In this episode, I chat with Thane Lawrie, a devout Zen practitioner and former CEO of a non-profit organization in Scotland. An early encounter with a Soto Zen monk from Throssel Hole Buddhist Abbey enthralled and inspired Thane to begin a daily meditation practice that he augmented each year with by several longer retreats. He’s been practicing now for more than 25 years as a dedicated householder with the heart of a monastic. Thane’s first novel, The Buddhist CEO, explores the struggles of Hamish, a father and husband and lay practitioner who struggles to integrate his Bodhisattva vows into his day-to-day activities as a CEO of a large non-profit organization.
Thane Lawrie is an award-winning Chief Executive Officer (CEO) in his home country of Scotland. A graduate of the University of Aberdeen and University of Glasgow, Thane has had a diverse career which culminated in him leading and transforming a once struggling social enterprise and going on to win numerous prestigious business awards both locally and nationally, including the prestigious Sunday Times Top 100 companies to work for in the UK. Thane attributes success to nurturing a strong workplace culture focusing on the staff at the very heart of the organization.
Thane is married with two sons and has been a practicing Buddhist for over twenty years. This is Thane’s first novel although he has previously published in academic peer reviewed journals in the field of health science.
I climb the road to cold mountain,
The road to cold mountain that never ends.
The valleys are long and strew with stones;
The streams broad and banked with thick grass.
Moss is slippery; though no rain has fallen;
Pines sigh, but it isn’t the wind.
Who can break from the snares of the world
And sit with me among the white clouds?
A Buddhist CEO Dreams of Hermits