The Art of Happiness at Work
His Holiness the Dalai Lama
and Howard C. Cutter, M.D.
Riverhead Books (2003)

After writing about Linchpin and while reading reading the Dalai Lama’s new book, The Art of Happiness in a Troubled World, I decided to reflect on this helpful book that I had read years ago.

Happiness is feeling in control over what you do everyday. Happiness is the freedom to do your work your own way and assuming that responsibility personally.

Your work is not your entitlement; it’s about earning through effort. If you are not satisfied with your labor, there is nothing wrong with quitting and finding a more rewarding job.

I especially enjoyed the Dalai Lama’s comments on work overload. When the Dalia Lama was asked about being overloaded with work, he said: “What do you mean?” Conscious employers have the responsibility to judge how much a person can responsibly be expected to do. Too much overload is a lack of respect or concern expressed toward the employee. As does lack of employee effort show lack of respect for one’s job and management. The Dalai Lama suggests training our minds to use human intelligence with reason and outlook, an analytical meditation on personal initiative.

The very purpose of making money is to provide ourselves with a means to accomplish something and not basing wealth on something artificial. The realization of interdependence and interconnectedness in the workplace encourages broader vision and more satisfaction. Avoiding destructive emotions, jealousy for example, encourages teamwork with the understanding that no event yields 100% satisfaction.

Linchpin and The Art of Happiness at Work emphasize the individual’s responsibility through effort to not be bored with your job. It’s our responsibility to decide the level of challenge that provides the greatest degree of growth and satisfaction. The emphasis on the flow of absorption through work as a creative art form results in more happiness.

This 365-year-old book has been a part of my life since my Dad was reading it to me when I was a small boy. I read through it a couple of times on my own as a young teenager, but it had been about ten years since then when a few weeks ago I decided it was time to revisit Miyamoto Musashi. I know that most people are familiar with Musashi and his book (I understand it’s used as a text book for many business people), but I figured I’d offer a brief rundown.

Musashi wrote this book circa 1645, and his reason for doing it was to explain the philosophy he lived out that allowed him to become the greatest swordsman in Japan. He divides the content into five books: earth, water, fire, wind and emptiness ( “void” in other translations). Each book deals with a subject that Musashi feels is critical to success. What’s so interesting about this book is Musashi’s advice to “learn 10,000 things from one”. So, it turns out that you’re not just reading a book about samurai life only, you’re actually reading a book that is applicable to any endeavor in life. It’s about the backbreaking work it takes to achieve greatness, remain undefeated, and to face battles as if you are already dead. If someone walks away from this book unchallenged or feeling as if they’ve already “arrived” then they didn’t read it. The Book of Five Rings offers a wonderful and disciplined perspective for anyone who takes the time to not only read it but to start living it. I would recommend it especially to artists who feel that they are “stuck”; it’ll definitely get you unstuck.

I wanted to blog about this book not only because of its personal interest to me, but also because the copy that I got from Lemuria was a translation of it that I had never read before. This translation varies from my previous experiences with The Book of Five Rings in that includes an excellent introduction to Zen, Bushido and Heiho as well as a commentary before each book that gives historical context and defines unfamiliar terms. The translation work was done by Nihon Services Corporation; I had a better sense of understanding the context with this version.

-Hunter

This book is not about Buddhism as a religion or a way of life. The Dalai Lama is not interested in converting readers of this book to Buddhism. However, The Leader’s Way is about the application of some fundamental concepts of Buddhism into business decisions.

Good decision making and mental exercises improve the performance of the mind. Leader’s Way gives helpful ideas about how to recognize negative emotions as they begin to influence your mind. Being aware of constant change at an early stage can help to avoid negative cycles of thought. Every circumstance and every decision create change, providing the opportunity to change the direction of one’s thoughts. Right view followed by right conduct should lead to correct decisions and more success.

Leader’s Way is a discussion about integrating capitalism and Buddhism. The Dalali Lama seems to migrate from his pro-socialistic viewpoint into another place of pro-capitalism, developing an understanding that investments are necessary to create prosperity. Investments require capital, and thereby satisfying the need for capital is important. He promotes capital as a means, not an end, fostering responsible capitalism or a responsible free market economy. Leader’s Way is a fresh, light read, an enjoyable business book. The Dalai Lama provides alternative business concepts for small and large businesses which lead to conscientious yet profitable business decisions.

Other Dalai Lama Business-reading titles:

The Art of Happiness at Work (2003)

Ethics for the New Millenium(1999)