Bodhicitta, Post-Meditation and 'Good Work'

In our conversation on 1 November (where we were joined by sangha members from Victoria and Edmonton via skype) we explored bodhicitta and post-meditation, looking at the question of what does it mean to benefit beings in our everyday lives, particularly in our work. We based our conversation on Howard Gardner's articles 'What is Good Work" & "Achieving Good Work in Turbulent Times" (available here). A recording of our conversation is available here.

The topics we covered include:

• The importance of mentorship (especially for younger people)
• The contrast between work and spiritual life, and what does "spirituality at work" actually mean (what Christian/Buddhist perspectives might have in common, and where they differ)
• Broadening our circle of concern and sphere of influence
• How it's often unclear what is the right or best thing to do from an ethical perspective (i.e. even if we have an enlightened intention, what should we do?)
• Action and enlightened engagement (from the perspective of Nagarjuna's Mulamadhyamakakarika)
• Western approaches to ethics (Aristotelian virtue ethics, Kantian deontology, consequentialism and utilitarianism) and how these are different from bodhicitta and Buddhist approaches to ethics (in particular the role of intention/motivation)