Name:______
Activity: Zen and Economics – The Profit Motive
Please read the following story “Three Days More” from the book Zen Flesh, Zen Bones compiled by Paul Reps and Nyogen Senzaki and answer the following questions.
Three Days More
Suiwo, the disciple of Hakuin, was a good teacher. During one summer seclusion period, a pupil came to him from the southern island of Japan. Suiwo gave him the problem: “hear the sound of one hand.” The pupil remained three years but could not pass the test. One night he came in tears to Suiwo. “I must return south in shame and embarrassment,” he said, “for I cannot solve my problem.”
“Wait one week more and meditate constantly,” advised Suiwo. Still no enlightenment came to the pupil. “Try for another week,” said Suiwo. The pupil obeyed, but in vain. “Still another week.” Yet this was to no avail. In despair, the student begged to be released, but Suiwo requested another meditation of five days. They were without result. Then he said: “Meditate for three days longer, then if you fail to attain enlightenment, you had better kill yourself.”
On the second day the pupil was enlightened.
- Zen Flesh, Zen Bones compiled by Paul Reps and Nyogen Senzaki
1. How does the continual allowance for the pupil to have more time relate to production by the government and the incentives faced by the public sector?
2. How does giving the student the ultimatum of killing himself if he does not solve his problem relate to the profit motive and incentives faced by the private sector?
3. Based on the story and the information presented in class, which do you think will be more likely to produce most things more efficiently, the government or the private sector?
EC Activity: Zen and Economics – The Profit Motive (Answer Key)
Please read the following story “Three Days More” from the book Zen Flesh, Zen Bones compiled by Paul Reps and Nyogen Senzaki and answer the following questions.
Three Days More
Suiwo, the disciple of Hakuin, was a good teacher. During one summer seclusion period, a pupil came to him from the southern island of Japan. Suiwo gave him the problem: “hear the sound of one hand.” The pupil remained three years but could not pass the test. One night he came in tears to Suiwo. “I must return south in shame and embarrassment,” he said, “for I cannot solve my problem.”
“Wait one week more and meditate constantly,” advised Suiwo. Still no enlightenment came to the pupil. “Try for another week,” said Suiwo. The pupil obeyed, but in vain. “Still another week.” Yet this was to no avail. In despair, the student begged to be released, but Suiwo requested another meditation of five days. They were without result. Then he said: “Meditate for three days longer, then if you fail to attain enlightenment, you had better kill yourself.”
On the second day the pupil was enlightened.
- Zen Flesh, Zen Bones compiled by Paul Reps and Nyogen Senzaki
1. How does the continual allowance for the pupil to have more time relate to production by the government and the incentives faced by the public sector?
Since the government does not face the profit motive and it is not their money that they are spending and risking, they tend to operate more inefficiently then the private sector would. If a government department comes in over budget then the department’s budget may get expanded rather than the department being shut down, which is likely what would happen to a private sector industry in a competitive market that operated inefficiently. The student consistently being allowed more time to solve his problem is similar to a government department that consistently gets more time and money regardless of how well it does.
2. How does giving the student the ultimatum of killing himself if he does not solve his problem relate to the profit motive and incentives faced by the private sector?
The private sector faces the ultimatum of operating efficiently or going out of business. This means that everyone involved in running a firm has a huge incentive to make sure things are going as efficiently as possible because it is their livelihood on the line and money out of their pocket if they operate inefficiently. In this Zen story, when the student must solve the problem or kill himself, he had a greater incentive to achieve enlightenment then he had before and, thus, achieved his goal. When the prospect of significantly negative outcomes that are detrimental to our welfare is the cost of not achieving something, then we are more likely to achieve it.
3. Based on the story and the information presented in class, which do you think will be more likely to produce most things more efficiently, the government or the private sector?
From both the perspective of the story and historical examples, as well as an intuitive understanding of human behavior, one could easily conclude that the private sector is more likely to produce most things more efficiently that the government.