When we look for spiritual guidance, one of the last people we turn to in our communities are lawyers. Yet, this is part of the perception that James A. Lynch, Jr. Esquire hopes to change. A former attorney turned professor and Buddhist leader, he joins the Tzu Chi Center‘s talk program, C.A.F.E. 229 for a talk on how the world of business need not oppose spirituality.

In fact, James focuses on these very things through his work at Brooklyn College. There, he teaches courses in business law, negotiation, and happiness and spirituality in the workplace. When asked by host Peter Lin, Ph.D, he says that while the links may not be obvious, these areas are all connected:

“The goal is to go beyond the superficial ideas about how we relate to each other in a society.”

James goes on further to say that while the pandemic had changed many things, it added yet another layer to the suffering, including the stress of modern-day living, that already afflicts humanity in the 21st century:

“Put COVID aside – so many people are overwhelmed… [with] technology, what’s their place in the world?, what’s their future like?, what’s the planet’s future going to be like? So there’s so much stress, so it’s so very important to be able to… come “home”… to where there’s peace, where there’s love, where there’s compassion.”

He also stresses that our places or roles in society do not mean that we are inherently different from those around us. Drawing on core beliefs in Buddhism, he explains that once we embrace our oneness, the potential for transformation blossoms:

“As a Buddhist practitioner, our practice and modality is to say: we are part of one great life… One of the difficulties is the idea of separation; you’re there – I’m there, my tribe – my group, my ‘whatever.’ But if we can see life as one great movement of hope and love, then, it doesn’t matter what we look like… things can be radically different.”

Watch his talk in full in the video above.