--- In [email protected], Robert Gimbel <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > The happiest man in the world? ... and you can learn > how he does it, says academic-turned-Buddhist monk > By Anthony Barnes Published: 21 January 2007 > . . . > Now Matthieu Ricard, 60, a French academic-turned- > Buddhist monk . . . > Mr Ricard, who is the French interpreter for Tibet's > spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama, took part in trials > to show that brain training in the form of meditation > can cause an overwhelming change in levels of happiness.
This should be interesting. I've seen/heard this guy do his thing as interpreter, and it's nothing short of amazing. Translating for the Dalai Lama is an artform, and this fellow is the best artist I've ever seen. It's not like you see on the news, with some UN translator letting the person speak for one or two short sen- tences and then translating them. M. Richard lets the DL speak for five or ten minutes in Tibetan, sitting quietly by his side and taking no notes. Then, when the DL has finished his entire train of thought, M. Richard starts to translate, never missing a word, never deleting anything, remembering everything that was said and translating it faithfully. It's a display of focus and memory ability I don't think I've ever seen elsewhere. So he should prove an interesting subject.
