If Buddha was alive today, if he had a demanding job in the business world, if he had a family and a house to take care of, if he had dozens of projects and goals at work and at home, could he still gain enlightenment? Could he find a way to clear his head so completely from all his obligations that he could tune into this moment and achieve Nirvana?
He would be meditating under a tree, tuning into his breath, trying to find the key by which human beings could achieve lasting peace and serenity--looking for the answer, for enlightenment. Would he have found the answer if he knew he had three projects that were woefully over due and over budget, and he had not yet figured out how to get them under control?
This is the spiritual side of a time management system such as David Allen's "Getting Things Done". All those goals, project lists, action plans, and schedule events go into a paper or electronic system outside of your brain. If you review that information often enough to keep it current and up to date, and if you act based on your system to get things done and move towards your goals, your mind learns to trust that the information is safe "out there", in your system, outside of your mind. Your mind realizes it doesn't need to expend energy trying to remember these commitments.
So the answer is, yes, the Buddha could have been a business man and still could have found enlightenment in deep, focused meditation. But only if he had a good planner and calendar.
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