Phe Bach, Ed.D.

Leaders, in any institution, may have many virtues and spirituality qualities. As spiritual leaders, one must live peaceful and harmonious live in accordance with our family, community, society, and homeland. They often have strong relationships with others and have strong inner values such as selflessness and harmony. Spiritual leaders also must have a lofty spirit and morals.

This article discussed current literature on Buddhism and mindfulness.  It also analyzed the work of Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh that plays an effective role in and ultimately transforms the lives of individuals, families, and societies at large and ensures a more social justice with a culture of peace and non-violence.  His tireless and compassionate work has earned him a nomination for the Noble Peace Price. The practices and teachings of mindfulness of Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh results in a profound transformation; it is a practical framework and blueprint for inner peace, individual and society change.  Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh is a selfless practitioner and the founder of Engaged Buddhism, the branch of Buddhism that seeks different ways to apply the Buddhadharma and insights from meditation practice to bring about a positive transformation socially, politically, environmentally, and economically.

This article discussed current literature on Buddhism and mindfulness.  It also analyzed the work of Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh that plays an effective role in and ultimately transforms the lives of individuals, families, and societies at large and ensures a more social justice with a culture of peace and non-violence.  His tireless and compassionate work has earned him a nomination for the Noble Peace Price. The practices and teachings of mindfulness of Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh results in a profound transformation; it is a practical framework and blueprint for inner peace, individual and society change.  Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh is a selfless practitioner and the founder of Engaged Buddhism, the branch of Buddhism that seeks different ways to apply the Buddhadharma and insights from meditation practice to bring about a positive transformation socially, politically, environmentally, and economically.

Leaders, in any institution, may have many virtues and spirituality qualities. As spiritual leaders, one must live peaceful and harmonious live in accordance with our family, community, society, and homeland. They often have strong relationships with others and have strong inner values such as selflessness and harmony. Spiritual leaders also must have a lofty spirit and morals.

Buddhist Pathways Prison Project is also known as Buddhist Pathways is a California nonprofit corporation whose mission is to bring the core teachings of the historical Buddha of non-harming, meditation, and wisdom into prisons and jails as well as federal penal institutions.  Through mindful awareness, incarcerated Sangha members gain the wisdom that fosters durable self-transformation and insight into the inner conditions that led to incarceration.  The Buddhist Pathways Prison Project has successfully served many prisoners in a number of California State prisons, county jails and Federal prisons.  An indicator of this success is that Kalipeia, a private foundation awarded BP3 a grant for $16,000 and renewed it twice.  CDCR awarded BP3 a grant of $62,000 in 2015 to expand its offerings into two additional prisons.  Both supported the drafting and now preparation of manuals on how to recruit volunteers, work with the prison administration to set up programs and to resolve difficult...

Research shows that a student achievement gap still exists. Furthermore, the achievement gap in standardized test scores between economically disadvantaged, low socio-economic status students, especially African-American, Latino, Hispanic, Native American, and their white and Asian peers is very wide. Yet, the teacher retention rate is low, and teacher attrition rate is still high among new teachers. With proper support and resources for all teachers, especially the new ones, these rates will be improved. This book is compiling and offering model effective teaching strategies and techniques that might raise the teacher retention rate, reduce the teacher attrition rate, and ultimately narrow the student achievement gap. It is an attempt to provide research-based effective teaching strategies to give new teachers support and to narrow the student achievement gap. A collaborative and supportive staff, passion, effective classroom management and environment play important roles in stude...

The lack of a spiritual dimension (moral and ethical) in leadership, which frames the development of moral value—from business and politics to family and education—has become a key factor contributing to negative consequences caused by unethical leaders. Both Eastern and Western society also lack an in-depth understanding of how the spiritual leadership practices of Vietnamese Buddhist monks might/may be models of moral and ethical leadership for others in the larger society. This qualitative research study utilizes a phenomenological approach to learn how to apply the leadership lessons derived from the lived experience of Vietnamese Buddhist monks in contemporary America. The study is composed of historical and contemporary literature, empirical research on relevant leadership theories, on Buddhist values (especially those of mindfulness and compassion as part of their daily routine). In order to have a peaceful way of life, to help and lead others, Vietnamese monks learn from their masters, practice their learned core values and utilize Zen practices. The researcher interviewed 14 Buddhist monks across United States of America by snowball effect sampling and the three main themes emerging from the research are as follows: (a) Vietnamese Buddhist monks in America and their lived-experiences are dynamic, unique and contributing to the society within their spiritual leadership roles and obligations; (b) Their leadership style is characterized as authentically leading by example by basing decisions upon the core values of mindfulness, compassion, and wisdom; and (c) Through their practices, their presence, and their contributions to the welfare of others, they bring about peace of mind and happiness for themselves and for others in society. The findings were extracted from participants, resulting in the five principles of a mindful leadership. The five leadership strategies discussed include: Leading from the Inside Out, the Notion of Daily Practice, Leading-by-Example, Congruence, and the Notion of Completeness. Eleven recommendations emerged from this phenomenological study with eight being the techniques and strategies to achieve mindfulness, peace, compassion, and happiness and the remaining three being dedicated for further studies. Keywords: Buddhism, Buddhist, Buddhist values, compassion, Dharma, leadership practices, leadership styles, leadership theories, meditation, mindful leadership, mindfulness, phenomenological study, phenomenology, spiritual leadership, Vietnamese Buddhism, Vietnamese Buddhist monks, wisdom, Zen practices, Zen.

Introduction

Sustainable peace anchors itself in mindfulness of the present, the people, and the microcosms in which we exist. Rather than existing as a static state, the peace is organic and dynamic, flowing itself around the vagaries of “unpeacefulness.” Thus, being a mindful leader begins with the practice of the Five Mindfulness Trainings (Five Precepts) and the Noble Eightfold Path 1  as well as finding the peace within oneself and continues by manifesting that peace every day. Doing so is the seed from which systems and circumstances can, themselves, perpetuate peace.

Thinking about how mindful leadership can sustain peace, we must consider how mindfulness can be cultivated within the individual and how he or she can sustain mindfulness everyday despite external challenges. Integrating the practice of mindfulness with an understanding of “systems thinking” opens paths for sustaining peace within and across organizations, governments, and political structures. Yet, the leader and others must also embrace “the continual flow” and know that a seeming “end” is only a new “beginning.” Peace can sustain us in our circular journeys through systems and time.

Thus, there are “Three Intertwined Paths to Leading for Sustainable Peace.”

Learning and Sustaining Peace Based Mindfulness Practice

Leaders who would sustain external peace must find and cultivate it within themselves. Not a matter of will or of a platitude, being mindful begins and continues through daily practice. Mindfulness transforms lives, rewires the brain, provides relief from physical and emotional pain, and enhances learning. Mindful practices in an organization bring about a more respectful, tolerant, and peaceful climate and culture. Teaching others how to live a mindful life and how to practice meditation gives them a lifelong skill for coping with the pressures of modern life in a turbulent world and for harvesting sustainable peace.

Peace, universal harmony, and shared responsibilities start from the within, and the inner peace starts with mindfulness and meditation. Mindfulness and mediation-based practices prior to the start of group sessions or daily work relaxes people, and studies show it helps them improve focus while diminishing anxiety.  Mindful organizations can become joyful and stabilized as people learn to relax, to feel appreciated, and to relinquish anxiety.

Systems Thinking as a Path for Sustaining Peace

In times of rapid change and uncertainty, leaders are faced with complexities that will and do challenge peace. Seeing and reacting only to particular parts of a system leads to fragmented responses that solve immediate problems. By seeing and being with the system as an organic whole, the leader can co-create sustainable peace. Understanding that a living system will re-create itself opens the possibility for peace being central to the relationships, processes, and contexts of the system.

Having this broader, richer systems view cannot be left to chance or to a vague commitment. Like mindfulness, systems thinking must be learned and practiced daily. Within the works of Peter Senge and Otto Scharmer (Theory U) are concepts and methods for leaders to become practitioners of systems thinking. Doing so enables them to deliberately cultivate organic change and to create the ethos of peace across and among systems, including Buddhism.

Embracing Continual Flow

Some leaders believe that, when something is sustained, it has reached a static state and continues in that state over time. Leaders and those in a system may try to embrace and hold peace, only to find it slipping away. Peace, in this view, is not sustained. Peace, though, can be perpetuated, if we accept that it has no beginning or end. Rather, it is a dynamic and organic phenomenon, one that continually flows from past to present to future.

Embracing the continual flow brings the phenomenon of peace into a leader’s mindful practice of it on a daily basis. “The O Theory” (Drs Bach and Bureau) lights the way for leaders to mindfully live the flow of peace. Recursive in nature, “The O” flows circularly through elements of: recognizing, accepting, embracing, learning, practicing, transforming, sharing, completing. Were a leader to be aware of and live these, he or she would live peace, would be peace. “Being peace” sustains peace. It is another proposal to a Buddhist Approach to Global Leadership and Shared Responsibilities for Sustainable Societies.

Ideally, classrooms should be free from fear and the stressors that tamp down teaching and learning. Teachers, ideally, create classroom cultures of peace and attentiveness. However, in American public school classrooms, too often, such is not the case. Federal and state policies impinge on curricula and assessment, creating the stress of covering content and meeting testing standards. Budget constraints dwindle available resources for learning, expand class sizes, and reduce services for students in need. Shifting community demographics, while enriching the profile of the student body, presents more challenges for teachers to reach all of them. In short, classrooms, students, and teachers are experiencing increasingly intensifying levels of stress. The complexities of stressors mitigate against ready reduction of them; however, there is a path in Buddhism that cultivates a stillness that can pervade the classrooms-the practice of mindfulness. Before they can do so, teachers, themselves, must internalize and be comfortable with mindfulness practices. Helping them feel comfortable with mindfulness and with bringing it to their classrooms is the hope of " Mindful Leadership: A mindfulness-based professional development for all teachers, educators, and administrators " , a workshop for educators in the San Juan Unified School District offered by the San Juan Teacher Association. The facilitator of the workshops is the primary author of this article. Offered to staff in a suburban, northern California public school district, the workshops introduce the research and practices of a mindfulness-based approach in the classroom that will help teachers and students manage their emotional and mental stress, increase their well-being, and refresh their energy. In keeping with Buddhist intent, the hope is that the experiences will lead the practitioners to be more mindful and compassionate individuals.

Leaders, in any institution, may have many virtues and spirituality qualities. As spiritual leaders, one must live peaceful and harmonious live in accordance with our family, community, society, and homeland. They often have strong relationships with others and have strong inner values such as selflessness and harmony.  Spiritual leaders also must have a lofty spirit and morals.  Some of these moral values include compassion, diligence, determination, joy, gratitude, love, integrity, honesty, mindfulness, perseverance, responsibility, trustworthiness, understanding and wisdom. This paper, through examining our psychological experiences, as well as our personally lived experiences in our own lives, suggests the five arts of living. They are:
1) The First Art Of Living Is To Live As Bamboo Trees;
2) The Second Art Of Living Is To Live As A River;
3) The Third Art Of Living Is To Live As the Mai Tree;
4) The Fourth Art Of Living Is To Live As Earth; and
5) The Fifth Art Of Living Is To Live As The Clouds.  
These five core principles frame specific practices and directions for everyone, Buddhists and non-Buddhists alike—including spiritual leaders, laypersons, and the Sangha—who wish that individuals, families, and societies be more harmonious, more peaceful and more happy.

This paper is about a Case Study and the Manifestation of Thich Nhat Hanh’s Vision of the Five Mindfulness Trainings. Vietnamese Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh, a Buddhist monk, peace activist, writer, poet, and scholar, is a champion of mindfulness. His work is said to have carried mindfulness practices into the mainstream culture. His wisdom and practice of mindfulness have provided guidance and a practical approach, which benefits individuals, families and
organizations. Thich Nhat Hanh (2007) emphasized, “With mindfulness, we are aware of what is going on in our bodies, our feelings, our minds, and the world, and we avoid doing harm to ourselves and others” (p. 2). Additionally, he continued, “Mindfulness protects us, our families, and our society, and ensures a safe and happy present and a safe and happy
future. Precepts are the most concrete expression of the practice of mindfulness” (p. 2).

This article explores the experience of the volunteer Buddhist chaplains in the B Yard of a California maximum-security state prison. The narrative study provides the personal and practical knowledge and wisdom on bringing the Buddhist meditation, mindfulness and compassion to the California Prison system. The article offers insights,
experience and dilemmas that were experienced or shared by the inmates. Through this narrative study, we hope to develop a better understanding of lived-experience of volunteer Buddhist chaplains in the California prison system and to promote the needs of volunteers
to bring the message of compassion, mindfulness and wisdom to the California Prison System.

California activated its state prison system in 1851 (Bookspan, 1991). The California Department of Justice pointed out that the state prison started with a 268-ton wooden ship named “The Waban” in the San Francisco Bay that housed the first 30 inmatesand ultimately in 1952 it opened San Quentin State Prison, where it housed approximately
68 inmates (Reed, 2001).

Currently, California has thirty-three prisons and Folsom State Prison (FSP) is a one of them. It is located in the city of Folsom, California, about 20 miles northeast of Sacramento, the state capitol of California. After San Quentin, FSP is second-oldest state prison, opening in 1892. Petersilia (2008) pointed out that using “academic skills [such as training in mediation and ethics] are uniquely suited and ultimately necessary to create a justice system that does less harm”. We believed just that; we are volunteer Buddhist Chaplains for the Buddhist Pathways Prison Project where its mission is to bring meditation and the teaching of the Buddha into the California State prisons.

We are using the narrative approach because it is a relevant and enriching technique for uncovering, describing and interpreting the meaning of experience (Lieblich & Josselson, 1997)

The lack of a spiritual dimension (moral and ethical) in leadership, which frames the development of moral value—from business and politics to family and education—has become a key factor contributing to negative consequences caused by unethical leaders. Both Eastern and Western society also lack an in-depth understanding of how the spiritual leadership practices of Vietnamese Buddhist monks might/may be models of moral and ethical leadership for others in the larger society. This qualitative research study utilizes a phenomenological approach to learn how to apply the leadership lessons derived from the lived experience of Vietnamese Buddhist monks in contemporary America.
The study is composed of historical and contemporary literature, empirical research on relevant leadership theories, on Buddhist values (especially those of mindfulness and compassion as part of their daily routine).  In order to have a peaceful way of life, to help and lead others, Vietnamese monks learn from their masters, practice their learned core values and utilize Zen practices.
The researcher interviewed 14 Buddhist monks across United States of America by snowball effect sampling and the three main themes emerging from the research are as follows: (a) Vietnamese Buddhist monks in America and their lived-experiences are dynamic, unique and contributing to the society within their spiritual leadership roles and obligations; (b) Their leadership style is characterized as authentically leading by example by basing decisions upon the core values of mindfulness, compassion, and wisdom; and (c) Through their practices, their presence, and their contributions to the welfare of others, they bring about peace of mind and happiness for themselves and for others in society.
The findings were extracted from participants, resulting in the five principles of a mindful leadership.  The five leadership strategies discussed include: Leading from the Inside Out, the Notion of Daily Practice, Leading-by-Example, Congruence, and the Notion of Completeness.  Eleven recommendations emerged from this phenomenological study with eight being the techniques and strategies to achieve mindfulness, peace, compassion, and happiness and the remaining three being dedicated for further studies.

Keywords:
Buddhism, Buddhist, Buddhist values, compassion, Dharma, leadership practices, leadership styles, leadership theories, meditation, mindful leadership, mindfulness, phenomenological study, phenomenology, spiritual leadership, Vietnamese Buddhism, Vietnamese Buddhist monks, wisdom, Zen practices, Zen.

The lack of a spiritual dimension (moral and ethical) in leadership, which frames the development of moral value—from business and politics to family and education—has become a key factor contributing to negative consequences caused by unethical leaders. Both Eastern and Western society also lack an in-depth understanding of how the spiritual leadership practices of Vietnamese Buddhist monks might/may be models of moral and ethical leadership for others in the larger society. This qualitative research study utilizes a phenomenological approach to learn how to apply the leadership lessons derived from the lived experience of Vietnamese Buddhist monks in contemporary America.
The study is composed of historical and contemporary literature, empirical research on relevant leadership theories, on Buddhist values (especially those of mindfulness and compassion as part of their daily routine).  In order to have a peaceful way of life, to help and lead others, Vietnamese monks learn from their masters, practice their learned core values and utilize Zen practices.
The researcher interviewed 14 Buddhist monks across United States of America by snowball effect sampling and the three main themes emerging from the research are as follows: (a) Vietnamese Buddhist monks in America and their lived-experiences are dynamic, unique and contributing to the society within their spiritual leadership roles and obligations; (b) Their leadership style is characterized as authentically leading by example by basing decisions upon the core values of mindfulness, compassion, and wisdom; and (c) Through their practices, their presence, and their contributions to the welfare of others, they bring about peace of mind and happiness for themselves and for others in society.
The findings were extracted from participants, resulting in the five principles of a mindful leadership.  The five leadership strategies discussed include: Leading from the Inside Out, the Notion of Daily Practice, Leading-by-Example, Congruence, and the Notion of Completeness.  Eleven recommendations emerged from this phenomenological study with eight being the techniques and strategies to achieve mindfulness, peace, compassion, and happiness and the remaining three being dedicated for further studies.

Sustainable peace anchors itself in mindfulness of the present, the people, and the microcosms in which we exist. Rather than existing as a static state, the peace is organic and dynamic, flowing itself around the vagaries of “unpeacefulness.” Thus, being a mindful leader begins with the practice of the Five Mindfulness Trainings (Five Precepts) and the Noble Eightfold Path 1  as well as finding the peace within oneself and continues by manifesting that peace every day. Doing so is the seed from which systems and circumstances can, themselves, perpetuate peace.

Thinking about how mindful leadership can sustain peace, we must consider how mindfulness can be cultivated within the individual and how he or she can sustain mindfulness everyday despite external challenges. Integrating the practice of mindfulness with an understanding of “systems thinking” opens paths for sustaining peace within and across organizations, governments, and political structures. Yet, the leader and others must also embrace “the continual flow” and know that a seeming “end” is only a new “beginning.” Peace can sustain us in our circular journeys through systems and time.

Thus, there are “Three Intertwined Paths to Leading for Sustainable Peace.”

Learning and Sustaining Peace Based Mindfulness Practice

Leaders who would sustain external peace must find and cultivate it within themselves. Not a matter of will or of a platitude, being mindful begins and continues through daily practice. Mindfulness transforms lives, rewires the brain, provides relief from physical and emotional pain, and enhances learning. Mindful practices in an organization bring about a more respectful, tolerant, and peaceful climate and culture. Teaching others how to live a mindful life and how to practice meditation gives them a lifelong skill for coping with the pressures of modern life in a turbulent world and for harvesting sustainable peace.

Peace, universal harmony, and shared responsibilities start from the within, and the inner peace starts with mindfulness and meditation. Mindfulness and mediation-based practices prior to the start of group sessions or daily work relaxes people, and studies show it helps them improve focus while diminishing anxiety.  Mindful organizations can become joyful and stabilized as people learn to relax, to feel appreciated, and to relinquish anxiety.

Systems Thinking as a Path for Sustaining Peace

In times of rapid change and uncertainty, leaders are faced with complexities that will and do challenge peace. Seeing and reacting only to particular parts of a system leads to fragmented responses that solve immediate problems. By seeing and being with the system as an organic whole, the leader can co-create sustainable peace. Understanding that a living system will re-create itself opens the possibility for peace being central to the relationships, processes, and contexts of the system.

Having this broader, richer systems view cannot be left to chance or to a vague commitment. Like mindfulness, systems thinking must be learned and practiced daily. Within the works of Peter Senge and Otto Scharmer (Theory U) are concepts and methods for leaders to become practitioners of systems thinking. Doing so enables them to deliberately cultivate organic change and to create the ethos of peace across and among systems, including Buddhism.

Embracing Continual Flow

Some leaders believe that, when something is sustained, it has reached a static state and continues in that state over time. Leaders and those in a system may try to embrace and hold peace, only to find it slipping away. Peace, in this view, is not sustained. Peace, though, can be perpetuated, if we accept that it has no beginning or end. Rather, it is a dynamic and organic phenomenon, one that continually flows from past to present to future.

Embracing the continual flow brings the phenomenon of peace into a leader’s mindful practice of it on a daily basis. “The O Theory” (Drs Bach and Bureau) lights the way for leaders to mindfully live the flow of peace. Recursive in nature, “The O” flows circularly through elements of: recognizing, accepting, embracing, learning, practicing, transforming, sharing, completing. Were a leader to be aware of and live these, he or she would live peace, would be peace. “Being peace” sustains peace. It is another proposal to a Buddhist Approach to Global Leadership and Shared Responsibilities for Sustainable Societies.