A Big Picture View of "No Kings" and the 10 Duties of a Righteous Ruler (Oct 19th 2025)

The Buddha was often consulted by the kings of the principalities of India in his day, leading him to develop 10 guidelines for good leadership and creating a healthy society, our teacher Fred said in a recent Dharma talk. While the current news is about the "No Kings" movement in the U.S., the issue is bigger than political views and relates to all levels of political or other types of leadership, he said.

Buddhism is about the big picture. Inner transformation of society is ultimately the answer. Society is an interactive process. All human beings have a mix of wholesome and unwholesome qualities in their minds, and what manifests depends on the responsibility we assume for developing wholesome qualities. We can blame leaders for their failures without noticing we have any of the same qualities in us.

Leaders set examples in the way they conduct themselves and treat others. The quality of leadership affects how we are as a people, and the quality of society affects the heath of our leaders.

It comes from both sides. A leader who is moral will affect the population. If a leader nurtures the unwholesome, the unwholesome will grow in society.

We may not be able to change our leaders, but we can change ourselves. That’s our responsibility. It is harder for an unhealthy ruler to lead if the culture of the country is living according to these 10 values.

The values the Buddha recommended for a ruler or leader are: generosity (willingness to give away wealth and resources for the benefit of others), moral, ethical character, self sacrifice for the benefit of others, honesty and integrity, gentleness and caring about the wellbeing of others, self control and austerity, shunning luxury, lack of anger and resentment, nonviolence, freedom from envy or grudges, and willingness to rule according to the will of the people.