Can you be ambitious and lead a successful executive/wordly career and reconcile that with Buddhism?

Peace2012ca

Hi everyone,

I've always aspired to become a finance manager and am working my way up the corporate ladder. The only problem is that I am having trouble reconciling that with the Buddhist principle of "non-attachment" and renunciation. How do I reconcile the two? Do I go the Middle way? FYI, I'm not interested in becoming an arahant or non-returner. I'd just like to enjoy the passion and drive while not getting too attached. What can I do to lead a peaceful but successful life? Did the Buddha teach? I recall he had a wealthy businessman as one of his followers?

federica

Richard Gere managed it....
In a different career, mind you, I grant.
but money, success and world renown, plus great respect within the profession.


Applies....

taiyaki

It is rather simple. Practice total contentment with everything worldly.

Be utterly happy with everything worldly. That is renouncing the world.

In all actions of body, speech and mind move with compassion.

Then study the wisdom in the Buddhist traditions.

From there actively practice and engage with compassion and wisdom.

Be totally discontent with your spiritual life so that you can work hard, but be totally content with everything else.

Then you'll realize sooner or later that the worldly life and spiritual life are the same.

And actually your practice and study help you to be a better person at work and more productive. But your goal isn't anything other than cultivating your mind/body. Thus the whole work is on yourself, rather than trying to fix the world.

AMH

One thing I read many years ago (sorry do not have a reference) inspired me. I had been holding back from practice because I felt that I would become just a conformist to buddhism. The monks all appeared to have similar everything and whether I am attached or not I have a strong individual and unique personality. (I will admit to some attachment, you can't spend mostof yourlife being the oddest one in the room without coping with it)

In any case there was a story of a serious buddhist practitioner who was outstanding in his field. In the story it explained that since he was freeing himself from many things such as trying to attach to an image of himeself or worldly success or even just what others thought then he was free to just work with what fascinated him. He got fascinated in his field and excelled. the article also talked about how in many ways buddhist serious practitioners were the most unique people because they had that childlike wonder and interest. I may be putting in what I read into the article however I feel it is valid to your question.

i spend a lot of time with kids. they are just interested in what they are interested in. Often they don't care much about what others think. And they are interested in so many different things. There is (IMHO) nothing more or less buddhist in being fascinated by the workings or big finance. There is also a lot of room to do many good things in your business.

patbb

do you know Goenka Vipassana?

(they have centers all over the world offering free courses to people in case you don't know..)

anyhow the guy who started it all (Ba Khin) made his way to become a very high executive, at one point taking on many positions.

all the way to be appointed the first Special Office Superintendent of Burma

Vipassana helped him alot, freeing his mind so he could concentrated on what he was doing and do many different things without ever getting overwhelmed.

This helped so much that they started integrating vipassana practice in the offices...

do some research on him if you are interested.

jll

Cross the bridge when you come to it.
Be the finance manager.
Keep the 5 precepts if you want to.
Be ethical , be generous.
You dont want to be a non-returner?
That shouldnt be too hard to achieve.

Hi everyone,

I've always aspired to become a finance manager and am working my way up the corporate ladder. The only problem is that I am having trouble reconciling that with the Buddhist principle of "non-attachment" and renunciation. How do I reconcile the two? Do I go the Middle way? FYI, I'm not interested in becoming an arahant or non-returner. I'd just like to enjoy the passion and drive while not getting too attached. What can I do to lead a peaceful but successful life? Did the Buddha teach? I recall he had a wealthy businessman as one of his followers?

compassionate_warrior

This question has come up here before. The Buddha, I believe, encouraged people to make use of their talents and to make their best effort at whatever their chosen path in life. (Someone posted a link to scriptural material that supports that, but I don't have it handy.) Personally, I think the important thing is to share your success. Give back to the community, support charities, give of your time as well as of your good fortune. If you make it really big, consider setting up a charitable foundation for a worthy cause. Heaven knows there's desperate need in the world and here at home as never before. Rest not on your laurels, but think of those who are not so blessed, and who might need a leg-up. This is the Buddhist ideal for householders.

As for renunciation, you're not a monastic, so you don't need to be concerned about it. Use what you have wisely, and you'll have plenty left over with which to put compassion into action.

Dakini

I'm speechless. C_W stole my thunder. What he said, twice over. What more is there to say?

nigelart

Hi everyone,

I've always aspired to become a finance manager and am working my way up the corporate ladder. The only problem is that I am having trouble reconciling that with the Buddhist principle of "non-attachment" and renunciation. How do I reconcile the two? Do I go the Middle way? FYI, I'm not interested in becoming an arahant or non-returner. I'd just like to enjoy the passion and drive while not getting too attached. What can I do to lead a peaceful but successful life? Did the Buddha teach? I recall he had a wealthy businessman as one of his followers?

The Buddha didn't draw a hard, sharp wedge between moral life and good life. He said: "Be moral and virtuous without being made of morals and virtues".

Jason

Hi everyone,

I've always aspired to become a finance manager and am working my way up the corporate ladder. The only problem is that I am having trouble reconciling that with the Buddhist principle of "non-attachment" and renunciation. How do I reconcile the two? Do I go the Middle way? FYI, I'm not interested in becoming an arahant or non-returner. I'd just like to enjoy the passion and drive while not getting too attached. What can I do to lead a peaceful but successful life? Did the Buddha teach? I recall he had a wealthy businessman as one of his followers?

Perhaps you'll benefit from reading these three excerpts from the Pali Canon, which are directed more towards lay-followers:

The Sigalovada Sutta

The Adiya Sutta

The Dighajanu Sutta

It should be noted that nowhere does the Buddha ever tell his lay-followers not to wish for success or happiness. What he does do, however, is give the lay-person a set of guidelines for living in a morally skillful and prosperous way. Certain desires, like that of wanting to follow the noble eightfold path, are actually part of the path itself.

The advice the Buddha gives is to try to not be attached to these worldly gains, not forsake them altogether; and there are numerous techniques and practices throughout the Canon designed to help one develop non-attachment.

Many people mistake the Buddha's teachings as meaning they must give up everything they own, or refrain from being successful. This isn't true, however. While monastics are required to relinquish their possessions, lay-followers aren't. They're simply taught specific conducts that are in line with the Dhamma, and a business is no different. The truth is, if the accumulation of wealth is used (and accumulated) in the right way, it can be meritous! As he advised the wealthy lay-devotee Anathapindika:

"There is the case where the disciple of the noble ones — using the wealth earned through his efforts & enterprise, amassed through the strength of his arm, and piled up through the sweat of his brow, righteous wealth righteously gained — provides himself with pleasure & satisfaction, and maintains that pleasure rightly. He provides his mother & father with pleasure & satisfaction, and maintains that pleasure rightly. He provides his children, his wife, his slaves, servants, & assistants with pleasure & satisfaction, and maintains that pleasure rightly. This is the first benefit that can be obtained from wealth.

"Furthermore, the disciple of the noble ones — using the wealth earned through his efforts & enterprise, amassed through the strength of his arm, and piled up through the sweat of his brow, righteous wealth righteously gained — provides his friends & associates with pleasure & satisfaction, and maintains that pleasure rightly. This is the second benefit that can be obtained from wealth.

"Furthermore, the disciple of the noble ones — using the wealth earned through his efforts & enterprise, amassed through the strength of his arm, and piled up through the sweat of his brow, righteous wealth righteously gained — wards off from calamities coming from fire, flood, kings, thieves, or hateful heirs, and keeps himself safe. This is the third benefit that can be obtained from wealth.

"Furthermore, the disciple of the noble ones — using the wealth earned through his efforts & enterprise, amassed through the strength of his arm, and piled up through the sweat of his brow, righteous wealth righteously gained — performs the five oblations: to relatives, guests, the dead, kings, & devas. This is the fourth benefit that can be obtained from wealth.

"Furthermore, the disciple of the noble ones — using the wealth earned through his efforts & enterprise, amassed through the strength of his arm, and piled up through the sweat of his brow, righteous wealth righteously gained — institutes offerings of supreme aim, heavenly, resulting in happiness, leading to heaven, given to priests & contemplatives who abstain from intoxication & heedlessness, who endure all things with patience & humility, each taming himself, each restraining himself, each taking himself to Unbinding. This is the fifth benefit that can be obtained from wealth.

"If it so happens that, when a disciple of the noble ones obtains these five benefits from wealth, his wealth goes to depletion, the thought occurs to him, 'Even though my wealth has gone to depletion, I have obtained the five benefits that can be obtained from wealth,' and he feels no remorse. If it so happens that, when a disciple of the noble ones obtains these five benefits from wealth, his wealth increases, the thought occurs to him, 'I have obtained the five benefits that can be obtained from wealth, and my wealth has increased,' and he feels no remorse. So he feels no remorse in either case."

I hope you find some of this this helpful, and I wish you the greatest success in your endeavors.

Lady_Alison

We need good Buddhists at the top as well as the bottom.

The strong help the weak.

Peace2012ca

Thank you everyone for all of your kind responses so far. I really appreciate it and I see how one can be a Buddhist and practise finance at the same time.

@Jason - Thank you for providing the suttas. I have been particularly interested in the suttas as it relates to lay-followers. I see how leading a moral and loving life can only add to your wealth and success. Love attracts the loyalty of employees and customers. Love uses the profits generated to help people in need. Love introduces corporate social responsibility and ethical guidelines.

metta,

conradcook

My basic rule, if I were to take up finance as a profession, would be not to hurt people.

In finance, this would mean taking basic due dilligence that I'm not helping a bank sign people up for mortgages they can in now way afford, and so forth.

Most businesspeople I personally have met truly believe that business makes life better for everyone. The economist's argument: if you have a dollar, and I have some apples, and you buy some apples for the dollar -- we both walk away richer. Because I wanted the dollar more than the apples, and you wanted the apples more than the dollar.

In that sense, fair business dealing is a positive benefit.


Conrad.