ISSN 1076-9005
Volume 25, 2018
Beyond Precepts in
Conceptualizing Buddhist Leadership
Phra Nicholas Thanissaro
University of Warwick
Monastic saṅgha
members may be seen as monopolizing leadership in traditional forms of
Buddhism. The usual Theravādin justification for this is that monastics
keep a greater number of precepts than laypeople and therefore provide a
higher standard of ethical leadership as well as being symbols of their
religion. Such allocation of authority to monks breaks down where the
monastic-lay distinction blurs. This paper presents a review of the
literature of anthropological and attitude research findings to explore how
the demand for alternative modes of leadership, such as charismatic,
visionary, servant, facilitative, strategic, or participative leadership or
management, has opened up opportunities for lay people to take more
prominent roles in Buddhist leadership in Western Buddhism as well as
contemporary Asian contexts.
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