Buddha on the Board

Integrity (continued)

Some notes on the application of Marvin Browns categories to Amida-shu

Matrix Structure

A brief description of the matrix structure in operation in the Amida Order

Value, Action and the Common Good

Some Thoughts after reading Saint-Simon

More Development at Amida

As I look back I now feel that the period from the December Retreat 2004 through to the Summer Teaching Retreat July 2005 has been a highly formative period for the Amida sangha. A range of developments that one can, with hindsight, see as having been gestating for some time, came to birth during that span of time. Decisions were made. Much of the fruit of this can be read in the document Provisions for Continuity and Structure. They include a cellular structure for the Order; provisions for the transition when the head of the Order (currently myself) goes; and the innovation of a completely new membership category called The Amida School.

Even more important than structure, there has been a palpable sense that the Order has reached some kind of critical mass, both in terms of numbers - twelve - and in terms of ethos. Now, whenever three or more Order members are present at an event there is a recognisable sense of team that was previously absent. The group is maturing.

Towards Buddhist Social Theory

Western liberal democratic society is based upon ideals of justice, human rights and equality and these are themselves rooted in certain assumptions about individual human dignity and freedom that have their roots in the Western tradition. It is not readily apparent that these concepts have any grounding in Buddhist theory, even though Buddhism is centrally concerned with righting many of the wrongs of oppressive social systems. Much of what is called socially engaged Buddhism is not soundly rooted in Buddhist theory but

A Buddhist Leadership Theory?

Several people have commented on leadership especially in the responses to the item on Developing Structures at Amida. It is an obviously important topic so I am promoting it to a main post here. Is there such a thing as a Buddhist theory of leadership? I rather think that a large part of what Buddhist training actually consists of is

Integrity

Marvin Brown has an interesting analysis of integrity showing that the term can mean four different things:
Wholeness, of course, always implies the presence of parts, so integrity requires not only wholeness, but also the right relationships among the parts of a whole. To create integrity, therefore, is to integrate the parts into a whole. The relationships between the parts and the whole offer various meanings of integrity, including integrity as consistency, as relational awareness, as inclusion, and as pursing a worthwhile purpose.
The whole article is worth reading and is, itself, an extract from his book Marvin T. Brown Corporate Integrity: Rethinking Organizational Ethics and Leadership (Cambridge University Press, 2005)

Developing Structures at Amida

One of the topics of the Organisation Interest Group has been to look at Amida Trust as a test case. What sort of organisation is it? What can our knowledge of organisations tell us about it? What can the principles of Dharma tells us when applied to the case of an organisation-cum-sangha-cum-network-cum-community like Amida?

Flawless Consulting

I've been reading Peter Block's book The Flawless Consulting fieldbook and companion, Jossey Bass / Pfeiffer, 2001.
The first chapter is a short poem by Margaret Wheatley, it has clear Amida Buddhist relevance, and is a reminder to us all of the source of our contribution .

"For far too many years
I have wanted to be flawless,

Purpose

This weblog exists as a reference point for people associated with Amida Trust who are interested in Buddhist approaches to organisation and in organisation development from a Buddhist perspective. Here we can share observations, news and information and develop new concepts, plans and directions.

The site has several established themes:

• Organic & Synergistic Organisation, especially an interest in reflecting upon the development of Amida Trust itself
• Leadership, both individual and collective, and its relation to Buddhist training, sangha life and other Buddhist principles
• Buddhist Ethics in organisational contexts
• The Development of Buddhist Social Theory.

Other themes may emerge.

You can navigate this site using the "Categories" or "Recent Posts" sections in the side column.

If you wish to join in discussion, please do post a comment.