When Dharma Enters the Boardroom: Translating Buddhist Practice in the Netzwerk Achtsame Wirtschaft

This article examines how Buddhist and contemplative ideas are adapted to contemporary economic and organizational settings through the case of the Netzwerk Achtsame Wirtschaft (NAW), a German-speaking network founded by Kai Romhardt. Drawing on organizational texts, participant observation, field notes, and semi-structured interviews with practitioners, the study follows how Buddhist ethical concepts are reformulated in the language and routines of work, consumption, and organizational development. The case shows that this translation creates real openings for reflection on economic life. Practices such as mindfulness, collective reflection, and non-adversarial forms of engagement can interrupt habitual patterns of attention and introduce ethical questions into everyday organizational settings. Their reach, however, remains shaped by the institutions in which they operate. Market expectations, client demands, organizational routines, and the pressures of commercialization continue to influence how contemplative practices are presented and used. The discussion of “McMindfulness” is therefore grounded in the specific conditions under which mindfulness enters economic life. NAW neither escapes these pressures nor simply reproduces them. Its practices reveal a more unsettled process in which Buddhist ideas are continually adapted, tested, and renegotiated within existing organizational and market structures.