Corporate greed is rampant in the West.
But there is a movement within the business world that wants to see a return of ethical business practices.
Former UBC professor Jan Walls will be exploring this growing movement for businesses to be ethically accountable. His presentation looks at Buddhist thought and free enterprise corporate goals and explores the possibility for a convergence of these two antipodal ethics.
Buddhism's “right livelihood” does not exclude serving or owning a wealth-generating business, but the rightness of a livelihood is determined not by the amount of material wealth it produces, but rather by the well-being it generates.
Since businesses today only pursue profit is the concept of a “Buddhist business” an oxymoron?
Dr. Walls began his academic career teaching Chinese language and East Asian cultures at the University of British Columbia (1970-78) and the University of Victoria (1978-85). In addition to teaching at UVic, he founded and directed the Center for Pacific and Oriental Studies.
From 1981 to 1983 he served as First Secretary for Cultural and Scientific Affairs at the Canadian Embassy in Beijing.
BCS Program lectures are made possible by the generous support of the Tung Lin Kok Yuen Canada Foundation.
Lectures are free and open to the public. Seating will be on a first-come first-serve basis. Doors will open 30 minutes prior to the lecture.
Date: Thursday, February 2nd
Time: 5:00 – 7:00 PM
Place: Room 120, C.K. Choi Building, 1855 West Mall, UBC