The Diamond Cutter Review

the-diamond-cutterThe Diamond Cutter – Geshe Michael Roach

Michael Roach, a Buddhist monk in the Tibetan tradition, was encouraged by his principal teacher to enter the world of business as the perfect laboratory to test out Buddhist wisdom and ideas in real life. He soon finds himself working in the Diamond business, which means a two hour commute every day from the monastery to Manhattan.

In The Diamond Cutter Michael Roach tells the story of how he helped to build the Andin International Diamond Corporation (which started from a $50.000 loan and 3 to 4 employees,  to a company making sales in excess of 100 million dollars with over 500 employees all over the world) using his Buddhist values.

The beauty of this book is that it is blending 3 different topics together:

  • The story of how a diamond company is operating. Which in itself is quite interesting, you will never again wonder why a diamond ring cost you a fortune.
  • The Diamond Sutra, an ancient text of conversations between the Buddha and one of his disciples
  • What the Buddhist concept of emptiness and the law of cause and effect, or karma,  is and how it will impact your leadership decisions, business and daily life

The above makes The Diamond Cutter a mix of a typical leadership book in the style of Stephen Covey’s 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, and a book about Tibetan Buddhist principles. Recommended.

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1 comment… add one
  • Jade Apr 12, 2009 @ 1:30

    Nice book review. I think everyone is a rough diamond. One hasn’t become a shining diamond, because one hasn’t met the right diamond cutter.

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