A Monk, Matthieu Ricard, a Philosopher, Alexandre Jollien, and a Psychiatrist, Christophe Andre stayed together for two weeks to share their views and experiences about the “big subjects” of life such as The Ego, Origins of suffering, Guilt and Forgiveness.
It was interesting to read and helpful to see topics with different perspectives.
They include lots of teaching parables. Matthieu tells the story about a man who continually insulted the Buddha until the Buddha finally said to him “If someone gives you a gift and you refuse it, who in the end is the owner of the gift?” A little disconcerted, the man replied that it’s the person who is trying to give the gift. And the Buddha concluded, “Your insults -I don’t accept them, thus they remain yours.”
And they include good practical advice such as creating a CCL (Couldn’t Care Less) file and putting in it all the useless thoughts that pass through your mind from morning to night.
There is wisdom in the book!
-Marnie