Tibetan Buddhist monk Matthieu Ricard, who is originally from France, earned the moniker "world's happiest man" after brain scans taken during a neurological study on meditation (led by Dr. Richie Davidson) showed excessive activity in his brain as he meditated on compassion. A staunch vegetarian, Ricard talks about the importance of extending compassion to all beings, including animals, which he lays out in his new book, "A Plea for the Animals: The Moral, Philosophical, and Evolutionary Imperative to Treat All Beings with Compassion." Episode link: https://play.headliner.app/episode/16039008?utm_source=youtube Subscribe to watch more Ten Percent Happier videos https://www.youtube.com/tenpercenthappier Listen to the Full Podcast https://link.chtbl.com/Y_729H6p FOLLOW DAN HARRIS PODCASTS ON SOCIAL Dan Harris on Twitter https://twitter.com/danbharris Dan Harris on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/danharris/ Dan Harris on TikTok https://www.tiktok.com/@danbharris Dan Harris on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/DanHarrisABC FOLLOW TEN PERCENT HAPPIER ON SOCIAL Ten Percent Happier on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/tenpercenthappier/ Ten Percent Happier on Twitter https://twitter.com/10percent Ten Percent Happier on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/tenpercenthappier/ ABOUT THE TEN PERCENT HAPPIER PODCAST Dan Harris is a fidgety, skeptical journalist who had a panic attack on live national television, which led him to try something he otherwise never would have considered: meditation. He went on to write the bestselling book, 10% Happier. On this show, Dan talks with eminent meditation teachers, top scientists, and even the odd celebrity. Guests include everyone from His Holiness the Dalai Lama to Brené Brown to Karamo from Queer Eye. On some episodes, Dan ventures into the deep end of the pool, covering subjects such as enlightenment and psychedelics. On other episodes, it’s science-based techniques for issues such as anxiety, productivity, and relationships. Dan's approach is seemingly modest, but secretly radical: happiness is a skill you can train, just like working your bicep in the gym. Your progress may be incremental at first, but like any good investment, it compounds over time. Ten Percent Happier https://www.tenpercent.com/podcast