Doing Good Work

   I have noticed how hard it can be to "objectively" evaluate whether a job I have performed has an impact on others. It's one thing to do as we are being told in the office, but how do we know that the tasks we have performed have made an impact? I was thinking about this after watching a video by Master Sheng Yen during our Sunday morning meditation, in which he spoke about how too much greed for status and  position in the workplace can cause us to take on positions that we don't deserve or weren't properly earned,  particularly when someone more talented and able than ourselves could have occupied this position that we have taken. I wondered: if this is the case, can we ever truly "measure" effort? It's tough to say at times, and I often feel that people simply have different talents. Also, sometimes the person who lands the job isn't necessarily the most "qualified", but may certainly be the most liked within a circle of co-workers. So, how can we assure that truly good work is being recognized?

   Perhaps the most important part of working life is that it is a kind of training, similar to that of the Six Paramitas in Mahayana Buddhism. If we think of work in terms of the Six Paramitas, we may be able to see work itself as a form of mind discipline. The Six Paramitas could be translated in the workplace as follows:

1) Generosity: the passion to go "above and beyond" when performing one's task. Seeing the big picture and assessing whether and to what extent the work one is doing benefits others and is "smart work"--meaning, does it save the company's money and time, or does it merely expend energy and personnel on something of little impact and significance?

2) Precepts: Doing one's work honestly and ethically. Not cheating the company by behaving carelessly and in a distracted manner, but putting all of one's attention to the goodness of a piece of work. Acknowledging the moral impact of good craftsmanship as a way of strengthening social bonds through mutual trust in the quality of what one delivers. Not harming others through shoddy or oppressive work dynamics. Harmonizing with co-workers

3) Patience: Accepting the possibility of failure. Forbearance in the face of unrewarding or tedious tasks that end up being for the benefit of the final result. Tolerating periods of uncertainty when the final value of a work is not fully known or might bear fruit at a more distant time. Knowing that good ideas don't develop overnight but take time and cooperation from many stakeholders.

4) Diligence.  Simply, working hard! Putting one's effort into the work itself.

5) Meditation: Single-minded and calm devotion to being present. Having a non-dualistic and present-moment orientation to the process of doing work

6) Wisdom: Recognizing that work is not a formula but a guideline for creating good and valuable things. Ability to work with ambiguity and remain focused on the bigger picture. Not attaching to views and allowing for multiple perspectives in the workplace.

This six paramitas model for doing good work could perhaps be made into a book!!