of nineteenth-century Tibet—come alive in true stories gathered and translated by the French Buddhist monk Matthieu Ricard over more than thirty years, based on the oral accounts of great contemporary teachers as well as written sources. Patrul’s life story reveals the nature of a highly realized being as he transmits the Dharma in everything he does, teaching both simple nomads and great lamas in ways that are often unconventional and even humorous, but always with uncompromising authenticity.","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":56301947421045,"sku":"9781611803303","price":27.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/7193\/3106\/files\/9781611803303_9c054e0c-2b51-4cc4-b433-e09e3dbc4b82.jpg?v=1786445298"},{"product_id":"9781782394815","title":"Happiness","description":"\u003cp\u003eAlthough we are materially better off than ever before, surveys show that we are depressed and listless.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIn his revolutionary book, Buddhist monk Matthieu Ricard shows that happiness is not just an emotion, but a skill that can be developed. Free of jargon, \u003ci\u003eHappiness\u003c\/i\u003e contains simple exercises that will train the mind to recognize and pursue happiness by concentrating on the fundamental things in life, and in doing so change the way we view the world.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":56304739615093,"sku":"9781782394815","price":10.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/7193\/3106\/files\/9781782394815_4e9566b0-cb1e-4688-90de-16a30b062be7.jpg?v=1786025631"},{"product_id":"9781645471646","title":"Into the Mirror","description":"\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eInto the Mirror\u003c\/i\u003e examines the materialism of the modern world through the profound teachings of Mahayana Buddhism and offers an accessible and powerful method for investigating the way our minds construct our worlds.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eInto the Mirror\u003c\/i\u003e combines contemporary Western inquiries into the nature of consciousness, with classical Buddhist investigations into the nature of mind, to offer deep insights into the nature of reality. Andy Karr invites the reader to make this a personal, experiential journey through study, contemplation, and meditation.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThe first part of the book presents the Mahayana Buddhist approach to the path of freedom from suffering. It explores foundational teachings, such as the four truths, the notion of enlightenment, and the practice of meditation, from a fresh perspective. The second part deconstructs assumptions about mind and the material world using easily understood tools from contemporary Western philosophy. Part three presents a series of contemplative practices, ethics, and insights, starting with the Middle Way teachings on emptiness and interdependence, through Yogachara’s subtle understanding of non-duality, to the view that buddha nature is already within us to be revealed rather than something external to be acquired.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eInto the Mirror\u003c\/i\u003e concludes with a call to cultivate compassion for beings and the environment right within this world of illusion.","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":56305201938805,"sku":"9781645471646","price":19.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/7193\/3106\/files\/9781645471646_b005571c-7e76-400b-a5ca-637be5e4aad2.jpg?v=1786024213"},{"product_id":"9780262536141","title":"Beyond the Self","description":"\u003cb\u003eA Buddhist monk and esteemed neuroscientist discuss their converging—and diverging—views on the mind and self, consciousness and the unconscious, free will and perception, and more.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e Buddhism shares with science the task of examining the mind empirically; it has pursued, for two millennia, direct investigation of the mind through penetrating introspection. Neuroscience, on the other hand, relies on third-person knowledge in the form of scientific observation. In this book, Matthieu Ricard, a Buddhist monk trained as a molecular biologist, and Wolf Singer, a distinguished neuroscientist—close friends, continuing an ongoing dialogue—offer their perspectives on the mind, the self, consciousness, the unconscious, free will, epistemology, meditation, and neuroplasticity.\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e Ricard and Singer’s wide-ranging conversation stages an enlightening and engaging encounter between Buddhism’s wealth of experiential findings and neuroscience’s abundance of experimental results. They discuss, among many other things, the difference between rumination and meditation (rumination is the scourge of meditation, but psychotherapy depends on it); the distinction between pure awareness and its contents; the Buddhist idea (or lack of one) of the unconscious and neuroscience’s precise criteria for conscious and unconscious processes; and the commonalities between cognitive behavioral therapy and meditation. Their views diverge (Ricard asserts that the third-person approach will never encounter consciousness as a primary experience) and converge (Singer points out that the neuroscientific understanding of perception as reconstruction is very like the Buddhist \u003ci\u003eall-discriminating \u003c\/i\u003ewisdom) but both keep their vision trained on understanding fundamental aspects of human life.","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":56311668113781,"sku":"9780262536141","price":27.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/7193\/3106\/files\/9780262536141_635dbb26-3761-4b00-be37-644e174a9c53.jpg?v=1786012571"},{"product_id":"on-the-path-to-enlightenment","title":"On the Path to Enlightenment","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eAn anthology of the most inspiring and instructive texts on spiritual enlightenment from great Tibetan masters—handpicked by a best-selling author and Tibetan Buddhist monk\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003eBuddhist monk Matthieu Ricard has selected and translated some of the most profound and inspiring teachings from the eight traditions of Tibetan Buddhism. The selected teachings are from the Buddha himself, Nagarjuna, Guru Rinpoche, Atisha, Shantideva, and Asanga; the great masters of the past, Thogme Zangpo, the Fifth Dalai Lama, Milarepa, Longchenpa, and Sakya Pandita; and contemporary masters, including the Fourteenth Dalai Lama and Mingyur Rinpoche. The teachings address such topics as:\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe nature of the mind\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe foundations of taking refuge, generating altruistic compassion, acquiring merit, and following a teacher\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eView, meditation, and action\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eHow to remove obstacles and make progress on the Buddhist path\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003eInspired by Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche, Ricard creates his anthology with Khyentse’s religious philosophy in mind: “When we come to appreciate the depth of the view of the eight great traditions [of Tibetan Buddhism] and also see that they all lead to the same goal without contradicting each other, we think, ‘Only ignorance can lead us to adopt a sectarian view.’”\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":57484305793397,"sku":"9781611800395","price":21.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/7193\/3106\/files\/9781611800395.jpg?v=1786266362"},{"product_id":"the-art-of-meditation","title":"The Art of Meditation","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eA \u003ci\u003eSunday Times\u003c\/i\u003e bestseller, this new paperback is an elegant and inspiring short guide to the art of meditation: another instant classic from the bestselling author of \u003ci\u003eHappiness\u003c\/i\u003e.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eWherever he goes, Buddhist monk Matthieu Ricard is asked to explain what meditation is, how it is done and what it can achieve. In this authoritative and inspiring book, he sets out to answer these questions. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eMatthieu Ricard shows that practising meditation can change our understanding of ourselves and the world around us. He talks us through its theory, spirituality and practical aspects of deep contemplation and illustrates each stage of his teaching with examples. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThrough his experience as a monk, his close reading of sacred texts and his deep knowledge of the Buddhist masters, Matthieu Ricard reveals the significant benefits that meditation - based on selfless love and compassion - can bring to each of us.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":57487847850357,"sku":"9781782395393","price":10.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/7193\/3106\/files\/9781782395393.jpg?v=1786355070"},{"product_id":"the-sowers-of-joy","title":"The Sowers of Joy","description":"As she travels alone across Asia, the path of a young French woman of 30 years old crosses by chance with that of a singular religious community, tiny and composed exclusively of women. These women live in  Puntsokling: one of the ten Buddhist nunneries totally deprived of resources in  Zanskar, a valley on the edge of the Himalayas, in the northwest of India, st ill isolated from the rest of the country by its inhosp itable geography. This encounter at the end of the world will change the course of her life and, without a doubt, that of the nuns. A revelation and a long journey, both huMayn and sp iritual. Through the st ory that Caroline Riegel tells us, we discover both the charm of a unique «tribe» with an ast onishing sist erhood (a journey into the intimate) and the mast erly beauty of their territory (a journey into the landscape).In this book, the photographer delivers a luminous tribute, in images and in words, to these women who share, in the heart of the mountains of Zanskar, far from the modern world, their balance of life. In the face of dest itution: joy. In the face of solitude: solidarity. In the face of autarky: authenticity. In the same way that Matthieu Ricard - the book’s preface - speaks of wonder at the world, the «Sowers of Joy» offer a singular look at what surrounds them, at the meaning of exist ence. A rare travelogue where photography magnifi es the protagonists of an extraordinary st ory as much as their environment.","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":57492455850357,"sku":"9782490952182","price":59.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/7193\/3106\/files\/9782490952182.jpg?v=1786529304"}],"url":"https:\/\/backstory.london\/collections\/author-matthieu-ricard.oembed","provider":"Backstory","version":"1.0","type":"link"}