From SGI USA, I'm Cassidy Bradford and this is "Bootability." The weekly series where I talk with Buddhists from all walks of life about the power we each have to change our lives in the world around this. I don't know what it's like in your social circles right now, but a lot of my friends are in big career moments. Things are thinking about making career changes, like getting out of an industry they've been in for a while, while others are thinking about how they can take their career to the next level. And of course, some are just unhappy with their jobs and want to get out, but don't really know where they want to go next. Today's episode is for anyone wanting to see some kind of movement in their career. You'll have three questions that you can ask yourself as you try and navigate whatever career moment you're in. So the first thing to ask yourself is whether the job you have or want creates value. And when you hear the word value, the first thing that comes to mind could be monetary value. But the SGI Neutron Buddhist perspective is that there are three kinds of value, beauty, benefit, and good. This actually comes from the Buddhist philosopher and educator, Tsune Saburo Makaguchi. Mr. Makaguchi developed this philosophy of value, which says that the three values of beauty, benefit, and good must all be present to create the utmost value. So in the context of work, we can think about it like this. Beauty is a job that we really enjoy. Benefit is personal gain, so a job that makes us enough money. And good is work that contributes to society in some way. But it might be hard to find a job that has all three. For example, maybe you have a job with incredible pay and benefits, but you hate doing it. That job has benefit, but not beauty. Or you could have a job that you enjoy beauty and contributes to society, good, but doesn't pay you enough to live, benefit. In your own life, you or people you know probably have experienced the struggle to find all three. Especially in today's economy, many folks have to focus on just the financial aspects. And it can be hard to find a job so the mentality could be, "I'll just take whatever I can get." For folks in those cases, Jose Tota, a Buddhist philosopher, said, "In times such as these, young people should not be discouraged. Just put all your energy into your present job and become an indispensable person there." By chanting earnestly and continuing to strive your hardest, not letting disagreeable tasks or assignments deter you, you will eventually find a job that you enjoy, offers financial security, and produces good for society. This is the benefit of faith. And that's not all. When you look back at your less than satisfactory jobs, you'll find that none of your hard work was wasted, and that it has all become a valuable asset for you. People come to understand that everything had meaning. I can assure you of this from my own experience. Our faith is expressed in our lives and in society. That is the power of Buddhism. Mr. Tota often encouraged people to become indispensable at their work. The Buddhist philosopher, Disachwikata, expanded on this, saying, "Instead of moaning that a job differs from what you'd like to be doing, become a first-class individual at that job. This will open the path leading to your next phase in life, during which you should also continue doing your best. Such continuous efforts are guaranteed to land you a job that you like that supports your life and that allows you to contribute to society." Then when you look back later, you will see how all your past efforts have become precious assets in your ideal field. You will realize that none of your efforts and hardships have been wasted. So with that, the second thing to ask yourself is whether you're winning where you are right now. If we know that we don't want to stay in our current job, it can be tempting to do the bare minimum. And I don't know about you, but when I've slowly sunk into that feeling, giving less and less of my effort, the worst I felt about work. But once I decided to do my best, the work actually became much more enjoyable in a dialogue between Disacquicada and a group of young people. One person asked for advice about how they should handle realizing that their dream job isn't actually their dream job. Maybe you went to graduate school for social work and realized you really do not want to become a social worker or you thought you'd love being an accountant. But the day-to-day reality is not what you expected. To this, Ikeida said, "Once you have decided on a job, I hope you will not be the kind of people who quit at the drop of a hat and are always insecure and complaining." Nevertheless, if after you've given it your all, you decide that your job isn't right for you and you move on, that's perfectly alright. My concern is that you don't forget you are responsible for your environment when you make your decision. Taking your place as a member of society is a challenge. It is a struggle to survive. But wherever you are is exactly where you need to be, so you must strive there to the best of your ability. A tree doesn't grow strong in tall within one or two days. In the same way, successful people didn't get to where they are in only one or two years. This applies to everything. There is a saying that urges us "excel at something." It is important to become trusted by others wherever you are to shine with excellence. Sometimes, people may dislike their job at first, but grow to love it once they become serious about doing their best. What one likes one will do well goes another saying. Growing to like your job can also enable you to develop your talent. Once you have decided to work at a certain place, it is important that you pursue the path you have chosen without being discouraged or defeated, so that you will have no regrets over making that choice. So if you are in the midst of that kind of struggle, you should first challenge yourself to do your best right where you are. Luckily, we can chant "Namyo Hodeingekyo" to someone the life force needed to excel wherever we are. As you chant to give your all to your job, you might see that you are unhappy at work because of a difficult coworker or a task made you feel incapable. As you work to transform those circumstances, you become stronger and more joyful. Then, once you have changed your relationship with that coworker or realized you are capable enough to do that project, you can see clearly whether it was the job that wasn't the right fit, or your state of life, an attitude that was causing this suffering. By winning exactly where we are, we can become stronger people, the kind of person that can enjoy most jobs, or tackle difficult work situations with confidence and ease. This applies even to jobs we are really excited about. Sometimes we get the job and realize it's a lot harder than we anticipated. Chip Grossman of LA shared how Buddhism helped him give his all to his new job, one where he felt major and poster syndrome. I think the reason I was able to grind so hard in that 100 days was because it wasn't just about getting a job. There was also a degree of wanting to demonstrate that this practice was actually legit and put it to the full test. Seceding in this endeavor meant more than just a personal win. It also relates to a much broader topic of how does one individual's success and happiness relate to the bigger picture of world evolution and world peace. I got this perspective from the Buddhist philosopher, Vesaklikeda, where he says, "In order to become dispensable people at work and win the trust of our colleagues, we need to have the faith of one and work as hard as three." That was the mentality that I was trying to lean into here. If this Buddhist philosophy is correct, then if I'm consistently practicing, I'm going to get a win here for sure. It helped me build a business. I know that, but this one feels actually possible. I get the entry-level job, no background in tech, and it was just hard to believe. Having that approach, I got to grind it out here. There was definitely a sense of, "I knew I had to do the work of three, and I knew that my mentality would be the hardest worker in the room. I need to put in more elbow grease, more sweat than the next person who's trying to get this job." The Buddhist perspective on everything is to win in your current situation rather than avoiding it or running away. Akeda says, "People often tend to think of happiness as something abstract and removed from their present realities. They imagine, for example, that they would be happier if they could move to another place, or that they would enjoy more comfortable and pleasant lives if they could change jobs." They always feel that the grass is greener on the other side and place their hopes on a change of external circumstances. Young people are particularly susceptible to this tendency. However, we all have different missions to fulfill in life, and different places where we need to live to fulfill them. who decide to put down solid roots
where they are and continue to live their lives with perseverance and hope, while struggling with reality will be victors in life. It's important not to live aimlessly, lacking any clear purpose. I therefore say to you, "Dig beneath your feet. There you will find a spring, and live in a way that is true to yourself." If you're stuck feeling the grass would be greener on the other side, the last thing to ask is whether you're seeking happiness outside yourself. Some people have their dream jobs, but are actually quite miserable. Speaking to this, Ikeita wrote, "Some people work for famous companies and enjoy a prestige that many envy yet are always being shouted at by their superiors, are left exhausted from heavy workloads, and feel no sense of joy or fulfillment in life." This does not lie in outward appearances or in vanity. It is a matter of what we feel inside. It is a deep resonance in our lives. I would venture therefore that the first condition for happiness is fulfillment. To be filled each day with a rewarding sense of exhilaration and purpose, a sense of tasks accomplished and deep fulfillment. People who feel this way are happy. Those who have this sense of satisfaction, even if they are extremely busy, are much happier than those who have free time on their hands, but feel empty inside. Getting a prestigious job doesn't guarantee happiness. Even if you finally reach your dream destination, that doesn't mean that there won't be hard days. So it's crucial that we have a solid life state where we're unsuited by both the good and bad that might happen moment to moment. Buddhism teaches that happiness lies in fully exerting ourselves wherever we are. Jason Kim of Queen's New York struggled with his boss. But through applying these principles to his daily work, he became more joyful and everything shifted. One thing I realized was I wasn't really listening to my boss, but he was always the one who was trying to support me, trying to help me to be a better fit, good therapist, you know, because I didn't know anything. I just came here, but I was so arrogant. I know everything. I just graduated. I remember everything. Yeah, and then I started to listen to it. Yeah. And then, you know, and I found myself really just like improving so quickly after I decided to really listen to him and really just work with him. My mentor, Kira Daisaku, yeah, read this on, you know, in one of his books, like we just have to go all out, whatever you're doing. And when it comes to like mastering time, you know, we all have 24 hours, but it's not about the number, you know, one minute, two minutes, but it is about the moment. At this moment, just do your best, give it all out. Okay, I'm going to go all out at work. Yeah, no whole bag. And then I, you know, decided to get to work like 30 minutes early. I was always on the dot, you know, have everything just like ready, wait for my boss. There was my first plan, okay, I'm going to do that. And really just creep my boss, really respect him, respect him like, hey, how are you? Good morning, you know, I'm so excited to work today. And that really actually made me excited. I just joyfully worked a lustrous time. Always I had fun talking with my patients, you know, you're like, oh, we're at seven, oh, we're at eight. I got to go home now. I wouldn't mind working more even though I don't get paid like over time. You didn't matter because I was still grateful at work. And he started to see me changing, I think too. Yeah, I mean, he never told me that, but I think. And then last year I got a raise and then I got promoted to like a minjure of position. So, practice was a moment, you know, that I was able to show the extra proof. Yeah, I really just applied the concept of this Buddhism to my daily life. To recap, wherever you're at in your career journey, you can ask yourself these three things. One, does the job I have or want create value, meaning beauty, benefit and good? Two, am I doing my best where I am right now? Three, am I looking externally for my happiness? In the world we live in today, jobs can be a major source of stress, but they can also be a catalyst for our growth, happiness and fulfillment. So the next time you sit down to chant, you can reflect on these three questions and strive to create value when where you are and cultivate absolute happiness. If you'd like to get connected with a local Buddhist community, you can reach out to us at
[email protected]. Until next time, thanks for listening.
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