(Study Buddhism) Why "meditation" [striving, straining, struggling to get into absorption] feels so hard (and what to do about it) | [Western scientist and Vajrayana Buddhist lama] Ven. Matthieu Ricard [known as "the happiest person in the world"*]. "There is no Samsara 2.0."
Who is he?
Sure, I'm happy, but the happiest?
Matthieu Ricard (French matjø ʁikaʁ, Nepali माथ्यु रिका, born Feb. 15, 1946) is a French Nepalese writer, photographer, translator, and Buddhist monk (lama) who resides at Shechen Tennyi Dargyeling Monastery in Nepal.
Dr. Matthieu Ricard grew up among the personalities and ideas of French intellectual circles. He received a PhD degree in molecular genetics from the Pasteur Institute in 1972.
He then decided to avoid a common scientific career and instead did the daring thing and took up the practice of Tibetan Buddhism (Vajrayana Bon), living mainly in the Himalayas.
Matthieu Ricard is a board member of the Mind and Life Institute. He received the French National Order of Merit for his humanitarian work in the East with Karuna-Shechen, the non-profit organization he co-founded in 2000 with Rabjam Rinpoche.
Since 1989, he has acted as the French interpreter for the 14th Dalai Lama. Since 2010, he has been traveling and giving a series of talks with and assisting in teachings by Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche, the incarnation of Kyabje Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche....
*Matthieu Ricard has been called the "happiest person in the world" [4, 5]. Why?
It is because Matthieu Ricard was a volunteer subject in a study performed at the University of Wisconsin–Madison on happiness. He scored significantly above the average of hundreds of volunteers [4].
Matthieu Ricard, however, has called the label "absurd" and untrue [6, 7]. More
Vajrapani (Sanskrit Vajrapāṇi, Pali Vajirapāṇi, "holder of the thunderbolt," lit. meaning, "Vajra in [one's] hand") is one of the earliest-appearing bodhisattva in various sub-schools of Mahayana Buddhism.
He is alleged to be the protector and guide of the historical Buddha Gautama and rose to symbolize the Buddha's power.
Vajrapāni is also called Chana Dorje and Chador and extensively represented in Buddhist iconography as one of the earliest three protective deities or bodhisattvas surrounding the Buddha. Each of them symbolizes one of the Buddha's virtues... More
Vajrayāna (Sanskrit वज्रयान, lit. "Diamond Vehicle" or "Thunderbolt Vehicle"), otherwise known as Mantra-yāna ("Mantra Vehicle"), Guhya-mantra-yāna ("Secret Mantra Vehicle"), Tantra-yāna ("Tantra Vehicle"), Indo-Tibetan Buddhism, Tantric Buddhism, and Esoteric Buddhism, is a vehicle (yāna) in the larger Mahāyāna Buddhist tradition.
It emphasizes esoteric practices and rituals aimed at rapid spiritual awakening. Emerging between the 5th and 7th centuries CE in medieval India [1, 2], Vajrayāna Buddhism incorporates a range of techniques.
These include the use of mantras (sacred sounds), dhāraṇīs (mnemonic codes), mudrās (symbolic hand gestures), mandalās (spiritual diagrams), [yoga asanas (spiritual positions, "seats," postures)], and the visualization of deities (devas) and buddhas. More
What is the "Yoga" (system, tapas, austerity, program) he follows? It is surely Integral Yoga also generally known as Ashtanga or "Eight Limbs." He does not merely do poses or keep a vegetarian diet. He goes much further to include all aspects of the path:
The definition of "yoga"
The Sage Pātañjali (author of the Yoga Sutras or "Yoga Aphorisms") begins his treatise on yoga (1st–3rd century CE) by stating the purpose of writing his book in the first sutra, followed by defining the word "yoga" in his second sutra of Book 1:[2].
योगश्चित्तवृत्तिनिरोधः ॥२॥
yogaś-citta-vṛtti-nirodhaḥ
— Yoga Sutras 1.2
This terse definition hinges on the meaning of three Sanskrit terms:
I. K. Taimni translates it as, "Yoga is the inhibition (nirodhaḥ [usually translated as "cessation"]) of the modifications (vṛtti) of the mind (citta)" [3].
Swami Vivekananda translates this aphorism as, "Yoga is restraining (nirodhah) the mind-stuff (citta) from taking various forms (vrittis)" [4].
When the mind is stilled, the seer or real Self is revealed: 1.3. Then the Seer is established in his [or her] own essential and fundamental nature. 1.4.
In other states there is assimilation (of the Seer) with the modifications (of the mind) [5].
Pātañjali set out his definition of "yoga" in the Yoga Sūtras as having eight limbs [following the popularity of the historical Buddha's Dharma being condensed into a Noble Eightfold Path] (अष्टाङ्ग, āṅga, "eight limbs") as follows. These are the Eight Limbs of Yoga:
yama (abstinences),
niyama (observances),
āsana (postures),
prāṇā-yāma (breath control),
pratyāhāra (withdrawal of the senses),
dhāraṇā (concentration),
dhyāna (meditation), and
samādhi (absorption)" [6].
The eightfold path of Pātañjali's yoga consists of a set of prescriptions for a morally disciplined and purposeful life, of which the āsana (yoga postures) form only one limb [7]. More
Buddhism has a different set of Eight Limbs to Enlightenment
What is the path to supreme liberation?
As in Buddhism's Noble Eightfold Path, all of these terms are loaded. They are full of meaning, leaving many aspects to each term or heading. They are not the same path and do NOT lead to the same goal. The goal of yoga is "union," whereas the goal of the Buddha-Dharma is enlightenment and nirvana.
Right View: various summaries of "right view" can be found in Buddhist texts. A stock phrase is the opening of the dhamma-eye, in which knowledge arises: "All that has the nature of arising has the nature of ending" [33, Note 2]; showing the futility of striving after worldly fulfillment. More extensive treatments state that our karma (actions) have consequences, death is not the end, and our words, actions, and beliefs have consequences after death. The Buddha himself followed and taught a successful path out of this world and the other world (heaven and underworld/hells),[36, 37, 38, Web 2] and his example can be followed to the same successful result. Later on, right view came to explicitly include karma and rebirth and the importance of the Four Noble Truths, when "insight" (vipassana) became central to Buddhist soteriology, especially in Theravada Buddhism [39, 40].
Right Intention (samyaka-saṃkalpa/sammā-saṅkappa) can also be known as "right thought," "right aspiration," "right resolve," or "right motivation" [41]. In this factor, one aspires to let go, renounce (stop clinging to) the worldly life and follow the Buddhist path [42] of purification and freedom. The practitioner is full of thoughts of and intends to strive toward non-violence (ahimsa) and avoid violent and hateful/aversive conduct [40].
Right Speech: avoiding lying, abuse, division, and idle chatter [43, 44].
Right Conduct: to avoid killing or injuring, taking what is not given, sexual misconduct, intoxication.
Right Livelihood: avoiding trading in weapons, living beings, meat, intoxicants/poisons.
Right Effort: preventing the arising of unwholesome mental states that not arisen, deposing ones that have, generating wholesome states, and maintaining them to their consummation. What are the profitable mental states? The Seven Factors of Enlightenment (bojjhaṅgā). This includes "guarding the sense-doors" (indriya-samvara), restraint of the sense faculties [45, 46].
Right Mindfulness (sati; satipatthana; sampajañña): a quality that guards the heart/mind as it dispassionately watches over [47] and looks on. The stronger mindfulness becomes, the weaker unwholesome states of mind become, weakening their power "to take over and dominate thought, word, and deed" [48, Note 3]. In the insight meditation (vipassana) movement, mindfulness is interpreted as dispassionate "bare attention," watching, vigilance, remaining present and aware with whatever arises in this moment: not being absent minded, but rather being conscientious and conscious of what one is doing; this encourages the awareness of the impermanence of body, feelings, and mind, as well as to dispassionately examine the Five Aggregates clung to as self (skandhas), the Five Hindrances, the Four Noble Truths, and the Seven Factors of Enlightenment [46].
Right Samadhi (passaddhi; ekaggata; sampasadana): practicing the Four Stages of Jhana (Sanskrit dhyāna or "meditation"), which includes samadhi/absorption proper in the second stage and reinforces the development of the Seven Factors of Enlightenment, culminating in equanimity (upekkhā) and mindfulness (sati) [50]. In the Theravada tradition and the insight meditation movement, this is interpreted as singlepointedness of mind (ekaggata), stillness, focus, concentration, one-pointedness of the mind, fulfilled through the Four Foundations of Mindfulness as vipassana meditation, which aims at liberating insight from all illusion. More
Jetsun Milarepa (རྗེ་བཙུན་མི་ལ་རས་པ་) was a Tibetan siddha, who was famously known as a mass murderer when he was a young man before turning to Buddhism and allegedly becoming a highly accomplished Tibetan Buddhist (Bon-infused Vajrayana) disciple.
He is generally considered one of Tibet's most famous yogis and spiritual poets, whose teachings are known among several schools of Tibetan Buddhism. He was a student of Marpa Lotsawa and a major figure in the history of the Kagyu school of Tibetan Buddhism [1]. He is also famous for the feat of climbing Mount Kailash. More
Mount Kailash (also Kailasa [a], Gang Tise [b], and Gang Rinpoche or Kangrinboqê [c]) is a mountain in Ngari Prefecture, Tibet Autonomous Region, China. It lies in the Gangdise Shan Mountain Range of the Trans-Himalaya, in the western part of the Tibetan Plateau. The peak of Mount Kailash is located at an elevation of 21,778 feet (6,638 m), near the western tri-junction between China, India, and Nepal. More
Buddhist Wisdom, Sept. 23, 2025; Eds., Wisdom Quarterly
(Millicent Rose) Premiered Aug. 14, 2025: I took a year out from my degree and went to India for six months, alone. It was the most transformative time of my life, I went with a one-way ticket to do yoga teacher training and went on to travel seven states, learn Buddhist meditation, and fully immerse myself in the culture, food, people, and religion(s). These eight minutes barely begin to dream of scratching the surface of the experiences I had, but putting these clips together made the already far away dream feel more of a reality.
Gross and revolting, India has the most beautiful places in the world, too
(Travel With Nom Nom) I traveled across India. What I found will shock you. | Unseen India
(Travel For Phoebe) Is India safe for women? My honest travel experience
Millicent Rose; Travel With Nom Nom; Travel For Phoebe; urachoego; Travellight is Jordan Taylor (original video); Ananda (Dharma Buddhist Meditation), Dhr. Seven, Ashley Wells (eds.), Wisdom Quarterly
Mahavatar Babaji (Maha = "Great," avatar = "appearance," "vehicle," Baba = "Father," -ji = honorific suffix (Mahāvatāra Bābājī, lit. "Great Avatar (Revered) Father") is the Himalayan Hindu yogi and transcendent guru who taught Kriya Yoga to Lahiri Mahasaya (1828–1895) [2, 3, a], who was the teacher of Paramahansa Yogananda's teacher.
Babaji first became recognized through the writings of Paramahansa Yogananda, who devoted a chapter of his Autobiography of a Yogi to Babaji and founded the Self-Realization Fellowship (SRF), a modern yoga movement with which Babaji is associated [3].
The cave where Babaji met Lahiri Mahasaya, located near Ranikhet, India, is now a tourist attraction and place of pilgrimage [4]: 170.
Mahavatar Babaji was on the cover of The Beatles' 1967 album Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band [5, 1, 6]. He can also be seen on the cover of George Harrison's 1974 album Dark Horse.
Songwriter Roger Hodgson of English rock band Supertramp composed a song called "Babaji" in reference to Mahavatar Babaji. This song was recorded and released on their 1977 album Even in the Quietest Moments [7]...
In Book 3 of Conversations with God (1998) by Neale Donald Walsch, it is mentioned that Babaji may at one time have resurrected himself from the dead, like the Jesus (St. Issa) legend [8].
The 2002 film Baba featured a fictional encounter with Mahavatar Babaji [4]: 235, 314. The film was produced by Rajinikanth, a devotee of Babaji [9]. See also this List of Hindu gurus and saints. More
Yogi casually walking in the snow like some kind of Wim Hof (Instagram)
Video shows yogi walking barefoot in Himalayan snow (TOI Trending Desk/etimes.in/5/26/25)
.
He did what? I have to step up my practice!
(TOI) A viral video shows a yogi walking barefoot in the freezing, snow-covered Himalayan mountains — and what he says next leaves viewers stunned.
A video shows a yogi walking barefoot in the Himalayas. The yogi is wearing only a thin [linen] cloth. A person recording the video greets him. The yogi says he is coming from Hind Parvat.
He calmly answers questions about the cold and his lack of warm clothing. The video is gaining attention online. Viewers are impressed by his spiritual detachment [rather than the physical obsession we normally exhibit].
The video leaves viewers stunned as it shows a yogi walking barefoot in deep snow, reportedly in the Himalayas. It has gone viral on social media, leaving viewers stunned. What has caught everyone’s attention isn’t any stunt, but the yogi’s calm, peaceful walk through harsh, freezing conditions, wearing nothing but a thin white cloth.
In the video, the yogi, who appears to be in his early 30s, can be seen walking barefoot through thick snow. The person recording the video greets him respectfully, saying, “Jai Kedarnath Maharaj ji” (“Hail Kedarnath, Maharaj-ji” or “Hello, Kedarnath, great holy lord”), then warns him gently, “Aaraam se, aaraam se… kahan se aa rahe ho? (“Careful, careful…where are you coming from?”)
Without hesitation, the yogi replies, “Hind Parvat se aa raha hoon.” Surprised, the man asks again, “Hind Parvat se?” and the yogi calmly repeats, “Haan, Hind Parvat se.” As the two continue talking, the man points toward the snow-covered slopes and asks, “Upar jaa sakte hain? Saari baraf hi dikh rahi hai upar toh” (“Can we go up there? It’s all snow-covered”).
The yogi responds with a smile, “Haan, baraf hi baraf hai” (“Yes, it’s all snow”).
The most surprising moment comes when the man, clearly shocked, asks, “Aap aise baraf par nange pair ho?” (“You’re walking barefoot on this snow?”)
The yogi calmly replies, “Nange pair main thodi hoon, yeh toh shareer hai. Yeh shareer nange pair hai, main nahi hoon” (“I am not barefoot – this body is. The body is barefoot, not me”).
The man then says, “Na aapki jacket hai…” (“You’re not even wearing a jacket...”), and the yogi replies, “Kuchh nahi pehna hai” (“I haven’t worn anything special”).
Wearing only a thin dhoti, the yogi’s quiet strength and composed presence in the freezing Himalayan cold has drawn admiration and curiosity.
Many online viewers have described it as a powerful example of spiritual detachment and mind-over-body strength, the kind rarely seen in today’s fast-paced world.
While the video continues to gain attention across multiple social media platforms, it was originally shared by the yogi himself, who goes by the username @margdarshakji on Instagram.
The Times of India (TOI) could not independently verify the location, time, or authenticity of the video. Read more at:
timesofindia.indiatimes.com
Times of India, May 26, 2025; Dhr. Seven, Amber Larson (eds.), Wisdom Quarterly
Strange monks found in the Himalayas – and they’ve been living since the last ice age
Esoteric Vajrayana/Bon shamanism
(Past the Atlas) From legends defying the limits of life and death to spiritual journeys that leave us in awe, Buddhist monastics have captivated the world for centuries. What drives these extraordinary individuals to push their bodies and minds beyond what we consider humanly possible?
Let's explore the mysterious monks of various Buddhist schools of the world and uncover their incredible stories.
The rainbow body appeared like a vision
Vajrayana is an esoteric branch of Mahayana Buddhism heavily influenced by Hinduism, practicing yoga in the snow like sadhu hermits living in the foothills of the Himalayas striving for samadhi and/or the development of the siddhis.
Luang Pho Daeng (1894-1973): Theravada Thai mummy monk from the island of Ko Samui passed away while meditating
How this content was made: altered or synthetic content. Sound or visuals were significantly edited or digitally generated [with an AI voiceover]. Learn more
Past the Atlas, Jan. 18, 2025; Ashley Wells, Dhr. Seven, CC Liu (eds.), Wisdom Quarterly
Travel to India: Jesus (Issa) and the skull of a giant by Russian artist Nicholas Roerich
Jesus in India, Tibet, and Persia: An account missing from the Bible
(rainbowlightstudio) Almost everything we know about Jesus is from the Bible (New Testament). The four New Testament gospels attributed to Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John tell a great deal about the events surrounding his conception and birth.
I trained in the Wisdom of the East
They also provide a lot of details about his ministry in Palestine and his trial, crucifixion, and resurrection, all of which occurred during the last three years of his life. However, they tell us very little about the years in between.
There’s a short account in the Gospel of Matthew that tells of how the "Holy Family" (Jesus, Joseph, and Mary) travelled into Egypt shortly after the birth of Jesus (Issa, Yeshua).
Although the Bible doesn’t provide a description of that journey, the details have been preserved in the traditions of the (Egyptian) Coptic Christian Church and a video account of that journey can be found via this link:
In 1894, a formerly Jewish Russian explorer named Nicholas Notovich published a controversial book that claimed that during a journey through the Himalayas, he had visited a Buddhist monastery named Hemis Gompa, where he had been shown sacred Buddhist manuscripts in Pali (the exclusively Buddhist language).
They revealed that Jesus (Issa) had travelled and preached in India, Tibet, and Persia before his ministry in Palestine.
This film tells that story of that extraordinary discovery and gives an account of what those manuscripts revealed about Jesus’ journey through those countries.
(Arise Video + Photo Studio) “And Jesus increased in wisdom and stature and in favor with God and man” (Luke 2:52). This single line in the Bible describes the "lost" 18 years of Jesus’ life, spanning from ages 12 to 30. Where was Jesus during those years?
For those curious to know more, let's look to Edward T. Martin. He is an author and researcher whose findings are showcased in the documentary feature film Jesus In India by Paul Davids.
At the Maharishi Dome of the Age of Enlightenment in Austin, Texas, Martin reveals the legends, myths, and historical evidence of Jesus' life in India.
A few of the more provocative discoveries include clarity regarding the physical appearance of Jesus, evidence of Jesus' children, and indications of Jesus' ongoing human life after crucifixion.
Why would anyone in her right mind move to the secluded Himalayan foothills to live in caves or caverns, alone, striving, practicing for calm and insight?
To traffic beings for slaughter/slavery=heavy karma
What is karma? A deed, which the Buddha defined as an "action" or, more accurately as the intention (cetana) behind an action, the motivation, impulse, volition, guide, ambition. Therefore, to burp in public is disruptive and impolite, but it might just happen.
Intentionally burping to disrupt someone's talk or to offend others, that is the karma of interrupting or offending. Taking a sharp knife and stabbing someone is a good deed motivated by skill and compassion. so long as it is done when practicing healing, perhaps as a surgeon or old time barber. Taking that very same blade and piercing a living being is some of the worst karma. It's the very same action but a very different motivation.
Cayce could see karma as cause
There are in a sense only six kinds of karma manifesting in infinite complexities and nuances. The general six are those classes of actions motivated by greed (liking, lust, desire, avarice, craving), hatred (disliking, aversion, fear, revulsion), delusion (ignorance, wrong views, blindness, confusion); nongreed (letting go, generosity, charity, sharing), nonhatred (love, kindness, compassion, conscientiousness, joy in their joy), or nondelusion (wisdom, knowing-and-seeing, right views, understanding). Results (vipakas and phalas) are not punishments or rewards because no one is standing in judgment dishing out consequences, comeuppances, crowns, or gold stars. Indeed, karma is very strange in how actions find their results, infinitely complex, one of the Four Imponderables. So it is always good and to one's advantage to have a greater store of skillful karma and less unskillful. Think of a cup of water spiked with salt. It becomes very salty and undrinkable (intolerable). How to make it drinkable (tolerable) again since we cannot take out that salt now dissolved into the mix? Easy! Increase the water. Pour water (skillful karma) into the mix to dilute the salt (unskillful karma), until there's so much good that there's no trace of salt at all.
This is the distinction between the action we see from the outside and the intention we don't see motivating it.
But we ourselves, if we are mindful, patient, and honest with ourselves may be able to discern our motives. Then we can see what results and fruits (vipaka and phala) are to be expected when those deeds ripen. It is a regularity or law of the universe, the Buddha taught, that actions beget results, whether they are consequences to endure or delights to enjoy. "Karma is a B," they say.
Who's Karma? In this Tibetan film, it seems to be this nun or ani, who reminds us of Maria in The Sound of Music, the loveable troublemaker and rule breaker with a kind and innocent heart. What are we going to do about the problem Maria? Just enjoy her. She may have much to teach monastics who start to harden or ossify like the back of an unhealthy and inflexible elderly woman. Wouldn't it keep her younger if she relaxed, lightened up, and enjoyed Karma and Maria's antics?
Now why would anyone choose to be a hermit, ascetic, recluse, withdrawn and intensively practicing austerities as if they were penance? There is a very good reason -- to quickly make an end of suffering by reaching the path of calm-and-insight. Most are in no such hurry, so we live as laypeople. But some ascetics are well-motivated and follow a course of conduct others can hardly understand. Even among ordained people, it must be unusual to ever meet someone taking up the 13 "sane ascetic practices" (dhutangas) the Buddha recommended.
The Buddha, being wise about people, did not ask people to become wandering ascetics or shramanas like him and be miserable. Seeing the wisdom of morality, silence, mental withdrawal, stillness, concentration, and living in the company of noble friends (kalyana-mittas), which refers to monastics on the paths of awakening -- from the first stage (stream entry) to full enlightenment (arhatship). Such friends are rare, extraordinarily rare, in the world.
Among these the Buddha is the best friend of beings, showing them the way to freedom, liberation, awakening, and the deathless state of peace (nirvana). People fear it, thinking it will cramp their style and hedonistic pursuits. But as the Buddha said, he would never recommend to someone to let go of a higher thing for a lower thing.
Butcher Cunda: terrible karma of killing animals
However, letting go of a lower thing for a higher thing, that he would recommend. Leaving a wealthy life of beauty, power over others, youthfulness, pleasure, and a heavenly destination -- who would call that a "lower thing"? The Buddha would. Why? He would because he points the way to a "higher thing" -- letting go, something that cannot be lost, power over oneself, deathlessness, supersensual pleasures (bliss, joy, contentedness, sukha, piti), and a destination beyond rebirth and beyond the reach of any suffering whatsoever. What wise person could fail to see the advantage of what the Awakened One is making available. Still, most of us will not believe and will be afraid of any suggestion we let go of anything. It's mine! I need it. I earned it. I must have it and never lose it!
How silly we. It is not ours (as even "self" is not ours). It is not needed but a hindrance. Was it earned or was the result of previous good karma wasted on it? I do not have to have it and losing it, no matter what, is inevitable. Therefore, would it not be much wiser to let go of the lesser and go forth from the home life to the "left home life" of a nun, a temporarily ordained monastic, or at least an intensive retreatant meditating in earnestness to taste the fruits of letting go and being free?
There is a reason why for hundreds of thousands and even millions of years of life on the human plane some have opted to abandon the lay life of a householder on a spiritual quest seeking the meaning of things and freedom from the mundane. The goal of such wise one was spiritual liberation and peace. Some find it.
The others gain samadhi and mystical powers, psychic abilities, seeing other realms, a higher rebirth, and peace in this very life. If they choose and continue to develop their wisdom, they gain the final liberation the Buddha was pointing at.
Before the Buddha, and therefore before Buddhism, there were already
wandering ascetics who renounced the world, lived on alms, and meditated.
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