What we're really talking about when we think of dictators and corruption, we're talking about being attached to the eight worldly dhammas. Very, very, very attached. When you think of someone like Saddam Hussein, was this person an intelligent, healthy, wise person? The answer is of course, "no". He had a lot of mental problems, which were way beyond what anyone could help. Even when he was offered to go into exile, keep a few million dollars, live happily with his family etc., he didn't even accept it. This was because he was so attached to his fame, power, and so on - the "eight worldly dhammas". He had just too much of an obsessive attachment to these and did not want to lose control.
So, "absolute power" that corrupts, you only have to look at some of the politicians, as well, in democratic societies. They start off as a nice person, but later they become corrupted by the same things: the "eight worldly dhammas".
In the meditation practice, we have to watch out for the "eight worldly dhammas": praise and blame, fame and obscurity, pleasure and pain, gain and loss. The word "dhamma" here, when it's written in the teachings, it's a small "d". That's different to Dhamma with a capital "D", which means "the Truth". A dhamma, with a small "d", merely means an object, a mental object in the mind.
These are so important because they're underneath every bit of your mental Dukkha. Whenever you're experiencing any type of mental Dukkha, ask yourself, regarding these eight: "Which one am I attached to?" "Do I want fame?" "Do I not want to be obscure?" "Do I want praise?" "Do I not want blame?" and so on. You're going to find that every bit of your mental Dukkha has a connection to one of these eight, as to you being attached to it in a positive or negative way.
So that's a more subtle way you can actually use the mental noting, also. You have already practiced the noting with, "thinking, thinking", "wandering, wandering", "hearing, hearing", and so on. We also have had the mental noting of the Five Hindrances: "desire", "aversion", and so on. You can also use the "eight worldly dhammas" as a way to make mental notes.
The "eight worldly dhammas", in English, are called "eight worldly conditions", these are things that come to all of us throughout our life. Every person on the planet is getting attached to them, one way or another, unless they're fully enlightened. We want one, we don't want the other. We're being pushed one way or another throughout our life, e.g., just wanting to feel comfortable; wanting your own sitting spot in the hall; wanting to pet the dog, and the dog ignores you. That's a typical example of "I wanted fame and now I'm obscure, the dog doesn't even want me". This happens in all sorts of experiences throughout our life, we're experiencing these eight, and we get pushed by them this way and that.
In the practice, in order to avoid this type of corruption that happens for everybody on the planet, we have to be more and more aware of the eight worldly dhammas and how they influence us. In specific, when it comes to the meditation practice, some meditators become attached to their fame and intellectual knowledge: "I've practiced for 20 years", "I've done 20 retreats", "I've done this", "I've done that". If they puff themselves up in this way, they stop practicing, and then, actually they go in reverse. They go to the negative side, because they're too caught up in their ego and statistics and their "fame". In that "fame" they often get "praised", and in that "fame" and "praise" they often "gain" friends, but it may only be temporarily, because later the friends might see through them. So, as a meditator, in particular, it's very important to watch out for the attachment to the eight worldly dhammas.
As a teacher, it's even more dangerous, because teachers often commit what is called "spiritual suicide". They get so attached to their fame, praise and gain, that they stop practicing; the mind goes off. There are plenty of stories of teachers who are doing immoral things like misappropriation of funds, sex with their students, etc. If a person gets attached to the eight worldly dhammas: wanting, wanting, wanting the nice ones; hating the un-nice ones, then they can easily get corrupted. Their spiritual practice can go out the window, and they may end up doing things they should not do.