At the discussion, Buddhist dignitaries and scholars discussed what mindfulness and mindful leadership are as well as leadership skills and challenges facing countries at present.
In his paper, Venerable Thich Minh Thanh of Vietnam stated that mindfulness acts as a shorter path to develop qualities for the leaders.
He added that, in order to achieve sustainable peace, it is necessary to practise mindfulness from within, enhance the ability to practise mindfulness and combine leadership with mindfulness.
Dr Young Ho Lee, from the Republic of Korea, stated that the leaders need to have the right intention so as to take care of the people’s lives from all social strata and countries in the world.
He emphasised that there would be no true peace in the world if there was no peace inside the mind.
At the workshop, scholars from many countries also discussed various issues such as the Buddhist views on violent conflict in society, the Buddhist theory of peaceful co-existence and the significance of Buddhist diplomacy in modern Asia, among others.
Through the discussion, the participants clarified the meaning of mindfulness and offered recommendations on how to practise mindfulness and loving kindness for global leaders so that they will be able to develop policies to deal with contemporary issues.
