Live in management, Live with management

English

My Grand Parents living in my mind

I was born in New Westminster, British Columbia Canada in 1966. I was adopted shortly after my birth and named David James Westdorp.
My grandfather on my Fathers side I was close to. He taught me how to play cribbage and we played often. I won a lot and it turned out he played to my level and gave me the opportunity to feel victory at a young age. I learned later in life he was an expert at game and very hard to beat. My grandfather had quite a traumatic life. He never finished grade-school, spoke 5-6 languages,  was orphaned at a young age, sold into white slavery in South Dakota as a young boy, survived the great depressions fought in 2 world wars, was gravely injured, lost his wife too early in life and suffered terrible side effects from experimental cataract surgeries. Through all of it he remained a very kind and compassionate man. He passed away at 93 years of age. As a young man of 22 (at the suggestion of my Father), I went to his hospital bed and held his hand as he spent his remaining weeks in a hospital. My Aunt Margo cared for him day and night at the hospital as his personal nurse. She is the Florence Nightingale of our family and one of the most compassionate people I know of. My Aunt Margo is now 101 years old.

The Meaning of Kosei-kai in my life

My first impression of Rissho Kosei-kai was that it was fantastic and just what I was looking for.
I researched RK English website and learned about past events to bring spiritual and religious leaders together in Summits and knew I had found something very special that was in alignment with my values and personal views of respect toward interacting and connecting with people on spiritual paths that are different from Buddhism. Additionally, I was very impressed at how the Rissho Kosei-kai had pivoted to embrace technology during the Covid pandemic to continue to allow laypersons to grow and learn through the Dharma in a very difficult time in the world. Additionally, I feel Hoza meetings are very useful to help members grow their knowledge of Buddhism extend compassion to others and speak their own personal truth of their life to date to strengthen their personal practice and enhance spiritual growth.
Before I found Buddhism I was always wondering why things happened the way they did in this world. The teachings of the “Law” that has really helped me:
1. The principle of Cause and Effect
2. The concept of Karma
3. The 4 Noble Truths
4. The 8 Fold Noble Path
5. 6 Paramita’s (Perfections)
6. The 12 Link Chain of Causation
7. The 3 Thousand Realms In One Mind
Now that I am familiar with these teachings I see the world as constant flow energy that is interconnected and interdependent. I no longer fear death and want to make the most of this lifetime. I’m very grateful to have discovered Buddhism in this life and am grateful that I live in country (Canada) in an abundant time and that I can practice Buddhism with absolute freedom, however I choose. This is a gift in this lifetime from my point of view.

My Life, Management, The Goal

I refer to Buddhist philosophies when making decisions in my business. The ability to strive to see things as they truly are is a very useful skill in business.
Compassion is a useful quality when interacting with others in business. It helps us to serve clients more effectively. Additionally the principle of skillful means is very relevant to business interactions. I remind myself and my team everyday that we generate energy with our thoughts, words and actions towards others so be aware and mindful of what you are putting out there. How does your energy make others feel? Consider this and your days will go smoother.
I’ve been taking a deep dive into the Lotus Sutra. I am participating in the Advanced Lotus Sutra Seminar series at RKINA online. I’ve also been working on a book titled: “Peace, Love & Infinity” which is my attempt to express Buddhist concepts with “skilful means” unite spiritual seekers from all over the world to support and respect one another in their own individual personal practices. The seed of this philosophy is that when a sincere, wholesome individual connects with their “infinity” (from the Buddhists point of view it is called Buddha nature) that is more than just themselves that all the labels we have in philosophical and religious groups are all actually the same thing. If this was adopted widely perhaps the concept of war would disappear from the human consciousness.