{"id":905,"date":"2009-11-05T13:10:54","date_gmt":"2009-11-05T13:10:54","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/onecity\/2009\/11\/the-buddha-at-work-ethics-shmethics-so-long-as-i-get-paid.html"},"modified":"2009-11-05T13:10:54","modified_gmt":"2009-11-05T13:10:54","slug":"the-buddha-at-work-ethics-shmethics-so-long-as-i-get-paid","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/onecity\/2009\/11\/the-buddha-at-work-ethics-shmethics-so-long-as-i-get-paid.html","title":{"rendered":"The Buddha at Work – “Ethics, Shmethics, So Long as I Get Paid.”"},"content":{"rendered":"

Often in business, we are confronted with shortcuts, with opportunities to bend our integrity just a little bit<\/i>, in order to enrich ourselves. This might mean financially, or taking credit where it isn’t due, or avoiding a difficult situation we would otherwise have to face. <\/p>\n

At other times, we find ourselves secretly rejoicing at others’ failures, even small ones, and cursing their successes. The former is so common that there’s even a word<\/a> for it!<\/p>\n

What we usually fail to recognize is that any pleasure we gain from bending our integrity–whether by taking that which doesn’t belong to us, gossiping about another, or wishing them ill–is always, one hundred percent of the time, outweighed by the negative effects of this lapse. <\/p>\n


\n
Jon Kabat-Zinn talks about this at length in his book, Coming to Our Senses<\/a>: <\/p>\n

“We all know that when we transgress in some way, when we are
\ndishonest, lie, steal, kill, cause harm to others, including through
\nsexual misconduct, when we speak ill of people, when we stimulate,
\ndull, or pollute our own minds by abusing substances such as alcohol or
\ndrugs out of our own unhappiness and desire for some relief from our
\npain, the consequences are invariably destructive, causing untold harm
\nto others and to ourselves, whether we know it or not, whether we are
\nbeyond caring or not…. Generosity, trustworthiness, kindness,
\nempathy, compassion, gratitude, joy in the good fortune of others,
\ninclusiveness, acceptance and equanimity are qualities of mind and
\nheart that further the possibilities of well-being and clarity within
\noneself, to say nothing of the beneficial effects they have in the
\nworld.”<\/p>\n

And while ethics, or shila<\/a>, is the second of the Six Paramitas, it’s also a major component of the Noble Eightfold Path<\/a> and is specifically discussed in the areas of Right Speech, Right Action, and Right Livelihood. H. H. The Dalai Lama points out the importance of ethics in business in The Leader’s Way<\/a>:<\/p>\n

“When I think of ethical discipline, I am reminded of the advice given to other rulers by a king who was notably successful in governing his realm: ‘The best way for a ruler to reign over his country is first of all to rule himself.’ By ‘ruling himself’ the king meant withstanding tempation–in order words, ethical discipline. Most kings want to be rich, admired, respected, and successful. Unless the actions used to reach such objectives are governed by moral restraint, the result will be trouble in the kingdom. Likewise, leaders in an organization who don’t lead with ethical discipline put their companies, their employees, and their shareholders at risk. One needs only to recall the fate of Enron to see that this is the case.”<\/p>\n

So we can act ethically not just because it’s the right thing to do, but because it’s in our best interest. If we in business want to have our “kingdom” run smoothly, we need to consider Right Speech and Right Action. If we choose a livelihood that depends on the suffering of others, we have to look at how that suffering will manifest in our own lives. <\/p>\n

Geshe Michael Roach discusses this in The Diamond Cutter<\/a>, telling us to be careful that we never engage in divisive speech–even if it’s true. When we create a space where gossip and divisive speech are tolerated or encouraged, we cause others to arise in that space as gossipers and infighters. Roach points out that the solution is never to go to these people and ask them to stop their infighting. The problem exists because of the karma you yourself have created. “The fact that they are fighting in your presence, in your world, <\/i>is something you have to experience because of something in your mind<\/i>.”<\/p>\n

It all comes back to karma. Karma is certain, however you choose to understand it. Lama Zopa Rinpoche<\/a> points out that the only route to happiness is by creating the karma needed to cause it:<\/p>\n

“All our experiences of happiness and suffering depend on karma. No
\nmatter how much we desire happiness, if we follow ignorance alone,
\nwithout respecting karma, we’ll have nothing but suffering to
\nexperience. We can clearly see that irrespective of how much some
\npeople strive for life’s comforts, they continually suffer one problem
\nafter another, while others always experience comfort and happiness
\nwith hardly any effort. <\/p>\n

Since we create the karma, and since to observe karma means to
\ncorrect each tiny action, then how should it be observed? Avoiding
\nnonvirtuous actions and practicing virtuous ones is observing karma,
\nand to so we must be able to distinguish between them….<\/p>\n

…The actions we create by
\nnegative impulses, harming ourselves and other living beings, are
\nnonvirtuous. The actions we create created by positive impulses,
\nbenefiting ourselves and other living beings, are virtuous. Nonvirtuous
\nactions only bring suffering results, causing rebirth in the lower
\nrealms or even suffering in the upper realms. Virtuous actions only
\nbring happy results, such as birth in the upper realms and all other
\nhappiness… <\/p>\n

…It is important to avoid
\ndrawing false conclusions on the basis of incomplete understanding and
\nfaulty logic. Seeing bad people enjoying a wealthy lifestyle we might
\nthink that there is no correlation between happiness and virtuous
\nactions or between suffering and nonvirtuous actions, but we are very
\nfoolish to deny these fundamental truths just because we don’t have
\nthat personal knowledge. It has, in fact, been the experience of a
\ngreat many ordinary beings, let alone the enlightened beings who fully
\nsee the three times–past, present and future–and who have shown us the
\npath to discover all this….<\/p>\n

…Of all the 84,000 teachings of the Buddha, the most essential one, the
\none that leads us all the enlightenment, is karma. Observing karma is
\nour most vital practice. In the same way that even though a patient
\nmight take his medicine, if he then reverts to his unhealthy diet and
\nwrong living he will get sick again, if we don’t observe our karma and
\nstop creating harmful actions, we will have to experience suffering in
\nthe future.”<\/p>\n

It all comes back to karma. You want to be happy, watch your ethics. Be careful how you treat others. Be interested in their well-being, if you want some well-being for yourself. There ain’t no other way. As Lama Marut<\/a> says, “thems the laws of the cosmos, yo.” <\/p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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