Hello\nMy name is Rohan\nNow the title of my talk here today is Disrupting The Awakening Industry\nBut back a while ago when I was planning the talk it had an alternative title\n
Wake up! Why only spiritual innovation can save Buddhism\n\nWarning: this is a provocation\nSo as a provocation, you may not agree what what I’m going to say\nBut that is sort of the point\n
the history of Buddhist is one of innovation\n
and while that will continue to be the case, I believe that we’re at a juncture in Buddhist history right now\nBack before 1998, home computers were beige boxes, functional\nWhat Apple did with the release of the iMac was that they said that computers can be as beautiful as they are functional and it also had some revolutionary new features.\nAnd so it changed the history of technology manufacturing forever\nI believe that Buddhism is on the verge of its iMac moment. \nI also believe that we desperately need it.\n
Calling Buddhism an industry of awakening is a bit much for some people but I’ve always found it useful to look across boundaries and use different language as a way of teasing out new insights\nAnd of course Buddhism as an industry of awakening started with Dhammacakkapavatana sutta, otherwise known as the four noble truths\nFirst great codifier, or management consultant, also brilliant marketer\n
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Buddhist Geeks podcast on this topic\ncentre of gravity of teaching approaches does not match the interest\nit’s a supply and demand issue\n
maintaining authenticity through growth\n
established industries are collapsing around us and this is no different\n
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how we organise is not resilient\n
emphasis on free\nwhen it should be about sustainability\n
servicing buildings rather than teaching programmes\n
supporting the old vs supporting the new\ngenerational challenge when age and leadership are often intertwined\n
freedom\n
the successful exploitation of new ideas\n
commercial -> social -> spiritual\n
healthy interplay between the different parts of the system\n
the new behaviour\nmany to many vs one to many\n
keeping it real as more and more people want a piece of the mental well being game\n
so how do we get there, what are the practical things we should be doing\nThree things\n
Firstly investment\nRaising money for refurbishing wings of retreat centres if incredibly inefficient\nIf we want commercial return there are investment funds for that\nIf we want social return, there are investment funds for that\nIf we genuinely want spiritual return, then there have to be funds for that\n
But to invest in what? R&D\nSmall scale entrepreneurs\nExisting organisations developing new business models\nTying up the two\n
Focus on making\nThere are now enough dharma talks in the world\nBut not enough dharma hacks\nSo let’s get making them\n
