The Diamond Cutter The Buddha on Managing Your Business and Your Life

by Roach, Geshe Michael; McNally, Lama Christie

• ISBN13: 9780385528689
• ISBN10: 038552868X
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2009-09-01
• Publisher: Harmony

Summary

With a unique combination of ancient and contemporary wisdom from Tibetan Buddhism, THE DIAMOND CUTTER presents readers with empowering strategies for success in their personal and professional lives. The book is presented in three layers. The first is a translation of The Diamond Sutra, an ancient text of conversations between the Buddha and his close disciple, Subhuti. The second contains quotes from some of the best commentaries in the Tibetan Buddhist tradition. And the third layer, the main text, is the practical application of Buddhist philosophies to the world of business, based upon Geshe Michael Roach's seventeen-years of experience as an employee of the Andin International Diamond Corporation, a company that grew during his tenure from four employees to a world leader in the jewelry industry. Roach's easy style and spiritual understanding make THE DIAMOND CUTTER an invaluable source of timeless wisdom for those familiar or unfamiliar with Tibetan Buddhism. His focus on practical personal and business applications has resonated with and changed the lives of hundreds of thousands of individuals the world over since its original publication.

Author Biography

Michael Roach is a fully ordained Buddhist monk who received his geshe (master of Buddhism) degree from Sera Mey Tibetan Monastery after twenty-two years of study. A teacher of Buddhism since 1981, he is also a scholar of Sanskrit, Tibetan, and Russian, and has translated numerous works. Geshe Michael received his undergraduate degree from Princeton University and worked in New York City as a director of a large diamond firm for many years. He founded and directs the Asian Classics Institute, as well as the Asian Classics Input Project, and has been active in the restoration of Sera Mey Monastery. He lives in New York City.


From the Hardcover edition.

Excerpts

Chapter 1

Where the Wisdom Comes From

In the ancient language of India, this teaching is called the Arya Vajra Chedaka Nama Prajnya Paramita Mahayana Sutra.

In the language of Tibet, it is called the Pakpa Sherab Kyi Paroltu Chinpa Dorje Chupa Shejawa Tekpa Chenpoy Do.

In the English language, it is called The Diamond Cutter, a High Ancient Book from the Way of Compassion, a Book which Teaches Perfect Wisdom. =


What makes this business book different from any other you have ever read? It’s the source of what we have to say here: an ancient book of Buddhist wisdom called The Diamond Cutter. And the lines above are how the book starts out.

Hidden in The Diamond Cutter is the ancient wisdom that we used to help make Andin International a company with sales of over $100 million per year. It’s good to know a little about this important book at the beginning, to recognize the role it has played throughout the history of the Eastern half of our world.

The Diamond Cutter is the oldest dated book in the world that was printed, rather than being written out by hand. The British Museum holds a copy that is dated a.d. 868, or about 600 years before the Gutenberg Bible was produced.

The Diamond Cutter is a written record of a teaching given by the Buddha over 2,500 years ago. In the beginning, it was passed down by word of mouth, and then–as writing first developed–it was inscribed onto long palm leaves. These were durable fronds of palm on which the words of the book were first scratched, using a needle. Then charcoal dust was rubbed into the scratches left by the needle. Books that were made this way are still to be found in southern Asia, and remain quite legible.

The loose palm leaves would be kept together in one of two ways. Sometimes a hole would be bored with an awl through the middle of the stack of leaves, and a string passed through to keep the pages together. Other books were kept wrapped in cloths.

The original Diamond Cutter was taught by the Buddha in Sanskrit, the ancient language of India, which we guess is about four thousand years old. When the book reached Tibet, about a thousand years ago, it was translated into Tibetan. Over the centuries in Tibet it has been carved onto woodblocks, and printed onto long strips of handmade paper by coating the block with ink and then pressing the paper with a roller against the block. These long strips of paper are stored in bright cloths of saffron or maroon, a throwback to the days of the palm leaves.

The Diamond Cutter also spread to other great countries of Asia, including China, Japan, Korea, and Mongolia. Over the last twenty-five centuries it has been reprinted in the languages of these countries countless times, and its wisdom passed down in an unbroken lineage, from the lips of the teachers of each generation to the ears of the students of the next. In Mongolia, the book was considered so important that every family would keep a copy carefully preserved on an altar in their home. Once or twice a year, the local Buddhist monks would be asked to come to the home and read the text out loud to the family, in order to impart the blessing of its wisdom.

The wisdom of The Diamond Cutter is not easily won. The original teaching, like so many teachings of the Buddha, is cloaked in highly mystical language that can only be revealed by a living teacher, using the great explanations that have been written over the centuries. In Tibetan we have three of these older explanations, ranging in age from about sixteen centuries old to a mere eleven hundred years.

More important, we have recently located another commentary on the work, one which is much more recent, and much more easy to understand. During the last twelve years, a group of colleagues and myself have been engaged in the Asian Classics Input Project, dedicated to preserving the ancient books of Tibetan wisdom. Ove

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Excerpted from The Diamond Cutter: The Buddha on Managing Your Business and Your Life by Geshe Michael Roach, Lama Christie McNally
All rights reserved by the original copyright owners. Excerpts are provided for display purposes only and may not be reproduced, reprinted or distributed without the written permission of the publisher.