We can't find the internet
Attempting to reconnect
Something went wrong!
Hang in there while we get back on track. If this problem persists help us by reporting it so we can investigate it.
Watch this talk
Login or create a free account to watch this talk and discover other teachings from Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh.
Log in or create an account
Business Retreat
The practice of non-attachment to views begins with deep listening and deep looking: when we hear an opposite opinion, we empty ourselves of our notions so that the other view can penetrate. The koan of Joshu’s “no,” Thay’s refusal to identify as “Buddhist” at Columbia and as “North” or “South” in Philadelphia all uproot rigid concepts (even “everyone has Buddha nature”) and touch the absolute reality free from ideas. In Plum Village, ordination and decisions arise from the Sangha’s collective insight—each member taking refuge in the Sangha’s eyes and ears rather than in a fixed view.
In business and family life, we model ourselves on Avalokiteshvara—one thousand eyes, one thousand ears, one thousand arms—by extending the bodhisattva’s compassionate listening and loving speech outward. The three-phase method of interbeing:
- Return to yourself (①) to restore well-being, harmony and joy.
- Bring that wholeness to your family (②).
-
Extend it to your enterprise (③) through research & development (R + D) into human conditions.
Thay cites ENI under Bernabè—135 000 workers, 335 companies, transformed from a $ 554 million annual loss in 1992 to $ 3 billion profit in 1997 by rooting out corruption and promoting hidden talent—as an example of how deep listening, collaborative insight and compassion-driven motivation (rather than fame, power or profit alone) bring right view, right thinking and right action, transforming competition into collaboration and cultivating real social change.