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General Buddhism => General Buddhism => Topic started by: icy on February 05, 2014, 09:53:17 PM
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It's not a connection that many people automatically consider - profit-making and spiritual practice, but introducing Buddhist precepts into your business can have positive effects on your employees and on your bottom line.
The goal of Buddhism is ultimately to achieve enlightenment, but along the pathway to awakening, there are many useful lessons about how to operate ethically and effectively in the world.
Seen from an angle of improving successful operation through internal examination, insight and correction, spiritual development and business growth are not worlds apart after all.
I run business and employee workshops, and I use the teachings of Buddhism to help organisations improve their communication, to build effective ways of working, to help employees deal with change and to manage stress.
Consider the Noble Eightfold Path, which is the foundation of Buddhist Practice. It is made up of eight practical ways of organising your thoughts and behaviour so that you will reduce unsatisfactory living.
The precepts easily apply to reducing conflict, stress and ineffectiveness within a business environment.
Here is a quick guide to how the three training dimensions of the Eightfold Path can benefit your business:
Wisdom (Panna): The first division of the Eightfold Path relates to ‘Right Understanding’ and ‘Right Thought'. According to the Buddha, we need to realise that everything is impermanent.
This transience causes us suffering, particularly if we deny its truth and insist on over-attachment to things. The Buddha also taught that everything is connected and interdependent.
Training your workforce with these insights in mind can result in greater creativity, teamwork and co-operation as colleagues learn not to attach to their own ideas or fixed ways of doing things, and to share their successes with others. This learning also builds an increased ability to adapt, and to be flexible and resilient in the face of change.
Ethical Conduct (Sila): Buddhism teaches us to do no harm and to talk and act in a way that is considerate and helpful to others. Not only does taking such an approach encourage a more harmonious and open communication process in the workplace, but it also an important factor in customer service.
Companies which show themselves to be ethical, transparent and support the local community also earn good brand loyalty from consumers in the modern world.
Concentration (Samadhi): In Buddhism, ‘Right Concentration’ means concentrating on one object or subject to the exclusion of all irrelevant things, as in the practice of Mindfulness.
This is accompanied by a commitment to making the effort to improve, to develop greater awareness and to deepen insight.
Taking an attitude of wanting to develop and excel into the boardroom and onto the frontline will benefit any business.
Developing Right Concentration also means that workers learn to be more focused, more driven, more effective and can manage their time better.
In the process of training the mind, workers learn to overcome hindrances to concentration, such as laziness, torpor and a wandering mind. They also learn to manage stress responses. Needless to say, in my workshops, I don't stand there and recite the Dharma to delegates. I translate the lessons into practical forms and formulas that managers, employees and whole organisations can use to make their business run more smoothly, more harmoniously and with greater effectiveness.
If you still think that Buddhism is all bosh, consider that big businesses such as Google, Apple and Procter & Gamble have all introduced the Buddhist practice of Mindfulness meditation into their offices as a way to reduce employee stress.
- Huffington Post
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In our lineage the Noble Eightfold Path is translated to the 6 Paramitas of Perfections. They are Generosity, Morality, Patience, Effort, Mental Quiescence and Wisdom. Just practicing these perfections personally and in relations to our business partners, staff, colleague and customers are practices that is precisely advocated in the Lamrim as "How to practice between sessions" ie what we do in between prayers, visualizations and Sadhanas.
In my opinion this is more important than prayers as we (non sangha) spend more time off the meditation cushions than on it.
Can the Buddhism help the Business? I learned that the best way is the have the motivation of being enlightened for the sake of all sentient beings ie Boddhicitta. Have this motivation all the time and practice the 6 perfections always. It have certainly help in my work.
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It is certainly beneficial for an organisation to use Buddhist principles to guide their work policies and goals. As much as Buddhism is one of the least imposing religion, we must still take careful steps when instilling the teachings to the people in the organisation. In most countries we are not allowed to impose a religion onto another person. Freedom of religious beliefs is important. Also in some other countries dominated mainly by a certain religion which if its not Buddhism, one must not seem to be spreading an alternate religion to its nation's people. Otherwise serious repercussions can occur and may have negative results in the end. Hence, using religious teachings is good but must be carefully tailored and designed for the environment and its people.
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This is growing in the Western world. Even though people may not necessarily define themselves as a Buddhist or have a 'formal' practice or say prayers, deity visualizations of dedications they are engaging in forms of Buddhist practice that do not necessarily have a religious overtone, such as mindfulness meditation. This is quite big and I have known people in business to really benefit from this not only in business but their personal life as well.
the use of the Eightfold noble path or even the 6 paramitas are growing within business, purely because people see the benefit of practicing them, even though not from a 'religious' perspective.
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I have a few Chinese friends that would visit places like Wu Tai Shan for their studies... so if Buddhism can help in your studies, why can't it help in other aspects of life like Business as well?
However I also know some Businessmen in China that not only depend on Buddhism, but more on Taoist deities to help them with their business. I'm not sure if that practice is accepted in the context of Buddhism nor do I know if it is effective, but the fact that they keep going back to the Taoist temple means it must be quite effective isn't it?
Anyway, I suppose if your business is something that does not cause suffering to beings and benefits others, then I guess praying to Dharma Protectors would be great as Dharma Protectors are here to protect not only our Dharma practice but also to help us in our samsaric life so that we have the correct environmental conditions to practice the Dharma.
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To quote this "Consider the Noble Eightfold Path, which is the foundation of Buddhist Practice. It is made up of eight practical ways of organising your thoughts and behaviour so that you will reduce unsatisfactory living."
I know of a few American motivation training companies who would promote the above Eightfold Path in a non-religious way to help those who enrolled into their training program. Certain world-class companies would also pay thousands to these motivators to train their senior staff members and directors for them to achieve the result the company require in this competitive challenging business world.
When motivators train, they do not put labels in their program giving any indication to their students that the concepts they used arise from Buddhist philosophy. All of them train students to think and act positively about them-self, change the way they think, how to solve their personal and work problems in a constructive manner and live life with a purpose.
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I find that Buddhism teaches us to embrace the good qualities, such as patience, generosity, integrity, honest, etc. and applying these qualities, to me, will definitely help to in business environment. It is more so when it comes to retaining good quality employees. For example, if a company embrace integrity, people who are unethical would not fit in well and they will either become ethical or leave to another company. Over time, it will have good quality employees in the company.
As mentioned, if the teachings are not applicable to business, why would giants like Apple, Google, etc embrace (at least part of the) teachings?
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Some sharing from an articles on 4 Ways a 'Buddha Mentality' can build your business.
Regardless of your religious affiliation or spiritual beliefs, there are benefits to bringing a kind of Zen to the way you approach business.
Here are four ways to integrate a “Buddha mentality” into your entrepreneurial endeavors:
1. Remove yourself from the equation. In The Four Agreements, author Don Miguel Ruiz outlines four foundations to enlightened living based on the spiritual teachings of the Toltecs. The four agreements are: choose words carefully, don’t take anything personally, assume nothing, and always strive to do your best.
Although the book isn’t a business guide, The Four Agreements offers a counterbalance to the inherently ego-driven and competitive reactions that entrepreneurs may view as a strength. By altering the ways you approach professional situations and your peers, you can achieve different outcomes than your “go to” instincts yield. As a result, you may learn things you never imagined, and find new allies and opportunities.
2. Be grateful. Adopting the Buddhist mind-set that where you are right now is exactly where you are supposed to be can teach you to roll with the proverbial punches of owning a business. Instead of clinging to past achievements and failures (like how much more money you made last year), take the good and bad moments for what they are, recognizing that every day is a gift — and a chance to do things differently.
The next time you’re stuck in traffic or waiting for a client to join a conference call, recite a mantra of gratitude, such as this one written by self-mastery guide Gary van Warmerdam: “Thank you for so many experiences and so many things. Thank you for this Dance. Thank you, Life.” Practicing gratitude can help you put the ups and downs of running a business into perspective.
3. Become what you admire. The Buddhist scripture known as “Advice from Atisha’s Heart” teaches people not to be jealous of others’ good qualities, “but out of admiration, adopt them yourself.”
Consider the business leaders globally and locally whose actions or deeds invoke an emotional reaction within — and why. If you’re a Steve Jobs fan, for example, perhaps you’re holding yourself back from a drive to innovate or have avoided taking risks out of fear of judgment or failure. If there is a competitor whose success makes you angry, think about what they’ve done well that you’d like to emulate instead of turning to negative thoughts.
4. Behave with integrity. The Buddhist tale of “The Steadfast Parrot” tells of Shakra, king of the gods, who reduces a once-bountiful fig tree to dead branches after hearing a parrot pledge its commitment to the tree. Though the tree no longer offers the parrot reward or refuge, the bird stays loyally perched on it, true to its word. Observing this commitment, the king brings new life to the tree, telling the parrot that “the whole universe is brought to life by a steadfast and faithful heart.”
Owning a business constantly presents new opportunities, times of loss, and changes to relationships. Although it’s important to earn a living, loyalty and integrity can be just as important as profits and revenues.
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It is not easy to combine Buddhist teachings with being in business.Basically is that your values merge with your work.To strike a balance between having a business and having a life.Here are some steps to follow.
a)simplify your life
b)make money honestly
c)work is the most powerful spiritual practices
If you run your business by your own principles,success will naturally follow.Set your goal and discover what you want out of your life and business.
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Buddhism does not go against lay practitioners earning an honest living by engaging in business activities. Buddhism is against wrong livelihoods such as obtaining money through harmful and dishonest means such as killing, stealing, gambling, animal slaughter and trade, alcohol and cheating and lying. If businessmen engage in business activities that are dishonest and harmful, they will accumulate negative karma. Thus, it would be good if they practice the Buddhist principles of non-violence and abandon unwholesome actions. The business they choose should be honest and untainted. This will bring good karma and they will prosper materially and spiritually.
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Although the Buddha was a religious teacher, he also gave advice on economic problems in order to help people improve their standard of living. The Buddha had always encouraged people to practice the Middle Way (Majjhima Pattipada), avoiding extremes such as having too much greed for wealth or giving up one's wealth to practice asceticism. What is recommended is a way of life that is simple and guided by human values. In the Sigalovada Sutta, in the Digha Nikaya, the Buddha gave economic advice to Sigala on useful economic behaviour (atthacariya) in order to lead a balanced life. The Buddha also advised rulers to help improve the economy of their kingdoms in order to have a balanced life for their subjects. In the discourse of Cakkavattisihanada, the Buddha explained that economic instability and unrest in society are interrelated. Mismanagement by the authorities can lead to poverty, crime, revolution and unstable situations in a country. Thus Buddhist values can certainly help an individual businessman or a government to maintain stability and overcome undesirable conditions.
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Any Boss would want they business to be successful . If applying Buddhism teachings and methods can help in their business in eficiency, harmony and stability.Why not.? Even Googles are applying Buddhist ways to train people..................... eg. What's the first word that comes to mind when you think of Google? Probably "search," right? It's a natural answer, as the search giant has been revolutionizing the indexing of the internet since 1998. But what about meditation? Sounds like a stretch. Google employee 107 – otherwise known as Chade-Meng Tan - is working to change that.
Tan created an in-house motivational meditation course for "Googlers." The course, aptly named "Search Inside Yourself," is based on Buddhist-inspired mindfulness meditation techniques, science and organizational psychology. It aims to help overworked, stressed out employees turn into happy, peaceful, self-aware and effective employees – valuing them not just as assets to the business, but also as family members, friends and members of society.
Over the past four years, the course has taught over a thousand people about five key elements of emotional intelligence: self-awareness, self-regulation, motivation, empathy and social skills. Yet another reason to apply for that great job at Google!
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Organizations that adopt the Noble Eightfold Path will definitely see improvements such as increased productivity, efficiency, profitability and so on due to positive change arising from each employee and collectively as an organization. This change is possible because the Noble Eightfold Path directly address the root problem in all commercial organizations which is the obscuration of their employees' mind.
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What is business? Business is simply one of the mechanics of human living in this era. Buddhism is pervasive and should be a tenet of business.
In this current time where we as a community has started focus to conscious living, peace through conscious commerce is becoming a growing awareness and practice. Buddhism is a complete set of teachings and practices that it's philosophy of living and science of mind is the core essence of consciousness. Our consciousness level can only serve to help us in our business. Hence, for sure the practice of Buddhism help your business regardless of the type of business you are in.
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I think if you are just relying on the superstitious side of Buddhism to help your Business, it may at first, but may not last.
Practising and applying the same methods in which Buddha taught to reach enlightenment will. The Buddhist philosophy is really practical in your daily life thus incorporating it within your life and your business would do some good. It teaches you respect - this will help between your co-workers and foster harmony and mutual understanding/respect. It teaches you kindness - to extend a helping hand whenever it is needed, to foster teamwork and positivity. It teaches you how to overcome your own obstacles - then you will be equipped to tackle the problems faced in your business...and the list goes on. It will help your business because Buddhism is based on logic.
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This is rather interesting new area that the Buddha's teachings had seeped into. People are gradually realizing how effective his teachings are in coping with everyday issues and this had branched off to commerce/business and perhaps, career. The Buddha's teachings have many aspects that advocate mindfulness, realizing the interdependent relationships between beings or in the business world, colleagues, customers and so forth.
Even in the aspect of understanding the mind, we come face-to-face with human destructive emotions that can breakdown business -relationships. Universally accepted qualities of generosity, morality, perseverance and so forth are very much helpful in the business world. The good thing about Buddhism, it doesn't just tell you that these virtues must be acquired but also show you how to acquire them. That's the beauty and efficacy of the Buddha's legacy.
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I have a few Chinese friends that would visit places like Wu Tai Shan for their studies... so if Buddhism can help in your studies, why can't it help in other aspects of life like Business as well?
However I also know some Businessmen in China that not only depend on Buddhism, but more on Taoist deities to help them with their business. I'm not sure if that practice is accepted in the context of Buddhism nor do I know if it is effective, but the fact that they keep going back to the Taoist temple means it must be quite effective isn't it?
Anyway, I suppose if your business is something that does not cause suffering to beings and benefits others, then I guess praying to Dharma Protectors would be great as Dharma Protectors are here to protect not only our Dharma practice but also to help us in our samsaric life so that we have the correct environmental conditions to practice the Dharma.
With regards to going to Taoist temples to improve one's business, it is different from Buddhism. People going to Taoist temples pray to the deities there to ask them for help and, in some cases, divination. They pray to beings that are not enlightened. They depend on the deities to help their business
In Buddhism, we are taught to practise the teachings. In other words, we are taught to rely on ourselves if we want a change in our results; in this case, it would our business.
Dharma protectors will help us create suitable conditions to practise our dharma practice. This doesn't necessarily mean that they will help our business because if being successful in our career and having more money takes us further away from the dharma, then the dharma protector will not help our business. So, dharma protectors will do what we need and not what we want.
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Buddhism can help your business. But it doesn't work alone instantly if you just sit down and pray. Taking the correct actions coupled with Dharma towards your business management and people communication skills plays a huge part in being a 'successful' businessmen. We cannot deny there are also karma involved in whatever situation and people we met that might directly or indirectly affects the things we wish to do or achieved. But with dharma, we are able to deploy our actions by doing it correctly (understanding of karma).
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If Buddhism can help to improve one's life, definitely Buddhsim can help on business too. Buddha has 84,000 teachings that suit anyone, any where and any time. The teachings have no expiry date.
For example the 4 Noble Truths can be applied in the company's day to day work.
1st Noble Truth : Truth of suffering. In a company, we must look into our business model and our operation procedures and recognised that there are problems in our company.
2nd Noble Truth : Truth of the cause of suffering. When applying this in a company, as the CEO or management team and employee of the company, must find out what is the cause of the problem.
3rd Noble Truth : Cessation of the suffering. All should realised that there are ways out to get out from the problem faced.
4th Noble Truth : Ways to the cessation of suffering. Buddha has given us and guide us on the ways to end our suffering thru the Noble Eightfold path which it can also help us in solving problems faced in a company. In short the 8 fold paths are : right view, right intentions, right speech, right action, right livehood, right effort, right concentration and lastly right mindfulness.
Buddhism is an encyclopedia that will never failed us in any situation.