Martial Artist/Actor/Philantropist, Jet Li is also a Buddhist.
Martial Arts seeks to improve the body, the mind, and the spirit.
That's why this article is relevant here with regard to the spiritual leader of Buddhists, specifically Tibetan Buddhism.
This essay just might make working conditions at your job better (without a formal meeting with your boss):
His Holiness, the 17th Dalai Lama Positive Words on Work Happiness
The below is an interesting Positive & Inspirational article I excerpted from an interview conducted in 2004 by Howard C. Cutler with the Dalai Lama. The article is originally entitled, ¡§The Human Factor.¡¨
I¡¦ve made comments to it with regard to practical work situations and it really could be called ¡§The Tibetan Buddhist Spiritual Leader¡¦s Views on Happiness at the Work Place¡¨
I¡¦ve paraphrased Mr. Cutler¡¦s words at times to make it brief, but the Dalia Lama¡¦s words are all verbatim, direct quotes and are CAPITALIZED. I¡¦ve taken some parts before and after what the Dalai Lama has said out to, again, make this concise and brief, but during his quotes nothing is deleted between his words.
But if you find you have to get a job to pay the bills, or even 2 jobs and you find yourself working with sometimes ¡§difficult¡¨ or ¡§demanding employers or co-workers¡¨ while you wait your turn to be ¡§discovered¡¨.
Or, if you are an established artist working with difficult people, it¡¦s also a relevant article:
[***Numerous researchers, including sociologist¡KSheila Henderson at Stanford University in Calif., confirmed the key role of social atmosphere in employee satisfaction¡KIt is of little surprise, therefore, that in my discussions with the Dalai Lama about happiness at work, sooner or later we were bound to touch upon the subject of relationships at work¡Xthe human factor¡K¡¦THERE MAY BE MANY FACTORS OR VARIABLES THAT AFFECT THE DEGREE TO WHICH WORK CONTRIBUTES TO HAPPINESS,¡¦ the Dalai Lama began, ¡¥AND IT ALL DEPENDS ON EACH INDIVIDUAL¡¦S CIRCUMSTANCES, MAKE-UP, AND SO ON. STILL, I THINK THAT IN TALKING ABOUT WORK AND HAPPINESS, THERE ARE SOME GENERAL THINGS TO KEEP IN MIND. I THINK IT IS IMPORTANT TO REMEMBER THAT IN ALL HUMAN ACTIVITIES, WHETHER IT IS WORK OR SOME OTHER ACTIVITY, THE MAIN PURPOSE SHOULD BE TO BENEFIT HUMAN BEINGS. NOW, WHAT IS IT THAT WE ARE SEEKING IN OUR WORK, WHAT IS THE PURPOSE OF WORK? LIKE ANY OTHER HUMAN ACTIVITY, WE ARE SEEKING A SENSE OF FULFILLMENT AND SATISFACTION AND HAPPINESS. ISN¡¦T IT? AND IF WE ARE TALKING ABOUT HUMAN HAPPINESS, THEN OF COURSE HUMAN EMOTIONS COME INTO PLAY. SO WE SHOULD TAKE SPECIAL CARE TO PAY ATTENTION TO THE HUMAN RELATIONSHIPS AT WORK, HOW WE INTERACT WITH ONE ANOTHER, AND TRY TO MAINTAIN BASIC HUMAN VALUES EVEN AT WORK.¡¦
Cutler: ¡§By ¡¥Basic Human values,¡¦ you mean¡K¡¨
His Holiness: ¡§JUST BASIC HUMAN GOODNESS. BE A GOOD PERSON, A KIND PERSON. RELATE TO OTHERS WITH WARMTH, HUMAN AFFECTION, WITH HONESTY AND SINCERITY, COMPASSION¡KYOU KNOW ONE THING THAT I THINK IS CRUCIAL TO KEEP IN MIND WHEN TALKING ABOUT HUMAN VALUES, COMPASSION, AND SO ON, IS THAT THESE ARE NOT SIMPLY RELIGIOUS SUBJECTS. COMPASSION ISN¡¦T SOMETHING SACRED, NOR ARE ANGER AND HATRED CONSIDERED TO BE PROFANE JUST FROM A RELIGIOUS PERSPECTVE. THESE THINGS ARE IMPORTANT NOT BECAUSE SOME RELIGIOUS TEXT SAYS SO, BUT BECAUSE OUR VERY HAPPINESS IS DEPENDENT ON THEM. THESE STATES OF MIND-COMPASSION, HUMAN AFFECTION¡XHAVE CLEAR BENEFITS TO OUR PHYSICAL HEALTH, OUR MENTAL AND EMOTIONAL HEALTH, ALL OF OUR RELATIONSHIPS AT WORK OR AT HOME, AND EVEN ARE CRITICAL FOR THE ULTIMATE BENEFIT OF SOCIETY. THEY ARE FOR OUR OWN BENEFIT. WHEN WE CULTIVATE COMPASSION THE PRIMARY BENEFICIARY IS REALLY OURSELVES. AFTER ALL, HUMANS ARE SOCIAL ANIMALS; WE ARE BUILT TO WORK COOPERATIVELY WITH OTHERS FOR OUR SURVIVAL.L NO MATTER HOW POWERFUL A SINGLE PERSON MAY BE, WITHOUT OTHER HUMAN COMPANIONS, THAT INDIVIDUAL PERSON CANNOT SURVIVE. AND CERTAINLY WITHOUT FRIENDS HE OR SHE CANNOT LEAD A HAPPY AND FULFILLING LIFE. SO, AT WORK IF YOU HAVE A WARM HEART, HUMAN AFFECTION, YOUR MIND WILL BE CALMER AND MORE PEACEFUL, WHICH WILL GIVE YOU A CERTAIN STRENGTH, AND ALSO WILL ALLOW YOUR MENTAL FACULTIES TO FUNCTION BETTER, YOUR JUDGMENT¡¨
(My (M.B.S.¡¦s) thoughts: we¡¦re nice and friendly, and pleasant at work, mainly for our own health, but also because we understand that we can¡¦t be a lone individual person because the nature of work involves working together as a happy team.
Notice how like Tae Kwon Do Grandmaster Jhoon Rhee, the Dalai Lama mentions the ultimate basic goal of human beings is happiness--whatever we do, we do for short term or long term "happiness."
Also, if one is angry or frustrated at work, they can¡¦t think clearly, so they can¡¦t work productively. If your boss is a jerk and is mad all the time¡Xthat¡¦s his or her problem, he or she is not a good boss then, at the least, his or her productivity will decrease because of low morale. You can either take his abuse, while you find another job, or if he or she steps on your shoes really hard and treats you in a very bad way all time, then you have a right to self-defense, I think, and explain your situation in a calm, way, without raising your voice. Remember there¡¦s a time and a place for everything.)
His Holiness: ¡§...AND I THINK IF ONE MAKES A SPECIAL EFFORT TO CULTIVATE GOOD RELATIONSHIPS WITH PEOPLE AT WORK, GET TO KNOW THE OTHER PEOPLE, AND BRING OUR BASIC GOOD HUMAN QUALITIES TO THE WORKPLACE, THAT CAN MAKE A TREMENDOUS DIFFERENCE. THEN, WHATEVER KIND OF WORK WE DO, IT CAN BE A SOURCE OF SATISFACTION. THEN YOU LOOK FORWARD TO GOING TO WORK, AND YOU ARE HAPPIER THERE. YOU SAY, ¡¥OH, I¡¦M GOING TO WORK TO SEE MY FRIENDS TODAY!¡¦¡¨
His Holiness: [¡KOFTEN PEOPLE WAIT FOR THE OTHER PERSON TO MAKE THE FIRST MOVE, BUT I THINK THAT IS WRONG. THAT IS LIKE WHEN PEOPLE REMAIN NEIGHBORS FOR A LONG TIME, BUT NEVER GET TO KNOW ONE ANOTHER. SO YOU MUST TAKE SOME INITIATIVE, EVEN FROM YOUR FIRST DAY ON THE JOB, AND TRY TO SHOW SOME FRIENDSHIP TO OTHERS, INTRODUCE YOURSELF, SAY HELLO, ASK HOW LONG HAVE YOU WORKED HERE, AND SO ON. OF COURSE PEOPLE WILL NOT BE RECEPTIVE TO THAT. IN MY OWN CASE SOMETIMES I¡¦LL SMILE AT SOMEONE, AND THAT JUST MAKES THEM LOOK UPON ME WITH GREATER SUSPICION¡KSO PEOPLE MAY HAVE THEIR OWN PROBLEMS AND FRUSTRATIONS, BUT THEN DON¡¦T GIVE UP IF THEY DON¡¦T IMMEDIATELY RESPOND. TRY FOR ONE WEEK, OR ONE MONTH. EVENTUALLY YOU MAY FIND OTHERS RESPONDING. SOMETIMES I¡¦M IN A HOTEL OR SOMEWHERE AND I¡¦LL SMILE BUT THE PERSON IGNORES ME. AND IF THAT REMAINS THEIR ATTITUDE, I¡¦LL ASSUME THE SAME ATTITUDE AND IGNORE THEM¡KI GUESS THAT¡¦S JUST HUMAN NATURE. BUT IT SHOWS HOW ONE PERSON CAN INFLUENCE ANOTHER¡¦S ATTITUDE, WHICH IMPLIES THAT EVEN ONE PERSON CAN MAKE A BIG DIFFERENCE. ONE PERSON CAN CHANGE THE ATMOSPHERE OF THE WORKPLACE ENVIRONMENT. YOU CAN SEE EXAMPLES, FOR INSTANCE, OF A VERY TENSE GROUP OF COWORKERS WHO DON¡¦T GET ALONG, AND THEN A NEW EMPLOYEE SHOWS UP, ONE WHO IS WARM AND FRIENDLY, AND AFTER A WHILE THE MOOD AND ATTITUDE OF THE WHOLE GROUP CHANGES FOR THE BETTER***FOR EXAMPLE, I KNOW SOME TIBETANS WHO MOVED TO SWITZERLAND, AND WENT TO WORK IN FACTORIES THERE. AND EVEN WITHOUT KNOWING THE LANGUAGE THEY MANAGED TO MAKE FRIENDSHIPS, JUST BY SMILING AND DOING THEIR WORK SINCERELY, AND IN MAINLY NONVERBAL WAYS SHOWING THAT THEY WERE JUST TRYING TO BE HELPFUL. THERE WAS THIS ONE TIBETAN WHO WOULD EAT IN THE CAFETERIA, WHERE NORMALLY PEOPLE WOULD KEEP TO THEMSELVES, OR SIT IN SMALL GROUPS. AND ONE DAY HE DECIDED TO BUY LUNCH FOR A GROUP OF HIS COWORKERS. BEFORE THAT PEOPLE WOULD NOT ORDINARILY BUY SOMEONE LUNCH UNLESS THEY KNEW THAT PERSON VERY WELL, BUT EVEN THOUGH HE DID NOT KNOW THEM WELL HE BOUGHT THEM LUNCH. THEN THE NEXT DAY, ANOTHER PERSON BOUGHT LUNCH FOR THE GROUP TO RECIPROCATE. THEN OTHERS STARTED DOING THAT, AND SOON EACH DAY A DIFFERENT PERSON WOULD BUY LUNCH, AND THROUGH THT THEY BECAME CLOSER FRIENDS***]
Cutler: (So, no matter where we work, we¡¦ve got to find a way to get along with the people around us)
Cutler¡¦s Question to His Holiness: ¡§Some people work in a really tense environment, and may not be getting along with their coworkers. In those situations, do you have any thoughts on how to improve things?¡¨
His Holiness: ¡§THIS DEPENDS ON THE PERSON, AND THEIR CAPACITY AND WILLINGNESS TO TRY TO CONTROL THEIR OWN EMOTIONS LIKE ANGER, JEALOUSY, AND SO ON. WE SHOULD TRY OUR BEST TO ACCEPT RESPONSIBILITY FOR OUR OWN EMOTIONS, PRACTICE TOLERANCE, AND TRY TO REDUCE JEALOUSY, ALTHOUGH OF COURSE, IT ISN¡¦T ALWAYS EASY, AND PEOPLE WILL HAVE VARYING DEGREES OF SUCCESS¡¨
(My opinion, MBS: I once had a female dentist remark that she had never been to the vacation spot that I told her I was going and that she was ¡§jealous.¡¨ I wanted to remark that jealousy wasn¡¦t a good emotion, but I decided against this¡Xafter all it was at the start of my dental check up and cleaning which I get every six months, and I didn¡¦t want her to be angry at me! ƒº Anyway, people sometimes use the word jealous or try to use the emotion of jealousy a/k/a envy to motivate them. This is a sketchy area since some feel anger is also a motivating human emotion. I disagree jealousy and anger aren¡¦t good motivating forces. They are like wild animals that we want to own as house pets. I prefer to use the term ¡§constructively discontent,¡¨ or ¡§I want to be like my role model¡¨ or ¡§I want to follow his/her example.¡¨ The reason why is that with anger, one often cannot rationalize well or think straight, and with jealousy or envy, underneath it, lies anger¡Xanger at yourself for not being as good as the person you¡¦re jealous of, and anger at the person you¡¦re jealous of for being at a certain level you want to attain.)
(I hope you found this informative and beneficial, and as always, POSITIVE feedback is welcomed)
--M.B.S.
Posted on May 12, 2009, 8:44 AM from IP address 76.88.2.141