Benevolent Leadership

This article is the first in series of six which I hope to post here based on “The Six Ways of Ruling,” a teaching that was first presented by the founder of Shambhala, Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche, in 1978 and further expounded upon by his son, Sakyong Mipham Rinpoche, in his book Ruling Your World (Chapters 22-23). The “Six Ways” are qualities of a leader who wishes to join heaven and earth; that is, to execute power inspired by wisdom. The six qualities are: benevolent, true, genuine, fearless, artful, and rejoicing. This article is based on a talk I presented at the Washington, DC Shambhala Center on October 18, 2012.

The first three “Ways of Ruling” deal with how to be a just or fair leader. The second three deal with how to act with power. In these teachings, the ground of being just is being “benevolent”. Benevolent comes from two Latin roots—bene (good) and volere (to want or desire). Thus, to be benevolent is to want the good. Sometimes when we are leading others we want to be right more than we want to be good. We lose sight of the big picture. We often become attached to our position and attached to the need for others to agree with that position. In these cases, the leader must ensure that s/he remains connected to the “good” above all. If you are only considering what’s best, it doesn’t matter who is “right” and who is not, who gets credit and who does not, as long as what is good or best for the situation prevails.

Benevolence is rooted in patience
Benevolence requires patience because, most often, the enemy of benevolence is anger or aggression. We become angry when we lose our patience with someone or with the situation at hand. When we’ve lost our patience, we no longer want the good, but rather we just want what we want when we want it…and we often want it right now! Thus anger and impatience often go hand in hand.

One meaning of patience is forbearance. Forbearance means to hold back or to endure patiently. In order for us to remain rooted in benevolence, we need to endure difficult situations—resisting the temptations of “fight or flight”; that is, to attack or to ignore that which makes us uncomfortable. These are our two habitual knee-jerk reactions. Instead, enlightened leaders we should strive to remain spacious and open, as an antidote to falling prey to impatience and anger.

We understand that people suffer
One way to stay open in difficult situations is to remember that whoever is provoking your aggravation at the moment is also a person who suffers. Everyone suffers in one way or another, subtle or gross, at almost all times. Even discontentment with our present situation is a form of suffering. We want it to be other than it is. This may not be immediately recognizable as “suffering” to us, but in a way it is. We aren’t satisfied and we want there to be some change. So we speak up, or do something, or hint at something to someone else,that we hope will evoke a change. If we can remember that people suffer each time we feel provoked, we can keep our spacious mind and our benevolence. It is also true that it takes a spacious mind to be able to remember in those moments that people suffer, just like us. But this takes practice. Nevertheless, generating a spacious mind can be practiced before it is perfected. It is therefore simultaneously a path and the goal.

Patience results in gentleness; absence of aggression
The result of remaining spacious is that we do not fall prey to the temptation to become aggressive. In particular this manifests as gentleness. In situations in which we would normally be provoked into anger, just the fact that we aren’t reacting negatively is often perceived as gentleness. And, in fact, it can create a sense of gentleness. The old advice to “count to ten before saying anything” when you start to feel angry is an expression of this. Counting to ten can create spaciousness, which in turn, softens you in the moment…it’s like being surrounded by a huge airbag to keep you from crashing. When we do not react with anger and aggression and instead maintain an allegiance to space, we have the opportunity to remember that others suffer, too, and that their actions are likely motivated by their suffering. Then we can respond out of compassion, which means with gentleness. Even if the situation requires a firm hand or a firm response, the attitude is one of non-aggression and thus can be considered gentle. Remembering that everyone is suffering all the time helps us to be patient and “gentles” us for the world. Therefore, it is said that “gentleness is always the best whip” – both for us, the other, and the situation.

Listening, one hears the cries of the world
Perhaps the single act that an enlightened leader can engage in that most expresses benevolence, patience, and gentleness is the simple act of listening. The bodhisattva of compassion, Avalokiteshvara, is known in China as Guanyin—“The One Who Hears the Cries of the World.” This one skillful act—that of listening—can be a gentle whip, the best tool in our tool belt. Being an act of benevolence, listening requires patience. Amazingly, the act of listening simultaneously expresses:  absence of aggression, care for the needs and worries of those whom we serve, a desire to know more before acting or judging, humility, and respect for others.  If a leader wishes to manifest genuine benevolence, s/he will actively develop the skill and desire to listen well. It is the essence of compassion and also the key to becoming a more enlightened leader.

The second public talk in this series—True Leadership—will be given at the Shambhala Center on November 29 at 7:30pm. 

by Chris Montone