Dear Friends,
It has become increasingly difficult to find “bookworms” who read books. Thanks to communication revolution and digital technology. We all sit in front of TV and spend almost all our leisure time. What is pleasant to eyes may not be pleasant to brain. The idiot box has killed our reading habits and our creativity. The Internet revolution has helped us to have as much information as possible at the click of the mouse, but has crippled our writing habits. It also has successfully destroyed our reading habits.
The Book Bees is a small step to get connected to people who read books. Let us read books and spread this culture among children, our future hopes of our nation for their own sake. Just as efforts are being made to spread the awareness of green movement, we may need to spread the culture of reading among our children. Perhaps, we may declare one day as Books Reading Day, so that the habit of reading would not be declared as “Classic”.
The sad part is declining trend among many of us to read even good magazines with cultural, moral and ethical values. These values are very important in the light of what we see all around the world.
Let us spread the awareness among the people the importance of reading books.
Wishing you all the best,
S A SRINIVASA SARMA
5A 606 DIVYA SHAKTI APTS, AMEERPET, HYDERABAD-500016
sas_sarma@yahoo.com| TITLE OF THE BOOK: What would Buddha do at Work? |
| AUTHORS: Franz Metcalf & Gallagher Hateley |
| PUBLISHERS: Tata Mcgraw-Hill Publishing Company Ltd |
| PAGES: 170 |
| REVIEWED BY: S.A.SRINIVASA SARMA |
ABOUT THE AUTHORS: Franz Aubrey Metcalf received his doctorate from the Universtiy of Chicago. The author of “What Would Buddha do?” and co-author of Buddhist Spirituality, he works with the Forge Institute for Spirituality and Social Change and teaches in Los Angeles California
BJ Gallagher Hateley is an accomplished management consultant and workshop leader who has worked with many corporate clients as well as professional associations, nonprofit groups, and government agencies. She is co-author of the International bestseller “A Peacock in the Land of Penguins
CLASSIFICATION OF THE BOOK UNDER REVIEW: “What would Buddha do at work” is neither a fiction nor a serious thriller. The authors have raised 101 questions and dilemmas in work place which they related with the teachings of Buddha for finding solutions. Jack Hawley, the author of “Reawakening The Spirit in Work and The Bhagavad Gita A walkthrough for Westerners” has said, “Don’t be fooled by the title. This is not a mere philosopher’s book-It’s a down-to-earth handbook for living a more graceful and successful life at work. You can’t get more real than work-and you won’t find higher ideas than these guide to you”
This book should be read by one and all, those who are interested in solving problems as well as those not interested in facing issues. It is for those who want to act as well as those who want to be idle. One should give a chance to oneself to read this book.
THESIS STATEMENT: This book is full of quotes and some of the quotes are sufficient to convey the message and hint at solutions for problems we confront daily in our work and home environment.
As a solid rock doesn’t quaver in the win,
So the wise are moved by neither praise nor blame.
The wise person, who hurries when it’s time to hurry,
And who slows down when slowness is the
Thing, is deeply happy because he’s got priorities in line.
Strive to make your day productive
Whether in little things or big.
Every day and every night
Bring you closer to your death.
You must walk; Buddhas just show the path.
The beauty of this book lies in the ability of the authors to quote appropriate messages from Buddhism and relate them to our working environment to prove that spirituality can be applied in all walks of life, especially in the modern era of management.
The beauty of Buddha’s reaching is how they always return our attention to us, to our minds. This book is not for those who would “put their faith and future in others’ hands”. The Buddha’s messages are for those who believe, “If I own the problem, I also own the solution’, I create my own future, through my thinking, my decisions, my actions, and my attitude”
In this book the authors had applied Buddha’s words to every phase of work. This book is meant for all, who “may be shaky in marshalling the many strengths your work demands. You may be looking for new solutions to old problems.”
CRITICAL COMMENTS:
Due to recession, everyone’s dilemma is how to choose the right career or job. This question is very important and needs to be answered so that one can pursue Right Livelihood. The author has quoted Zen Teacher Bankel:
A birdcatcher asked the Teacher, “My family’s always been bird catchers. If we stop, we’ll starve. But doing this (evil) work, can I still reach Buddhahood?”
The teacher answered, “The mind goes to hell, not the body. So when you kill a bird, take your mind and kill it too.”.
Every organisation expects the employees to work for the betterment of the organisation and for creation of wealth. The authors have quoted from Digha Nikaya: “A good employee serves her employer in five ways: by getting up and starting work before her; by stopping after her; by taking from her employer only what is given; by striving to do her work well; and by upholding her employer’s name”.
This holds good for us for all the roles we play in our life. On the other hand while talking about a terrible boss, the authors have a novel suggestion, “If you want to be a good student of Buddha and are willing to take on a difficult learning assignment, we have a radical suggestion:”love your terrible boss. He’s anasty teacher, but he can teach you lessons your friends never can.”
To become a great employer, Buddha has suggested: “A employer ministers to her servants and employees in five ways: by assigning them work they can manage; by giving them food and money; by supporting them in sickness; by sharing special delicacies and by granting them leave when appropriate”. It is amazing that Buddha has given so much of material for all of us to ruminate and apply in our life, when management was unknown in those days.
I can quote endlessly from this book. Then the purpose of review of this book would not be serve in any way. It is my desire that you should read. An incentive for reading is that it deals with all dilemmas one faces in life.
Please read this book, apply it in your office and at home. Tell others if you enjoy the book and send an email to
sas_sarma@yahoo.com
