Work as a Spiritual Practice:
A Practical Buddhist Approach to Inner Growth and Satisfaction on the Job
by Lewis Richmond

Reviewed by David Rouse

Booklist
Jan 1, 1999
p.810

COPYRIGHT 1999 American Library Association

            Richmond, Lewis. Work as a Spiritual Practice: A Practical Buddhist 
            Approach to Inner Growth and Satisfaction on the Job. Feb. 1999. 
            
            The principles of the Protestant ethic and its message that work is 
            good played a role in helping capitalism gain a foothold at the 
            start of this century. As the century ends, Richmond's message is 
            that we should embrace Buddhist tenets to help transform free-market 
            capitalism, "the most dominant system of human commerce," to include 
            spiritual as well as material values. Richmond lauds the empowering 
            aspects of capitalism and says the free-market system "brings out 
            the best" in people. He acknowledges, however, that it sometimes 
            also brings out the worst, but that Buddhism can help reconcile this 
            contradiction. After Sausalito-based Richmond lost his job as 
            executive vice-president for catalog merchandiser Smith & Hawken, he 
            started his own company producing inventory-management software. He 
            is also an ordained disciple of Buddhist teacher Shunryu Suzuki, 
            heads a meditation group, and cofounded the Buddhist Business guild 
            of San Francisco. Here he explains what "spiritual practice" is and 
            details the four sectors of the "Energy Wheel," showing how "to move 
            around and through" conflict, inspiration, accomplishment, and 
            stagnation.