I’m building a good business people network. Could you please give me a suggestion?

Answer
by Venerable Dhattajeevo Bhikku 

May I rejoice in your merit. Let’s see what the problem of Thailand’s economics is. It is that Thais or Thai businesspeople don’t like to build a network. Instead of building a network of the people from the same business, they persecute each other; for example, dumping market; and that begets ruin of national economics. Why does it happen? It’s because their main purpose is their own advantage. It’s the business of narrow-minded people.

Narrow-minded people cannot build good people network, why? Because their main purpose is their own usage. So I’d like to rejoice in the merit from your idea to build a good businesspeople network. To build it, the important thing you need to do is practicing yourself to be far-sighted. This word stated here doesn’t mean you have to wear eye glasses, but your vision needs to be far enough to see things over lives, not only in this life. You need to perceive that we were born in this life to pursue perfection, to do good deeds, to conquer defilements and to brighten the path to Nirvana. Anyhow, on the way of perfection pursuance, we still need to earn a living, but you need to hold the careers and business as a pass-way, not the life’s purpose.

Business is not our life’s purpose, but a pass-way. It’s only an equipment to pursue perfection and an equipment to conquer defilements. If we can look at it in this way with your big heart and far sight, and be well aware that we were born to pursue perfection, we shouldn’t take the business network we are building as a capital collection, but a gather of good people and perfection pursuer.

Therefore, it doesn’t matter if the people in the network are running the same business or not, but they have to have Samma-Acheewa(right livelihood); namely, the careers that are not prohibited. The prohibited careers are; for instance, brothel business, alcohol business, weapon business. But we will gather only the people with right livelihood in our business network or perfection pursuer network. This is the first one.

The second one is the condition of this network, i.e. the ones who become members of the network, must not be involved with drugs at all.

The third one is every member needs to hold precepts and moralities. If someone cannot hold precepts, he cannot go along with the other members since this is the network of perfection pursuers. While working and helping each other, when we have a chance, we need to assist societies; for example, to support religions, and do good deeds and merits. By this way, merit and perfection of yours will grow big, and then when we join an organization or a network, we have to look at these conditions.

1. Since we, no matter how, have to spend money for investment, we should assist the people in network.

2. We shall exchange the knowledge and skills we have, and don’t forget to share our goodness, i.e. Dhamma, meditation technique, Dhamma attaining technique, precept observance technique from day by day, month by month, year by year, and other meditation techniques. These are capital of internal wealth, not external wealth.

If you can do this way, the whole country will be full of good people networks and good businesspeople networks, and then it wouldn’t be difficult to collect big amounts of capital; when it happens, Thailand’s money wouldn’t be taken by foreigners, and our economics wouldn’t be injured. I’d like to rejoice in your good deeds. Let’s build it real fast, and be pjKjerous.