Zen and the Art of Management

I´ve been in a mindful mood lately. What do I mean by this? To me, mindfulness means being aware of the present moment, being observant, reflective. I am not a Buddhist, so what I am about to write is just a hack job. That said, you might find it interesting or helpful.

Management is a mental game and it is performed in conversation. We can learn a lot about mindful management by looking at the Four Noble Truths found in Buddhism.

The italicized text comes from the Zen Guide.



THE FIRST NOBLE TRUTH: THE TRUTH OF SUFFERING

The Buddha's discovery of the solution to the problem of suffering began with the recognition that life is suffering. This is the first of the Four Noble Truths. If people examine their own experiences or look at the world around them, they will see that life is full of suffering. Suffering may be physical or mental.

The truth is that suffering of birth, old age, sickness and death are unavoidable. Some fortunate people may now be enjoying relatively happy and carefree lives, but it is only a matter of time before they, too, will experience suffering. What is worse, this suffering must be borne alone.

Beside physical suffering, there are also various forms of mental suffering. People feel sad, lonely or depressed when they lose someone they love through separation or death. People also suffer when they are unable to satisfy their limitless needs and wants.

When the Buddha said that there is suffering in life, He did not deny that there is happiness also. On the contrary, He spoke of various kinds of happiness, such as the happiness of friendship, the happiness of family life, and so on. But all these kinds of happiness are impermanent and when one loses them, one suffers. For example, one may like a pleasant and charming person and enjoy his or her company. But when one is separated from that person, the happiness turns into suffering. One suffers because of one's attachment to pleasures that do not last. People often remain unaware of the inevitable sufferings of life because they are distracted by temporary pleasures.

Lisa´s comment: I think there is also suffering when we are responsible for a company or a piece of a company. When becoming a manager or leader, we must acknowledge all aspects of each day.

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THE SECOND NOBLE TRUTH: THE TRUTH THE CAUSES OF SUFFERING

The Buddha's had observed that life is suffering. Before He could find a solution to the problem of suffering in life, He had first to look for the cause of suffering. The Buddha was just like a good doctor who first observes a patient's symptoms and identifies the cause of illness before prescribing a cure. The Buddha discovered that the direct causes of suffering are desire or craving, and ignorance. This is the truth of the cause of suffering, which is the Second Noble Truth.

Craving is the deep-seated desire that all living beings have for the pleasures of the senses, and for life itself. For instance, people always seek to enjoy good food, entertainment and pleasant company. Yet none of these can give them complete and lasting satisfaction. After the fine meal has been eaten, the beautiful music heard and the pleasant company shared, one is still not content. One would like to enjoy these pleasures again and again, and for as long as possible.

If another person prevents one from getting what is desired, one may feel anger towards that person. Desire, when obstructed, can lead to ill will and anger. This in turn can lead to harsh words, violent quarrels and even fights or killings. All this is suffering.

Craving or desire is like a great tree having many branches. There are branches of greed, of ill will and of anger. The fruit of this tree is suffering, but how does the tree of craving arise? Where does it grow? The answer is that the tree of craving is rooted in ignorance. It grows out of ignorance.

Ignorance is the inability to see the truth about things, to see things as they really are. There are many truths about the world which people are ignorant of because of the limitations of their understanding.

Science has shown, for instance, that there are sounds that people are unable to hear and waves of light that they are unable to see. People would be totally unaware of radio waves, or ultra-violet light rays if special instruments had not been developed to enable them to observe these things. So long as people remain ignorant of things about the world in which they live, they suffer from all kinds of misunderstandings and delusions.

When people develop their minds and acquire wisdom through study, careful thought and meditation, they will see the Truth. They will see things as they really are. They will understand the suffering and impermanence of life, the Law of Cause and Effect and the Four Noble Truths. By overcoming craving and ignorance, they will attain happiness and Enlightenment just as the Buddha did about 2500 years ago.

Lisa´s comment: Craving and ignorance are major impediments for managers as well. Some people are never satisfied, never grateful for the contribution they have the opportunity to make.

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THE THIRD NOBLE TRUTH: THE TRUTH THE END OF SUFFERING

The Buddha's realization of the end of suffering and his attainment of Nirvana at the age of thirty-five, crowned his search for Truth with success. For six years, the Bodhisattva had spared no effort to find a solution to the problems of suffering. He had tried the principal methods of ending suffering and had found them wanting. Eventually he found his own solution to the problems of life.

Having realized the Truth through his own efforts, the Buddha offered it to all who were ready to listen. There is an old story of a turtle and a fish. The turtle lived on land as well as in the water while the fish only lived in the water. One day, when the turtle had returned from a visit to the land, he told the fish of his experiences. He explained that creatures walked rather than swam. The fish refused to believe that dry land really existed because that was something beyond his own experience. In the same way, people may not have experienced the end of suffering, but it does not mean that the end of suffering is not possible.

A patient must have confidence in an experienced doctor, otherwise he will never take the medicine that the doctor has prescribed for him and will not be cured of his sickness. Similarly, people must have confidence in the Teaching of the Buddha, who has shown that end of suffering is really possible.

The end of suffering is the final goal of the Buddha's Teaching. It can be experienced by anyone here and now. For example, when greed and anger arise in one's mind, unhappiness is the result and, when thoughts of greed and anger cease, one's mind becomes happy and peaceful. To end suffering completely, one must remove desire, ill will and ignorance. This is the Third Noble Truth of the End of Suffering.

The Buddha taught that the end of suffering is supreme happiness. Every step towards the end of suffering is accompanied by ever-increasing joy. Those who follow the Teaching of the Buddha live happily without greed among those who are overwhelmed by desire. They live happily without anger among those who harbor ill will. The more people free themselves from desire, ill will and ignorance, the greater will be their happiness.

By putting the Buddha's Teaching into practice, people too can achieve supreme Enlightenment. Enlightenment has countless qualities, of which perfect wisdom and great compassion are the most important. Through perfect wisdom and great compassion, He is able to help countless beings to overcome their suffering.

The end of suffering has been described as supreme happiness and Enlightenment. However, these terms do not fully express the real nature of the end of suffering, or Nirvana. Nirvana cannot be exactly put into words. Attempting to describe Nirvana is like saying that a mango is sweet, and that it is not like a banana or an apple. One has to eat a mango in order to know for oneself what the taste is really like. Similarly Nirvana has to be experienced for oneself.

Lisa´s comment: I am sure that I do not fully understand the intended meaning of these words but I do think that managers can, here and now, experience managerial zen (or perhaps Flow), by shaping our thoughts, self-talk and conversations.

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THE FOURTH NOBLE TRUTH: THE TRUTH OF THE PATH LEADING TO THE END OF SUFFERING

As a youth, Prince Siddhartha enjoyed the indulgent life of pleasure in his father's palace. Later, when he renounced the worldly life and became an ascetic, he experienced the hardship of torturing his mind and body. Finally, not long before attaining Enlightenment, he realized the fruitlessness of these two extreme ways of life. He realized that the way to happiness and Enlightenment was to lead a life that avoids these extremes. He described this life as the Middle Path.

These three ways of life may be compared to the strings of different tensions on a lute. The loose string, which is like a life of indulgence, produces a poor sound when struck. The overly tight string, which is like a life of extreme asceticism, similarly produces a poor sound when struck and is, moreover, likely to break at any moment. Only the middle string, which is neither too loose nor too tight, and is like the Middle Path, produces a pleasant and harmonious sound when struck. So those who follow the Middle Path which avoids the extreme of indulging one's desires and the opposite extreme of torturing one's mind and body unreasonably, will find happiness, peace of mind and Enlightenment. This is the Fourth Noble Truth of the path leading to the end of suffering.

So these who follow the Middle Path which avoid the extreme of indulging one's desires and opposite extreme of torturing one's mind and body unreasonably, will find happiness, peace of mind and Enlightenment. This is the Fourth Noble Truth of the path leading to the end of suffering.

Lisa´s comment:I think this applies to management very well. As leaders we should not let our egos, desires, and ignorance get in the way of making a difference. Nor should we be too hard on ourselves or torture ourselves by trying to do everything ourselves.

Mindfulness and management work together to enable us to do our best work. If you would like to read more about Zen practices, check out the Zen Guide, I found it quite readable as a non Buddhist. For example, here is their definition of Zen.

Zen - meditative absorption in which all dualistic distinctions are eliminated.