PART I

Becoming a Mindful Worker

To study the Buddha way is to study the self.

—Dogen Zenji, Genjo Koan

A GREAT BEAUTY OF the Buddha’s teachings is how they always return our attention to us, to our minds. Everything we feel and do is driven by mind. This means you can follow the path of awakening, no matter what anyone else around you is doing. Your awakening and growth are not contingent on others. You might find this thought frightening; you might find it liberating.

Some people want to put their faith and future in others’ hands:

“Just tell me what to do, boss, and I’ll do it,” they say.

“Leaders are supposed to have the answers; that’s what they get paid the big bucks for,” they emphasize.

“I just work here; I don’t make the rules,” they deflect.

For such people, realizing that fate, or karma, lies solely in their own hands can be upsetting—or at the very least, unsettling.

Others may find the Buddha’s message terrifically empowering:

“You get out of it what you are willing to put into it,” they suggest.

“If I own the problem, I also own the solution,” they point out.

“I create my own future, through my thinking, my decisions, my actions, and my attitude,” they assert.

For these people, the profoundly personal nature of mindfulness and awakening is exciting, and following its path is deeply satisfying. These are the lucky, the bodhisattvas (beings who are focused on awakening).

But most of us are not yet bodhisattvas—at least not consistently. We feel mixed emotions about the prospect and path of becoming mindful workers. Sometimes we feel great, eager to embark, devoted to continuing. At those times, we, too, are bodhisattvas. Other times, we feel discouraged, in need of guidance, spiritually inadequate. That is when we need help.

In this section, we apply the Buddha’s words to many aspects of work. You may be discouraged in trying to find the right job. You may be shaky in marshaling the strength and skill that your work demands. You might be looking for new solutions to old problems. Or you might simply be looking for confirmation of the work values and attitudes you’ve long held. Maybe your own Buddha nature is already well awakened. Whatever your interest or need, the Buddha has wisdom for you. His example and his teaching can help you bring your spiritual life to work and bring your work to life.

In these answers, the Buddha often returns to two fundamental teachings. First, no one is inadequate. Each of us has the Buddha nature within. Second, we always have a choice. To be awake is always optional. Mindful or mindless—our decision.