The Hindu Business Line : <I>`Start where you are' </I>

Zen practice can transform your work and life, says Marc Lesser in `Z.B.A. Zen of Business Administration' from New World Library (www.newworldlibrary.com) . The book begins with an admonition: "Don't be a board-carrying fellow." Lesser explains how this taunt, sometimes used in Zen, refers to "a carpenter carrying a long, wide wooden board on his shoulder, blocking his view in one direction."

Most of us are like that carpenter. We busy ourselves with only one side - comprising goals, achievements, money, ambition, and developing the career. "The other side, often more difficult to see, is the sacred aspect of your work, the way in which your work can expose and transform habits and patterns in your life while uncovering your authentic, compassionate, inner wisdom."

Lesser declares, "We are all Zen students, and we are all businesspeople. Our lives are messy, impossible, miraculous, mysterious, and beyond our usual explanations. There are no easy answers." So? `Start where you are,' instructs the book. "There is no such thing as work separate from your life. Work is not something you do to earn money or make a living. Everything you do is your life, your path. Your work is your path. Relationships are your path."

Lest you beat a trail to the nearest forest to find peace, Lesser reminds, "Serenity is not freedom from the storm but peace within the storm." He lists the many benefits of integrating Zen practice with work. Foremost is `increased creativity'. This happens because Zen develops a flexible and open mind. "Understanding that the world is not always what it seems fosters seeing problems and opportunities from a different perspective."

Since Zen blurs the lines between what is ordinary and what is sacred, the essence of Zen is explained in one of the mystical dialogues as `chopping wood and carrying water'. But what is so mystical and sacred about "going to meetings, writing emails, managing cash flow, and writing business plans"?

Lesser says we can change the usual context of our work lives in several ways. For instance, `we can fully accept and own where we are', because "our time at work is no different from any other time in our lives." Other enlightening tips are: to be fully ourselves at work; realising that work can be an opportunity to develop ourselves; and understanding that work itself is an expression of our true nature.

A book for the quieter moments.

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D. Murali