“Being completely present brings a basic contentment. Caring for others as we would care for ourselves brings a sense of interconnection and meaning into our lives. Making this slight, yet radical, shift in our perspective, frees our mind, brings joy and has the potential to transform the world.”
– Erric Solomon
Bringing together decades of Buddhist practice, a high-powered Silicon Valley career, and an abundant sense of humour, Erric speaks with an authenticity grounded in experience. Drawing on his life in the fast-paced, always on wired world, and his study under the guidance of some of the greatest masters of our time, Erric creates a bridge between modern insight and ancient wisdom.
Erric’s interest in human-computer interaction took shape while a teenage participant in the Logo Group at M.I.T.’s Artificial Intelligence Laboratory. When Erric was ten, Marvin Minsky (one of the founder’s of Artificial Intelligence as a research discipline) suggested that “the self doesn’t truly exist, it’s just the result of interactions between simple algorithms in the brain.” This experience inspired a lifelong passion to understand the mind and how it functions and led Erric to the study of Buddhist theories of mind and the nature of consciousness.
Mastering the craft of writing software at a young age, he spent years as an executive in the high-pressure world of Silicon Valley. At the same time, Erric Solomon became a serious practitioner of Tibetan Meditation. He speaks the no-nonsense voice of a techie but with the clarity of a seasoned practitioner, presenting mind-training methods in a way that resonates with our wired world.
— Daniel Goleman, author of Emotional Intelligence, and Tara Bennett-Goleman, author of Emotional Alchemy
Erric has studied at the feet of some of the world’s greatest spiritual masters, had close relationships with some of the best Artificial Intelligence researchers, and later spent several years in retreat maturing what he learned.
Erric has studied and practiced Buddhism for more than two decades, including working with nearly all the greatest masters of our time including Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche, Tulku Urgyen Rinpoche, and Nyoshul Khen Rinpoche. Afterwards, he completed a traditional three-year retreat. As a result, his understanding doesn’t come merely from intellectual knowledge, but through an authentic experience that comes from years of sincere practice.
— Tsoknyi Rinpoche
He has been an invited speaker leading seminars and retreats in corporate settings — such as the World Bank and Silicon Valley tech firms—as well as in prisons, temples and Buddhist centers across the US and Europe.
Erric is an excellent dharma teacher who brings together decades of practice, in-depth study of a wide range of Buddhist teachings, business experience (and therefore sensitivity to the concerns of busy people), and an abundant sense of humor.
— Barry Boyce, Editor-in-Chief of Mindful magazine and mindful.org, author of The Mindfulness Revolution
Erric’s Affiliates
Samye Institute
Rangjung Yeshe Gomde, United Kingdom
Rangjung Yeshe Gomde, Germany-Austria