To me, it's quite the opposite. Dhamma gives me peace and induces strong passion that energises me in everything I do," says Kulvech Janvatanavit, a Business Development Partner at Pricewaterhouse-Coopers (PwC), who recently found a peaceful refuge in dhamma.

Peace of mind is indeed a necessity for Kulvech, who was recently assigned the task of coordinating various regional market-related activities in the global advisory and tax services empire.

At 42, he devotes much of his time to both his work and his family. On a normal day, he is at work before 7am, and is back home for dinner with his wife and two children at 7pm. Two hours after dinner, he heads back to his laptop and continues working until almost midnight. On top of this are overseas meetings as part of his job, which covers several territories in the Asia Pacific. In performing such a demanding role, he is required to be responsive to the global network.

"Coordinating our network to enhance relationships with our clients requires more than motivation. You cannot expect others to support your idea if you are not passionate about it yourself."

Slogging for long hours, a heavy workload, growing kids and ageing parents can be stressful for any one. But Kulvech appears to have beaten stress.

His secret?

Dhamma meditation, which Kulvech strongly believes has helped him handle his hectic life. However, he admits that he hasn't thoroughly studied the Lord Buddha's teachings.

As a graduate in engineering, Kulvech was initially involved in the sugar-trade business in London. He later went on to do a master's degree at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Although his studies and lifestyle left little room for dhamma to penetrate his mind, it did.

About five years ago, his father-in-law experienced a major heart operation, spurring Kulvech's wife to begin exploring stress-relieving activities. This exercise led her to the world of dhamma, and to her first meditation class. It was in this first class that she began to understand the cause of stress and how to reconcile with it. Seeing the benefit of such meditation, she persuaded Kulvech to join her at the next class. And he hasn't looked back since.

"It helps you surrender to the natural state of life, and see life as it is. It helps you become more realistic about what to expect from others. And that really makes you a happier person. It is this positive mindset that fuels my passion for work and life," he says.

Each year, for the last two years, Kulvech and his wife have enrolled in the meditation programme at the Young Buddhists Association of Thailand. Though they had to follow a rather strict regimen, Kulvech did not mind waking up at 3am, or living separately from his wife.

"As soon as we arrived at the meditation centre, we were separated. We just nodded to each other - 'see you later'," he said. "Even though we were living in the same building, we didn't talk or even glance at each other. We were instructed to live a secluded life."

Each day at the meditation centre, Kulvech would share his experiences with a leader who would guide him on how to look deeply into the root of the problem, and solve it with full conscience. Throughout the day, he had to practise meditation on his own and was not allowed to communicate with others.

To Kulvech, that was a way of life he had never experienced before. Usually, meetings and discussions with colleagues or clients are an indispensable part of his work life. Nevertheless, he found it better to be at the centre than meditating at home, where distractions from work or family often interfere.

After an eight-day stay at the meditation centre, Kulvech returned home, at peace and relaxed. While the peace quickly disappeared as he returned to the reality of everyday life, he was glad for that brief moment when he unloaded all the stress from his mind. "Every time I return to my job after meditation, I feel energised to deal with all the work."

Tidayut Nophaket, a senior manager for marketing and communications at PwC, agrees that meditation has done a great deal in helping Kulvech balance life and work.

"When he gets back from a retreat, he looks jovial," she says. "He's been trying for some time to persuade me to join him, and I think I will the next time."

And it's not just Kulvech who's using meditation to improve his work-life balance. Many others at PwC are seeing the benefits of meditation. In fact, they already have a meditation club for employees.

For Kulvech, dhamma has changed his life for the better, and it continues to lead him peacefully through the bustling world of international business.

Achara Deboonme

The Nation