Stories about leadership
10 Buddhist wisdom stories about leadership from Buddhist teachers, each linked to the original talk.
- Ajahn Liem: easy to trainStory · Ajahn Brahm
In brief: Abbots in the Thai forest tradition greet each other: “How are your monks — are they easy to train?” Visiting Ajahn Liem, Ajahn Chah's successor, Ajahn Brahm asks, and Ajahn Liem…
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a few years ago I went to see the man the monk who took over from aan cha a man called aan Liam very good Monk and I asked him one day when I was visiting Thailand I said how are your monks are they easy to train and he said oh they're just no problem at all to train and the way he said it was such nonchalance I said well what's your trick how do you train your monks when they're so easy to train so very easy if they want to go this way let them go that way if they want to go that way I let them go that way it's so easy to try
- Churchill's bedside BuddhaStory · Ajahn Brahm
In brief: An Australian monk visiting England is taken to Churchill's stately home when a castle is closed. In the entrance hall hangs a painting by Churchill of a Buddha statue; the…
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you know that um Winston Churchill the prime minister of UK during the second world war had a Buddha statue next to his bed every night of that war not a a um a crucifix but a Buddha statue we found that out once when one of our monks was visiting um England and the host wanted to take him to a castle he was Australian you know people have to see castles but the castle was closed so what else can we oh the stately home of the wartime prime minister prime minister Churchill we take you there and that was open and just apparently as you went into the entrance to that stately home where Winston Churchill lived as soon as you went in there there was a big painting because Winston church was also an artist he painted this a Buddha statue a bur star and so the monk asked the Creator you know what's this he painted a Buddha statue why and the Creator said oh this was a a painting of The Statue which was by his bedside every day during the second world war you know he broke or he lost it somewhere but he still has a painting why because imagine this if you imagine like your stress imagine being the leader of a country during that terrible terrible War just how much stress and how much pain one decision thousands of people die that's huge and he had that statue next to him because it gave him peace it gave him encouragement kindness even look at that and it would help him with his famous depression so that a fact he had a Buddha statue there
- I put my hand on his knee — we could always solve our differencesStory · Ajahn Brahm
In brief: As a young monk, Ajahn Brahm meets former Thai PM Dr Sanya Dharmasakti (later the King's chief adviser). The PM says he never met a problem with political enemies he couldn't…
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we had a former Prime Minister of Thailand who came to visit at Incheon I had to speak with him for sure well those of you ties us that dr. Sonya Thomas Hauk he later became the King's chief adviser he was a prime minister for about one year in Thailand and he told me that he'd been in a support position he said there was never ever a problem I couldn't solve with my enemies with other politicians never was there a problem I couldn't solve and I just went to see them just the two of us he said I put my hand on his knee which in Thailand didn't mean you were gay it meant you were friends I put my hand on his knee as an act of friendship and because I'm a friendship the first part of our conversation we could always solve our differences and he meant that he was sincere and when a person is such an important and position weather is offered so much conflict is a prime minister a leader of a nation involved in other politicking and vested interest when he could say things like that I thought well why can I say things like that when I'm not a prime minister
- Only tell them to do what they want to doAnalogy · Ajahn Brahm
In brief: From the Chinese Art of War: a general whose soldiers never disobey — because he only ever tells them to do what they want to do. Motivation and inspiration come first; then…
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I read that uh years before in a book called the Chinese art of war. You ask what's a Buddhist monk doing reading a book called the Chinese art of war because they had lots and lots of very wise sayings in there. It was not just about you know violence. One of the generals in the Chinese army had perfect discipline and the emperor wanted to find out why. And how come everyone follows your instructions? Now any one of you in a management position in your life, please remember this is how to have good management skills. He said, "All my soldiers always follow my orders because I only ever tell them to do what they want to do. That's why they never disobey an order. Only tell them to do what they want to do." Of course, that doesn't make sense. How can you tell people to get up early in the morning? How do you tell people to go out and train really hard? How do you tell your soldiers to go into battle even though many of them will get injured or even killed? How can you get them to follow orders like that? And he said because he's already motivated them, inspired them. So even before the bell goes off in the morning, they're raring waiting to get get up and do something good. There's that motivation. Give them a reason for doing what they're doing. And if you give them that reason, of course, they will do what they want. They'll get up earlier than you expect. They'll train even harder. They'll go in there. I don't know why how you can convince them to give their lives, but many people do that
- Rajapaksa served baked beans and said 'I'm a failure'Story · Ajahn Brahm
In brief: Invited to breakfast at the Sri Lankan presidential palace, Brahm is served baked beans by President Rajapaksa himself. Rubbing sleep from his eyes, the president says honestly —…
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the president of Sri Lanka at the time that was Raja Paka. So he invited me to his palace for breakfast and number one I was impressed that whoever these governments are they really know how to do their research. What do you get a monk for breakfast in Sri Lanka? Correct. You've heard the story. I don't know where he got the baked beans from. It wasn't a national dish in Sri Lanka and he served me himself with baked beans. But the one thing which I really know remember was when he came in he's you know he was just obviously just came out of bed because you know he just has to stay up late at night. He was rubbing in his eyes and as soon as he saw me it was like a moment of honesty. He knew I wasn't a politician. And he told me, he said, "Ajan Brah, I'm a failure
- Sadat just got in a plane to JerusalemStory · Ajahn Brahm
In brief: After the Six Day War, what inspires him is President Sadat skipping endless cabinet politics — he simply boards a plane to Jerusalem/Tel Aviv so Israel's leader has to meet him…
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after The Six Day War they called it a Six Day War it didn't last for six days did it but I don't know how many years but but I remember just one thing which did inspire me in that conflict was the it was the president of Egypt at the time a president Sadat yeah he decided and I love the way he did this instead of having a cabinet meeting instead of you know trying to sort of win over everybody he was a president so he just got in a plane and hardly anyone else knew what he was up to and he flew to Jerusalem
- The blind elephants who felt a manJoke · Ajahn Brahm
In brief: At a leadership conference on Hayman Island with Kevin Rudd, Julia Gillard and others, Ajahn Brahm retells the seven blind men and the elephant — then inverts it: seven blind…
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one gig I went to some years ago was to go to this resort island on Hayman Island now that is really a Top Resort and I was invited there all expenses paid flown over to the Gold Coast oh no the Great Barrier Reef you know it's a it's almost like a six-star hotel and that was quite a few years ago because it was a leadership conference and that that leadership conference there was Kevin Rudd was there and Julia Gillard and Swan and and the uh Anna Blythe from Queensland she was a premier there and the premier of Victoria was there and all these big shots were there not his big business people were there and it was really interesting and I was teaching them how to meditate and how to actually to uh to give them a bit of wisdom about how to live in harmony together that didn't really work anyway I tried actually I remember the story I did tell them which they thought was funny was you know the old I'm just going off in a tangent no Odell story The the elephant and the seven wives the elephant and the Seven Blind Men many of you know that story every blind man felt different part of the elephants and you know because of that that sort of they argued elephant is like a tree trunk elephant's like a fly whisk who felt the tail elephants like a plow felt the who felt the task and they all argued what an elephant was they were all right but they should have actually combined their knowledge and I decided to do a a an alternative of that one and that is of the the story The Great Buddhist story with the seven blind elephants and they always heard about a man what's a man we've heard about a man but what is a man and I heard about the you know seven Blind Men the only way you can find out is find another find an elephant set of seven Blind Men feel it and instead of archery and who's right combine your knowledge don't argue combine so the seven blind man figured out an elephant so big rock on four tree trunks with a fry Whisk on the back a water pot on the top on the middle of the water pot is a big snake two plows on either side of the snake and two big fans on either side of the water part of the years and that's not a bad description so when the elephants blind elephants heard about this they thought that's how we can find what a man is let's all find a man each feel the man come back and we combine our experience but unlike the first part of the story when the blind elephants all they all found a man each and when they came back to compare experiences they all agreed a man was flat that's the only way an elephant could feel anybody squashing it and I remember telling that to Kevin right and I think that's probably why uh Julia Gillard squashed him it's my fault sorry
- The emperor's ring: “This too will pass”Story · Ajahn Brahm
In brief: A young emperor feasts in good times and sulks in bad, so neither works; his ministers give him a ring engraved “this too will pass.” Looking at it in hard times gives him hope…
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it's a powerful story, about an emperor, a young man who took over the kingdom when he wasn't really mature enough to know how to lead. And so whenever things were going well in his kingdom he'd always have celebrations and parties. And because he was spending too much resources and too much time celebrating, and not actually doing the running of the kingdom, the good times never lasted all that long. And when the terrible times, the bad times, bad economy, unrest, social disorder, whenever there was trouble in his kingdom he'd get so upset and depressed he'd stay in his room and sulk and cry, which meant he wasn't working during the difficult times. And the ministers they realised that their leader, their king, their emperor, wasn't really working properly, and that's the reason why there were too many bad times and not enough prosperous times. You can't just tell these people what to do. Even these ministers in the Howard Government, they can't tell John Howard what to do. They've got to be sneaky, they've got to be wise, and so what these ministers did, instead of telling their emperor what to do, they just went to a goldsmith, asked for him to make a ring, the only difference between that ring and ordinary rings was what was engraved on the outside, which was the words "this too will pass". And they gave that ring with the engraved words "this too will pass" to the emperor, told him to wear it on all occasions, that's all, and the emperor did. Whenever there were bad times he would look upon the ring, "this too will pass", he knew by nature he didn't have to force those negative emotions and those bad times out of his kingdom, he knew they would pass naturally. And because he knew the bad times would pass, it gave him what's called hope, and when there's hope we can work, where it's hopeless we think the grief is going to last forever, the broken heart was always going to be there, you'll never find another partner ever in life. Or you'll never find that money again on the stock market, or whatever it is your chance to win the cup is gone forever. When you think it's forever that just makes life hopeless and you don't work. You don't make kamma anymore. But when actually you have hope, there's always something you can do. It gives you that motivation to work even in difficult times of your life. And actually the reason I'm saying this was because the photograph someone sent me was actually from the graduation ceremony of Virginia Tech university, recently, and I think you all know what happened at Virginia Tech in April, I was in London at that time. I think it was 39 young men and women were shot down by that murderer? You know, while they were on campus. And at the graduation ceremony one of the graduates, you know the funny hats they wear, they're called mortarboards, with the flat top, on the top of his mortarboard he'd actually painted the words "this too will pass", in memoriam of the pain that had happened in that university in the biggest serial killer murder in United States history. That's why he said "I don't know whether this guy's read your book or what", by he's obviously got the message. And it is a powerful message because it gives you hope, it allows you to let these things pass away. So "this too will pass". The other part of that story, which is very valuable to consider, is that that emperor wore that ring not just in difficult times but also in the happy times as well. Because it's in the prosperous, happy, good times that we should always remember, "this too will pass". Because he knew that the happy prosperous times were also fragile, he had a few celebrations but not many, because he knew he had to work hard to make sure those prosperous happy good times lasted as long as they possibly can. And they did. He became a very successful and well-loved emperor because the bad times were very short and the happy long times were longer than anybody could ever remember.
- The governor who ended witchcraft accusationsStory · Ajahn Brahm
In brief: A woman accused of witchcraft faces burning; a smart colonial governor (Pennsylvania framing as recalled) handles the fear so well that witchcraft panic ends in that state while…
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this lady was accused of being a witch and remember this was you know that time that meant being burn at the steak and you know terrible stuff and so he just asked her well let let's get down to the hub of these things you know are you a witch he saides I am do you fly around on broomsticks he saides I do' she's admitting guilt and so this William pen said well I can't say anything wrong with that cas's dismissed you know as long you don't crash into Steeples and stuff you can fly around on the broomstick as much as you like and that was it she was dismissed and there was no more problem with witchcraft
- The number-two monk who had to become abbotStory · Ajahn Brahm
In brief: Ajahn Brahm planned to stay number two behind Ajahn Jagaro — 'the car at the front of the convoy gets all the bugs on the windscreen' — until the head monk fell in love and left,…
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I never wanted to be an abbot. I never wanted to be a boss monk. I had it all worked out when I was a young because there was another monk here, Ajahn Jagaro before and I was number two. It was perfect. I always say it's a car in front of the convoy that gets all the bugs on the windscreen. The one going behind is free of the bugs. So I always had the idea of being number two, tailgating another person. Who wants to be a leader anyway? Anyone who's a leader is just a dummy. Anyone who wants to be prime minister? That's why if you want to be a prime minister or a president, you must want your head examined. It's much better being number two or number three or four, whatever, because that way you don't have to be out front taking all the flak and making all the hard decisions and stuff. But anyway, it didn't work out that way. Because I was number two, tailgating, and then the head monk fell in love and left. I ended up being, basically that's what happened. So it ended up me having to take over.