Does Buddhism have any teaching about management?

Answer
by Venerable Dhattajeevo Bhikku 

Actually the worldly books of management are not bad, but they are still imperfect. Why is it called imperfect? Because the main purpose of worldly management is success; namely, their main goal is self advantage.

 

When people’s main goal is their self advantage, they will pay attention only to material and forget about heart and soul. Since they care only for their own success, and most people care for richness and fame, they will not care about people, because they care only for the richness and fame of themselves. This is how the worldly books teach about management in the present time.

 

But our Lord Buddha knew the actual aim of human being. We were born actually to make merit, to pursue perfection, to improve ourselves and to solve the mistakes we have made over lives. These mistakes should be all solved in this life and while we are still earning a living. And certainly, living earning causes us to manage our works.

 

While earning our living, we should better take this chance to improve ourselves and to do good deeds for our own immunity. To say easily, in Buddhism’s idea, the main reasons people were born are to pursue perfection, to do good deeds and to improve themselves, but the richness or the worldly success are only extra. The Lord Buddha looked at the world and people in this way.

 

Therefore, he taught us not to place our minds to only material stuff or our own sakes or any other material usage while we are working, but we should also think about people and the material and ideal usage of all of us. Ideal usage improves our behavior, and then our merit will grow bigger.

By this vision and hope that we could do the thing he wished, he gave us a suggestion to do whatever work or management that were not immoral, it doesn’t matter if that work is for our own business, for an organization, for a big company or for the country, but we have to be well aware that every work had to increase the morality of ourselves, our co-workers, our society and our countries without destroying the environment. This is the main purpose of management that Buddhists have been taught since their very young age.

 

Since we have been trained this way, sometimes we forget to improve technological system or produce new technology for management. For that, we sometimes leave the material management behind, yet the ideal one has such a big progress, i.e. we have good wills for others at work; namely, we are generous and have mercy on our co-worker in the same time. Whoever who is in trouble will be helped, and will not be easily neglected. Moreover, he will be taken good care until the end.

 

Furthermore, we should make unity in the countries and our groups while working. We will gain merit while being generous, and we should also ask people to do the good deeds. Participating Thod Pha Pa Ceremony (The ceremony of offering pick up robes and others to Buddhist monks), joining Kathina Ceremony (Annual ceremony of presenting yellow robes to Buddhist monks) and building public utility are examples. The richness and the success we receive can be a base of doing good deeds. We should use the richness we have for performing an act of merits, and take the hard work we do to increase the mercy we have on people and the stableness of our minds. Getting these things is more worthy than such countless costly treasure.

 

Hence, I’d like to ask every show viewer to always increase the morality in mind no matter what work you do or how you manage your work. Don’t let the morality be neglected and do not take any chance to go to the hell. Sometimes it might cost some more money and some of your vigor while increasing the morality, but if it doesn’t give you any disadvantage, compared to higher level of virtue we will get, it’s worthwhile. Then you will be successful over lives.