Paradox from a Buddhist Perspective

Abstract

Given the intellectual intersection of paradox theory and Eastern thought, many organizational researchers have explored the concept of paradox through the lens of Eastern philosophy. However, how this philosophy actually manifests itself in people’s daily lives largely remains unexplored. Through five years of fieldwork across 32 Korean Buddhist temples that confronted the visceral tension between the need for financial resources and the religious values that disavow money, this study investigates how paradox manifests in the lives of Buddhist monks. Through a deep immersion into their lives, I revealed six cognitive tactics that Buddhist monks use to address the tension they experience. Additionally, I examined how meditation contributes to their identification of the nature of this tension. The findings contribute to paradox theory in several ways. First, it theorizes the monks’ fundamental worldview of tension by integrating the perspectives of Buddhist philosophy, paradox theory, and mindfulness. Second, it offers an alternative perspective to the recent debate on the ontology of paradox. Altogether, this study raises the important question of whether the organizational phenomenon or mechanism that organizational researchers believe to be paradox is indeed paradox.