Art of Working

 

 

My friend, he was scolded by his family someday. In order to keep the peaceful ambience in family, he tried to finish his job calmly even though in his mind, he was hoping mad. Later, he told his family that he did not think of himself anymore, and he thought that he had reach the level of “no ego”, yet, no one thought in the same way and just ignored what he did. This circumstance usually happens with a daughter-in-law when staying in an extended traditional family. 

In a corporation, organization, there have always been this kind of person, they are pleased with their firm, and sacrifice their “little ego” to complete their “big ego”, for company’s benefit. The reason why these people use the word “sacrifice” when talk about what they have done to their company is that they always need to suffer from grievance to become the mass’s people.

In someone’s opinion, it will be worth if their suffering from grievance can exchange for family or organization or company’s safe and peace. Besides, this action also shows their selfless spirit. Let’s discuss: Is the tentative concession for group’s benefits good? Does it show selfless spirit? There is one thing we must make it clear: if you suffer the grievance but it is nothing doing with group’s benefit, then you should not do that. However, if you are treated unjustly, get your fingers burn, be more patient and strive more than anyone else, which makes people around feel happier, possibly, you will be praised and respect.

Nevertheless, all above cases do not belong to “selfless spirit”. “Selfless” does not appear through the sight of outer, even one guy is kind, and can endure suffering for people’s profits, perhaps, we should say, that guy sacrifice his/her little ego for a bigger one, we cannot say it is the kind of selflessness.

Part of people wants to keep the group’s profits. To achieve that, they lowdown themselves and keep waiting until the opportunity comes. This behavior is just similar to what a daughter-in-law wishes to be a mother-in-law when she stays with husband’s family. She would stay patient and wait to be the host of the family someday. We are not going to judge this behavior is bad. We just say it is the patience of little ego but not the kind of selflessness.

In both cases, none of them has selfless spirit. For the first case, people work for the bigger ego, for the second, people work with planning, expectation.

There either are some people think “selflessness” means whatever, actually that is the dishonest thinking.

Besides, the kind of people usually have some impossible requires and wishes, With or without ego is not a problem to them. The purpose of these people is to cover their weakness, and obviously, this is nothing relating to selfless spirit.

“Selflessness” in Buddhism means to harmonize oneself, which is never concerned about personal problems. The subjects do not think about being praised or in honor, but trying to devote to the ways of non-ego, uncondition.