There is a Buddhist term, “Dana”, which means generosity.
In Buddhist ethics, which is a body of practice more than a body of study, Dana is an aspirational goal, signaling non-attachment and the attainment of a philosophy of service and selflessness. It is meant to be present in philosophically mature human beings, and helps to build “Sangha”, which means community.
Dana is somewhat counterintuitive to the historical utilitarian approach to business. Since the enlightenment, western societies have largely been in the grip of a utilitarian worldview. Our entire economic behemoth is built around the utilitarian principle. It is deeply embedded in our thinking.
The utilitarian philosopher presupposes that the individual is an almost entirely self-interested being, seeking at a fundamental level the mere pursuit of the satisfaction of worldly desires by exercising free choice within valuably efficient marketplaces.
To the utilitarian, social good is the sum of the individual satisfaction of all self-interested members of the society. Therefore, in this worldview, self-interest is a good thing, an inherent and natural right, and a guiding hand for maximizing our happiness as a group. Adam Smith’s supposed invisible hand is steered by the utility principle. So was the recent economic meltdown.
From a Buddhist view, the utility principle is a delusion. This is because the self does not truly exist, and the Buddhists seek to cultivate non-attachment to the idea of the self. Attachment to the self is fundamentally linked to our very human predisposition to feel aversion for what is, and desire for what is not, a barrier to happiness in Buddhism, yet somehow the foundation of happiness in utilitarianism.
The point of all this is that I’m working in a social enterprise right now which explicitly values generosity and community above pure self-interest and utility maximization. And it is opening my mind to new possibilities for doing business.
This generosity concept was a bit counterintuitive at first, and even perhaps seemed a bit idealistic in light of my own learning and experience in business. In some ways, I was surprised at my own reaction to the concept of generosity in business, I felt like I’d unknowingly become a bit jaded; accepting certain ungenerous acts as “the cost of doing business,” and all of that.
But the more I participate in it, and the more I see the fruits of a generous approach to business and life, the more I’ve “bought in”.
I think this is a transformational idea.