Warmest greetings from Nalanda Institute!

When we set about planning for this second issue, we thought about a suitable theme that suits the current times and mood. Then, we thought of “Visionary Leadership”, as it seems to be lacking in many organizations and even nations today. Without a clear vision for the future, we are akin to groping in the dark, hoping and praying that things will eventually turn out alright. However, given the multiple challenges of rapid social, political, economic and even cultural changes, we may not be able to rise to the occasion and serve future communities effectively if we do not get our acts right from now.

One of the problems we face in the Buddhist community today is the lack of a systematic structure to recruit, train and further develop leaders. Our Dharma Schools are generally not geared towards educating tomorrow’s leaders today. We are still stuck in the old ways of doing things – of classroom style “teaching” and “lecturing” – which many present youngsters find inadequate,ineffective and unattractive. It takes a lot of courage for our leadership to develop and see through a change of attitude and aptitude.

What our community need currently may be a form of Transformational Leadership, one that appeals to our higher ideals and inspires people to see and think differently and creatively. For that we need leaders of calibre, with sound moral authority, and ingrained with strong Buddhist values; and very importantly, with a keen vision for the future growth of the Buddha-Sasana. We hope that the articles contained herein will provide some insights into this issue and even provide answers to some of our questions. Indeed, it is only possible to witness a new dawn for Buddhism with Visionary Leadership firmly in place.

With metta,
H S Tan
Director, Nalanda Institute