Use of Eastern Philosophy in

the Academic Study

(Buddhism)

Basu Prasad Subedi, PhD

Asst. Professor
Kathmandu University, School
of Education
Research Topic

Relationship between Head Teacher

Leadership Attributes and School Climate of
Community Schools of Nepal
Nine Leadership Attributes of Lord Buddha

1. Araham- to eliminate awful thought and reactions like anger,

nervousness, disgust, irritation, stress, hopelessness, unawareness,
distrust, rumor, attachment, rigidity and so on.
2. Samma-sambuddho- ability to discover and understand fully the
four noble truths: life brings suffering; suffering is part of living,
suffering can be ended, and, that there is a path that leads to the end of
suffering
3. Vijjacarana-sampanno- consistency between word and action or
theory and practice
Nine Leadership Attributes of Lord Buddha…
4. Sugato-the characteristic of choosing right words in right time for the
benefit of the others.

5. Lokavidu -knowing the world or Loka in reality. According to Paw (n.d.),

there are six worlds: the seeing world, the hearing world, the smelling world,
the tasting world, the touching world, and thinking world.)

6. Anuttaro-purisa-dhammasarathi- Handling the people with different

mindsets
Nine Leadership Attributes of Lord Buddha..
7. Sattha-deva-manussanam- the quality of attracting followers using
superior knowledge

8. Buddho-Refers to his knowledge about four noble truths. It means that he

had been enlightening by this quality of knowing an ultimate truth
Attribute

9. Bhagava-exceptional quality like sharing, ethical morality, endurance,

understanding, conscientiousness, honesty, compassion etc.
(Shreemurti, 1997; Paw, n.d.)
Conceptual Framework
Blending with Western Philosophy
1. Great Man Theory
2. Trait Theory
3. Behavioral Theory
4. Situational Theory
rm ationa l Leadership:
Nine Leadership Attributes of 5. Transfo
Lord Buddha 6. Servant Leadership
7. Ethical Leadership
8 Authentic leadership
9………………………
 Leadership Attributes
This section reviews key leadership attributes of the leaders in general and head teachers as special. An attempt has been made to

specifically explain the leadership attributes as a whole.

In the scriptures of Hindu religion, Bhagavad Gita, a condensed essence of the Upanishads, one can see some specific leadership

attributes of lord Krishna which is equally relevant even in the complex world today. His simplicity in establishing a great friendship with a

poor Brahmin, Sudama is remarkable. He is also renowned as a protector of the masses. According to the legend, he had accomplished so

many charismatic activities such as lifting the Govardhan hill with his little finger to protect the people of Vrindavana from the heavy rain.

He is also regarded as a friend in need, always ready to support his Bhaktas (devotees) and followers. It is well exemplified in his

compassionate; support to Draupadi, the wife of Pandavas, to save her self-esteem, just as he supported Sudama in his poverty. His

knowledge in various fields as described in the mythology is oceanic. His attributes of negotiation as a peace maker as described in the

Bhagavad Gita is well acknowledge even in the academic field. Krishna has also been regarded as the ocean of knowledge because he had

great knowledge in various fields. His versatile role playing of the teacher, protector, friend and philosopher as described in the Bhagavad

Gita and Mahabharata to encourage Arjuna who had lost his hope, for fulfilling his duty is charismatic (Shreemurti, 1997).
 Leadership Attributes
People regard Krishna as a philosopher of karma. Krishna defined four kinds of human actions: Kamya Karma, Nishiddha Karma, Nitya

Karma, and Naimittika Karma. While Kamya karma is defined as actions carried out for the selfish gain, Nishiddha Karma is the actions prohibited

by the Scriptures. Similarly, Nitya Karma is defined as obligatory actions whereas Naimittika Karma is the actions to be done on special occasion.

Lord Krishna was a thoughtful communicator as well. He had the advanced knowledge about what to communicate, when to communicate and how to

communicate with the stakeholders. Mahabharata itself is an example of his great skills of communication. We can draw lessons from his leadership

attributes to apply in school situation (Shreemurti, 1997).

Like Lord Krishna, so many leadership attributes can be learned from Lord Buddha as well. There are altogether nine important qualities of

Buddha. In Pali language, the nine qualities are (1) araham, (2) samma-sambuddho, (3) vijjacarana-sampanno, (4) sugato, (5) lokavidu, (6) anuttaro-

purisa-dhammasarathi, (7) sattha-deva-manussanam, (8) buddho and (9) bhagava (Paw, n.d.). According to Paw (n.d.), araham means to eliminate

awful thought and reactions like anger, nervousness, disgust, irritation, stress, hopelessness, unawareness, distrust, rumor, attachment, rigidity and so

on. As Buddha had got rid of all these gloomy qualities and attained illumination, his whole life inspires one to follow the direction. Samma-

sambuddho is another crucial quality of Buddha which means his ability to discover and understand fully the four noble truths: life brings suffering;

suffering is part of living, suffering can be ended, and, that there is a path that leads to the end of suffering (Shreemurti, 1997). These ideas sum up the

key teachings of Buddhism. The next quality of Buddha is vijjacarana-sampanno which means the consistency between word and action or theory and

practice. He is claimed to have translated his knowledge into action. Certainly, much can be learned from him to apply in school leadership.
 Leadership Attributes
The fourth quality, sugato, of which Buddha was the master, is the characteristic of choosing right words in right time for the benefit of the others. Buddha had

another crucial quality of lokavidu, knowing the world or Loka in reality. According to Paw (n.d.), there are six worlds: the seeing world, the hearing world, the

smelling world, the tasting world, the touching world, and thinking world. The leader should know how disagreement and agreement happen in these worlds.

Since Buddha possessed absolute knowledge of these worlds, he knew how an agreement can be brought in the world. Buddha’s attribute known as anuttaro-

purisa-dhammasarathi is remarkable. By using this quality, he convinced even his disobedient followers. This quality of Buddha can be of great help in

handling the people with different mindsets in the school setting. Sattha-deva-manussanam is the quality of attracting followers using superior knowledge.

Since Buddha is claimed to have used this knowledge to attract people. Buddho, which is the eighth attribute of Buddha, refers to his knowledge about four

noble truths. It means that he had been enlightening by this quality of knowing an ultimate truth. The last and the ninth attribute bhagava denotes to his

exceptional quality like sharing, ethical morality, endurance, understanding, conscientiousness, honesty, compassion etc.

These qualities like endurance, understanding, and honesty can be of high importance in the world today dominated by self-interest, hypocrisy, and laziness etc.

The school head teacher who is the captain of the school and should lead the entire school can certainly learn a lot from the nine qualities of Buddha mentioned

above.
Assignment I
• Considering your research agenda prepare a plan for using the
Eastern philosophy in your research. Prepare the content for your
philosophical/theoretical foundation for your study with a minimum 3
citations (Word limit:1000)

Nature of the assignment: COMPULSORY

Submission date: By March 15
References
• Paw, M. (n.d.). A gift of dhamma. California. Retrieved from
http://www.usamyanmar.net/Buddha/Article/The%20Nine
%20Qualities%20of%20Buddha.pdf
• Shreemurti, K. (1997). Sreemad bhagabad gita yatharup. Mayapur:
Bhaktibedanta Book Trust.