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Chapter I
Introduction
1.1 Background and Significance of the problem
Everyone can be a leader. Believe it or not, even the weakest man can be the
strongest leader of the universe by learning and training himself well. The Lord Buddha
fulfils his perfections even in his very life of the Buddha, he practiced to find the noble
truth for six years without eating and changing postures called Dhukkacariya in order
to bring all beings escaping form suffering and to become the greatest world leader as
well.
Most of people living in this world follow their own culture and grown up
by it. Every culture has a particular view of leadership in different ways. In this present
day, there are so many successful businessmen such as Billionaires: Bill Gates, Steve
Jobs, Mark Zuckerberg, and Jack Ma, famous philosophers such as Aristotle, Plato,
Socrates, and Immanuel Kant, the popular politicians such as Mohandas Gandhi,
Abraham Lincoln, Adolf Hitler, Barack Obama, Donald J. Trump, AungSan SuGyi and
Gen. Hong Sar (The Head Quarter of MNP) who can change the society and shock the
worldwide. But even all of them are famous in their countries, some of them are
successful leaders and some of them are not. Even they are, but they might not be
successful leaders in perspective of Theravāda Buddhism.
In general idea, a successful leader might be not the only moral person but
also an immoral one. But the concept of leadership according to Buddhism can see
deeply based on the ethic and morality linking with wisdom obviously. Therefore, there
multitude definitions about characteristic of a good leader and how to become a good
leader that mentioned in Tipiṭaka.
1
“Dhamma’s the best thing for people, in this life and the next as well.” No
matter how, one is rich or poor, tall or short and male or female can be a good leader or
person if one practices the Dhamma well. Anyone who wants to be a successful leader
1 Dīgha Nikāya [The Long Discourses of the Buddha], Maurice Walshe (trans.),
(Boston: Wisdom Publication, 1995), p. 408.