Leadership and Personal Integrity
Being involved with life-long Dharma learning brings some particularly interesting benefits. Apart from having direct access to teachings of wisdom and encounters with wise teachers, one has the opportunity to discover gems of hidden truth in all sorts of manner. The other day, as I was going through a mini spring cleaning in my house, I came across a book which I have not read for quite some time. Titled “ Zen Lessons: The Art of Leadership ” (Thomas Cleary, Shambala, 1989), the book offered plenty to think about. It presented an invaluable guide on the art of Buddhist inspired leadership, and handed plenty of lessons on issues such as integrity, personal responsibility and the influence of one’s conduct on the community. As I cleaned away the dusts on the front cover, and casually browsed through the book, a saying by Master Bian on personal responsibility appeared, which read as follows: “Personal responsibility is…the purification of oneself in dealing with the commu