Dharma in the Workplace

by Helen Chang

Buddhists are transforming the workplace, using honesty, compassion and non-attachment. HELEN CHANG reports.

Is it possible to be a Buddhist and compete in your job? Or spread the Dharma in the workplace? Depending on your field, your motivation and your karma, it may not be easy. Or it may.

Ian Green once lost a campaign from his largest advertising client, due to his Buddhist beliefs. The client was a soymilk manufacturer, and the marketing manager wanted Ian to create an ad campaign that gave the impression that its soymilk was made from non-genetically modified beans, when in fact its beans were genetically altered. Ian, who took Buddhist vows not to lie, could not do it. He told the client that misleading consumers would in fact create a backlash, and sales would drop. Instead, he advised the client to reformulate the product, using non-genetically modified beans, and run an honest ad campaign.

The client refused and went its own way. But 18 months later, the client was back in Ian’s office. Everything Ian predicted had happened; consumers suspected they were being misled, and the company lost significant market share. The company now decided to reformulate its product, and briefed Ian’s company to create a new ad campaign.

Ian is a partner in one of Australia’s top 50 advertising agencies, Cook, Green & Moore Pty Ltd. And he credits the Dharma for much of his success. “Once I became a Buddhist, and took the five precepts, then things like [false advertising claims] really would bring it home to me. If you’re going to attract a right livelihood, then you have to incorporate those five precepts into what you do.”

Bodhichitta at work

Litigation lawyer David Andrews practices not just law, but also bodhichitta, or loving kindness. In the process, he has earned a reputation for honesty and integrity. As a partner with Holding Redlich Lawyers and Consultants, he works with large companies in the telecommunications, computer software and other industries, in Melbourne, Australia.

When confronting other lawyers in lawsuits, he recognizes that he is dealing with big egos and attachments. Yet, he is not daunted. “They are as empty as I am,” he says.

David strives to resolve disputes amicably, going to court only as a last resort. He asks himself, “What is the real problem here?” Often, he is dealing with people’s minds, he says, “people holding on to things they should have let go of, grasping and attachment.” His work is about “reducing their suffering as much as possible …”

This article can be read in its entirety in Mandala