What does the monastic process of transformation have to do with business?
What people essentially want is transformation. Change of heart is what people go to the monastery looking for and what the monastic experience provides. Most people think the monks go to the monastery as content people who know what they want out of life. The truth is most of them don’t stay because formation, or the process of becoming a monk, weeds out those who are unprepared or ill-equipped for the serious work required. The monastery is not a static point. You go there to be changed. But it is not just the monk who is looking for transformation. We all want to be transformed. Transformation is the essence of drama because it is the essence of life. We aren’t really looking for money – we hope that once we have money, a transformation will occur. Most people only transform other people’s impressions, which is why so many of the rich and powerful are so unhappy. Fame, money, and power do transform perceptions, but then the pressure to maintain those perceptions in the absence of tr
