BUDDHIST ETHICAL AND ECONOMICAL CONTRIBUTIONS TO HUMAN WELL-BEING: GLOBAL CHALLENGES AND CRISES
Creators
- 1. Associate Professor, Centre for Mahayana Buddhist Studies, Acharya Nagarjuna University, Nagarjuna Nagar, Guntur, Andhra Pradesh
Description
“We know what justice is when we feel the wounds of injustice”- Aristotle
“Just as a candle cannot burn without fire, men cannot live without a spiritual life”
- Buddha
Buddhist Philosophy of ethics and economics is based on Sigalovada sutta or laymans code of discipline or gihi Vinaya and as well as the Four Noble Truths and one of the right Livelihood of the eightfold path, which is based on the insight of the Buddha that spiritual liberation is attained by avoiding extremes, whether by indulgence in worldly pleasures or severe asceticism, and treading namely ' the Middle Way. It talks about the ideal middle path between the competing models of capitalism and socialism. These Systems have failed to contain the relentless destruction of the natural environment and the human community, thereby forcing and leading executives and planners to search for new solutions for planetary problems. It supports the conventional forces of a free market and competition without destroying either nature or human society. The vision of sustainable economics is meant to be more just and more ecologically sound on the basis of morality. The fundamental Buddhist insight of the inter-connectedness exists among all living things, Economics and Ethics are all inter-related. The emphasis is on the concept of freedom as understood in Buddhism in contrast to the Western concept of 'freedom'. In the West 'freedom' revolves around the rights of the individual i.e. freedom to do what one wishes. In Buddhism, 'freedom' means freedom from personal desires or attachments. Buddhist approach to economics requires an understanding that economics and moral and spiritual life are neither separated nor mutually exclusive. The previous Century has been ravaged by a materialistic, self-centered consumerism. The present century needs to focus on the quality and spirituality of life itself. Buddhism, which advocates the 'Middle Path', serves as an important resource to pursue an alternative to the extremes of capitalism and socialism, or pure self-interest and utter self-negation. The entire articles discuss on the benefits of oneself, peace and tolerance, and save the natural resources…etc.
Files
164.pdf
Files
(351.9 kB)
| Name | Size | Download all |
|---|---|---|
|
md5:e6ee68d98567821b7f7d11a94df8c177
|
351.9 kB | Preview Download |
Additional details
References
- 1. Alexandrin, G. 1993: "Elements of Buddhist Economics". In: International Journal of Social Economics, No. 2. pp. 3-11. 2. Anielski, M. 2007: The Economics of Happiness: Building Genuine Wealth. British Columbia New Society Publishers. 3. Payutto, Ven. P. A. 2009: Buddhism and the Business World – The Buddhist Way to Deal with Business. Bangkok: Mahachula Longkornraja Vidyalaya University. 4. Post, S. and Neimark, J. 2007: Why Good Things Happen to Good People. New York: Broadway. 5. Prayukvong, W. 2005: "A Buddhist Economic Approach to the Development of Community Enterprises: A Case Study from Southern Thailand". In: Cambridge Journal of Economics, 29,pp. 1171-1185. 6. Schumacher, E.F. 1973: Small is beautiful. Abacus. 7. Zsolnai, L. 2007a "Why Budhist Economics?" Society and Economy 2007. No. 2. pp. 139-143. 8. Ash, C. 2007: "Happiness and Economics: A Buddhist Perspective". In: Society and Economy No. 2. pp. 201-222. 9. Bubna-Litic, D. 2000: "Buddhism Returns to the Market-Place". In: Keown, D. (ed.): Contemporary Buddhist Ethics. London: Curzon Press. 10. Dalai Lama, His Holiness the and H. C. Cutler. 1999: The Art of Happiness. Philadelphia, USA: Coronet Books 11. Daly, H. 1996: Beyond Growth: The Economics of Sustainable Development. Boston: Beacon Press. 12. Daniels, P. 2007: "Buddhism and the Transformation to Sustainable Economies". In: Society and Economy, No. 2. pp. 155-180. 13. Gnanarama, Ven. Pategama 2005: An Approach to Buddhist Social Philosophy. Singapore: Buddhist and Pali College of Singapore. 14. Harvey, P. 2000: An Introduction to Buddhist Ethics. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. 15. Keown, D. 1992: The Nature of Buddhist Ethics. Basingstoke: Macmillan 16. Inoue, S. 1997: Putting Buddhism to Work. A New Approach to Management and Business. Tokyo, New York, London: Kodansha International Ltd. 17. Norberg-Hodge, H. 2002: "Buddhism in the Global Economy". 18. Badiner, A.H. (ed.): Mindfulness in the Marketplace: Compassionate Responses to Consumerism. Berkeley: Parallax Press. pp. 15-27. 19. Marvin T. Brown, Corporate Integrity, Cambridge University Press, New York, 2005. 20. Kenneth R. Andrews, The Concept of Contemporary Strategy, Homewood, London, 1971, p.20. 21. Prasad, L. M., Principles and Practice of Management, Sultan Chand & Sons, 1989. 123. 22. John W. Dienhart, Business, Institutions, and Ethics: A Text with cases and readings, Oxford University Press, New York, 2000, p.234. 23. Paton, H.J; The Categorical Imperative: A Study in Kant's Moral Philosophy, Huldinson's University, library, London, 1947, P.134. 24. Gordan Graham, Eight Theories of Ethics, Routledge Publication, London, 2004, P.105. 25. Immanuel Kant, Groundwork of the Metaphysic of Morals, Translated from the German in the Moral Law, by H. J. Paton, Hutchinson, London, 1948. 26. Jeremy Bentham, Introduction of Morals and Legislation, Basil Blackwell, 1948, p.126. 27. Fred Feldman, Introductory Ethics, Prentice-Hall, Inc; Englewood Cliffs, N.J, USA, 1978, P.44. 28. Justin Oakley and Dean Cocking, Virtue Ethics and Professional Roles, Cambridge University, Press, London, 1998, P.07 29. Railton, Alienation, and R. H. Hare, Moral Thinking, Oxford University Press, Oxford, 1981.P.137. 30. Philippa Foot, Utilitarianism and the Virtues, in Scheffler (ed), consequentialism and its critic, PP.224-42. 31. John, S. Mackenzia, Manuel of Ethics, Oxford University Press, Delhi, 1997, P.328. 32. David Ross, (Tra.), Ackrill, J.L. and Urmson, J.O. Aristotle: The Nicomachean Ethics, Oxford University Press, Oxford, P.122. 33. Manuel, G. Velasquez, Business Ethics: Concepts and cases, printice Hall of India private limited, New Delhi, 2002, P. 140. 34. Mac Intyre, Alasdair, After virtue: A study in moral theory, London, Duckworth, 1985.p.204 35. Mill,J.S., Utilitarianism, by many Warnock, Glasgow., Collins, 1962, P. 205. 36. Kumar Neeraj Sachdev, Ethics: A virtue Theoretic Approach, adhyayan Publishers & Distributors, Delhi, 2005, P. 73.