Job Karma

As much as we would like to keep a nice job that matches our strength, experiences, needs, wants and interests, it is as hard as or even harder than finding an ideal soul mate. While we each have our own criteria we use while choosing our jobs, employers have their own. Even if we have temporarily secured a job, the terms and conditions of the position are ever-changing due to factors such as the business operation, the economic situation, and the environment. There are too many variables to watch and control. Almost everybody has experienced endless frustration in trying to land a steady, sound, promising and dignified job. For some, it is a tough task even to grab any job at all. The ball, seemingly, is by no means in our hand.

The wounded economy has made keeping a stable and decent job even more challenging. The job market has been affected the most, and has been drastically cut without mercy. The meager job positions available are far less than enough to go around. Tens of thousands of workers are being laid off. The luckier ones still get to keep their jobs but don’t know when it will be their turn to lose them. Facing this impact head on but helplessly and defensively, many of us have started to realize how feeble and incompetent we are when our job karma is being played out.

Our bad karma in our jobs looks so abstract and overwhelming that we seem to have no control over it. The truth is, we can treat it as a springboard to advancing in our jobs. The key is how earnestly we want to eradicate our bad job karma, transcend it and bid it good-bye for good. We absolutely hold the power, the wisdom and the means to turn this poison into medicine, because we practice Nichiren Buddhism.

A successful fishery exporter in Taiwan once shared his trial-and-error experience in exporting mackerel to Japan. His first few shipments were total disasters. Each time, all the mackerel had died en route. Knowing that mackerel were energetic and active, he had immediately increased their food supply, pumped more oxygen into the enlarged fish tanks and filled the tanks with perfectly conditioned water in preparation for the next shipment, but the improvements did not help much. Then, an experienced friend suggested that he put some catfish into the tanks with the mackerel. “Catfish are the mortal rival to mackerel. Wouldn’t they eat up all my merchandise?” he wondered.

In fact, the presence of catfish placed the mackerel on high alert, forcing them to stay in constant motion in order to quickly dart away from their predators when being attacked. Due to such life-threatening urgency, the mackerel were able to manifest enough of their potential energy to stay strong. Thus, according to the fishery exporter, most of the mackerel arrived safe and sound, except those few that were weak in body and mind, and lacking in fighting spirit.

It was a military strategy in old times to deploy troops in such a way as to leave no room to maneuver and no route for escape, so that the soldiers would fight desperately for their lives and eventually win the battle.

Don’t the above two examples demonstrate that a crisis can be our turning point to success? There’s no better time than this moment to shake up and turn our bad job karma into good. If we are out of work, our job is to get ourselves into high gear for a victorious strike back. We have all the time we need at our disposal. If we are constantly in fear of losing our jobs or feeling unhappy and depressed by our unfit jobs, we can spur ourselves into working for future promotion. Coping with it indomitably, we can use the frustration to strengthen our determination.
Buddhism teaches the law of simultaneity of cause and effect. But it is cause that triggers the birth of effect. Effect can’t come about without cause being made first. In other words, cause must precede effect. The beauty of it is that we can maneuver and reap the benefits we want by sowing the right seeds. In this case, we can and must make good causes that generate the kind of good effect or good karma that we desire.

On May 21st, 2001, President Ikeda spoke about “The Force of People Awakened”. He shared Mr. Toda’s fervent wish for the student division members:
“At the student division’s inaugural meeting, Mr. Toda said to the 500 bright young people assembled, ‘It is my wish that half of you will become company directors and the other half will earn doctorates.’ These are well-known words.”
In President Ikeda’s novel “The New Human Revolution” v. 1 p. 60, he thus encouraged Riki, the newly appointed first Young Men’s Division District Chief in Hawaii:
“Riki, to gain trust in society, it is first important to succeed on your job. That is the foundation for everything. To do so, you will naturally have to work twice as hard as those around you. You will also need to activate your wisdom by consistently chanting daimoku…

When you make kosen-rufu your life’s objective and pray to excel at your work in order to show proof of that goal’s validity, you will be opening the way for your own victory and good fortune.”
In both Presidents Toda’s and Ikeda’s minds, in order to spread Nichiren Buddhism far and wide, it is important that we succeed in our jobs to strengthen our abilities for our goal.

In this guidance, President Ikeda points out how we can open the way for our victory and good fortune:

1. Make kosen-rufu our life’s objective.
2. Pray to excel at work to show the validity of kosen-rufu.
3. Activate our wisdom by consistently chanting daimoku.
4. Work twice as hard as those around us.

Based on this guidance, here are some possible causes that we may consider to embark upon. Our goal is to become people who are free of job crises and who enjoy going to work every day to contribute as well as to receive.

Cause No. 1: Set a master goal that contributes to achieving kosen rufu.
During our everyday chanting is the perfect time to seek wisdom and ponder the specific details of our career goals. We become what we think about.
What do we desire to achieve in life? What do we expect from our jobs? How much money will we be happy making? What effort do we have to put forth to earn it? We incorporate our desires and dreams and the corresponding responsibilities into our goals. The ultimate purpose for those goals is to pave the way for our mission of spreading Nichiren Buddhism: to accumulate fortune, to create actual proof, to strengthen our abilities and to gain trust in the society.

Our goals also include developing ourselves in order to advance no matter what our duty is at work. Everyone starts at the bottom on the way up. No job is too small, no position is too low and no field is too insignificant. One may distinguish oneself in any trade. Opportunities exist everywhere. The plan is a lifelong one, not just for now. We have to think like entrepreneurs, not employees; like value-creators, not labor-providers. Because of the simultaneity of cause and effect, our quality thinking is the perfect cause with which to nourish our lives.
Do we already know all there is to know about our jobs? Can we fill the demands of our jobs? Are there better ways to do what we are currently doing? We want to train and educate ourselves so that we are highly skilled and badly needed and appreciated. We want to become people who can’t be replaced or who the employers will let go only when they have to shut down the entire operation.

All companies are constantly on the lookout for capable leaders on every level. We would like to polish and develop ourselves to the extent that we are obviously over-qualified for our position. If it is so obvious, they will see it and make the appropriate position adjustments to let the companies benefit from our ability. We want to become people who are constantly approached by recruiters with better and better job offers, even if we already have good jobs.
We desire our abilities to allow us to be recession-proof, withstand the stormy economy and never have to drift along in the currents among the multitudes. Knowing that we excel in our field, we enjoy going to work, setting a great example and inspiring others.

Are such goals too optimistic and ambitious to reach? Not at all. Our chanting of daimoku is like the roar of the lion and our practice like the mighty sword. With them, we will succeed dauntlessly in every endeavor for the execution and completion of our plan.

Cause No. 2: Chant abundant daimoku, praying to excel at work.
The best cause we can make to crack down on our bad job karma is to chant hours and hours, as much as possible, everyday. As practitioners of Nichiren Buddhism, we all know that with chanting, we can activate wisdom, accumulate fortune, elevate our life condition, expand our capacity and obtain protection and opportunities from the Buddhist Gods. The Buddhist gods (shoten zenjin) manifest themselves as ordinary
people who come to our aid at the right time in the right place.

Through chanting, we are also able to communicate compassionately with other people’s Buddhahood, including those we associate with at work. The benefits of our massive and steadfast chanting, accompanied with our penetrating prayer, move us toward our goals.
“Gohonzon, I have realized that only under such a dire job market situation can I show true and convincing actual proof by, against all odds, finding a job that fits me well. I am determined to land one no matter what. This is the perfect opportunity to forge myself into someone capable of fulfilling my mission. I am very excited about it!

“Gohonzon, I am chanting to activate my wisdom to enable myself to see a clear picture of how to change my job karma. I am chanting so that my life force is so strong that I can staunchly complete a grand task of human revolution. Gohonzon, I am taking every action that I can possibly take to prove how deathly serious I am about creating good karma in my career. I know my destiny is in my own hands.
“Gohonzon, every day, just as I am using my whole being to send daimoku out to the whole universe, I am sending my resume out to the world. Through every channel of cyberspace and to every corner of the universe, they will definitely reach my friends and previous co-workers who know my abilities. Those acquaintances will watch for job openings for me and recommend me to their companies. My prayer will also make my resume stand out in the eyes and minds of companies that need my service and can benefit from my work.

“Gohonzon, I know the job market has shrunk considerably. However, as long as it has not been totally extinguished, I am determined to work twice as hard and make myself qualify for a share of it. I am so confident because I uphold this faith and practice it earnestly, because I am nourished by the encouragement and support of my fellow SGI members and my family and friends, and because my mission requires my victory to be a vanguard on the long path that lies in front of me. Gohonzon, Watch me! Though it is very difficult, I am making it happen!”

Cause No. 3: Activate and exercise our wisdom through chanting.
It is recommended that we keep a note pad and a pen besides us to write down the wisdom emerging from our chanting. Hours of focused chanting every day will produce wisdom that rewrites our destiny hereafter, when put into action.
We need to show interest in, enjoy and appreciate our job no matter how lousy we think the job is. Since we engage at least one third of each day in the job, we must find a way to make the job our servant instead of our tyrant. Without changing the reality of our unfulfilling job, we can turn around and let the same job work for us. We don’t allow the job to drain our energy. We command it to nourish our strength in preparation for our further advancement.

To do so, we first have to put aside all our feelings of dislike or hate of our job. Then, by compassionately not taking for granted what we are already getting from it, it won’t be difficult to feel the appreciation. It is usually the case that as human beings, we would make every effort to avoid pain and pursue pleasure. Complaint erases fortune and creates negative effect, while appreciation accrues blessing. Therefore, it is quite clear that our efforts should be focused strictly on not complaint but on appreciation.

Isn’t it true that most jobs support our living, holidays and health insurance? What other benefits do they provide? Is the environment clean and comfortable? Do our colleagues open a course of human revolution for us to learn, to polish our skills, and to become better human beings? Are we generously given access, time, help and freedom to learn the finer points, insights and secrets of the trade? Isn’t this the perfect setup from which to master our trade, pushing us to climb the next rung of the career ladder?
If we could objectively put ourselves in our employers’ shoes, we wouldn’t need much wisdom to realize what we could do to be cherished and promoted. Our company can afford to treat us generously only when it thrives and prospers. The cause we have to make for our own sake is to help it, to the best of our ability, succeed against the tough competition. Every employee’s effort counts. But there’s no limitation to how we can make good causes. What’s the maximum extent to which we can offer and contribute? How can we incorporate our strengths to make our work generate more value than ever, without increasing cost? What is our niche that will let us stand out from the common practice in the field? How can we observe our job with a new eye and detect the clues to revamp it or give it a new twist? Abundant daimoku will trigger the light bulb in our brain to shine brightly. The rest is the story of the wonderful work of wisdom.

Simply by setting our minds on those goals, we have registered eloquently in our lives all the extra good causes of thoughts and their simultaneous effects. When we obtain results, which we definitely will, they will stand out on our resume. By putting forth such efforts, we may have at the same time benefited others due to the side effects of our great good causes. But it is guaranteed that 100 percent of the effect or fortune, original and genuine, will flow into our very own lives.
Let’s use a female receptionist as an example to practice how we can add essence and aroma to her job description.

She has to be serious about her job and be willing to perform it at her best, as an art. She then chants to manifest her Buddha nature at work. The benefits of chanting Nam-myoho-renge-kyo, the Lotus Sutra, will purify her six sense organs. Her voice is one of her major means to conduct her job, and that voice does the Buddha’s work. She is being given countless opportunities each day to use her voice to greet every caller! The callers won’t see her facial expression, but they will definitely feel her Bodhisattva compassion through her voice.

She is usually the first contact for every colleague and visitor who comes to the office. Facing them, she can apply the Buddhist teaching and bow to their Buddhahood, show them her respect and treat everyone as the most important person on earth. She can also carry a high life condition with her to inject compassion and happiness into the lives of people she comes in contact with. Can she thus turn her reception hall into a Buddha Land and lift those people to a higher life state? You bet!

By being uplifting in order to fulfill her job duties beautifully, will she feel the same joy herself? Will the environment and the universe respond to her in kind? Of course! What she puts out is what she receives. And you never know, somewhere, someone might be so impressed by her performance that they might feel inclined to promote her!
However, even with such wisdom in our pursuit for excellence, it would still be a great challenge to revolutionize our routine work and habitual thinking if we don’t work on our inner transformation first. As practitioners of Nichiren Buddhism, we surely have the advantages and means to accomplish this cause that will pave the way for the ultimate fulfillment of our goal.

Cause No. 4: Embark on our project of human revolution.
It seems that we can’t escape from doing human revolution if we want to reroute the course of our unhappy lives. Every aspect of our lives calls for our human revolution. If we don’t ever face it head on, how can we expect to grow something different out of the same old seed that’s deeply rooted in the earth of our lives?
Our fundamental life tendency affects how we perform in our profession. Our attitude in applying our abilities accounts for our achievement at work. Do we constantly move from one job to another? Is it because of our lack of ability, efficiency or persistence? Are we dwelling in comfortable routines, making do with whatever we get and falling into the trap of inertia? Do we indulge ourselves in excessive free will, thereby sabotaging ourselves? Do we make excuses and evade our responsibility? If we see something that needs to be done but isn’t in our job description, do we tend to think: “This is not my department. That is too much for me to do.”? Are we being complacent, confining ourselves in a narrow, outdated paradigm without having an open mind and the motivation to change and to grow?

Are we loners who are over-sensitive, negative, picky, pitiful and angry? Or are we bull-headed, domineering, arrogant, vindictive, stubborn, defensive and intimidating? Can we work harmoniously with others as a team? Are we accessible and reliable, suitable to be entrusted with sensitive assignments? Are we constructive, positive, enthusiastic, energetic and eager to learn and to contribute? Are we strong and humble enough to take suggestions or criticism and to reflect and improve? Is our presence at work a pleasant asset to our colleagues and the company?
It is not a bad idea to ask or even beg our family and friends to help us identify our shortcomings and help push us to change. If necessary, pay someone or hire a professional to oversee the execution of this project. Our character is our fate, because it directs us on how to make causes. By transforming ourselves, we change what we receive from our surroundings without changing the reality of it. The completion of our human revolution will enable us to greatly increase our abilities and our performance and to become happy people who enjoy everything we do and embrace everyone we meet.

A Women Division member, in whose life devilish functions ran rampant, struggled in every aspect of her life of 48 years. As a consequence of unrelenting childhood abuse, she became very toxic, attracting confrontations and abuse everywhere. As a flight attendant her work was a nightmare. Colleagues harassed and abused her on every trip. Even strangers treated her meanly, not to mention her family. She was always furious and self-pitying. In 21 years of chanting, she saw little improvement. Unknown to her, her attitude while chanting was fearful and negating, wishing for relief but still believing she deserved to be punished. Her interaction with society never failed to bring forth the Pavlovian dynamic, reinforcing her negativity towards herself, which the toxic environment happily responded to. It was a vicious, vicious circle.
All the guidance from leaders all over the world failed to give more than temporary relief. When others didn’t abuse her, she abused herself. She would stop eating completely and turn to alcohol and cigarettes. Her frustration with herself only increased.

It was not until she fully awakened to the significance of human revolution and resolutely worked on it did her life take a dramatic, sharp turn. Nine months after she started her inner transformation, she is now enjoying the excitement of being totally embraced, complimented and greeted by everyone, (including colleagues who had abused her every time they flew together) as if she were a long lost sister. They even constantly share their problems with her and let her introduce them to Nichiren Buddhism. A colleague based in Los Angeles just received Gohonzon two months ago.

Her sister in Iceland, to whom she hadn’t spoken in years, called her out of the blue and announced that she and her Icelandic husband were waking up every morning at six to kneel on the floor, face east and chant. Her sister wanted to be connected to the SGI-Iceland.
Her life has changed totally, and her environment reflects it. In an email to me she marveled, “I cannot believe that I have lived my entire life in utter hell when within my grasp there existed true happiness.” In her own words, she “became happy in spite of herself.”

With all the preparations, now we are ready to make:

Cause No. 5: Take actions upon actions.

Now, we can organize the notes we take down during our chanting, and put the action items that will move us steadily ahead toward our goals in the order of their importance.

By diligently carrying out faith, practice and study, the three pillars of Nichiren Buddhism, we have learned to set our mind to bringing our strength into full play despite our status and position. We are able to polish our lives to become active, optimistic and happy, and thus shine and attract positive energy and opportunities.

The Buddhist teaching of indefinitely progressing can also forge us into people whose lives brim over with dignity, charisma and achievement.
To enhance our ability for advancement, we research the nature, the content and the technique of our line of business, read books and study our specialty and ask the opinions and experiences of seniors and experts in the field.

An SGI-USA Young Men’s Division member embarked on a new career with a pay cut. He had to go through a two-year trial or training period. Challenging his lazy nature and fear of hard work, he took a very painstaking process to slowly but steadily build up his experience and clientele. At the same time, he became friendly with a senior in the office and constantly sought his advice.

After two years, just before his graduation from the training program, the senior asked him to become his partner. He was planning to retire in a couple of years and asked this young man to take over a book of clients that would take anyone decades to build. This young man’s training from our Buddhist practice won him the trust of the senior, and also had enabled him to change his financial situation. (For details, please see Experience by David Tempest, World Tribune 12/22/2000)
It is also important that we follow a good work ethic and abide by regulations and the job schedule, even if no one is watching us. In fact, we really can’t afford not to watch ourselves, because every move creates new causes in our lives. A good cause produces good effects; a bad cause, bad effects; no cause, no effects. Let’s check it out:

“The Buddha taught that one, from the very moment of one’s birth, is accompanied by two messengers, Same Birth and Same Name, who are sent by heaven and who follow one as closely as one’s own shadow, never parting from one even for an instant. These two take turns ascending to heaven to report one’s offenses and good deeds, both great and small, without overlooking the slightest detail.”
-- The Gods Same Birth and Same Name, Nichiren Daishonin, WND p 316
Our everyday actions train us to qualify for opportunities and enable us to grab them when they knock. As we grow, it will come naturally that our position and income be promoted and increased. Since we are now so solidly competent, if one offer can’t match our quality, there are plenty of other places that can and will embrace and cherish us. Just as we strive hard to succeed, every business is also putting out a long-range antenna to detect, discover and recruit people who can contribute the most to helping it succeed.

The 21st century is the age of evolution, of non-stop improvement and advancement of the cutting edge. Things are ever newer day by day. People move at lightening speed to advance so that they can rise above the crowd. We can’t preserve, stop or hold back time. The only thing we can do is to also move rapidly to at least keep up with the world. Otherwise, when times get rough, we will be washed away by the competition.

Yes, we are tired after eight-hour’s battle at work; the battle against stress and pressure. After work, we deserve a break, watching TV or hanging out and having fun with friends. While relaxing regularly, let’s listen to what Nichiren Daishonin has to say: “You survived because you still have both good fortune and rewards.” He also warns us: “When one comes to the end of one’s good fortune, no strategy whatsoever avails. When one’s karmic rewards are exhausted, even one’s retainers no longer follow one.” (WND, p 1000)
Besides spending eight hours on work and eight on sleep, we still have another eight at our disposal, but no more than that. Do we casually and unmindfully let them slip away without a trace? Or do we scrupulously manage them to add more good fortune to the savings account of our lives that we are consuming day after day? Of course it depends on what the meaning, value and purpose of our lives are. Everyone’s priorities vary.

The secrets and shortcuts to success have long become public knowledge: work diligently, wisely and persistently. Luckily, as practitioners of Nichiren Buddhism, we hold the key to the gate on the path to claiming victory and fortune. This practice saves us from stumbling around, as long as we practice it earnestly and correctly.

We can foresee the trouble and hassles we have to go through in order to carry out this complicated plan of changing our job karma. For some, it might be such a pain-in-the-neck that it is not what they would enjoy pursuing. However, there’s only one other option left for our lives: to endure and suffer the misery of being ensnared by the web of our job karma, with no escape in sight. Either way, there’s a considerable degree of pain and energy involved. It is such a tough decision to make. But we know how to chant about it to find our best answer, don’t we?