Vladimir Oane's Key Ideas from The Diamond Cutter
by Geshe Michael Roach, Lama Christie McNally

"When we speak about the Buddha nowadays, we tend to think of an oriental man with a bump on his head... But think rather of a tall and graceful prince, traveling quietly through the country, speaking with knowledge, conviction & compassion of ideas that every man or woman can use to succeed in life & to make this life meaningful." His followers were also royalty or successful businessmen of their age. 

Buddhism is not anti-business. On the contrary, the very people who are attracted to business are exactly the ones who have the inner strength to carry out the deeper practices of the spirit.

In Buddhism the foundation of reality is blank or neutral. And yet we do experience some things as good & other things as bad. However ... the way we see things is coming from ourselves. 

ex: A pen is a pen to us, a chewing stick for a dog or a toy for a kid. Our mind makes it a pen. 

This means our minds create our experiencing reality through the stories and worldviews we fashion to explain who we are and the world we live in. Our subconscious biases trained over many years are shaping how we see the world.

In Buddhism, one is reaping the harvest of seeds sown by actions (karma) of past experiences, while at the same time planting new seeds to ripen in the future. Michael Roach calls these mental imprints.

These seeds for “good” or “bad” experiences are planted in 3 different ways. They happen whenever

1. we do something,
2. say something, or
3. when we think something

When the imprint plane takes off—that is, when the impression in the mind comes up to the conscious mind—it colors (even determines) our entire perception of whatever event we are undergoing at the moment.

How to figure out which imprint we can plant in our minds to see the world as we want it. This depends primarily on maintaining certain:

1. states of mind
2. standards of behavior
3. knowing how to call on the power of what we call an “act of truth.”

Your attitude to life, your actions and your connection to truth will change how you experience your life, how successful your business is or how fulfilling your relationship is. 

The way you embrace the now, how you act now are going to determine how you see tomorrow. If you are angry you will see anger. If you don't give, you will stay poor etc...

1. In order to see yourself do well in business plant imprints for this in your subconscious by maintaining a generous state of mind.
2. For happiness, maintain an ethical way of life.

1. For health refuse to get angry.
2. For leadership be helpful to other.
3. For peace, meditate.
4. For freedom, learn about imprints.
5. To get everything you want, be compasionate. 

Explanation 1: Things come from nothing, everything’s just random, there are no patterns or logic at all to how and why things happen. This is the scientific “big-bang” approach.

Explanation 2: God(s). The world around you is the result of the conscious effort of a very powerful being basically beyond our immediate experience. 

Explanation 3: Nothing is random, nothing is accident & we have no one outside ourselves to blame for our own world. Things occur to us in exact accord with how we treat those around us, not by the decision of any outside person but in exact compliance with a moral law.

Set the tone for an entire day by spending a few quiet moments in the morning. In Tibetan the expression can be translated by “shooting an arrow.” This daily morning quiet time, sitting silently by yourself to prepare your thoughts for the day, is like the six-time book: absolutely essential for you to pull off the task of creating complete personal and business success for yourself in the years to come.

You should actually begin the night before. Before sleep first review the day just past, reviewing the negatives and most importantly, the positives.

Is a day, usually Wednesday, that is reserved for taking care of yourself. Instead of work use the day to meditate, exercise, nap, practice a hobby or read.

It may seem like slacking off work, but we are invigorating our souls and intellects. Not only by spending a day away from our repetitive patterns of business thinking but also by concentrating on ourselves.

The Circle has to be a space of complete silence and concentration. No telephones, no TV, and none of the other kinds of noise that keep you from hearing the great ideas you have in your mind: no radio, music, magazines, etc...