Davee Evans — Tue, 24 Jul 2007 00:29:13 GMT

Can’t say I’ve ever seen Bodhisattva Shantideva’s writing in a business context before, thank you for working him into modern considerations.

In my spiritual path, I’ve done a terrible job of following his advice. But his “exchanging self and other” suggestion to me means to always think of the welfare of others and try to see the world from the viewpoint of others as much as one can, instead of peering from the habitual castle of ‘self’ and ‘mine’. This does seem really in line with the discipline of design, since the overcoming of one’s bias and having a wider viewpoint is crucial for good design.

Perhaps verse 110 from chapter 8 could be a usability designer’s creed (Padmakara Translation):

Just as I defend myself,
from all unpleasant happenings however small,
Likewise I shall act for others’ sake,
To guard and protect them with compassion.

Boxes and Arrows: Comments by Davee Evans