We have to look at what kind of human power or economic power in our approach to business will produce genuine accomplishment. First, we need to consider the question of value, in terms of richness, poverty, and politics.

There is one value system that is workable and helpful, without question. The basis of the approach to business, in this case, is to relate with your everyday life situation and with the economy as neither a burden nor a promise. Rather, you feel a sense of duty, from the point of view of the bodhisattva ideal of putting others before yourself.

You think in terms of providing resources for yourself and for others. You accommodate all sorts of people, and you employ them in your company. The basis of this approach is bravery, which is also connected with the basic Buddhist vision of helping others.

From “Business Ethics,” in Work, Sex, Money: Real Life on the Path of Mindfulness, page 178.

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