The Potential of Combining Existential Hermeneutic Phenomenology and Zen Practice: Using Western and Eastern Existential Insights to Interpret Managerial Lived Experience

Although in the past qualitative research in the field of management did not achieve much acknowledgement, mainly due to the impossibility of synthesising subjective experiences into generally valid statements, there is now a recognition of the significant importance of it. This is due to dynamic changes in society and global challenges that place high demands on managers and put pressure on the need to come up with new creative solutions to problems. The qualitative approach allows understanding the value orientation and the very ways of being of a manager, which is an important prerequisite for their self-development and learning. This paper highlights the intersections between the existential themes found in the research perspectives of existential hermeneutic phenomenology and Zen practice and proposes the development of a cross-cultural research framework that provides an interpretation of the lived experience of managers. The core existential insights that help to understand the lived experience of managers are the positive meaning of existential disruptions and dilemmas, authenticity of experience, and dialogical learning.

Studies aimed at highlighting the intersections between Western and Eastern knowledge and insights applied in management show that some similarities can be found across cultural traditions. Also, studies in the field of comparative philosophy suggest that forms of Buddhism and Zen Buddhism are appropriate directions for analysis, where it is possible to find similar themes to works in existential philosophy or existential psychology (Müller and Vaseková 2022).
This article highlights the possibility of enriching the research practice of existential hermeneutic phenomenology with the practice of Zen through the use of shared insights concerning the meaning of existential disruptions and dilemmas, authenticity and dialogue. As Hill (2004, p. 122) mentions, we "have figured out how to change knowledge and skill, but it is the transformation of being -the identity, character, world views, and values about which we still know the least". It is these themes that can be uncovered within qualitative research, whose modes of enquiry, analysis and interpretation will be informed by approaches that ensure sensitivity to existentially attuned questions. Cunliffe (2009) shows, philosophy helps us to look at reality in different ways, to question our ways of being in the world in order to arrive at new ways of making sense of our lived experience.
Linking appropriate philosophical approaches helps us to improve qualitative research methods and come to a better understanding of managerial and business practice, which is particularly important in today's world of crises and disruptions.

The Importance of Existentially Oriented Qualitative Research in Management
Existential hermeneutic phenomenology represents a qualitative approach that seeks to understand the very being of respondents and its transformations, often in the context of situations and phenomena that affect their lived experience and the shaping of the meaning of that experience. Exploring the transformations of ways of being a manager can be well implemented when confronting managers with difficult situations that have a profound effect on their emotional experience or understanding of their identity.
Research on critical moments of managerial practice helps to understand the situation of managers who are confronted with constant pressure to perform and have to solve new problems in an original way. These descriptions of managerial experience are very close to the ideas of existential authors, and even in the field of management we find numerous uses of existentially oriented philosophy and phenomenology for the self-development of managers and to draw attention to their essentially existential position (Odiorne 1966;Segal 2010;Müller and Kubátová 2022;Müller and Vaseková 2022). Qualitative research helps to understand how managers cope with crises and what lies behind the causes of these crises. Philosophy then provides both a framework for understanding these contexts, but also a tool for self-development for managers seeking various alternatives in the fields of psychology, philosophy and spirituality to help them deal with failure, stress and other problems. In addition, the research participants -managers -have the opportunity to recapitulate their experiences during the research interviews and thus come to a realization of significant facts. It is primarily the redescription of a critical situation -existential disruptions -that leads to the discovery of new opportunities (see Rolfe et al. 2016Rolfe et al. , 2017Müller et al. 2022a, b;Müller and Jedličková 2020).
The original interpretive framework of existential hermeneutic phenomenology that has been used in the field of managerial lived experience research relies primarily on Heidegger's (2001) existential analysis. Existential disruptions -situations where familiar ways of working cease to apply and crises are experienced -are analysed in the context of several stages drawing on Heidegger's philosophy (Rolfe et al. 2016(Rolfe et al. , 2017. The first phase is related to inauthenticity which is characterised by forgetting about being in the mechanical doing of work. The next phase is then associated with situations that shake up familiar methods of work, mechanical procedures. The managerial practice is disrupted and feelings of failure, existential anxiety, uncertainty are present, and there is an experience of crisis that in the long run can lead to burnout if not overcome (Müller 2019). Important for overcoming critical moments is the articulation of problems -existential disruptions -and the process of redescription and deconstruction of uncertainty, in which the manager can challenge experienced assumptions -structures of thought. The critical situation thus has a positive dimension, as it helps to return to an authentic mode of being, which makes it possible to achieve a new way of thinking. This self-development is important for dealing with the challenges the manager faces and helps to discover new opportunities (see Rolfe et al. 2016Rolfe et al. , 2017. Müller and Jedličková (2020) build on this interpretive framework and extend it in the context of interpersonal interaction through the philosophy of Eugene Fink and Jan Patočka. It is intersubjectivity that is under-emphasized in Heidegger's work, with interpersonal relationships providing an important foundation for successful managerial work. Fink characterizes human beings as co-existence, as we relate to the world and other people through the so-called co-existentials, which are work, struggle, love, play and death. These co-existentials are interconnected and all these categories are intersubjective (Müller and Jedličková 2020;Fink 1979). Human existence is also a relationship according to Jan Patočka, as dealing with others is constitutive of our own existence. Patočka (1999) develops the concept of three movements of existence, which are used to analyse the different modes of existence of managers within the extended interpretive framework of the existential hermeneutic phenomenology. The first stage of experience is related to Patočka's first movement, which is referred to as movement of acceptance. One becomes a member of society through one's initial experiences within the family. This early experience also has an impact on shaping future managerial success or failure. It is mainly about adopting patterns from the family (Patočka 1998). However, it is impossible to remain in this initial background -it is through work to prolong one's existence, to reproduce it, which is the goal of the second movement. However, for this second movement, the relationship to things and the emphasis on production and consumption is often dominant. Most problematic is the fact that one is often reduced to one's role in the community, and within these roles we can be replaced at any time. This movement is critical in terms of vulnerability to crises of various kinds. The final third movement is associated with stepping out of the anonymity of the second movement and discovering an authentic existence. It is no longer about relationships to things but to people, which is associated with a certain shakiness -a sense of threat as we perform for ourselves, not for our role. Nevertheless, one thus gains the freedom to live one's life responsibly (Müller et al. 2022a, b).

Is it Possible to Combine Western and Eastern Philosophical Concepts?
If researchers and philosophers try to compare and combine Western and Eastern concepts, they always come to the question of the possibility of the commensurability of Western and Eastern philosophy. A number of basic differences and similarities between the Eastern and Western traditions that have become the subject of discussion were already identified at the East-West Philosopher's Conference held in 1949 and summarized in an article by Moore (1951). Authors dealing with comparative philosophy show that several areas of possible commensurability can be discussed, such as methodological, epistemological, metaphysical and ethical commensurability (Wong 2020;Moor 1951).
As Wong (2020) mentions, there are authors who hold a position of radical incommensurability, basing their arguments on quotations from Taoist texts that are in contradiction to Western ideals of rationality. This critique of efforts to compare disparate philosophical traditions is countered by Das (1952) when he points to the selective choice of texts viewed through a Western lens. Das (1952) argues that the pointing out of these differences (intuition vs. rationality, practicality vs. theoreticism, etc.) often stems from the lack of awareness of Eastern philosophy by Western authors, and that different concepts can be found in the two traditions. Das (1952) concludes that one cannot compare the traditions as a whole, but rather one can speak of comparing individual movements. Synthesis is not necessary, and even if it were achieved, it would be an entirely new philosophy. Similarly, Wong (2020) points out the existence of even milder views on the possibility of commensurability. Another argument for incommensurability is based on emphasizing the frequent presence of central terms in a philosophical tradition for which there is no suitable equivalent term in another tradition. However, as Wong (2020) mentions, a more acceptable strategy than the general acceptance of this argument is to explore incommensurability on a case-by-case basis.
The incommensurability argument is countered by authors whose arguments are based on the observation that the Easterners whose concepts we are trying to interpret live in the same world as Westerners. Wong (2020) notes, however, that this assumption can be rebutted if we attribute to a different tradition belief that are substantially different from those of our tradition. A further problem may then be that even if we find similarities between traditions, traditions may differ in how much emphasis they place on particular values, which may ultimately mean that they are fundamentally different.
In the context of these considerations, it is possible to reflect on the extent to which approaches that address the fundamental questions of human existence -the fundamental problems that humans, across traditions, have to deal with, that is, the problems addressed in the existential tradition -are commensurable. For example, Fleming (2003, p. 259) believes that although "a single statement or sentence in a philosophical text must be understood in the context of the text as a whole" and that "particular philosophical theories must be understood in terms of the philosophical tradition in which they exist", the work of scholars engaged in comparative philosophy can "provide valuable insights through comparison". He is convinced that these valuable insights can be achieved without comparing entire philosophical traditions.
Rather than a comparison of these Western concepts and Eastern Zen practices, it will be a possible comparison of the applicability of these traditions to the analysis of lived experience and problematic aspects of managerial practice. It is in the context of qualitative research -and the focus on lived experience -that Western concepts are viewed practically rather than theoretically, which may open up space for dialogue with the Eastern Zen tradition.
At its core, Zen Buddhism is not a philosophy, a religion, or a science in the sense of Western categories, which differ significantly from Zen practice. It is a way of life that has been described in the Indian and Chinese traditions as a way of liberation that has found a place in Japan since the 12th century (Watts 2011). If we want to characterize Zen as a religion, it is a very complicated task from a Western perspective, as it cannot be based on any doctrine or theological system. Contrasting with Western philosophy, then, is the mode of expression, for the statements of Zen texts contain both uncomplicated quite ordinary statements and illogical modes of expression, but this does not make it merely anti-intellectualism (Abe 1985, pp. 3-4). For the real answer to what Zen is lies beyond words and attempts at intellectual insight. This is not to say that Zen masters did not give their students answers to questions of this kind. These answers, however, seem illogical at first glance. For example, statements such as: Zen is "the oak tree in front of the garden" (Abe 1997, p. 25). Rather, as Suzuki (1994, p. 7) mentions, Zen can be described as the art of looking into the nature of one's own being, referring to the journey from captivity to freedom. Zen thus brings to life and helps to liberate from the hardships under the weight of which finite beings suffer.
As Hempel (2001, pp. 147-148) mentions, in the case of Zen it is problematic to speak of philosophy at all, since the very designation that is associated with the European view creates a certain boundary tied to tradition and theoretical grasp. Thus, it would be more accurate to say that there is no theory of Zen or philosophy of Zen, since "Zen represents exclusively the unceasing effort to experience oneself in a world in which we live much more consciously than we have done so far, and to bring both to an utterance much more original than, for example, scientifically formulated statements do" (Hempel 2001, p. 148). From a Zen perspective, hierarchical doctrines are meaningless. The experience of Zen is fundamentally different from Western thought "and it is not desirable to transcend this thinking with some even well-intentioned syntheses, for such transcendences leave aside historical experience" (Hempel 2001, p. 148). Moreover, it must be remembered that Zen texts are already adapted to our language. Moreover, they are certain fragments of the original captured experience. In this context, Hempel makes a comparison of the available texts to the fragments of the Presocratics, which also need to be approached in a specific way (Hempel 2001, p. 212).
The best way to achieve comparability between the two cultural traditions seems to be to analyse the lived experience of managers themselves -that is, the ways in which individuals will describe critical moments of their practice. Fleming (2003) points out that whenever we seek to understand an Eastern concept, a comparison with a concept we are familiar with is inevitable, which is essentially an application of phenomenological and hermeneutic principles. Having identified the similarities, it is possible to proceed to identify the fundamental differences. And it is through the identification of similarities and differences that we can better understand the two concepts being compared. Importantly, however, as Fleming (2003, pp. 260-261) points out, this comparison of the differences and similarities of the two traditions helps to recognize what assumptions we use in our thinking without being aware of them. It is thus a kind of meta-philosophy that helps us to think critically about our own assumptions and conceptions of philosophy in general. This is also important in the context of qualitative research, especially when the interpretation is dependent on the subjective assumptions of the researchers.
As Janesick (2015, p. 21) shows, Zen has a practice of storytelling that is based on the use of koans and sutras. While koans are riddles that can be associated with paradoxes and allow us to view the world through metaphors, sutras are short sayings about a life lesson. Similarly, qualitative research must work with storytelling and the concise interpretation of what is being communicated. Taking an Eastern perspective can help us not to rely solely on an experienced way of thinking and interpreting. As will be shown later in the paper, the lived experience of managers and entrepreneurs often arrives at situations that involve the experience of crisis, paradox or great uncertainty. The interpretation of the meaning that the participant puts into his or her statement may not be entirely obvious and the researcher's ways of working need to be continuously improved.

Positive Meaning of Existential Disruption and Existential Dilemma
Existential hermeneutic phenomenology in management focuses on the transformative processes leading to various processes of being a manager that are related to managerial identity (Müller et al. 2022a, b). The experience of crisis and failure is inherent in every human activity and cannot escape managerial activity. Especially small firms are threatened to their existence in the context of numerous changes and crises (Odiorne 1966;Vandyshev 2015). A manager becomes a manager through the actions that are associated with his or her dwelling in critical moments. As Segal (2017, p. 483) points out, our identity develops in the context of action. However, it is important to add that this negotiation is actually an interaction with other people through which we relate to the world. The process of becoming a manager is a process of coping with crises -disruptions -of various types, in the context of interpersonal relationships, whose pathological forms associated with inauthentic experience are frequent triggers of crises (Müller et al. 2022a, b;Müller and Kubátová 2022;Müller and Vaseková 2022) It is the experience of crisis that may be what enables a manager to fully realize his or her identity as a manager (Müller 2020). However, under the pressure to succeed and perform, this positive dimension of crisis and situations that we might call existential disruptions is often forgotten. These existential disruptions are situations where habitual ways of doing things are threatened and the manager does not find support in previous ways of thinking and acting (Rolfe et al. 2016(Rolfe et al. , 2017. It is the qualitative research that helps to record the lived experience of managers and to highlight the significance of these existential disruptions that lead to the questioning of experienced ways of thinking. These experiences begin a new meaning-making process (Müller et al. 2022a, b) and lead to the discovery of an authentic way of being (see next section).
These existential disruptions are often characterized by the hopelessness of the situation -no existing solution seems to be sufficient. The anxiety that accompanies this situation recalls the transience of the organisation's existence and the finitude of human existence. It is noteworthy that managers often mention the finitude motif in their narratives (see Müller et al. 2022a, b).
A good example is provided by social entrepreneurs who are managers and leaders of businesses often founded in the wake of a very dramatic event or crisis (Kročil et al. 2023), either in their families or in society. Many social entrepreneurs have the ability to use a crisis to engage themselves and help others. The following story of a social entrepreneur is an example: It was social enterprise found by myself in 2013, so eight years, almost nine years before. And actually, why I started this social enterprise? … My family members, my fiancée and my mother passed away some eleven, twelve years ago. My fiancée past suddenly in 2009. At that time, it was just like the end of the world, and I don't know what I can do at that moment, and I suffered a lot of pain. But I was graduate from social studies. In speciality of master's degree was counselling. So, I believe some counselling thing can help me at that time. However, I found that the surface of the grief of counselling in my country is really very behind in the market. I would think that people must have the experience of losing some significant others of families or friends. (Interview with social entrepreneur) This difficult crisis helped the entrepreneur come to authentically help others while coping with loss in a meaningful way. It is these stories, full of existential themes, that invite the researchers to adopt a philosophical stance that allows for an unbiased expression of the lived experience of the participants' transformed being.
We can also find a connection to the Eastern practice of Zen, which works with similarly challenging situations, such as koans, which are recorded utterances or dialogues based on encounters between Buddhist masters and their disciples. As Low and Purser (2012) show, studying Zen koans can be a means of gaining the ability to reconcile organizational dilemmas. As with existential disruptions, dilemmas do not offer a manager a solution and a simple choice between alternatives. The existential dimension of dilemmas is also pointed out in the context of the existential approach to management by Kelly and Kelly (1998), who show that such managerial dilemmas are contradictions between quality versus quantity, equality versus individuality, task achievement versus human satisfaction, ecology versus economy, and so on. The importance of koan is aptly described by Low and Purser (2012): Koans are also teaching "cases" and pedagogical devices, but their utilization in Zen Buddhism is for the purpose of bringing the student to a fully awakened awareness of dynamic unity. The single idea which achieves reconciliation of a dilemma is itself a manifestation of the drive to unity. Indeed, dilemmas arise out of a basic and fundamental ambiguity at the core of human being. Human perception is both subjective and objective, we can be both participants and observers, and at the center and periphery, simultaneously. (Low and Purser 2012, p. 340) It is the description and interpretation of the lived experience of Zen practitioners that can be helpful in interpreting the lived experience of managers who find themselves in organizational dilemmas. As in the case of existential disruptions, working with dilemmas leads to the discovery of a new, creative way of thinking, the prerequisite of which is the dismantling -the deconstruction -of experienced assumptions of thinking. However, it is important to note, as Low and Purser (2012) mention, that when dilemmas are not repeatedly resolved, this can lead to helplessness, feelings of anxiety and despair. Learning to work with dilemmas is therefore a matter of practice. Similarly, in the context of research based on existential hermeneutic phenomenology, it appears that if managers fail to transform existential disruptions into opportunities, these states can lead to burnout (Müller 2019;Müller et al. 2022a, b), especially in situations where managers derive their existential meaning from their work (Pines 2002).
As Janesick (2015) shows, Zen contributes to the formation of a mindful and focused approach that is necessary for conducting interviews and interpreting the lived experience of research participants. It is a contemplative qualitative inquiry that is based on the application of Zen techniques in research practice. It is for this purpose that koans can be used to help researchers open up new, conscious possibilities for interpreting the participants' complicated world.
Let's look at a comparison of koans and dilemmas of managerial practice. Low and Purser (2012, p. 347) mention, among others, a Zen Buddhist koan idiom that is worded as follows: "If you say this is a stick, I will give you thirty blows. If you say this is not a stick, I will give you thirty blows. What do you say?" A managerial dilemma of a similar nature can then be described in this way: "If you say profit is the goal, your customers will desert you. If you say quality is the goal, your shareholders will desert you. What do you say?" (Low and Pruser 2012, p. 347). In our qualitative research, the discussion of paradox, contradiction or tension proved to be significant in the case of social entrepreneurship. As numerous studies show (de Mon et al. 2022;Siegner et al. 2018;Smith et al. 2013), social entrepreneurship is characterized by a combination of social and economic missions, which can create tension between goals.
Moreover, the desire to solve social problems through social innovation leads to nontraditional ways of combining different activities. An example of this type of koan is the situation of a social entrepreneur who combines education and industrial, technological innovation in an original way in his activities. However, the problem arises from the legislation, which does not foresee creative linking of areas and puts him in a practically unsolvable situation: So, I think the biggest risk for our social enterprise, that is specific for us, is bodily injury, because we have a lot of machines. So, we are in sort of great area on this, because technically to have those machines, we have to be required by law to be in an industrial location. But children are not allowed in any industrial location… So, the licencing here is that we have to break law in one way or another. Even the schools of engineering are the same category as us, so when they have education licence, education licence does not allow them to have those machines. So, one way or the other one must choose basically which law we have to break. So, that means that if you get on the wrong side, the judge, if there is an accident, then he can say we are revoking your licence because you are not education facility. Or if I was education facility, I could not have those machines. So, it is problem to find insurance company that is really willing to insure us. (Interview with social entrepreneur) Thinking about this paradox, however, allows the entrepreneur to look for ways to appropriately balance the limited options left by the law in practice. It must also look for ways to ensure the safety of all involved when risk cannot simply be transferred to an external entity.
Knowledge of koans and existential dilemmas helps to increase the researcher's sensitivity to similar topics and to focus on them more closely in the interview. Although the initial question to the participant was about the risks faced by the enterprise, it ultimately led to a description of a situation that has a very existential significance -both in terms of the paradox and absurdity of the situation, and in terms of a major threat to the existence of the enterprise. It is at these moments that it is important for the researcher to be able to respond and inquire into other relevant facts.

The Importance of Authenticity and Awakening in the Present Moment Here and Now
Even in trying to define Zen, it is evident that this life practice is very close to an inquiry into being. As scholars in the field of comparative studies have shown, there is evidence that there is some overlap between Heideggerian thought and Eastern thought (Jin 2015). Although Heidegger did not identify his thought with the inquiry of Zen, yet he later reportedly stated that Zen could express what he was after (Hempel 2001, p. 157). Zen, unlike Western thought, has been concerned from the beginning with consciousness as such, not with the contents of consciousness. Zen aims at the experience of thought that will lead to the truth of being. Similarly, "to Heidegger, such an understanding of being is arrived at -if sometimes only vaguely and obscurely -no longer metaphysically possible to name" (Hempel 2001, pp. 150, 151). Zen takes a different path, one that is not graspable within the structures of Western language. It is the notion of the path, which is rooted in Taoism, that takes on a new meaning in the context of Zen.
Zen comes to China during the period of the influence of Taoist philosophy, which at that time provides a framework for the discussion of major problems and issues. Thus, there is a blending of the two streams (Watts 2000, xvii). The Tao -"the way" -is thus in the context of Zen "the ultimate reality", "the way to reach the path", "everyday life". Zen, through its techniques, leads to the breaking of the basic schemas that one acquires from one's environment, through the influence of one's upbringing. This breaking of experienced structures leads to the freedom of "infinite relationship". One of these techniques is meditation, especially zazen, a Zen sitting practice that aims to achieve oneness with all that is through breath work (Hempel 2001, p. 188). In terms of our interpretive framework, what is particularly important is the breaking of old patterns of thinking, which in an existential context is necessary to overcome critical experience (Müller et al. 2022b). The Zen student abandons the self and the world as he or she has previously understood it through systematic practice. Enlightenment -or "awakening in the here and now" -leads to a new experience of things and a new way of behaving towards the world, society and self (Hempel 2001, p. 189).
We now come to describe the implications of Zen practice, which are strikingly reminiscent of the process of redescription and deconstruction within existential hermeneutic phenomenology. Hempel shows that the pure thinking that is part of Zen and Heidegger's reminiscent thinking occurs when we no longer chase after thoughts and let them dictate our behaviour. This ability presupposes an effort to change the way we live as well. According to Hempel (2001, pp. 190-191), it is essential that we continually free ourselves from procedures, rules, and ultimately from things and objects that are not our own.: "Awakening in the here and now means no longer to seek what is supposedly hidden, but to 'know' that everything is already there, i.e., is manifest…". It is necessary to realize that the same applies to the "good" and the "bad", the "beautiful" and the "ugly", and to understand that we are constantly "evaluating" ourselves, the people around us and also the world in which we live. Hempel reminds us that we use the yardsticks acquired through our upbringing to make these evaluations, without ever questioning these yardsticks and especially our constant judgments. This results in us being "shocked" when the expected results do not come or look different than we thought.
It is noticeable that when we describe Zen practice that takes place outside the linguistic context in words and articulate it in an explanatory framework, it resembles the existentially attuned concepts of Western philosophy. In the preceding excerpt we see similar phrases to those used in Western existential approaches. The problem, however, is that this language does not capture the practice of Zen and its meaning because we are completely detached from the Eastern cultural tradition and cannot understand its practice without proper experience. However, it is interesting to note that even the mere expression of existential ideas in a Western context does not lead to self-development, but some formative experience is required. This fact is expressed by one of the managers describing his lived experience, who says that he has read a thousand times what needs to be done, that he needs to stop insisting on the experienced way of thinking -but only the experience of a certain reality allowed him to come to awareness (see Müller et al. 2022a, b).
Zen, however, does not emerge from everyday reality, but is related to the freedom that allows us to glimpse reality. As Hempel (2001, p. 192) adds, "the paradox of the Zen path lies, in other words, in the fact that the existence of the potential Zen disciple takes place in the unknown and the unknowable, and only then does his own life begin"; the Zen disciple must live in uncertainty, which "consists in never knowing what his newly acquired freedom will lead him to" (Hempel 2001, p. 192). He becomes an individual -in the sense of freeing himself from the dictates of society; he is no longer the recipient of orders but 1 3 is unique. Staying is a companionship, Hempel (2001, p. 193) continues in Heideggerian fashion, but the meditation of Zen is a leap that each individual must make alone. The goal of Zen practice, as Hempel (2001, pp. 199, 203) and Herrigel (1975, p. 42) comment, is to free oneself from all bonds, to be free from the self, and to realize that we are beings exposed to nothingness. Thus, we arrive at a state in which we do not think, ask or expect anything definite -it is a state of spiritual alertness, one is not living -one is directly living, and in the immediate present. The Zen way is about continually unlearning what has been learned in the past. Zen Nothingness is identical with awakening.
Man is Mitsein (Heidegger 2001), co-existence (Fink 1979). Even when he is alone, he is dependent on the people around him, both those with whom he has a direct relationship and those who are "strangers". As one manager puts it, if there were no other people -if he were an isolated existence -he would have more freedom to make decisions and could achieve better results in his work (Müller & Jedličková 2020, p. 457). Zen unravels these structures of thought, by depending on schemas. Self-development leads to a release from one's own ego and a recognition of one's intimate relationship to all things, and a recognition of one's own nature that was previously unjustifiably excluded from the world.
The possibility of using Zen ideas in interpreting lived experience is indicated by the experience of one manager who uses rhetoric reminiscent of the existential level of Zen practice in describing the lived experience of managers: Man overestimates his importance and does everything to be important. The ego, in modern terms… Man fights with himself, if I'm not in that corporation, that company that has that name, then suddenly I'm nothing. No one will be curious about me. In those companies, whether you want to or not, you protect yourself in the name of the company and in the name of the position. That's a completely sad story, of course, and it's a complete chimera, but you don't know it's like that for a long time. And suddenly he steps out of his role and starts being himself and starts showing himself and that person and that humanity and suddenly he starts doubting himself. I can't do this, and suddenly I'm nothing! I had a position here, and suddenly I'm nothing! And he fights with himself, and the environment will confirm it to him. It won't tell him yeah, it's going to be okay, it'll say, but wait, it was okay there and now what, you're going to be nothing! But it's still about -what we live, what we have in our head, that's what we are. So, if you have nothing in your head and the environment sets a mirror that you're going to be nothing, you're going to be nothing. (for method of research see Müller et al. 2022b, interview with manager Alex) Zen offers insights into the existential experience of managers and its incorporation into the research method of existential hermeneutic phenomenology thus opens up new possibilities for shaping the interpretive framework.

The Value of Dialogue
Dialogue and its ability to stimulate creative problem solving and personal development is of significant value to Zen and existential hermeneutic phenomenology. The dialogue (sanzen) between the student and the Zen teacher is a mirror of the mind itself, with the master not answering the student's questions but returning them. The student is thus encouraged to ask himself why he is asking the question and why he is creating the problem (Watts 2000, pp. 39-40). Low and Purser (2012, p. 349) remind us that although managerial work and Zen practice are far apart, we find considerable similarity precisely in the need for creative dilemma-solving and the mental capacity to do so. Working with koans can teach reframing as an opportunity for creative encounter.
Zen as a method of discovering the experience of being, especially in the context of dialogue, is very close to the research practice of existential hermeneutic phenomenology. The procedure here, although reversed, is that the researcher (the dialogue leader) asks questions that are intrinsically related to the critical experience of the participant with which he or she is familiar. The research participant thus asks himself questions through the mouth of the researcher, who does not impose answers but develops further questions. Rolfe et al. (2017) speak of the wisdom of conversation in this regard and interpret the redescription of experience in the context of Rorty's (1989) philosophy, which highlights the importance of language. Through language games a space for a new way of being in the world is shaped. The redescription of experience leads to a different intention, which is the basis for a different action (Agosta 2015, p. 70). McLean et al. (2007, p. 262) show that there is a link between storytelling and self-development. Empirical research confirms that self-concept formation is significantly influenced by stories. As research based on existential hermeneutic phenomenology (Müller 2021, Müller et al. 2022a shows, a new meaning-making process is important for a new self-concept, which is often associated with existential disruptions and work dilemmas.

Conclusion
This article has shown that working with existential insights is particularly important in qualitative research that explores participants' lived experience, being and identity, which is linked to their value orientation. In difficult, existential situations, managers find themselves in complicated situations that defy traditional ways of working and thinking. Especially in these situations, existential managers have to rely on their ability to transform crisis into opportunity. In the context of research efforts to capture this dynamic managerial practice, existential hermeneutic phenomenology appears to be an appropriate tool. This article points out that Eastern approaches to life practice, such as Zen Buddhism, touch on similar existential situations and can be used to complement the existential hermeneutic phenomenology approach.
Three areas of possible close collaboration between existential hermeneutic phenomenology and Zen were discussed in this article. The first concerns the recognition of the meaning of existential disruptions and dilemmas in managerial practice. The Zen approach can complement the interpretive level of existential phenomenology through its rich pedagogical practice with koans. The second area is the emphasis on discovering authentic experience, which is important in management for building conscious and fulfilling relationships with other people. The third area is the development of dialogue and dialogical learning, which is relevant to both existential hermeneutic phenomenology and Zen.
Funding Open access publishing supported by the National Technical Library in Prague. The authors disclosed receipt of the following financial support for the research, authorship, and publication of this article: This article was supported by the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports of the Czech Republic within the project IGA_FF_2020_012 "Qualitative research of critical moments of managerial practice" of the Palacký University Olomouc, and by the grant DSGC_2021_0042 that is funded through the OP RDE project "Improving schematics of Doctoral student grant competition and their pilot implementation", Reg. No. CZ.02.2.69/0.0/0.0/19_073/0016713.