Buddhism for business

Image source: http://www.meditatebeherenow.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/08/0810a1.jpg

Buddhism, with its practical focus on happiness and communal harmony in this lifetime, has a great deal to offer today's business world, which is often full of confusion and difficulty. My own contemporary definition of Buddhist practice, built on a study seeking to find common threads in 2,600 years of global Buddhist, is to live in awareness and balance, allowing love and wisdom to move through me and touch the suffering and joy of the world, leading to healing and creative expansion. When I consult and teach in business, I do not use these exact words. I do find that many people in business want to and can cultivate awareness and balance. Also, people in business want to solve problems which are very similar to eliminating suffering. As we do this together, we change the way we live our business lives, and make room for less suffering and more joy.

There are several basic ideas in Buddhism that are valuable to business. It is useful to translate these foreign terms into business language:

1. Our suffering (issues, problems, and long-standing conflicts) matters. In Buddhism, this is
included in the First Noble Truth.

2. We can stop suffering. In Buddhism, this is the Third Noble Truth.

3. There is a relationship between our actions and the results we get, in terms of suffering, and also in terms of business results. In Buddhism, this is called karma. In Western terms, this is called the law of cause and effect, and is a key part of diagnosing and solving problems. If we change the cause, the problem (the suffering) goes away.

4. Being aware of our thoughts, feelings, and actions helps us change them. Then we suffer less and get better results. In Buddhism, this is the purpose of meditation and of inquiry into ourselves.

My practice of Buddhism for Business has helped me find ways to share these ideas. For example, here are some common business notions that open the door to healthier, more effective workplaces:

1. Teamwork. People can learn to work together, and that is good for results. Buddhism has 2,600 years experience creating structured team environments adapted to local culture. The Buddhist term for these communities is Sarigha.

2. Stress reduction. Excess tension and anger in the workplace create problems for each person and for the entire company, and there are things we can do about that. The first beneficial effect of meditation is relaxation; the second is awareness of the sources of stress, allowing diagnosis and effective response.

3. Personal and team effectiveness. Those who are willing to change to be effective are more open to observing their own behaviour. Buddhism, particularly the Zen tradition, has a long history of working together, defining problems, and achieving goals through effective leadership and teamwork.

4. Preventing a hostile work environment. Laws and regulations now require that the work environment not be hostile to women, minorities, and other cultural groups. Allowing a hostile or discriminatory work environment has become very costly to companies. This opens a door to companies spending money on behaviour change. Buddhism offers a 2,600 year old set of personal growth tools. The primary focus of these trainings is awareness of the effects of one's behaviour on others. In Buddhist terms, this is two core practices: awareness of ourselves and our situation, and awareness of karma.

5. Business ethics. We were all hurt by the corporate scandals that became apparent in 2001. Laws were changed, and the question of how to change business culture is a hot topic now. Buddhist practice is a tool for individuals and teams to effectively make ethical behaviour real in life and in the workplace. Businesses suffer and cause suffering. Here are some examples: When a business that offers value to its customers does not run well, benefit is lost for customers, employees, and owners or stockholders. When a business is poorly run, people do not find joy in their work. And when a business is misguided, it participates in increasing suffering in the world. Engaged Buddhism in business is, for me, a practice of cultivating awareness of suffering and joy, and the causes of suffering and joy, in the business realm. As people in business become aware of their actions and the consequences of those actions, it becomes natural to do the following:

- Create businesses that succeed
- Create businesses that bring value to customers
- Create businesses that are good, healthy, even joyful places to work
- Look at the ways in which businesses create suffering in the world, and begin to change them.

Readers familiar with the original teachings of Buddhism will see that I have already introduced three key elements from the Buddha's talks (sutras): The Four Noble Truths; the idea of karma; and the idea of self-inquiry (the second factor of awakening). Bridging the gap between the Buddha's 2,600 year old teaching and the needs of American business today has been my invisible practice for over 15 years.

The whole article is available at Bliss & Growth