Buddhist book required for a Prudential Realty managers' seminar |
A major real estate subsidiary of the giant Prudential Insurance Co. says the book "Buddha: 9 to 5" is a "business" book, and that's why it was used at a managers' training seminar.
"'Buddha: 9 to 5' is a successful book on how to grow a successful business. It was used in the context of business," Sam Kraemer, the general counsel for Prudential California Realty, told WND today.
The issue arose because of a complaint letter, as WND reported, on behalf of a former manager who is preparing legal action against the company alleging she was fired after blowing the whistle on mandatory Eastern religious exercises.
The former manager's lawyer, Richard Ackerman of
Ackerman Cowles & Associates, wrote to Prudential demanding the company stop requiring participation in the religious practices and warning he has been retained to pursue claims of religious discrimination, "hostile environment" and harassment against his client that led to her termination.
Ackerman told Prudential California Realty, a Berkshire Hathaway affiliate, it must stop the "discriminatory practice of segregating Christians from other
employees and forcing employees to adopt and practice Buddhist theology as an implied or express condition of
their ... employment."
Kraemer told WND he could not comment specifically on the case but affirmed that the book was used at the seminar, and it is a "business" book, used for its business information.
However, Amazon.com lists the book under "Religion & Spirituality," as well as "Buddhism" and "Buddha," and describes it as "based on the Buddhist practice of the Eightfold Path."
The author, Nancy Spears, is described as "a former marketing executive who embraced spiritual practice as a means to survival in the corporate workplace." She also serves on the board for the Shambhala Mountain Center in Aspen, Colo.
Google books contains a similar description of the title: "It shows readers how to apply the Buddhist concepts."
Another online source said the book "shows readers how to apply the Buddhist concepts of intention, mindfulness and right action to business."
Kraemer declined to confirm that the employees were required to participate in darkened-room chant sessions, again citing the complaint letter submitted to the company.
Ackerman told WND his client was
instructed to go to a managers' seminar and was given the book to study beforehand.
The book, boasting it was "based on the Buddhist practice of the Eightfold Path," provides "a hands-on
set of tools to reawaken yourself, your employees, and your organization."
"Using the Buddhist concepts of Intention, Mindfulness, and Right Action, you'll be able to reap prosperity
not just in profits but in stronger connections with your employees and your customers," the book instructs.
Ackerman's letter noted the chant sessions in which everyone was instructed to sit in the lotus position with hands
held overhead while the "om" chant was performed.
The "om" chant actually is more often associated with Hinduism. An online information resource for
the religion states, "The goal which all the Vedas declare, which all austerities aim at, and which men desire
when they lead the life of continence ... is om. ... Whosoever knows this syllable obtains all that he desires. ...
Whosoever knows this support is adored in the world of Brahma."
At the seminar, after the lights were turned back on, those who "felt uncomfortable" with the activity were
required to stand and explain. Ackerman said participation in the mysticism by his client, the wife of a local evangelical pastor, conflicted with her religious and moral principle.
"Basically what they did was made her life miserable [following her objections]," Ackerman said.
Ackerman's letter to the real estate company cited its "2007 Fall Leadership Conference - 'Rise Above'
Lake Arrowhead" event.
"The event was, by all accounts, a required part of employment," Ackerman's letter said. "Part of the event
included an unexpected and rather shocking indoctrination into Buddhist theology and actual meditation/prayer
practices.
"Both the speakers and the content of the conference required employee acceptance of anti-Christian
theology, practices and beliefs," Ackerman wrote. "While our office can conceptually understand the perceived
need for acceptance, equality, and diversity, it is certainly unusual to require employees to engage in actual
prayer/meditation exercises. Had employees been required to participate in Bible study, management-led
compulsory prayer to the Holy Trinity, or other similar Christian practices, one can rest assured that complaints
would be aplenty."
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