Thoughts on Bodhisattva as a Leadership Model

Lately I’ve found myself doing a lot of self-exploration and reflection on what kind of leader I want to be in all aspects of my life, whether at home, in my community or at work. The more I’ve thought about it the more I truly think that the Bodhisattva ideal is possibly the best archetype to model behavior after based on the qualities and attributes of various Bodhisattvas.

What is a Bodhisattva?

In my mind, the following verse by the eighth century Indian sage Shantideva really illustrates the defining quality of a Bodhisattva.

“And now as long as space endures,
As long as there beings to be found
May I continue likewise to remain
To drive away the sorrows of the world.”

— The Way of the Bodhisattva, v.10.55

A Bodhisattva is someone of great compassion who has made it their goal to alleviate the suffering of all beings. That’s kind of a radical idea, isn’t it? “All beings” in this case has no exclusionary language as it represents all beings from insect to human, good and bad, innumerable beings that fill the world. Every being has the seeds within them to become great; they only need the proper watering and nurturing to help those seeds take root and grow.

In a lot of ways this sounds like the defining quality of a good leader. A good leader recognizes the seeds of potential that exist in others and seeks to use skillful means to help them grow. They understand the virtue of patience and maintaining a cooled mind. They also know that compassion is more than just about “being nice” but to care personally and challenge directly, not running away from having difficult conversations that must happen if one is to be able to grow.

Bodhisattvas as Archetypes

The Mayahana Sutras include many famous bodhisattvas that seem mythical. To me, it’s not important as to whether they are historical persons but rather to recognize the qualities they represent and how these qualities exist within us. To borrow from Jungian Psychology, one could view Bodhisattvas as collection of archetypes that model behaviors that help us cultivate kindness. Let’s take a small tour of several well known Bodhisattvas and how their qualities are revealed in one that is a great leader.

In the Lotus Sutra there is a Bodhisattva in Chapter 20 that is called Sadāparibhūta (Never Disparaging). He would greet each person he met and bow while praising that they would be a future buddha. While some people would feel honored and blessed by his prediction others thought he was insulting them and would respond with ridicule. But no matter how badly they’d treat him he would refuse to disparage them because he could see their good nature deep down. A good leader treats everyone with respect, even if they might act in ways that makes it seem they don’t deserve it.

There’s so many others too that I could easily fill up entire posts about. For example, Manjushri, the Bodhisattva of Great Understanding. He is representative of great wisdom and to have understanding without judging. Great leaders understand their directs deeply and can perceive what motivates them. They can then utilize skillful means to help pivot them into being immensely productive.

Or another personal favorite of mine, Avalokiteshvara — Regarder of the Cries of the World. When one manifests the qualities of Avalokiteshvara they practice listening deeply to others. To listen one hundred percent without distraction and not only hear what is being said, but also what is being left unsaid. When we listen to members of our team we must give them our undivided attention and be able to comprehend the important topics they may be neglecting to bring up.

There is Samantabhadra (Universal Goodness) who teaches Sudhana in the Āvataṃsaka Sutra that wisdom exists not to just acquire but to put it in practice, to act. He represents someone who works hard with a willingness and capacity to help others. Great leaders take time aside to read not to just accumulate knowledge but to use that knowledge to build great places and cultivate great people. And they don’t just talk, they act. They understand the virtue of acting on the best information they have at the time and retrospect if the information available turns out to be imperfect. They default to action and recognize that they can always reverse themselves if they are wrong.

There are so many more Bodhisattvas we could explore here, each worthy of a very lengthy post on how we could realize each of their qualities in our leadership practice. I think there is great importance in taking these qualities to reorient ourselves towards having an abundance of positive intent and working hard for the betterment of others.

What’s Next?

I hope this has been enjoyable… this post is really a quick dump of some ideas that have been floating around in my mind for quite some time and I fear if I don’t grasp those ideas quick enough to commit to a post they’ll soon be gone. Going forward I’m going to write more regularly about this topic as it is something that has really piqued my interest. I plan to do a re-read through Way of the Bodhisattva as the season transitions into spring and as I revisit the text I’ll reflect on how we can utilize the lessons to be a more effective leader.

For now, I’ll leave us with a simple quote from Shantideva on using simplicity to solve what we perceive to be a complex problem.

“To cover all the earth with sheets of hide–
Where could such amounts of skin be found?
But simply wrap leather around your feet,
And it’s as if the whole earth has been covered!”

— The Way of the Bodhisattva, v.5.13