he au ho (s) 2016
ISSN 1473-2866 (Online)
ISSN 2052-1499 (P in )
www.epheme ajou nal.o g
olume 16(4): 99-119
a icle | 99
Zen and he a o e e y hing: Go e ning
spi i uali y in en ep eneu ship educa ion
An i Saa i and Esko Ha ni
abs ac
In ecen discou ses on adul educa ion i has become a commonplace o no e ha adul
lea ning and p o essional de elopmen should ouch he ‘deepe ’ o ‘highe ’ ecesses o
human exis ence ins ead o mainly ocusing on lea ning echnical skills o a aining
p ese s anda ds. These highe aspec s a e o en depic ed as spi i ual expe iences. In
pa icula , mind ulness medi a ion which d aws om Zen Buddhism, among o he
wisdom adi ions, is oday equen ly used o p o ide concep ual and p ac ical ools o
go e ning spi i ual expe iences in adul educa ion. By analysing he uses o Zen
expe ience in en ep eneu ial adul educa ion and coaching, we ad ance wo key poin s.
Fi s , we analyse spi i ual expe ience as an indica o o he inhe en ensions in a so-
called gene al economy in which he highes o ms o human exis ence a e used as a
means o p oducing p o i . Second, we a gue ha whe eas he no ion o spi i ual
expe ience can be used as a sp ingboa d o c i icizing capi alism, i is also assimila ed
in o he managemen o p oduc i e wo k by he sweeping logic o capi alism.
In oduc ion
Schola s ac oss di e en le els and opics o adul educa ion ha e ecen ly called
o add essing spi i ual expe iences in lea ning. As lea ning has become a
li elong ask in pos -indus ial socie ies, he means o managing lea ning should
allegedly be human-cen ed, ha is, con o m o he human capaci ies o lea ning
o lea n and he abili y o ind meaning and ul ilmen in daily lea ning
expe iences. I has he e o e become a commonplace o no e ha adul lea ning
and p o essional de elopmen should ouch he ‘deepe ’ o ‘highe ’ ecesses o
human exis ence ins ead o mainly lea ning echnical skills o a aining p e-gi en
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100 | a icle
s anda ds (see e.g. English, Fenwick and Pa sons, 2003; In a o and Kunzman,
2006; Vella, 2000; Vogel, 2000; Zajonc, 2006).
In he con empo a y uses o he e m ‘spi i ual expe ience’, he ‘spi i ual’ is an
index o a celeb a ion o au hen ici y, and sel - ealiza ion, whe eas ‘expe ience’
con eys a no ion o subjec i e, p i a e men al phenomena ha can be
psychologically disce ned ac oss cul u al ime-spaces, wi hou adhe ence o any
pa icula c eed (Jay, 2005: 78-79; P oud oo , 1985; Sha , 1998). In he
discou ses o educa ion ac oss ins i u ional le els, spi i ual expe ience hen
indica es a g id o in elligibili y o a holis ic unde s anding o lea ning wi h a
special sensi i i y o expe iences ha ep esen he nobles aspec s o all
humani y.
In he pas decade, mind ulness medi a ion ha is in luenced, among o he
wisdom adi ions, by Zen Buddhism, has gained popula i y in sel -help and
managemen discou ses and p ac ices. A Wes e nized and psychologized o m o
mind ulness highligh s he abili y o pay non-judgmen al a en ion o he p esen
momen . This is p ominen in ecen business magazine a icles celeb a ing i s
e ec s on concen a ion, c ea i i y and e iciency a wo k (see e.g. Essig, 2013;
Schumpe e , 2013). Mo eo e , la ge companies such as Google and Apple now
u ilize mind ulness o enhance physical and men al well-being and p oduc i i y
among hei employees (Hansen, 2012; Schumpe e , 2013). Mind ulness has also
sp ead o aining in public sec o p o essions om he mili a y o social wo k
and heal h ca e (Ryan, 2012).
In his a icle, we will analyse he uses o mind ulness in ecen en ep eneu ial
lea ning discou ses as a case in poin in discussing he ole o spi i ual
expe ience in la e pos -indus ial capi alis socie ies. We a gue ha such lea ning
discou ses ind esonance in ce ain dynamics o p oduc ion in which he labou
o ce has p ima ily become a men al ca ego y and he discou ses o a sel -
ul ilmen and lexibili y a e commonplace.
We app oach he analysis o mind ulness as a ‘his o y o he p esen ’ (Foucaul ,
1978), ha is, by acing how he con empo a y u hs o spi i ual expe ience in
Wes e n Zen Buddhism ha e been o med and made amenable o in eg a ion
in o en ep eneu ial discou ses o adul educa ion. This enables an
unde s anding o he ‘ ac ical poly alence’ (Foucaul , 2001: 100-102) o spi i ual
expe ience, i.e., ha i can be used o a mul i ude o pu poses and aims ha may
e en be a odds wi h each ano he .
We ad ance wo key a gumen s. Fi s , we a gue ha he nexus be ween
en ep eneu ial lea ning and spi i ual expe ience in mind ulness can be
An i Saa i and Esko Ha ni Zen and he a o e e y hing
a icle | 101
unde s ood in he con ex o he inhe en ensions o pos -indus ial capi alism.
As p oduc ion ocuses on he highe human acul ies such as spi i uali y as he
sou ce o p o i , he empo al and spa ial coo dina es o p oduc ion seem o be
anishing. Following Akseli Vi anen (2004; 2006), we call his he dynamics o
‘gene al economy’. Spi i ual expe ience as depic ed in mind ulness discou ses
can be seen as an a emp o g apple wi h gene al economy in he condi ions o
p oduc i i y. Spi i ual expe ience is loca ed nei he in he body no in he soul,
no is he expe ience o mind ulness aceable in con en ional no ions o
subjec i i y and ime. Thus i esona es wi h he abs ac quali y in he condi ions
o p oduc ion.
Second, we see ha he uses o Wes e n Zen Buddhism in en ep eneu ial
lea ning illus a e how capi alism wo ks as a ‘sweeping machine’ (Deleuze &
Gua a i, 1984), ha con inuously assimila es i s own c i ique and b oadens i s
own bounda ies, in his case, by aking o e he ‘emancipa o y’ s a egies o Zen
Buddhism and humanis ic psychology. We desc ibe how mind ulness seeks o
p o ide a deeply pe sonal and au hen ic, ye a he same ime uni e sal basis o
ashioning en ep eneu ial li elong lea ne s. The backg ound mind ulness has in
Wes e n Zen Buddhism p o ides a melange o no ions o au hen ici y,
indi iduali y and c ea i i y ha ha e been a pa o coun e cul u al mo emen s
and a c i icism o he Taylo is managemen o wo k.
Gene al economy: Go e ning li e i sel
O e he pas ew decades, he e ha e been equen calls o analyse he new
capi alis egime wi h ega d o cu en changes in modes o p oduc ion and
manage ial echniques o wo k. I has been a gued ha capi alis socie ies ha e
expe ienced ans o ma ion om indus ial capi alism o pos -indus ialism and
a ec i e and/o cogni i e capi alism (see e.g. Ha d & Neg i, 2000, 2005;
Lazza a o, 1996; Vi anen, 2006). Due o his ans o ma ion, i has been a gued
ha he ca ego y o labou has become inc easingly de ached om i s
de e minable physical and biological aspec s, and become mo e and mo e an
abs ac men al and a ec i e ca ego y (see e.g. Ha d & Neg i, 2005: 145;
Lazza a o, 1996; Vi anen, 2004; Vähämäki, 2004; c . Senne , 2006).
Bol anski and Chiapello (2007) make simila a gumen s, al hough om sligh ly
di e en pe spec i e. They a gue ha he ‘new capi alis spi i ’ oday deals wi h
he s ong ie be ween indi idual sel - ul ilmen and co po a e p oduc i i y (see
also Binkley, 2014; Julkunen, 2008: 126). In o he wo ds, wo k is no longe he
simple ‘p oduc ion o necessi ies o li e’ (A end , 1958) bu a he ha pi o poin
whe e he sel is cons uc ed (see also Rose, 1998: 160).
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Subjec i ica ion o wo k is he e o e a he co e o he con empo a y capi alis
egime. Pe sonal, cogni i e and emo ional compe encies and capaci ies ha e
become essen ial o he con empo a y wo k e hos (see e.g. Julkunen, 2008;
Mäkinen, 2012). In con as o Taylo is managemen o wo k, a wo ke and an
adul lea ne as an a ec ual and cogni i e being a e no longe ex e nal in ela ion
o wo k p ocess. On he con a y, a pe son’s a ec , sel - egula ion in unce ain
condi ions and, o example, he abili y o communica e and o be c ea i e a e
p e equisi es in an inc easing numbe o jobs (see e.g. Vi anen, 2004; Ha d
and Neg i, 2005: 145). Mo eo e , wo k is no seen as a cons ain o eedom, bu
as a ealm in which en ep eneu ial subjec s can exp ess hei au onomy and
con i m hei iden i ies (Rose, 1998: 160).
In his ega d, in he con empo a y capi alis egime – whe he one chooses o
call i a ec i e o cogni i e capi alism – human li e in i sel has become a c ucial
elemen in manage ial echniques o o ganiza ion as well as in alue c ea ion.
Fo illumina ing his, Vi anen (2006; 2004) uses he concep o ‘gene al
economy’. Wi h his concep , he seeks o e hink economy in he same way ha
Foucaul (2008) sough o p oblema ize poli ical science and philosophy wi h he
no ion o biopoli ics.
Wha de ines economy and ou expe ience o i oday is ha he ba e humanness
o human beings, ha gene al po en iali y and linguis ic- ela ional abili ies which
dis inguish human beings is e ealing i s sel as he essence also o economic
p oduc ion. (Vi anen, 2004: 1)
Thus he concep o a gene al economy e e s o a s age o capi alism whe e
subjec i i y has become capi al and he ba e humanness o human beings e eals
i sel as he essence o economic p oduc ion. The e m ba e humanness does no
e e o any speci ic o m o human beha io , bu a he he p econdi ions o
human hough and ac ion in gene al (Vi anen, 2006). This means ha ‘highe
acul ies’ o human exis ence, such as men al esilience, lexibili y and c ea i i y,
ha e now become objec s o con empo a y go e nmen o wo k (ibid.).
I ollows om he logic o gene al economy ha he modes o p oduc ion and
ways o o ganizing wo k canno be unambiguously unde s ood wi hin a ce ain
pa icula empo al o spa ial amewo k. Ins ead o being aceable in he
s anda dized beha io o a ac o y imespace, wo k is becoming inc easingly
imma e ial: spa ially boundless and empo ally endless. I is di icul o make a
dis inc ion be ween wo king ime and ee ime. I is also di icul o say whe e o
when he ac ual ac o p oduc ion is being ca ied ou , wha is wo k and wha is
no , and wha c ea es alue and wha does no (Vi anen, 2004; Vi no, 2006;
Lazza a o, 2009; Deleuze, 1992).
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In a ce ain sense, he basic p oblem is qui e same as i was be o e: how o
con ol and o ganize he labou o ce. Bu how, hen, o o ganize and manage
human li e i sel , o hose ‘highes ecesses’ o human exis ence? Acco ding o
Vi anen (2004: 54; 2006), go e ning li e i sel e e s o a ‘powe o e mind’
which does no so much c ea e physical, biological o spa ial bounda ies, bu
a he moods, sen imen s and men ali ies, ‘insc ip ion habi s’ on he mind:
The o ganiza ion o imma e ial p oduc ion is possible only h ough he
managemen o he gene al condi ions o human ac ion and communica ion,
h ough o ganizing he gene al condi ions o o ganizing. This o ganiza ion o
o ganiza ion does no ope a e a he le el o ac ual ac ion o plain in imida ion bu
on ha o anxie y and inadequacy; no by con inemen o demanding obedience o
he ules and being a aid o hei iola ion, bu by se ing expec a ions, moods,
opinion clima es,s anda ds o communica ion and coope a ion. (Vi anen, 2004:
229)
In his sense, Vi anen’s no ion o a gene al economy e lec s he ways in which
heo is s o a ec i e capi alism ha e p oblema ized ways o unde s anding he
o ganiza ion o human beha io as a sou ce o alue in capi alis p oduc ion. The
objec s o go e ning wo k a e becoming mo e and mo e gene al, as i we e. As i
ocuses less on ‘ac ual ac ion’, i.e. no egula ing wo k in de ail, i seems o gi e
mo e and mo e au onomy o wo king subjec s. This leads us o assess, how he
c i icism o s anda dized and disciplined wo k in he Taylo is egime has been
assimila ed o he cu en e hos o o ganizing wo k in gene al economy.
Capi alism as a sweeping machine: Humanis psychology and Buddhis
spi i uali y
Fo Gilles Deleuze and Félix Gua a i (1984), capi alism is no a closed sys em,
bu a machine ha sweeps new o ms o li e unde i s auspices. Capi alism is,
he e o e, con inually b oadening i s own each. This means, i s , ha
capi alism does no only ep ess people, bu also deals wi h he p oduc ion o he
eal: i p oduces lows o desi e, au onomy and eedom which a e no opposi e
o indi idual in e es s, bu a he p oduce a angemen s in which ce ain kind o
subjec i i y is made possible (see also Ha d and Neg i, 2000). Second, as a
p oduc i e machine, capi alism assimila es he e ogeneous elemen s om
di e en ields, e.g. eligion, humanis psychology and Wes e n o ms o Zen
Buddhism.
To illus a e he logic o he capi alis machine, Deleuze and Gua a i (1987) use
he e ms de e i o ializa ion and e e i o ializa ion. De e i o ializa ion
unc ions as a wi hd awal o expansion om he cu en sys em.
Re e i o ializa ion unc ions in he opposi e way. Whe e de e i o ializa ion

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wi hd aws om he sys em o expands i , e e i o ializa ion seeks o e u n
hese expansions o a new e i o y. The e o e capi alism is an in en i e and
p oduc i e sys em which ‘p og essi ely lea es he ac o y and in ades, like a
pa asi e, all sphe es o li e and he li e-wo ld i sel . In he end, as we shall see, i
is p oducing and consuming li e i sel ’, as Vandenbe ghe (2008: 878) pu s i .
Since he 1960s, Eu ope and No h Ame ica ha e wi nessed an eme gence o
c i ical challenges o he nexus o posi i is psychology o wo k and Taylo is
managemen p ac ices. This also en ailed a demand ha he public o ms o
human in e ac ion be managed so as o make indi idual sel - ul ilmen and e en
spi i ual expe ience possible a wo k (Binkley, 2014; Ca e e and King, 2005).
Ab aham Maslow, a p ominen p oponen o humanis psychology, helped o
legi imize eligious expe ience as an objec o psychological knowledge and
p axis, and as i educible o any pa icula eligion. Fo Maslow, eligious
expe iences we e ‘peak expe iences’ o c ea i e, indi idualis minds ha shunned
o ganized and hie a chical o ms o wo k and eligion (Maslow, 1970).
Maslowian ideas on spi i ual expe iences we e quickly mobilized no only in he
new psychology o wo k, bu also in he coun e cul u al mo emen s o he 1960s
(Ca e e, 2007: 147-148; He man, 1995: 269-275).
In he 1950s and 1960s, humanis and exis en ial psychologies also encoun e ed
he wisdom adi ions o he Eas , mos p ominen ly including Japanese Zen
Buddhism. Ca l Jung and E ich F omm we e among he leading psychoanaly ic
heo is s using Zen Buddhis in luences in hei wo k. F omm, o example,
e e ed o Zen Buddhism as a model o inding abundance in he p esen
momen as well as a libe a ion om he g eed and illusion cul i a ed by capi alis
socie ies (see e.g. F omm, 1997; F omm, Suzuki and De Ma ino, 1960).
Mo eo e , popula philosophe Alan Wa s and poe s Jack Ke ouac and Ga y
Snyde made Zen an index o c ea i e, coun e -in ui i e expe iences ha seemed
o wi hhold o ces able o challenge he cul u al and poli ical s a us quo
(Goldbe g, 2006: 290-291; Williams, 2011; Wei , 2011: 234, 236-246).
Ye he in e es in spi i ual expe iences and Buddhism did no emain he
p ope y o he coun e cul u al mo emen alone. F om he 1970s, bo h humanis
psychology and Buddhis wisdom adi ions d ew a en ion o heo ies and
p ac ices o wo k, lea ning, and psycho he apy o accoun o he highe human
acul ies o c ea i i y, e lexi i y and spi i uali y. These aspec s we e an index o
essen ial skills and compe ences needed especially in whi e colla wo k. Thus,
wha used o be sub e si e and coun e cul u al, now became a pa and pa cel o
he pac be ween he human sciences and an eme ging pos -indus ial economy
(Ca e e, 2007; Ca e e and King, 2005; He man, 1995; Obadia, 2011; Williams,
2011).
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The ‘sweeping’ na u e o spi i ual expe ience illus a es he in en i eness o
capi alism in assimila ing elemen s ou side i sel and e en c i ical o i . In a
simila ashion, Bol anski and Chiapello (2007: 241-90) ha e demons a ed how
capi alism swep he pos mode nizing c i ique o he 1960s and 1970s and used
i as a way o eo ganize i sel and expand in ini ely. The c i ical challenges o he
nexus o posi i is psychology and Taylo is managemen o wo k since he
1960s ha e o e ed s yles o easoning and new kinds o go e nmen al p ac ices
o managing he labou o ce in a con empo a y capi alis egime.
As we will see, especially he use o Buddhism is indica i e o he inhe en
p oblems o managemen o wo k in gene al economy. I is an a emp o
ha ness he mos gene al and lexible human capaci ies o p oduc ion. I also
ep esen s he sweeping ges u e whe eupon c i ical mo emen s aimed a an
emancipa ion om he na ow o ms o knowing a e eapp op ia ed. Wha
seems o enable his o e coding is spi i ual expe ience as a loose signi ie o he
highes acul ies o human beings (c . Žižek, 2001: 12-13).
‘Bea Zen’ and mind ulness: Spi i ual expe ience in Wes e n Zen
Buddhism
A cen al igu e o he Wes e niza ion o Zen a he u n o he wen ie h cen u y
was D.T. Suzuki (1870–1966). He was p o oundly in luenced by William James’s
The Va ie ies o eligious expe ience (1902), which cha ac e ized he co e o eligion
esiding in a subjec i e expe ience o anscendence ha can be psychologically
desc ibed ac oss cul u al and eligious di e ences. Thus Suzuki saw Zen as a
uni e sal p ac ice o cul i a ing spi i ual expe iences. Fo him, he essen ial pa
o Zen is he p ac ice o medi a ion (zazen), in which a pe son can wi ness
his/he own sensa ions, emo ions and hough s wi hou judgmen . The ul ima e
aim o his p ac ice is a spi i ual enligh enmen expe ience (sa o i), in which one
ealizes he impe manence o ‘emp iness’ o all exis ence, including one’s own
sel (Suzuki, 1962).
Suzuki a gues ha Buddhism ma e ializes clea -headed a ionali y mo e han
any o he eligion as i is no educible o i ualis ic o supe na u al aspec s o
eligion (Suzuki, 1908: 81). Ye his does no mean c edence o me e in ellec , o
enligh enmen is an ine able pe sonal expe ience o ba e exis ence beyond any
dicho omies p oduced by hough and language (Suzuki, 1957: 36-37; Suzuki,
1962: 5-7; Suzuki, 1969: 21-27). Ha ing his expe ience is also o slip beyond
ime as a measu able, ch onological succession o e en s (Suzuki, 1957: 98-99;
Suzuki, 1969: 57). This esul ed in Zen being unde s ood as an indi idualis ic
way o li e ou side o mal eligious ins i u ions o dogma. Mo eo e , as i was
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106 | a icle
based on subjec i e expe ience beyond language and cul u e, i could be
disce ned in o he cul u es and eligions as well. Thus i is no wonde ha
Suzuki’s Zen could be quickly assimila ed in o Ame ican in ellec ual and popula
cul u e (Bo up, 2004; McMahan, 2008; Sha , 1995).
Coex ensi e wi h Suzuki’s academic Zen, a ans-Paci ic mo emen was
es ablished, whe eupon Zen monks s a ed equen ing he Uni ed S a es
(especially Hawaii and Cali o nia) and Ame ican pilg ims we e isi ing Japanese
Zen monas e ies. As Robe Sha (1995) no es, i wasn’ he Zen o he mos
no able Japanese schools o Rinzai o Sō ō ha was media ed, bu a
ma ginalized, ma e ick Zen o Sanbôkyôdan es ablished in he 1950s. I
accen ua ed non- eligious aspec s o Zen as well as in ensi e medi a ion which
would quickly b ing abou enligh enmen expe iences. This was no es ic ed o
monas ic li e, bu o be p oli e a ed among lay people. This is he Zen ha was o
be agg essi ely p oli e a ed in Ame ican Zen Buddhis communi ies om he
1960s onwa ds (Sha , 1995; c . P ebish, 1999: 8-26).
Alan Wa s aided in making Suzuki’s Zen popula in he Anglo-Ame ican wo ld.
Fo Wa s, he co e o Zen lies in he ac ha wisdom can be ound in he mos
o dina y aspec s o li ing, wi hou a li e spen in pilg image o a monas e y
(Wa s, 1958: 47-48). Zen is based on an expe ience which is so quo idian and
uni e sal ha i can also be mapped in hinke s in Eu opean and Ame ican
cul u e as well (ibid.; see also Ames, 1962).
Like Suzuki, Wa s also e e s o a uni e sal, ‘as onishing momen o insigh ’,
which escapes any labels o dualisms one migh a ach o i . In medi a i e
expe ience all exis ence seems o be ocused in o he p esen momen : ‘ he
immedia e now…is he goal and ul illmen o all li ing’ (Wa s, 1960: 18). This
expe ience also con eys ul ima e sa is ac ion and disappea ance o pe sonal
p oblems and ea s o u u e e en s, which esul only om language and a alse
sense o empo ali y. Reali y con on ed in he now is he ine able expe ience o
exis ence as pe ec , as lacking no hing (Wa s, 1960: 17-30; see also Suzuki,
1969: 57-60).
This p o ides a basis o wo ld-a i ming ac ion in e e yday li e. Ac ing in he
Zen way in quo idian li e is always e o less and lexible, which ollows om no
being in opposi ion wi h one’s ou e and inne eali y (Wa s, 1960: 67). A
human being exp essing Zen
is likened o a ball in a moun ain s eam, which is o say ha he canno be blocked,
s opped, o emba assed in any si ua ion. He ne e wobbles o di he s in his
mind, o hough he may pause in o e ac ion o hink a p oblem ou , he s eam
o his consciousness always mo es s aigh ahead wi hou being caugh in he
An i Saa i and Esko Ha ni Zen and he a o e e y hing
a icle | 107
icious ci cles o o anxie y o indecisi e doub , whe ein hough whi ls wildly
a ound wi hou issue. (Wa s, 1960: 68)
Such a lexible and c ea i e pe son exp esses he a o emen ioned emp iness o
oid (sunya a), which means he u e impe manence o exis ence. No hough s
o ou e obs acles ‘s ick’ in he pe son who ac s e o lessly: hey loa by wi hou
ic ion, wi hou clinging o concep ions o good o e il, possible o impossible
(Wa s, 1960: 68, 83-91). Wa s claims ha his a i ude is disce nible in ‘Bea
Zen’, in which he younge gene a ion o he 1950s was exp essing passi e
esis ance o he ‘Ame ican way o li e’. Such esis ance op s o a highly
indi idualis ic, easygoing li es yle in which one ‘does no seek o change he
exis ing o de bu simply u ns away om i o ind he signi icance o li e in
subjec i e expe ience a he han objec i e achie emen ’ (Wa s, 1960: 91). This
is opposed o wha Wa s a he pejo a i ely calls ‘Squa e Zen’, o ganized
Buddhism obsessed wi h i uals and hie a chies ha es ains he ee low o
spi i ual expe iences (Wa s, 1960: 103-105).
The a o emen ioned elemen s o ine able expe ience, wo ld a i ma ion, and
e o less and lexible ac ion in he p esen momen a e s ill disce nible in
con empo a y popula Zen li e a u e. Books on humanis psychology, sel -help
and managemen celeb a e he abili y o say ‘yes’ o he wo ld wi hou dis o ing
dualisms and ic ions. In managemen li e a u e, he Zen expe ience gained
popula i y in he 1980s wi h he ema kable success o Japanese managemen
heo ies and p ac ices. Companies such as Toyo a and Honda seemed o embody
a holis ic, in ui i e and lexible managemen ideology ha was con eyed o he
Wes e n hemisphe e wi h such wo ks as he all- ime bes selle managemen
book In Sea ch o Excellence. In he 1990s, Zen ecei ed u he a en ion as he
ech gu us o he Silicon Valley (such as S e e Jobs) ad oca ed Zen medi a ion as
a esou ce o ocus and c ea i i y (Williams, 2011: 44-49).
Wes e n Zen expe ience also plays a pa in Jon Kaba -Zinn’s idea o
mind ulness. T ained in Ko ean Zen Buddhism, Kaba -Zinn de ines
mind ulness as a medi a i e p ac ice o non-judgmen al ocus on he p esen
momen (Kaba -Zinn, 1994; Williams & Kaba -Zinn, 2013). Kaba -Zinnian
mind ulness is a he apeu ic p ac ice o ea ing expe iences o s ess, anxie y
and pain ha admi s a Buddhis in luence while being comple ely secula and
es ing on a Wes e n scien i ic ounda ion. Kaba -Zinn also gi es de ailed
accoun s on how o assume medi a ion pos u es, how o obse e one’s own
b ea hing and how o ela e o one’s own emo ions and hough s wi hou
judgmen (Kaba -Zinn, 1994; Williams and Kaba -Zinn, 2013).
epheme a: heo y & poli ics in o ganiza ion 16(4): 99-119
114 | a icle
de eloping hei own business en e p ises. Webe desc ibed a subjec i e
in e io i y as a p i a e space o moulding eligious i ues which would hen
also make up he ounda ion o a wo k e hic o e ec i eness and p o i
esponsibili y (Webe , 1930). One can ind consis ency wi h he Webe ian
accoun in he way subjec i e in e io i y and spi i uali y ha e become he ocal
poin o he en ep eneu ial wo k e hic. Howe e , he e y no ion o subjec i i y
now assumes a liquidi y o ‘emp iness’, as he e is seemingly no hing s able and
unchanging in he ideal en ep eneu . A guably, Zen discou se also des abilizes
on ological ca ego ies and he bina ies o mind and body and a ionali y and
a ec s, in a ou o he a ec i e and in ui i e aspec o p oduc i e ac ion. This
also has a di e en empo al o ien a ion, as a pe son p ac icing mind ulness is
no a ached o he u u e no he pas , bu ocuses s ingen ly on he p esen
momen only.
Holis ic cha ac e iza ions o spi i uali y in mind ulness discou ses also esona e
well wi h he no ion o gene al economy, in which he mos gene al aspec s o
wha makes us human, a e go e ned as sou ces o p o i . D awing om Zen
Buddhism, he en ep eneu ial celeb a ion o mind ulness highligh s i s abili y
o cul i a e c ea i i y, in ui i e and lexible ac ion and lea ning o lea n. I does
no speci y exac ly how and whe e en ep eneu ial spi i should be mani es , bu
ins ead, ocuses on hese me a-le el condi ions o en ep eneu ial beha io . This
can be unde s ood as an a emp o g asp he na u e o p oduc i e wo k as
i educible o spa ial o empo al exigencies.
Mo eo e , he way Zen spi i uali y is used in en ep eneu ship educa ion shows
he in en i e sweeping logic o capi alism: i b oadens i s own bounda ies by
assimila ing c i icism ha seems o come om ou side i . In his case, he
coun e cul u al and a imes decidedly an i-capi alis e hos o Zen Buddhism was
de e i o ialized and annexed o he e y condi ions o p oduc i e wo k in gene al
economy. This also highligh s he way capi alism does no only ‘ ep ess’ in he
sense o su oca ing human li e, bu c ea es human eali y and cul i a es i
p oduc i e o ces.
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he au ho s
An i Saa i wo ks as a pos -doc o al esea che in he Facul y o Educa ion a he
Uni e si y o Tampe e, Finland. His esea ch in e es s include he uses o spi i ual,
especially Buddhis discou ses in he go e nmen o educa ion. He has also done
esea ch on he his o y o educa ional psychology in Finland, Ge many and he US.
Email: an i.w.saa i@s a .u a. i
An i Saa i and Esko Ha ni Zen and he a o e e y hing
a icle | 119
Esko Ha ni (Facul y o Educa ion, Uni e si y o Tampe e, Finland) is cu en ly wo king
on his doc o al disse a ion in which he is ocusing on poli ical and epis emic go e nance
o en ep eneu ship in la e capi alism. He has also done esea ch on poli ical heo y and
poli ical philosophy, especially on Michel Foucaul ’s and Gio gio Agamben’s poli ical
hough . Email: espeha n@s uden .jyu. i