Phillip Moffitt shares insights based on deep experience and heartfelt wisdom. Moffitt is the director of the Life-Balance Institute and teaches at Spirit Rock. He made the shift from a corporate career as editor-in-chief and CEO of Esquire Magazine into a more spiritual-minded life.

Your book, “Dancing with Life: Buddhist Insights for Finding Meaning and Joy in the Face of Suffering” (Rodale, 2008) explores the Four Noble Truths. How do compassion and the Nobel Truths of Buddhism connect with people in their work lives?

Phillip Moffitt:  When we’re involved in a career it gives focus and shapes our lives. It gives focus to our energy and the way we develop ourselves. That, in itself, is a complete step. When you do it in depth, even on a superficial level, it [your job] reflects your values and you can approach it with mindfulness and compassion.

All of life ties to the first truth. We have a reflective capacity with an awareness of itself and it contemplates itself in the three times – past, present and future. In this self-awareness, we encounter the first truth – suffering.  And the existence of this suffering is challenging to our ego and to our self-regard. Because in suffering, both physical and emotional, which is called “dukkha” in Buddhism, we learn that we can’t avoid the physical and emotional discomforts of life. We all get sick. We all get old. There are problems of anxiety and stress. That’s the first kind of “dukkha.”

On the second level of “dukkha” everything is changing and if you’ve ever been a manager or a leader in your life you know there’s always something going wrong. And you fix it and respond to the competitiveness of the marketplace. If you’re a farmer, the weather changes. No one escapes change. “Nika”, this change, is a primary characteristic of this realm.

On the third level, we’re all going to die and this is such a hard fact for our ego to accept. All of the things that matter most to us – we know how they end. We can end up saying from ego, “If we go from dust to dust, then why bother?” So how do we stay vital and caring in this realm? It’s essential to work like crazy as though it matters, with caring and compassion, and this very much applies to work and business.

How do mindfulness and compassion apply to the entrepreneurial and business realm?

Phillip Moffitt:  First let’s talk about mindfulness. Mindfulness is the capacity of the mind-heart to be present in the current moment with a deep acceptance. So in mindfulness, the mind is in neutral – at least temporarily – with what’s happening. It’s suspending judgment. That may change in the next moment and it may move into judging and planning. For mindfulness to maintain itself through time we need compassion – that which the Buddha calls “the heart’s quiver.” That is a place of non-judging and non-condemning. As we stay mindful, we gain insight and wisdom. It informs us and we gain more insight and see more clearly that which we care about. Through mindfulness and compassion you become aware of problems of others and you become a more caring person. This informs how you do business, what products you choose to sell – are they harmful or not, how profits are used and how you treat others.

Compassion and mindfulness are like two wings of a dove. You need both for wisdom to fly. It’s so important with those you work with. Through compassion you can see the other is upset and understand what’s behind his challenges. You don’t take it personally. You begin to move into receiving what is without leaning into or moving away from it. You may shift in and out of that place, then come back to neutral.

Debra Moffitt:  I like the way that you describe mindfulness as being a “neutral place”. But it’s not easy.

Phillip Moffitt:  That’s why it’s called practice. You no longer lean into or away. You’re present to be with it and let it be – whatever it is that presents itself.  They don’t call it practice for without a reason. Find out more about Phillip Moffitt’s work go to  dharmawisdom.org.

Bio: Debra Moffitt is author of Awake in the World: 108 Practices to Live a Divinely Inspired Life. A visionary, dreamer and teacher, she’s devoted to nurturing the spiritual in everyday life. She leads workshops on spiritual practices at the Sophia Institute and other venues in the U.S. and Europe. Her mind/body/spirit articles, essays and stories appear in publications around the globe and were broadcast by BBC World Services Radio. She has spent over fifteen years practicing meditation, working with dreams and doing spiritual practices. Visit her online at http://www.awakeintheworld.com.