"Matthieu Ricard is a Buddhist monk who went
from a scientific career as a molecular biologist in France (working
under French Nobel Laureate François Jacob) to the study of Buddhism in
the Himalayas 40 years ago. He has been the French interpreter for the
Dalai Lama since 1989."
HuffingtonPost:
Is Compassion Meditation the Key to Better Caregiving? Matthieu
Ricard "Empathy is the faculty to
resonate with the feelings of others. When we meet someone who is
joyful, we smile. When we witness someone in pain, we suffer in
resonance with his or her suffering. Neuroscience has proven that
similar areas of the brain are activated both in the person who suffers
and in the one who feels empathy. Thus empathic suffering is a true
experience of suffering.
When some empathic caregivers are exposed to others' suffering day after
day, their continuous partaking in this suffering might become
overwhelming and can lead to burnout. Other caregivers may react by
shutting down their empathic feeling and drawing an emotional curtain
between themselves and their patients. Both these reactions are far from
optimal."
