Tzu Chi's Organizing for a Compassionate World: Insights into the Communicative Praxis of a Buddhist Organization

Abstract

Scholars have recently begun to reflect on the potential benefits of “Buddhist organizing” for organizational theory and practice. However, relatively few scholars have empirically studied what people actually do to put a Buddhist philosophy into organizational action. To address this issue, this study examines how Mahayana (Madhyamaka) Buddhism is translated into everyday organizing practices by investigating the interactions in which people engage to organize the Buddhist Compassion Relief Tzu Chi Foundation, a Taiwanese Buddhist nonprofit voluntary organization. The results of this research offer important insights for the study and practice of Buddhist compassion and wisdom in an organizational context.