His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama has done more for peace on Earth than just about anyone in recent history. He has been awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for his total commitment to non-violently resisting the Chinese invasion of his country. He has been awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor as well as receiving countless honorary university degrees for working towards peace. His message has touched millions of people around the world.
The Dalai Lama and Tibet have been in the media again this week due to the riots taking place in the lead up to the Chinese Olympics. With this in mind I thought we might take a look at some of the Dalai Lama’s teachings and apply them to our work lives.
What the Dalai Lama can show you about peace at work
1. Working towards happiness
“Happiness is not something ready made. It comes from your own actions.” – the Dalai Lama
We all want to be happy at work. We all want to work in an environment where we feel at peace with the work and the people. But a situation like this does not just arise out of thin air. We have to work towards it. It is unreasonable to expect everyone around us to be happy and joyful as if we are living in some god realm. Instead we have to work towards happiness by being a living example for others to follow.
How can we have peace at work if our own actions are not peaceful?
2. Kindness
“Be kind whenever possible. It is always possible.” – The Dalai Lama
This quote is very important. Kindness is always possible. Even when we feel like we have been wronged and hard done by we have room to be kind. The Dalai Lama had his country stolen from him and his people murdered but he still continues to promote peace and non violence. Surely we can take a lesson from this and solve our petty work disputes with kindness?
3. Being helpful
“If you can, help others; if you cannot do that, at least do not harm them” – the Dalai Lama
Quite often at work we are placed in a team where we have to get things done together. Despite this team environment we develop a spirit of competition and one-ups-man-ship where we try to get the promotion or praise ahead of our workmates.
Instead the Dalai Lama often talks about helping others instead of helping yourself. By doing this you will achieve a sense of self satisfaction as well as making someone else feel happy. This leaves both yourself and others feeling a sense of peace. This is especially true if others start to follow your lead.
4. Mindful words
“Sometimes one creates a dynamic impression by saying something, and sometimes one creates as significant an impression by remaining silent.” – the Dalai Lama
Our speech can do a lot of good or a lot of harm. This quote looks at how we need to measure what we say and be very mindful of when we say it. A comment made at the wrong time can hurt someone’s feelings and cause them to develop resentment towards you or your work team. On the other hand, praise can really encourage someone to become a better worker and cause them to develop trust and kind feelings towards you.
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Originally posted on March 20, 2008 @ 5:22 am
