wonder 404: Dalai Lama

Showing posts with label Dalai Lama. Show all posts

The Arrogance of Authority

Posted by explogame On Saturday, 8 October 2016 0 comments

or "See this badge?!"

The Arrogance
of Authority

Any acceptance of authority

is the very denial of truth.

Krishnamurti

No Man Has Any Natural Authority Over His Fellow Men

Jean-Jacques Rousseau

A DEA officer stopped at a ranch in Texas,
and talked with an old rancher.

He told the rancher,
"I need to inspect your ranch
for illegally grown drugs."

The rancher said,
"Okay, but don't go in that field over there.....",
as he pointed out a distant location.

Anyone who conducts an argument by appealing to authority is not using his intelligence:

he is just using his memory.

Leonardo da Vinci

The DEA officer verbally exploded, saying, "Mister,
I have the authority of
the Federal Government with me!"

Reaching into his rear pants pocket, he removed his badge
and proudly
displayed it to the rancher.

"See this badge?!

This badge means
I am allowed to go
wherever I wish....
on ANY land!!

No questions asked
or answers given!!

Have I made myself clear......
do you understand???"

Unthinking respect for authority is the greatest enemy of the truth.

Albert Einstein

The rancher nodded politely, apologized,

and went about his chores.

I was bold in the pursuit of knowledge, never fearing to follow truth and reason to whatever results they led,

and bearding every authority which stood in their way.

Thomas Jefferson

A short time later,

the old rancher heard loud screams,

looked up

and saw the DEA officer running for his life,

being chased by the rancher's enormous

Santa Gertrudis bull......

The key to successful leadership is influence, not authority.

Kenneth Blanchard

With every step

the bull was gaining ground on the officer,

and it seemed likely that the officer
would be gruesomely gored
before he reached safety.

The man was clearly terrified.

My desire to devolve authority has nothing to do with a wish to shirk responsibility.

Dalai Lama

The rancher threw down his tools,
ran to the fence
and yelled at the top of his lungs.....

Ultimate authority resides with the people.

James Madison

"Your badge........

show him your BADGE!!"

Nothing strengthens authority so much as silence.

Leonardo da Vinci

It is the first responsibility of every citizen to question authority.

Benjamin Franklin

"The trouble with quotes from the internet is you never know if they are genuine."

Mahatma Gandhi

Enjoy

The Quiet Gardener

Posted by explogame On Sunday, 18 September 2016 0 comments

or Universal Responsibility

Business Lessons From A Quiet Gardener

This post is an excerpt from the speech by William Rosenzweig

On the occasion of his receiving the Oslo Business For Peace Award in 2010

A gardener sees the world as a system of interdependent parts -

where healthy, sustaining relationships are essential to the vitality of the whole.

"A real gardener is not a person who cultivates flowers, but a person who cultivates the soil."

In business this has translated for me into the importance of developing agreements and partnerships

where vision and values, purpose and intent are explicitly articulated,

considered and aligned among all stakeholders of an enterprise -

customers, employees, suppliers, shareholders,

and the broader community and natural environment.

The garden has taught me about patience

and persistence and the ethical principles of generosity and reciprocity.

It has illuminated the importance of

appreciating the cycles of life and decay.

For the gardener,

composting is a transformative act -

whereby last season's clippings (or failures)

can become next year's source of vigor.

I've learned that it's not just what you plant,

but how you plant it that brings long - term rewards
in life, work and the garden.

Gardeners know that once strong roots are established, growth is often exponential rather than linear.

Also gardening, like business,

is inherently a local activity,
set within an ever - changing and

unpredictable global climate.

Showing up in person, shovel -

and humility in hand is essential.

Gardeners, like entrepreneurs

are obsessed with latent potential -

and can be known to be

pathologically optimistic.

We can vividly imagine the bloom

and the scent of the rose

even in deepest of winter.

As the American naturalist

Henry David Thoreau once wrote:

"I have great faith in a seed.

Convince me that you have a seed there,

and I am prepared to expect wonders."

In essence, the gardener's work is a life of care.

We cultivate abundance from scarce resources.
We nurture, encourage, fertilize -

and prune when necessary -

while being respectful of the true

and wild nature of all things.

We know that creating enduring value
requires vision, passion, hard work

and the spirit of others.

I am just coming to understand

this work of business gardening -

and investing in keeping people healthy -

as an act of universal responsibility.

His Holiness Dalai Lama reminds me:

"Each of us must learn to work

not just for one self,

one's own family or one's nation,

but for the benefit of all humankind.

Universal responsibility
is the key to human survival.

It is the best foundation for world peace.

The Man Who Planted Trees

Story by Jean Giono, Film by Frederick Back

Enjoy

Stimulus & An Unexpected Response

Posted by explogame On Tuesday, 19 January 2016 0 comments

Stimulus

& An Unexpected

Response

The Prime Minister of the Tang Dynasty was a national hero for his success as both a statesman and military leader. But despite his fame, power, and wealth, he considered himself a humble and devout Buddhist.

Often he visited his favorite Zen master to study under him, and they seemed to get along very well. The fact that he was prime minister apparently had no effect on their relationship, which seemed to be simply one of a revered master and respectful student.