Ethics in Practice

After a nice dinner of falafel with tahini, and a huge salad the conversation drifted to economy and the stock market. I shifted to reading my book about Mao. When I hear discussions about corporations, the stock market or global economies, I seem to get personally offended as the protector of the poor. I learned it is best for me to shy away. Yet when the talk drifted to ethics, I could not resist and returned to the table with an excuse of getting a cherry.

What makes a stockbroker ethical? How are work ethics kept by a professor that has received tenure? What about the guest at the hotel that does not pay bills, should he use unlimited water? He did pay a high price for the room…

The Law

Gil described the laws that are there to keep the brokers ethical, and said that the main thing is to always put the clients’ interests first. This is when I could not help myself and jumped in “so if my client’s interest is to make money, I can invest his money anywhere as long as I make money for him, even if I know that I’m investing in companies that are destroying the planet?”

“What is ethics?” Brian kept asking. “It is not something we can talk about. We cannot judge ethics by the action. People tried to define this for centuries and it is very hard to put in words.” “It is the intention that counts “Sonya added. “But how can we know what the true intention of the person is? “ Asked Brian. Indeed the intention is crucial and that is why we have courts, to know the facts and as much as possible motives and thoughts beyond the actions.

Everyone knows someone

Again an example of people acting in a way that seems unethical was brought up. Seems like each person around the table had an example that bothered them. Maybe this is why this keeps coming up around the world. Reading about Mao surely makes me wonder. How can someone so unethical manage to become such a figure in controlling so many others?

Self-responsibility I said. I believe that we all know what the right thing to do at every moment is. If we look inside we know what would be best for the person involved, for society, for the planet…it is not a calculated knowledge, rather more of an instinct. First, knowing that what I think, speak or do will not harm anyone or anything, and then seeing the best interest of the other.

This summary of mine was mostly accepted yet it received some criticism that it cannot be implemented. How does one become self-responsible? What is the motivation behind being self-responsible? Why not take care only of myself?

Further thought

When thinking of how I came to act the way I act I realized that it was through education and life experience (and inherent nature?). I feel calm and true to myself so long as I know I have truly done my best with out being selfish.

Some education was from school and parents, but what always stuck with me was the saying, “Do unto others as you would want done to you.” So if I am teaching a Yoga class and I have done my duties of teaching and adjusting, but have a few extra moments to help one more student, knowing that they would like to receive the extra help (even if they do not expect it), I will take the extra effort and be of service beyond what is required. Sometimes just lending an ear, or noticing who might appreciate a hand, and being there quietly, as service, as a friend.

Educate the people

Education includes also self-education, sitting in meditation and asking tough questions, such as “who am I?” or “why do I do what I do?” Education served as a means to introduce the importance of caring, the significance of nature and humans. Life experience, one of my biggest teachers, included travel, meeting people from other cultures, befriending “enemies” and the choice of friends I made. Seeing the humanness in everyone, understanding the vulnerability of others and knowing where true happiness comes from help carry out a life of awareness.

Gil was happy with the solution of education yet insisted that all other measures of law and enforcement are to still be around till most humans can really act that way. At least it serves as prevention for bad ethics.

So I urge each and every one of us to be SELF RESPONSIBLE, not to look at what others do or don’t, not to search for blame or excuses, not to compare, but to do our best to be the best we can for one another. This will ultimately be very self-rewarding.

As Socrates said: “The truly wise man will know what is right, do what is good and therefore be happy” (Sahakian, William S. & Sahakian, Mabel Lewis. Ideas of the Great Philosophers. pp 32-33)

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