In the end, commerce is a way of helping each other fulfill our human needs. Thirteenth-century Japanese Zen master Dogen says in his essay, The Bodhisattva’s Four Methods of Guidance, “To launch a boat or build a bridge is an act of giving . . . Making a living and producing things can be nothing other than giving.” It is possible for us to buy and sell in a spirit of participation and compassion. We can recognize in material goods an opportunity to meet each other on the ground of our shared human needs.
Norman Fischer
from When You Greet Me I Bow