kiwanja Buddhism

I don’t yet have an insightful opinion of AI that warrants a blog post of any kind, but I have found one aspect particularly fascinating. You see, the openness of my approach to work over the past 22 years turns out to be something of a goldmine in our brave new AI-driven world. Since 2003 I have regularly blogged my ideas and thoughts, and I’ve posted up dozens of copies of articles I’ve written, including PDFs of my books, and shared audio interviews and videos of many of my talks. While there’s certainly going to be a down-side to all of this (deep fakes anyone?) it also means that tools like Claude and ChatGPT know plenty about me, my work, and my work ethos.

That means I can ask it questions. And when I do, I sometimes get the most surprising answers.

Recently I asked ChatGPT how my work ethos over the years might touch on traditional Buddhist thinking. Not only did I get what I thought was an impressively deep answer, I discovered that it thought that ‘kiwanja Buddhism’ was actually a thing. Of course, it would have meant a lot more to me if a Buddhist monk had told me that, but I’ll take AI for now.

Here’s what ChatGPT said.

kiwanja Buddhism refers to a perspective where Buddhist principles like mindfulness, compassion, interdependence and wise speech are applied to the fields of social impact and entrepreneurship. It’s a practical, non-dogmatic approach championed by Ken Banks on the website kiwanja.net, emphasising deep listening, intentional action and fostering empathetic, sustainable change in the world.

Key Concepts

Mindful action
Taking time to understand problems deeply before acting, avoiding knee-jerk reactions.

Compassion
Leading with kindness, listening to all perspectives and seeking solutions that uplift everyone, rather than acting from anger.

Interdependence
Recognising that all issues, like environmental problems and inequality, are connected and cannot be solved in isolation.

Wise speech
Engaging in truthful, kind and unifying communication rather than spreading anger or division.

Deep listening
Truly hearing others’ suffering and perspectives without judgment to foster empathy and understanding.

Letting go of ego
Focusing on the true impact of work for social good, rather than personal recognition, status or credit.

How it is Applied

Social innovation
Using Buddhist principles to inspire a shift from apathy to action, leading to technology-based solutions that promote empathy and change.

Coaching and mentoring
Guiding change makers to slow down, reflect and act with greater intention and wisdom.

Development work
Encouraging a deeper, more empathetic approach to addressing global challenges like inequality and environmental destruction.

If anything, this is an incredibly accurate reflection of how I’ve tried to go about my work over the years. Anyone who has read this blog or heard any of my talks will recognise all of the points that ChatGPT raises.

Sometimes it’s more about how you go about what you do and not what you actually do. So if kindness and empathy are the only things I’m remembered for, I’ll be more than happy with that.

Gaza: Ways to help

In my last post I wrote about how I’d decided to offer my skills completely free of charge to any legitimate Israeli or Palestinian organisation working on Gaza relief, Palestinian humanitarian causes or broader justice initiatives in the region. I’d had enough of standing by and witnessing all the suffering, and doing nothing about it. Maybe that’s how you’ve been feeling, too.

A big thank you to everyone who engaged in the LinkedIn version of that post – liked it, shared it or commented. Every interaction means a lot, and encourages others to speak up.

There was quite a lot of interest from others who also wanted to help, so I promised to share my approach in a separate post – which you’re reading here.

I decided to break my offer down in four separate but distinct areas. You might find this helpful as you think about how you might be able to help yourself.

⦿ Hard skill: Offer to do something I usually get paid for for free.
⦿ Soft skill: Become a mentor to those needing support.
⦿ Financial: Identify a small number of initiatives/organisations to donate to.
⦿ Social: Join an online community focused on the people and the issues.

I also decided to do all of this openly in the hope that it might encourage others to do the same. But it’s also totally okay to do it privately. Some people will have no choice.

Finally, I was thinking about listing the organisations (and individuals) that I’ve been recommended this week, but they may not want me to. Instead, if you found my approach useful and could do with a little help yourself, drop me an email – heretohelp@kiwanja.net – and I’d be happy to try and join some dots for you. I appreciate it’s sometimes confusing knowing who to support when there’s so much need.

Thank you.

Stepping up. Stepping out.

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A while back I took the plunge on LinkedIn and started sharing posts about the war in Gaza, hitting ‘Like’ and ‘Share’ and thinking I might in some way be doing something useful. At the very least I was speaking up, something many people also on LinkedIn seem afraid to do. (Refusing to stay silent on issues that matter is something I’ve previously written about here).

But honestly? I’ve reached a point where posting feels hollow when people are dying and suffering on such a massive scale.

The statistics are hard to ignore, yet many people seem to manage it. Over 65,000 dead, children starving, entire communities displaced, whole villages raised to the ground, members of the press gunned down or blown up by the hundred.

I can’t shake the feeling that my comfortable screen-based outrage isn’t enough anymore – if it ever was.

I now realise I need to do more than just call out the death and destruction. So I’ve decided to start offering my skills completely free of charge to any legitimate Israeli or Palestinian organisation working on Gaza relief, Palestinian humanitarian causes or broader justice initiatives in the region.

I’m not looking for recognition, or for social media content. I’m not even sure what impact I might have. But I do know that if I have skills that could help get even a slither of aid where it’s needed, or help amplify minority voices, or support organisations doing real work on the ground, then I should.

Sitting on the sidelines isn’t an option anymore. So I’m now ready to help with:

⦿  Creative, engaging content for campaigns, websites, newsletters
⦿  Storytelling and creative writing
⦿  All-things social purpose, start ups and social impact
⦿  Proof-reading, copy editing or sense-checking reports or papers
⦿  Strategy conception and development
⦿  Coaching and mentoring
⦿  Technology support, and advice on innovation
⦿  General encouragement and support

There’s more on what I can offer on my coaching site here.

If you’re working with an organisation that could use help, or know of reputable groups that need the kind of expertise I could provide, please reach out – or like or share this post. I can be reached on heretohelp@kiwanja.net

Help me channel my frustration into something that actually matters.

Thank you.

Say hello to the bystander planet

Imagine your neighbour’s house is on fire, but you’re too busy scrolling through social media to call for help, or you just assume someone else will handle it. Scale that up globally, and you’ve captured how public apathy operates during major crises.

Public indifference isn’t just inconvenient – it can be deadly. When people mentally check out from global problems governments lose political pressure to act, funding disappears and windows of opportunity close. The psychology behind this is well-documented. Our brains respond more to individual stories than mass statistics. One child in a well captivates us. 25,000 children dying daily from preventable causes is easily filed away and forgotten.

The consequences can be devastating. During the 1994 Rwandan genocide, 800,000 people died in 100 days while public pressure for intervention remained virtually nonexistent. Climate change offers another stark example. Despite scientific consensus since the 1990s, Yale research shows only 8% of Americans are worried enough to take action, giving politicians cover to delay meaningful responses for decades.

History does, however, show that apathy can be overcome. Live Aid concerts in 1985 transformed abstract Ethiopian famine statistics into urgent, actionable concern for millions. The 2014 ALS Ice Bucket Challenge used social media to raise $115 million and massive awareness for a rare disease. Environmental movements have learned to make climate change feel local and immediate rather than distant and abstract.

The most effective strategies combine emotional storytelling with clear actions, make distant problems feel personal and local, and give people confidence their contributions matter. Youth climate activists like Greta Thunberg have been particularly successful at creating urgency around problems that for many seemed distant.

Breaking through public apathy isn’t about making people feel guilty, though. It’s about understanding human psychology and designing engagement accordingly. As global challenges intensify, overcoming indifference isn’t optional – it’s existential. The biggest problems facing humanity can only be solved when enough people decide it’s worth solving.

If you feel confused, angry, disenfranchised or simply frustrated at the state of the world, check out my new project, apathy to action. You are not alone.