Several messages in this thread have nicely commented on the connections
between organizational learning and some of the experience-based
religions, such as Buddhism. To the extent Buddhist practice involves
being aware and mindful of the real nature of things, then the learning
disciplines of mental models and systems thinking certainly seem like
close cousins.
As I followed this thread over the past weeks my interest in Buddhism was
rekindled. I looked over the collection of books about Buddhism I
acquired when working on consulting assignments with companies in Japan
and Thailand. But, as many of you well know, the kind of understanding
that comes from reading about something, and the understanding arising
from practicing it, are often worlds apart.
Finding a zen master, and becoming more disciplined about meditation don't
seem in the cards for the near-term, but I did find a back door that might
be useful for others interested in Buddhism and its connections with
organizational learning.
An earlier message mentioned the book: "Living Buddha, Living Christ" by
Thich Nhat Hanh (Riverhead/Berkley 1997 paperback). It's a wonderful
introduction to Buddhism for those, like me, who have been more rooted in
a Christian tradition. Nhat Hanh, a Vietnamese monk living in France,
draws many parallels between experience-based Christian beliefs and common
Buddhist practices. He does it in a way that a reader, already rooted in
one of these, can easily make the connections with the other - at least it
worked that way for me. He also seems very aware of the dangers of overly
stretching the comparison, and it makes it clear he is not writing to
encourage people to abandon their own traditions, but to use Buddhist
practice as a way to rediscover the values in these traditions.
Reading Thich Nhat Hanh hasn't made me a practicing Buddhist. But he has
opened a path of shared experience that has made it much easier to
appreciate its nature, and to see more of its connection to the
disciplines of the learning organization.
Bob Tomasko
RMTomasko@aol.com
--Learning-org -- An Internet Dialog on Learning Organizations For info: <rkarash@karash.com> -or- <http://world.std.com/~lo/>